How Bobby Seegmiller made 500k in one deal in the Niche Community

[00:00:00]many years ago, completely broke, nothing going for me in terms of of real estate.

[00:00:05]>> There's a gentleman in your community, he is on his fourth deal, and they're not small deals. Um it it's extremely easy to find money for deals. Now, you have to have contractual um you know, understanding on how things need to be done. Join tomorrow and by next week you've got $900,000 from not lifting a finger and 2 hours of work. All All investors are liars. Yeah, they make up their numbers, but that's exactly what it was.

[00:00:30]>> If I can serve a seller and truly impact them and and make a difference in their life, that is more satisfying to to me than than most anything else. Welcome back to the Niche Podcast, where we interview niche invest, real niche investors, rather, doing real niche deals. Today, I've got a treat for you.

[00:00:49]Uh, we got Bobby the Bank Whisperer with us, and Bobb's been a good friend of mine for a long time. and is a leader in the niche community and is doing a lot of of foreclosure deals and helping a lot of niche community members get their first or next deal. So, welcome, Bobby.

[00:01:08]>> Thank you. Always good to be here with you, Michael. You're doing so much good for so many people. I don't think you get enough uh props for that. It's a very thankless job, but you're running like six different companies, which I don't know how you do. I don't want to do that. But appreciate all you do for the community and you you give a lot of your content out for free, which is not part for the course with most uh real estate groups. So, it's kind of interesting. A lot of value with the niche community. So, I love it.

[00:01:35]>> I appreciate that. I appreciate that.

[00:01:37]Well, tell us tell us about Bobby for those that have been living under a rock. Uh who who who is Bobby and and tell us about yourself?

[00:01:46]>> Yes. Well, the the what I tell my kids when you're getting interviewed, when somebody says, "Tell me about yourself," you say, "What would you like to know?"

[00:01:52]Because I could start at age five and and go from there. But I I would say this. I you know, I got into real estate many, many moons ago, late 1900s. And I think people say, "Well, how did you stumble on real estate? Why real estate?" And I say, "Well, what most people don't understand is we are all in sales." And I started selling baseball cards when I was a kid. And then it went to bikes. And you find him in the Thrifty Nickel. And then it went to motorcycles when I was a little bit older. And all fun stories with these things. Uh cars next. And and what is the next natural progression, Michael?

[00:02:25]After a car, what's big to sell? A house.

[00:02:27]>> And you find there's more margin, you know, and so starting as a a young man, I think I realized we're all in sales.

[00:02:34]Those who understand that learn how to make money. And real estate is one of the best asset classes to invest in.

[00:02:41]It's protected. And we all need a place to live. We don't all need a bike.

[00:02:44]Although I think everyone should have at least five because I do. But uh you you need to live in a place whether you're renting, whether you're, you know, uh you know, homeowner, investor, whatever.

[00:02:56]We all need a place to live. So that's how I got into real estate.

[00:03:00]>> I'm curious. You you sounded like you had a bunch of kind of a small progressions as a younger kid into an adult with entrepreneurship. Did you always know that you were an entrepreneur type? And was that something that was bred into you from your folks or or is that something that's unique to you and your family?

[00:03:20]>> This this I just dug out of the attic.

[00:03:22]Do you see what that >> It's under It's upside down, Bobby. You got to turn it over.

[00:03:27]>> Maybe I was upside down.

[00:03:29]>> There you go. The Herald carrier of the month.

[00:03:32]>> Paper carrier of the month. So, quick story. 8th grade, our family moves from Utah to Washington. And being a young man, large family, eight children, um that means no money. That's all big family means is you don't have any money. You know, you've probably been there. Um the uh the interesting thing was I I opened the newspaper looking for jobs as a eighth grader would do and paper carry is really the only thing that you could do. So I reached out to the Herald and a guy showed up and said, "Here's your route. We are actually doing a contest. for the end of it. So, you probably won't win many things, but I'm happy to take you out, drop you off, you can knock doors. So, as a young kid, I was out, you know, knocking doors as a very young man. And I ended up winning the contest, a trip to Disneyland, Universal Studios, lots of cool prizes, rafts, and all sorts of stuff. What it taught me, we don't need to be afraid of people. You know, a lot of people are afraid to door knockock. That one of the biggest fears is public speaking. And I realized as an eighth grader, if you have something that they want that you can help them with and you craft a response and a uh, you know, dialogue and have a little bit um of, you know, communication, conversation, little bit of flow, it's really not that hard.

[00:04:47]We're all in sales. We just don't understand it. So, I think from that point on, I realized I like the sales thing and I liked making money uh selling these, they called them starts to the Daily Herald because I could go buy baseball cards and you buy low and sell high. And then I bought a bike up there and then we moved back to Utah so I had to sell that bike and made money on that. And then it was, "Dad, can I get a dirt bike?" "No." "Can I get a dirt bike?" "No." And uh I said, "What if I save up the money for a dirt bike?"

[00:05:12]And as a parent, never thought I would do that. And uh he said, "If you save up the money, you can buy one." So he left town on a business trip and I had all the cash, went bought my first dirt bike. And so it started this this entrepreneurial it's fun to buy and sell and and it's all stuff. I get it's all material and we don't take anything with us, but having um that skill set, knowing how to buy is a great family skill when you're a father and a husband and and somebody that wants to teach their children how to navigate the world. we're all in sales and it just progressively got bigger to homes. So, >> so I'm curious, this is more of a selfish question because I know you're you're a little bit further along in the father game than than I am and you said you wanted to bring your children into the fold. How did you take what you learned as a kid now into adulthood as an entrepreneur? How do you how do you kind of put your kids in the middle of that to try to teach them that concept, but also let them be their own person and go the the direction the Lord wants them to go?

[00:06:19]>> I think you just nailed the uh you just hit the nail on the head right there. I think keeping Christ at the center, God at the center of what you believe, it gives you foundational. It gives you an anchor in which you can build around. If I didn't have that belief system or value, um I think life would be different. I'd be wondering where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? You know, what's the purpose? And and if there is no God and there is no Christ, then hey, dog eat dog world, let's go and step on everybody till we can make as much money as we can. And and some people will say, well, not so fast. Um ethics. And I'm like, where do you get it? Is it Hollywood? We're sure not getting it from there. Is it [laughter] politically? Sure not getting it from there. So So our gold standard is something different. And I know we have a variety of belief systems and that's wonderful. But having that anchor, Michael, um, helps put everything in place. And I think you've probably seen this, the evolution of your life. You think you know where you're going and you step forward with faith and a door opens and you're like, not the door I meant to open. And then you go down that path and you can look back and you're like, this is where I needed to be. I thought I was going to be over here, but God puts you on this path and this mission. And it's a beautiful thing. And it's that solely if I were to give credit to one source that would be it and why I'm where I am today. Because if you look at my track record in my past and the different industries that I've uh feel like I've conquered and you know started out where I knew zero and left knowing a lot um I can see the hand of the Lord in that entire uh step of the way. So, and >> I think a lot of people, they see someone that they admire or idolize perhaps online and they're like, "Oh my gosh, like that that person's life's amazing. I want to have that type of impact." And they they see the gap between where they are and where they want to be and there's like this uh dissonance in their mind like, "Oh my gosh, I could never be that person." I I'll I'll give you a chance to to share yours. But mine obviously I I lead at a community now and I have a YouTube channel and I speak in front of a lot of people. But if you go back to high school version of me, college version of me, you'd be like there is zero chance this guy is is going to speak in front of people. I will always remember my college uh introduction to public speaking class. Okay. First lesson is just a twominut speech about who you are. Who is Michael Frankie? And of course I'm thinking so much about this two.

[00:08:53]>> I run done work. [laughter] >> I run done. So I I spend so much time on this and I am so anxious about it and I get up there and I I I do the best I can and I am completely done after 51 seconds. There is nothing left to say.

[00:09:08][laughter] And anyway, I I I am at that moment I'm like, how on earth are we doing podcasts and are we speaking in front of people?

[00:09:16]But the Lord has his way and and he he helps you learn lessons and and do different things. And then I spoke in front of kids for seven hours a day as a teacher and got comfortable with it. And it's a stepping uh stone process to where he leads you where you want he wants you to be. I don't know if you feel like your life like that where it's like I I Bobby am not worthy. like how how have I gotten to where I am type of thing.

[00:09:41]>> Well, it it I think a couple uh points.

[00:09:44]It's line upon line, precept on precept.

[00:09:46]It's milk before meat. We read that in the scriptures. I'm not I I I was looking back just my time spending in the Boy Scouts. I'm like, "Oh my goodness, it's funny. 20 years serving with with youth and going on camps, they have helped develop me into the individual I am now and who I've become." And and so we don't come out of the womb this amazing you know billionaire u thrillionaire entrepreneur real estate mobile what I mean we see them out there right all these people none of us came out of the womb that way we all started and and it's a progression and that's the purpose we are here to learn we are here to grow we are here to challenge oursel and when we're comfortable we aren't progressing and that's one of the things when you start to feel like life is good that's when you get this little slap upside the head and and a change in direction where um and and I appreciate those moments.

[00:10:36]They're not fun. I don't ask for them. I don't say, "Lord, give me trials today."

[00:10:41]You know, it's life is hard enough and with family and health issues and you've got some challenges, you know, with children. And so, we don't ask for them, but we take them with faith and we move forward and we learn and we come become new creatures as we develop and grow.

[00:10:57]So, that's that's what I love about life. It's beautiful. And anybody complaining about how hard it is, I would say, you know what, it's the way it is for everyone. Life, when they say life isn't fair, I say it actually is because it's not fair for anyone.

[00:11:09]>> Yeah.

[00:11:09]>> Right. We all kind of have our challenges and we overcome and and conquer. So, >> and that kind of helps me segue.

[00:11:16]Obviously, we all have struggles in our life. Um, and that leads us to kind of our our topic. We both are in pre-forclosure and these people are going through the most difficult points in their life. What guided you to the pre-forclosure niche and why is that what you focus on above anything else?

[00:11:36]>> Um, you mentioned it. It's you're you're running into couples and families at the worst time of their life. I've seen everything and you have too. Death, uh, sickness, cancers. It's one of the sad saddest things you'll experience. And we can approach that with empathy and and help solve complex issues. I I don't know why I find value in taking a situation and and putting your arm around somebody just like the savior would put his arm around us and say, "You got this. You can do this." You know, the savior is never going to smack us upside the head and say, "You idiot, what what have you done?" [laughter] You know, but but there's encouraging there.

[00:12:11]There is some course correction. Hey, you're on the wrong path. Let me turn you around and head this way. that we possess a very unique skill set that that we've been training for 20 25 years through your teaching, instructing, learning to speak with students, the encoding, the decoding, um of communication, the art of sales. You know, it is an art and and we've combined that with our knowledge in in uh pre-forclosures instead of postforeclosures, which is really interesting. That's once the sale happens, the sheriff shows up, kicks them out of the home, and they're out on their head going, "What do I do?" And trying to put the pieces together. We offer that salvific um kind of uh bridge between where they are pre-foreclosure and a very, very soft bridge over to a landing spot that's still sometimes uncomfortable. They're losing a lot. You know, this house that I'm dealing with, a gentleman right now, been there 25 years. He and his wife have lived there.

[00:13:08]And um it's it's a sad situation, but we're able to help them navigate this situation with poise and as much grace as possible. That's why I love pre-forclosures.

[00:13:19]>> Yeah. And it's the same reason that that I got into it. I love serving these people and I was one of these people uh many years ago. So I so I understand how they feel and I kind of want to give back. But obviously uh between us, we've done a ton of deals. You've done many many hundreds if not thousands of deals.

[00:13:36]I've done the same. Uh during that period of time, you had experienced a lot of different problems with your deals and and challenges. Just so we don't come across as someone that's like deals are easy and and there's never any pitfalls. Like what were some of the biggest challenges you've faced that the audience could could take some value from?

[00:13:56]>> So there's two sides of this. Um I look back at the former me. What was one of my challenges getting in this this industry was information. Um, I'm I'm from back in the day again, late 1900s, where the MLS was a phone book, Michael.

[00:14:11]Really? I know it's funny because we're in this digital age and you've got a podcast. There was no podcast. If you had a microphone, you were a host for a radio station. That's it. Or a late night TV show host, right? Um, so we're we were dealing with some different technological disadvantages back then.

[00:14:28]Um, that that was one of the biggest challenges. The other is, ah, gosh, I don't have any money to do anything. Um, you see a lot of the marketing and advertising online right now. Get into real estate. Get into pre-forclosures.

[00:14:41]Need no money, need none of this, no education, no experience. You don't even need to put your clothes on in the morning. And and I'm okay there. Agree.

[00:14:50]But for every one of those things, I would say no money if you know somebody that has money. No experience if you've JVD with somebody that has been there, done that. because there are a lot of big pitfalls and quick sand and a lot of bear traps that you can put your foot into and one deal could be your last deal. That could be a bear trap that your leg is chopped off and you're done, you know. So, you I think looking back um the biggest mistakes early on is is not having data readily available to us.

[00:15:23]And that's something we actually have now or finding where do I find these individuals? Home's vacant. It's a zombie house. Where are they? Um, we now have skip tracing data. We have phone numbers, friends, family. I mean, everything at our fingertips. Where was that 20 years ago? Can you imagine if we had that 20, 25 years ago? Oh wow.

[00:15:42]>> Easy pickings. [laughter] >> Oh my goodness. That would have been so easy. But we had to do it the hard way.

[00:15:47]And and our kids have heard the stories.

[00:15:49]We're going to walk uphill both ways barefoot in snow, you know, but it truly was that way. It was really hard. So those those were some of the challenges.

[00:15:57]And then just a limiting mindset that I don't know anything. I really can't get into this business. Well, you you actually can if if you're a door knocker. Um there's a gentleman that knocked a door and made a lot of money.

[00:16:11]And we'll talk about that deal, you know, later in the conversation, but just by knocking on the door and and if that's your your thing, great. If you're a data person, there's there's a seat on the bus for every type of real estate investor.

[00:16:24]So speaking to that newbie type person or maybe even a an experienced investor that is is going through it right now with the change in in market, how do you feel like someone should move in this market? What should their actions be if it's like I just don't know what I should be doing next to get consistent deals? I've done maybe a few deals in the past, but I have no idea what to do.

[00:16:50]you, Bobby, knowing what you know over the years, what what should people be doing right now to get consistent deal flow, whether they're new or semi-experienced.

[00:17:00]>> So, so new, I would have different advice. Somebody wanting to get into the the business would be different than somebody that's dabbled and done a couple deals.

[00:17:06]>> Let's focus on newbies then.

[00:17:08]>> Okay. So, so brand new, I would say find a tribe, find a community, find people that are doing deals. I'm I'm a uh an active learner. So when I hear Michael Frankie talking about deals, you know, find you online and I hear you're doing deals, it what it does is resonates with me thinking, I can do that. I I could talk to that guy. Oh, he didn't have to get funding on that deal. He just knew somebody with money. Okay, so he's not a billionaire and he was able to do Oh, he's not a real estate agent. He was a math teacher. Okay, so I think hearing for a newbie, a community is valuable. I I love the niche community. It's a good humble group of people. And then there's a lot of lot of information. If you have a question about uh what to say on the phone when you call somebody for the first time, there's a script. You don't have to make it up. Um what do I text them? Well, here's a text. Do I want to use my own cell phone? Do I want to use a Google voice phone? Twilio. I mean, there's so much that you don't know that is available to you if you're brand new.

[00:18:05]And I would say get into a community, kind of look around, poke around, see if it's for you. And an easy place to start is making calls. That that's, you know, one of my favorite deals we'll talk about here in a minute. But just pick up the phone and try to get hold of somebody and having those conversations.

[00:18:22]And don't worry about perfection. Worry about participation. You know, are you actively doing something? Doing nothing isn't going to get you a deal. So, but but if you if you are um that's the biggest advice is find a community because it fills a lot of the gaps that you have when you're trying to build out a business. And don't start here's what I wouldn't do is start out by trying to boil the ocean. You don't need I mean you do need systems and processes before you start hiring crazily on people and ask people that have been before you you know what what they did, what worked, what didn't work. I like to know so that I don't do the same mistake you did. And I think you're the same way.

[00:19:03]>> I think uh this kind of goes back to what we talked about earlier about kind of a stairstep approach to where it takes time as an entrepreneur to build a business. And I think sometimes we compare ourselves as a newbie to someone doing a hundred deals a year and it's like, oh my gosh, the thought of that is completely overwhelming, but we just need to take it step by step by step.

[00:19:23]And to me, sometimes the first step is is just straight up belief that that this can be done. So, Bobby, I'd like you to kind of paint a picture of maybe your favorite deal that you've done and pre-forclosure. That way, you can kind of paint a picture of what this situation is, how much money you made, how you impacted the seller, all all that.

[00:19:43]>> I I actually have a spreadsheet, so I'm telling truth on this, but I I want to make one comment. It's kind of interesting. There's a gentleman in your community. He is on his fourth deal and they're not small deals. And he claims he's a doorner. I'm like, "Dude, you're the most expensive paid door [laughter] knocker in the history of doornockers, but he's good. He knows how to talk to people and he's got a VA finding deals."

[00:20:05]You know, it's so it is possible. And I keep scratching my head going, he just found another really good deal. Oh my goodness, he just found another one. But it's using your data. I mean, that's that's I think the secret sauce. And then this belief system that he has that he can do it and and he's going to do.

[00:20:20]he's going to succeed and he's finding deal after deal. Um, favorite deal. So, I would say the uh 15second world tour started in real estate, did so many transactions, was number one in the west, number four in the nation for gross closed units in real estate. Um, I hated real estate before the crash. I never wanted to see another real estate deal. I didn't want you calling me to say, "I've got a home I need to see at 7 at night." I was just in the throws of building a family. was a buyer agent for three years and and and I was doing a lot of properties and actually developed I was serving on the planning commission. So I I knew city government.

[00:20:57]I knew how to take raw entitled land um you know and take it through and that was fun to put all your names the kids of your kids' names on the streets which every newbie developer does when they do a subdivision. But this I I had that as a a basis for my experience. So, I have to caveat the story with that. Jumped out after the crash, built company, you know,.com company with some buddies and sold it, made some good money, and now getting back into real estate. Um, I I literally thought, Michael, okay, I'm I'm too young to retire. Uh, I have a little bit of money that I can invest, having sold a company, and what do I want to do? So, I started looking at YouTube videos and seeing how they were doing things. and and I jumped on the county records and I thought, I wonder if my old tactics from many many moons ago would work. I searched the the notice of defaults, found a home, found it had equity, it was local. Okay, now how do you find the people? You know, didn't skip trace it, found their names, Googled, called the husband, didn't answer, called the wife, all of a sudden picks up hello. And I'm like, I I literally have a live body on the end of this, you know, the line. This is crazy.

[00:22:06]And what I ended up doing was um just saying, "Look, I'm an investor. I've invested all over the country. I'm local. I would love to help your family and and see if we can explore some options that might be available to saving your home." And I went through, you know, the five options that we all do. Can you do a loan mod? No. The husband hasn't worked for two years, has no money. Um, you know, reinstatement, doesn't have any family that have any money. So, I went through all the options with them and looked at their scenario. They had two kids and I thought, "This is sad." And this was the first deal getting back into this. So, I said, "Look, I I I I can help and I I have the ability to do that." They had a first and I just pulled this was a deal um I pulled up the numbers. It was a 3.25% about 209,000 on the first. The second was and they were about 32,000 behind on the first. They didn't have that kind of money. A second was 34,000. So right there your 64,000 and then a partial claim HUD loan. They didn't tell me about 42,000 until we were right about ready to close. You know that that kind of reared its ugly head. But I I looked at the first, sent the money, reinstated the first. And why do we do that? So that we can buy ourselves some time.

[00:23:19]That stopped the foreclosure. The second was a local bank for 34,000 and they were 9,000 in a rears. So I thought, okay, I can pay the 9,000 and I still have a balance of 34,000 or just go pay it off. I'm like, uh, so I just went paid it off. Um, they also had HOA leans which were about 8,000. So all in I was about 83,891.78, >> okay? [laughter] Not to be exact or anything.

[00:23:48]>> I just want to give real numbers so you're not made all all investors are liars. Yeah, they make up their numbers, but that's exactly what it was uh after I ran the analysis. But they were about 83. So I I bailed them out and I gave them some money, >> took my son over. It was super fun working with my son. We painted, we cleaned the backyard. It was a hoarder house. Um newer house, really nice, really big. And it was just interesting.

[00:24:11]Uh you know, pulling some of the clothes, two, three inches of clothes off the floor, I realized the carpet's actually in really good shape cuz nothing's touched it. Three inches of clothes were. So all in um I was about 83. I got my money back and I made I walked with seven $75,080.

[00:24:31]>> So 75 grand if we're going to round down. Um that was the first time I got back into this Michael and I said I really like this. This is fun now because it's on my terms and I know I have a skill set that I possess and how to do it. And this was doing it all manually.

[00:24:47]And then I found systems and processes. these people like you existed out there that had processes and systems and all these things that made it so much easier to find deals like that. Finding a deal is the hardest thing once you find it. The second hardest thing is what do I do? And and so that's why I tell people if you're new um bring deals to people, partner with people in the community and and lean on their expertise until you do a deal two, three, and then you can say thank you. I know everything there is to know about real estate, right? I mean, that's what most people think. They do a couple and and they're pros now. But and then go do your own. But that's that's uh that was one of my favorite deals because I got to work on it with my son, helped a family that literally was local and you know, didn't do too bad on it and I didn't have any partners on it. So I'm like, okay, this is this is really cool.

[00:25:37]>> Couple questions about that one. One, for those that like obviously you got out of real estate, you were getting back into real estate. A lot of people want to know like how much activity is required for me to get a deal. Now, you came in with some knowledge from from prior real estate world, but do you remember it's been a minute since that deal, but do you remember about how many people you went down the list on the notice of default and you were reaching out to before these folks? Do you do you remember that at all? Um, what's interesting about this is I pulled up the local attorney and they had a big list and I just wanted to find something close and then I would search to see if it had equity and this was actually one of the first 5 10 you know deals that I looked at and was analyzing and and this is more of an anomaly because it does take some time. It takes a lot of door knocks, a lot of calls. I think that's the myth that these real estate coaches, uh, you know, purport that, hey, join tomorrow and by next week you've got $900,000 from not lifting a finger and two hours of work in between commercials. You know, I'm like, that's not how you do it.

[00:26:45]>> But but I mean, this was this was an anomaly, but it was within the first five to 10 leads that I was going through manually.

[00:26:53]>> Yeah. Well, and it's interesting. It it was the same case for me many years ago.

[00:26:57]completely broke, nothing going for me in terms of of real estate. And my story is I my my wife kicked me in the butt one like we're broke. What are you doing sitting here? Uh so credit to Melanie.

[00:27:09]Good good on you for getting me out [laughter] there. But I looked on my phone, looked at Zillow, and there were foreclosure leads on on Zillow. Not great data, but it was there. And one of them happened to be a half mile away. I went and knocked it and was scared out of my mind. I'm pretty sure like they say that your heart rate can only be 220 minus your age. That that did not apply here. We were well north of that. And I I went and knocked it and within a couple of weeks I assigned that thing for 50 grand. I'm like I don't even understand what I >> what you just did.

[00:27:42]>> I I have no idea what I just did. So and then the next the next one I I >> Wait before you go on the next one. How did you assign Did you know somebody doing real estate or how did you decide?

[00:27:53]>> I didn't even know what an assignment was. This is how how green I was. Okay, so I I go in. This was my first time talking to a real seller. Before that, my deals were were MLS deals with realtors. Okay, so I I didn't even know how to fill out contracts. I didn't know how to talk to seller, but I just went into the house. I came back the next day once they agreed. I'm like, "Oh my gosh, I had to fill out a purchase agreement.

[00:28:15]I don't even know how to do that." So, I found some cheap thing on the internet.

[00:28:19]I don't even know if it was right for my state, but we filled it out. And then I'm like, "Oh my gosh, I just I just filled out a purchase agreement for 150 grand. I I have no money. How How am I going to do that?" So, I called a title company that we'd used before, Kansas City Title, that we'd bought some houses before. And I'm like, "So, I have this house under contract. I don't really have the money to buy it. Is there any way that if I find someone else that can pay more that I can just have them buy it and I collect the difference?" And they're like, "Oh, that's an assignment contract." And I'm like, "Great. What is that?" And then they they sent it [laughter] over.

[00:28:57]>> I'd like to order one assignment contract.

[00:28:59]>> Order one assignment contract, please.

[00:29:01]And and I'm pretty sure that the lady like helped me fill it out when I ended up finding this buyer. It was remarkable. I I was completely green, guys. And and the Lord had his hand on it. And >> that is fascinating.

[00:29:14]>> But the reality was I didn't know anything on on this particular deal. and I the Lord provided and many of you are going to experience the same type of thing.

[00:29:25]>> It's fascinating cuz those first deals kind of ruin you. Um you get an assignment you're like this is this is really easy. Is your is your preference the assignment or do you like to take down because you avoided for for those that are new you avoided having to help a homeowner move from point A to point B. you kind of sold the whole problem or issue or challenge to another investor that had to solve a series of problems.

[00:29:51]If it wasn't vacant, it's where does the family go? If you know, where does the stuff go? Storage unit. I mean, we we do a lot of that where we'll help uh I don't assign a ton. I do, you know, some Novation hybrids, some hotels, things like that. But we're helping the homeowner move out. I want to make sure that they are not falling on their face and that their stuff is going to a storage facility and that we have a moving company move their stuff out so that it gets done on time all while trying to beat this grim reaper deadline of of a trustee sale coming up and if you reinstate there's paperwork you need. So you you did none of that and you made 50 grand. That's phenomenal.

[00:30:30]>> So at the very beginning I I didn't know any of those skills. It was way too early on. We didn't even know how to fill out purchase agreements. So that's why I I want to illustrate to you guys that if you have the right heart for this and the right grit and you're able to go do the work, you don't need to know all the ninja skills. Leave that to someone like like Bobby and I bring bring us a deal and we can JV on it and take care of that and you can get paid and learn at the same time. But on this one, I I just assigned it. And for the first year or two, that's basically how how I operated. And then I was sharing all this stuff online and was like, "Hey, look, I'm doing all these deals."

[00:31:08]And that's when my private money lenders started coming in. They were like, "Oh, we see that you're doing deals. This is kind of cool." Like, "How how can I be involved with that?" I didn't I I didn't even think about buying houses. Other people approached me. They wanted to invest. So then we started using their money. We started buying the houses. And that's when the new problems started happening. Like, "Oh, there's people still in the house. I need to have them move. move. I need to get different contacts for for this that and the other. And these skills just stacked over time.

[00:31:39]>> It's just interesting though as your skills developed, you also attracted people into your ecosystem without soliciting that. And that's that's naturally what happens. I I promise anyone that has a deal with equity, I I look for anything with cash flow. So, if you're cash flowing, I like it. If it's got lots of equity in it, I like it. Or a low entry fee, I like it. If you are one that possesses any one of those three and you bring it to somebody like a Michael, myself, anybody in this industry, um it's extremely easy to find money for deals.

[00:32:13]>> Oh yeah. I mean there's this there's this cons or different people online that will teach well before you do deals or get a contract, you need to have lending in place and you need to have buyers in place. And I'm like but the important part is the deal. So, I I go get a contract or a contract on something and I just threw this particular deal out that I explained on Facebook back at the time and I was just absolutely mobbed with people. And you guys have experienced the same thing, I'm sure. So, don't feel like you have to put all these things in place and the perfect storm have to arise for you to get a deal. Just go get the deal. It it'll work out.

[00:32:51]>> I agree. It's it's fascinating. I mean, Field of Dreams, you build it, they'll come. you get something under contract that has any one of those three, they will come. It's not hard to put the rest of it together, even if you know nothing.

[00:33:02]>> So, I know that it some of you haven't done your first deal. Bobby and I wanted to share some of our first deals. That way, you can kind of get in on this, but now we want to go on a home run type deal example. I hear through the grapevine, Bobby, that you and and a few other niche community members just pulled down a 500k or so whopper of a profit. Is this is this true? And if so, tell us about it.

[00:33:33]>> This is true.

[00:33:35]Um, so it was a very complex transaction. I will say there was a probate situation that needed to be remedied. um the rightful heir wasn't on title and we actually had to petition the courts to get him designated as the the rightful heir. There was a big challenge with that property and this is this is where you got to be careful and have a little experience. Um we worked with a group uh that I had to work with a group that was trying to be appointed as the administrator and so I had to buy them out. this was an attorney had to buy out uh moving the homeowner out um you know into an extended stay light rehab on the home. So there were some challenges and a ticking time bomb that was happening you know trustee cell coming up but um it is true uh 500 grand was was shared between some niche community members and it was a beautiful day I didn't find the deal it was brought to me we had help from wonderful community members uh they were paid out of the deal the homeowner so this is what this is what I love about the business Michael what I had in contract and and how I tied this individual show up, they would have made a lot less. I paid them a lot more. Um, he walked with I won't tell how much, but north of 500,000 on the deal, which was far more than what I agreed uh to pay him. And and it feels good to do that. He had life goals. He's, you know, the wife had passed away. He just didn't get what he needed to done in 11 years. Took a little long to do that, but was just distraught. And had this gone to trustee cell, um, he could have gone after surplus funds, which is an option, but he literally would have walked with a couple hundred thousand. I ran the numbers for him. And that was his strategy. And this individual that founded in the community, just super optimistic, positive, sat him down and said, "Bro, this is there's a better option. We got a better plan." And then he called me up and I was on a date with my wife and he's like, "Emergency, emergency. I've got a guy, you know, that needs to to chat." I'm like, "Great. Let's get it set And then we had a call the next day, had a whole audience of people that I didn't know were going to be there, but they were there. And you know, this individual, I'm like, he's he's making it happen.

[00:35:45]He's finding deals. It's weird. Um, and and I said, "Lightning strikes once."

[00:35:49]Well, lightning struck twice. And then a third time. And now a fourth time. He's out knocking a door on a house again.

[00:35:56]And I'm just like, "Dude, hold up. Hold up. Do you want to retire? You're going to spoil yourself because this business is hard, but he's not making it look hard is the problem." So, I have I have two follow-up questions for this deal.

[00:36:09]One, you mentioned giving the seller more money than they were supposed to get.

[00:36:15]>> Why would you do that?

[00:36:18]>> Uh, it's the right thing to do. It's it's their equity. Um, and in some situations where you've got evil, you know, sellers are they'll lie to you. I get taken advantage of by some sellers and you've got to involve attorneys and I hate attorneys, you know, for all those that are attorneys. Hope you're a good one because most of them just uh they're they're not not that great. But um we paid more because you feel good about doing that and and negotiate. If I wanted to stick it to him, um it's a different way to do business. I'm I'm a big believer, Michael, we will not pull up to the pearly gates with a U-Haul van attached to our, you know, fancy car and and we leave everything here. So, they are material possessions. he had hopes and dreams and and we want to help our sellers accomplish those hopes and dreams too. Now, you have to have contractual um you know understanding on how things need to be done. I will lean properties, do a note and a deed on a property and then the title company will send a demand letter to me to say, "Hey, we have a note indeed that you loan this money. What is the demand?" And I can I can say more or less. I had it quite a bit higher than what um I needed. so that I don't have to do a new note indeed when I'm reinstating because sometimes they're 150 grand. I've got one that beautiful house in Texas 150,000 and then I closed on it cuz we wanted control so another 30. So I I'm into that 170. Another one we did in California was 140. So sometimes you do have these larger out-of- pocket expenses. you want to protect yourself, lean the property, and and when they called me, I we had we had a one-on-one with the homeowner and said, "Hey, this has been a a, you know, tough process.

[00:38:00]Here's all the bills." I showed him the spreadsheet. Here's who's getting paid out of this deal. He was saying, "Why did they do anything? They didn't do anything." It was interesting to hear him call him out. And I said, "But it's the right thing to do. They did help."

[00:38:11]and and everybody had a key part to this process and they need to be compensated.

[00:38:16]But it was fun giving him more than what I contractually needed to give him based on my note and deed and my release of that note and deed so the new buyer could close. And I know you've done that a ton of times. Sometimes it's not about the money, you know, um when they're vacant and you put a bunch of money into them, knock yourself out. But when you're dealing with a human, try not to be uh greedy and take advantage.

[00:38:40]>> Yeah. And I I give that a term. I call it emotional income, right? So, all of us are trying to do deals. We're we're trying to to to move the needle in our bank account. And after you've done a ton of deals, the money is still okay, but it's just kind of digits ticking around in in your your bank account. And there's something that becomes almost more satisfying. At least for me at this point, when I close a deal and there's money, that that's cool. That's great.

[00:39:05]But if I can serve a seller and truly impact them and and make a difference in their life, that is more satisfying to to me than than most anything else.

[00:39:14]>> It is getting the money. I I think coming from a position of desperation, you know, I think you look at money differently when you're not looking at it from that position or worried about.

[00:39:24]So So I empathize, you know, when it's just like I got to get a deal or my wife's going to make me quit doing this business altogether. We've seen those people, too. Um but but when you're in a position where you can look at the human differently, look at the process differently and realize it's transactional, you want a relationship there, but there's going to be another deal. Foreclosures are up 24 2024 to 2025. They were up depending on what stat you look at about 24%. 25 to 26 um 25 26%. Fascinating. And they're on the rise. So it's it's something that's not going away. Um there are laws in different states that you know don't really allow wholesaling and you know we're we're a little different. I know you've started doing deals on the bigger stage but I've closed properties all over the country and will continue to do so. I wish I could do more in my own backyard. starting to buy and hold more here. But, uh, you know, for people that are starting out, a, be the best at what you're doing in your area, or b, get on the phone and it doesn't matter. If you've got a phone number, you can be on a boat on vacation calling homeowners.

[00:40:30]It doesn't matter what state you're in and bring a deal to the table. And I'm I'm proof of that. The last couple years, we've done millions and millions of dollars in in transactions and in homes uh, and helped a lot of families.

[00:40:43]And that's what I love the most. It's not about the money because it is. You get your money, you're like me, whatever. Um, but you do every single story is so cool. I had I had speaker on with my son and a lady was crying. She's like, thank you so much for helping us and this is an amazing, incredible, you know, thing you do for people and and and we do it a little different. I don't wholesale, you know, I try to give the majority of the equity to the homeowner.

[00:41:06]Um, that's my goal. Uh, and depending on how much cash outlay and capital and, you know, problems with the property, every deal is different, but for the most part, it's such a a invigorating and fulfilling business to be involved in. I love it. Well, I know you're you're a busy man. You probably got about 14 misseller calls while we've been on here, but if you could [laughter] if you could leave the audience with just one piece of Bobby the bank whisperer advice, what what would be the one thing you would would leave them with?

[00:41:40]>> You know, I I would say two things.

[00:41:42]Number one, um, every foreclosure has a family behind it. Um, lead with empathy. You got to lead with empathy. It's got to be part of who you are. educate homeowners on the process, what they're going through, what are their options, and and the business will follow. Um, that's the first thing I would say is your approach to them. The second, you got to have systems and processes. Unless you want to do one or two deals a year, which is great. That's some people it might be a side hustle.

[00:42:10]If you want this to be your primary hustle, you cannot scale without processes, without systems. And and that's one of the things that I am so grateful that that Michael has spent the millions of dollars that I didn't want to spend to create processes that go and pull data that that I can go through. I can sort by equity. This is fascinating.

[00:42:33]I couldn't do this a while ago. And I can pick the areas that I want to work, the people I want to work with, and then organize that data in a CRM. That that did not exist until the last few years.

[00:42:45]everyone had a little piece of that process, but this ecosystem. Um, you know, I got to give a shout out to Nichch and what you've built and the money that you've invested, but more importantly, the sacrifice from your family, uh, the hours that you put in. I I've been there, you know, building a company and it's hard and you're away from family and it's like you're trying to trade, you know, your time for money and help others and what you've built is amazing that it's all in one location. I don't have to go to the county records anymore and I don't have to look for phone numbers. Everything is given to me. So, we now hire some VAS, five, six bucks an hour and they smile and dial and it's incredible. It's incredible what we can do now. Um, and so I I would advise anybody looking, join a community. There's a lot of communities out there. Be careful uh on which communities you're looking at because there's a lot of marketing and advertising. I love niche because it is it's the real deal. people in there doing deals and are just good good people. So, thank you for what you've done.

[00:43:43]>> Well, thank you for the kind words. Uh guys, if you're interested in joining the community with people like me and and Bobby and others across the country that have a heart for serving sellers on Niche List. There's a a link down below.

[00:43:56]You can go check that out. But Bobby, thanks for hanging out, man. Appreciate you coming on.

[00:44:00]>> So fun chatting. Good to good to be with you today.

[00:44:03]>> All right. Later, brother.

[00:44:04]>> Thank you.