Land Academy Member Richard Alberty Interview (CFFL 407)

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Land Academy Member Richard Alberty Interview (CFFL 407)

Land Academy Member Richard Alberty Interview (CFFL 407)

Recording Location: LAT (i.e.  33.838781)  (LONG i.e.  -118.391261)

Jack Butala:                       Jack and Jill. How are you?

Jill DeWit:                           Hello.

Richard:                              I’m doing good. How are you guys doing?

Jack Butala:                       Excellent. Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast.

Richard:                              It’s my pleasure.

Jack Butala:                       Thank you for being flexible because I think we must have scheduled something incorrectly on our end. I guess that’s what you can do when you have your own business, right?

Richard:                              Well, when you have your own business, you sit in front of the computer and work. The best part is you can work from anywhere in the world, so you can’t complain.

Jill DeWit:                           Exactly. Exactly, so thank you again for being here. If you would, first, share with us and all of our listeners a little bit about your background and where you come from.

Richard:                              Well, I grew up in New York, moved to Miami many, many years ago. I was in the insurance business, an employee benefits consulting business. I got involved indirectly with a friend who had a son, who was getting into real estate, and I had another friend who was selling some properties. I just asked my friend, “Hey, you mind if I make a couple dollars on this?” He goes, “No. If you can sell it, I’ll pay you.” Then I got my real estate license and all then I bought a piece of property for 40, sold it for 80. I said, “Well, this is pretty easy.” Then I bought another parcel for 40 and sold it to 80 to another guy.

Before I know it, I got into a satellite system and started looking for properties, vacant land. I found a nice parcels or multiple parcels in the east coast of Florida. I’m sorry, in the west coast of Florida. I started flipping those properties in 2004-5-6-7, buying them for seven grand, selling for 12 grand. Then I went to the county, got a database. You know how the nightmare that could be and the database they give you at the hodgepodge.

Jill DeWit:                           Totally.

Richard:                              Then you want to break everything down. You want to keep the first letter capital, and then breakdown the others into lowercase. That’s another learning curve, but that’s how I started. It’s been about, wow, 10-11 years now.

Jill DeWit:                           Awesome.

Jack Butala:                       Yeah.

Jill DeWit:                           What brought you to us? It sounds like you had a good going.

Richard:                              It was good. In 2007-8-9, we were selling properties in South Carolina. Probably sold about 140-150 properties then and then everything, as you know, slowed down and it wasn’t easy. I started thinking about, “What am I going to do? Is the party over?” I realized I missed the boat. It was probably the best time to be involved in the business. I thought to stay in … Let me look what I used to do and get back into the real estate. Finding like-minded people in this land niche is almost impossible.

Jack Butala:                       Yeah, I agree.

Richard:                              I was one of your original five callers about 18 months ago.

Jack Butala:                       Yup. I remember.

Richard:                              Five listeners. I think I was number four. I was glad I found you and I listen to you every day. Just being around like-minded people and getting ideas, and getting motivated, and realizing it’s a perfect business. It’s inventory, you’re pushing paper. You don’t have to carry inventory. You don’t have to buy from a manufacturer or sell to somebody on terms and wait. If you were buying and selling copy paper, you keep it for a certain price, you turn around wait 60-90 days for terms. This is a business that you can do it from anywhere in the world and make good money.

Jack Butala:                       I had a former employee a long time ago say to me, she said, “You figured out how to buy dirt and ship paper.”

Richard:                              It totally is.

Jack Butala:                       Which is pretty amazing when you think about it and now with computers, you’re really not shipping anything. Once in a while, and that’s it. Yeah, aside from the insurance business, which I personally can’t stand, but it is a great business model.

Richard:                              I saw the writing on the wall. I know the government is going to get involved and my commissions were at 15% to 7% to 3% to 1%. Now, it is chasing my tail.

Jack Butala:                       Right.

Jill DeWit:                           Wow.

Jack Butala:                       I love how you can accumulate inventory and just sell it where you need to and when you need to and there’s just no inventory management. Yeah, I haven’t thought about this in a long time, Jill. We talked about that for a while go, because we were dealing with mostly people who were brand new in the business. Now, it’s the opposite. Now, it’s guys like Richard.

Jill DeWit:                           True. Like Richard. Yeah. You already know. Yeah, you’ve been in it for a while.

Jack Butala:                       Right. Yeah. I haven’t really thought back that far in quite some time about how good we have it. All I do is worry about IT problems now.

Jill DeWit:                           Exactly, which reminds me of a number of our members that are under the radar, that know exactly what they’re doing. There’s some tweaks that they needed like the data. We all know that this is the best way to get it, and the mailer discounts, we all need that. Then you’re off there, Richard and we love it. You’re killing it, and so it’s fun for us to get to talk to you today and see just really what’s going on.

Richard:                              Well, I’m excited to speak with you guys and share my experience with others. Because if there’s anybody on the fence that’s … A lot of people got downsized to the depression that we are … this recession that we went through in the past seven years and I think we’re coming out in the last two years. If anyone’s on the fence thinking, “What am I going to do?” I’ve gone through all the real estate courses, and short sales, and flipping, and buying, and selling homes. 90% of it is just old news. It’s old way of doing business. You guys were straightforward, honest and since I had a background, I can tell if something was right and everything was on point. Not only was it on point, but it made it better. I thought I knew and I knew half of it, but you guys brought in the new sense that made it so much easier.

Jill DeWit:                           Thank you.

Jack Butala:                       That’s a great compliment. Thank you, Richard. Especially from somebody with  experience like you.

Jill DeWit:                           Thank you.

Richard:                              It really made a big difference to me. I listen to you every day. My frustration with you is, when I listen to the podcast and it’s not working.

Jack Butala:                       Really?

Richard:                              Yeah. I’m settling down, my kids are asleep, you know? It’s my time, put on my headphones and there’s something going on, either with my app or something. I was like, “Oh, I got to wait.”

Jack Butala:                       Now, Jill knows that once in a while I’m late posting the podcast. She didn’t know until just now.

Jill DeWit:                           It’s probably not you, Richard.

Richard:                              Okay. No, I’ll take the blame.

Jack Butala:                       Along the lines of what you’re saying, Jill and I did a live event recently and somebody walked up to me and said, “You guys filled a niche that no one’s filled.” I said, “I know this for all land thing,” and they said, “No, you’re just honest about stuff.” I said, “Wow. That’s true.”

Jill DeWit:                           That’s the key.

Jack Butala:                       People just want the truth. They don’t want to get sold a bunch of crap.

Richard:                              When you’re tight on your money and you have enough money, you need to put it to something, you need to reinvest in your … You’re maybe in your 40s, 50s and ready to look for a new career. There’s so much out there that’s just not true, then with your system and the way you put it out there. It’s like Tim Ferriss, he gives you all the information. This is what it is and you’re successful with it by being honest.

Jack Butala:                       Yeah. Exactly.

Jill DeWit:                           That’s it. That’s it.

Jack Butala:                       For your work … Use it for our work week.

Jill DeWit:                           Mm-hmm (affirmative). That’s exactly who that is. I love it.

Jack Butala:                       He’s got a show too, I think.

Jill DeWit:                           Does he?

Jack Butala:                       Yeah.

Jill DeWit:                           He does have a podcast, doesn’t he? Is it a once a week? I don’t even know. I’ll have to check it out.

Jack Butala:                       Do you know, Richard?

Richard:                              I think it’s about four times a week.

Jill DeWit:                           Okay. Well, good for him.

Jack Butala:                       Yeah.

Jill DeWit:                           That’s so cool. Richard, we’re on it. We just passed 400.

Jack Butala:                       Yeah.

Jill DeWit:                           Isn’t that crazy?

Richard:                              What do you mean 400?

Jack Butala:                       400 episodes.

Richard:                              Yeah. I’ll tell you, I’ve been here about 18 months. It’s  about that many days. You guys putting out before was seven days. I was like, “Oh my God, that’s a lot of work.” I don’t have time to put all my engineering, all my pictures together, much less talk on the phone for a scheduled period of time every day.

Jill DeWit:                           I love it. Our friends still look at us and go, “What the heck do you guys have to talk about? Aren’t you out of stuff to talk about?” We’re like, “Oh no.”

Jack Butala:                       Like, “How complicated is it? You should have been done about 390 shows ago.”

Jill DeWit:                           Exactly. That’s so good. I love it.

Richard:                              No, you guys are awesome and very entertaining. You always channel that one nugget, that one nugget every day that makes a difference.

Jill DeWit:                           Thank you.

Richard:                              At the very least, it’s the motivation, like when you’re thinking you’re failing and you’re like, “Man, this is right?” Then you listen to the success stories and you’re like “Yeah, I can do this. This is easy. It really is easy.”

Jack Butala:                       It really is.

Richard:                              It’s one step at a time. One foot in front of the next and you’ll get there. Anyone who’s thinking about it, just don’t eat it all at one time, just take little bits. If it takes you six months, who cares? Education takes time.

Jack Butala:                       Yup. Right.

Jill DeWit:                           That’s good advice.

Jack Butala:                       I just got off the phone with a guy who did a consulting call, Jill.

Jill DeWit:                           Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jack Butala:                       He’s got a commercial real estate background. He’s know his taxes inside and out. I’m sure he’s going to hear this because he listens to the show. He was just really concerned. He’s like, “I’m ready to launch this thing. There’s this, this, and this that I’m real concerned about.” In fact, it would have been more appropriate for him to talk to you than me.

Jill DeWit:                           Really?

Jack Butala:                       Next time, I’ll pull you in.

Jill DeWit:                           Okay.

Jack Butala:                       He’s going to knock it out of the park. You know how we say, you got to have these five things to really … if you really want to make sure you’re going to do this properly, you hit all five.

Jill DeWit:                           Okay. Good.

Jack Butala:                       Experienced. He’s owned a company. He owns a company now, doing some other stuff.

Jill DeWit:                           He has funds.

Jack Butala:                       Yeah. He’s got the money. He’s got the money lined up.

Jill DeWit:                           That’s the same as Richard, too.

Jack Butala:                       Exactly. Yeah. That’s why I bring it up.

Jill DeWit:                           That’s the way we’ve gotten better too, Richard. Now, I talk to people still wanting to get in our world and have a lot of questions. I’m even more honest with them now because really, I can take a step back and I can look at … You checked all the boxes, Richard. You have some experience, you know what you’re doing a little bit. You don’t tell a lot, but you get it. You have the funds. You pretty much owned you’re own business. This firm …

Richard:                              Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jill DeWit:                           There’s a lot of things that we already know that sets … Those people will be able to do this. I’m getting even better at telling people, “Please, don’t.” I have to tell people, “Gosh, I get you’re excited and motivated and you want to do this. But until you have the funds to really do this or until you … You can’t be afraid of data.” That’s a big one actually, too. People who’ve come to us, they’re like, “What’s Excel?” “Oh no, this is not going to work for you.”

Richard:                              Well, listen, it takes time. When I started with computers it was a green screen and a little thing blinking, you know?

Jill DeWit:                           Right.

Jack Butala:                       Me too. Basically we’re the same age.

Jill DeWit:                           Yeah. You have to learn. You have to get through that stuff and do all your work and there you go. It’s great. We’re here to … Richard, we’re here to guide but not hold everyone’s hand all the way. It’s impossible and they won’t succeed. They have to have some gumption.

Jack Butala:                       What’s your advice, Richard? What do you think?

Richard:                              My advice is you can … I talk to people, “What do you do?” You don’t have to go into this long discourse about how it works and what do you do because it’s so unique, but they look at you sideways. If you say a deed, they’re like, “Ohh. Oh, wow.” Like it’s rocket science. If you just look at it and you read it, it’s really not a big deal. You can’t tell someone who’s motivated anything wrong. They’re going to succeed, but the person who’s looking for excuses is guaranteed to fail because they’ve already concluded they can’t. If you can’t, that is the truth, you can’t. Saying you can and how just takes effort.

Whatever you don’t know as far as computers, Excel, Word, copy and pasting, and using graphics, there is this thing called YouTube. You can learn more on YouTube in that little stuff. The knowledge, you guys can provide the knowledge. How to work the computers, just take 15 minutes every day on YouTube. There’s plenty of channels you can learn things on.

Jack Butala:                       I live in YouTube for everything.

Richard:                              Me too. I think I learned more on YouTube than I did in junior college.

Jack Butala:                       Yeah, me too.

Jill DeWit:                           Right?

Jack Butala:                       I wish they had that when I was in school.

Richard:                              Oh, yeah.

Jack Butala:                       Without the ability to film myself, because that’s not good. That wouldn’t have been good for me at that age.

Richard:                              What business in the world that you could triple your money? What business? If you do 12% on the real estate market, you’re a genius. 15%, you’re a god. 20%, people are looking at you sideways. When you tell people, “I buy it for a hundred and I sell it for 300. I buy it for 500 and I sell it for 1,500. I buy it for 10,000, sell it for 30,000.”

Jack Butala:                       Exactly, and it’s not just … You can look at the stock market, you can line it up against a lot of other stuff. In the end, what pushed me over the edge was the fact that it’s all variable cost and no fixed cost. I don’t need to go buy a factory to figure this out. I can do it at the end of my bed if I need to for the first part of it anyway to accumulate some money.

Jill DeWit:                           Exactly.

Jack Butala:                       That’s what I love about it.

Jill DeWit:                           Totally. Tell us about some deals you have going on right now. Anything cool?

Richard:                              What’s going on [crosstalk 00:13:48]. I jumped the Mississippi River and I used to buy my properties on the east coast. Now, I jumped to the west coast.

Jill DeWit:                           Cool.

Richard:                              I actually grabbed my family. We rented a motor home. We went from Los Angeles to Vegas to southern Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico. I said, “Yup, I’m coming by, I’m getting home.” I’m researching this area. It’s beautiful out there.

Jack Butala:                       Awesome.

Richard:                              I like doing that four state, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado areas. There’s just beautiful mountains and so I’m buying properties. I’m listening to you guy, what’s hot, what people are looking for, five acres or more. Five, 10, to 40 acre parcels. I even have 440 acre parcel that I purchased and broken down into 40 acre parcels and making offers.

Jack Butala:                       That’s awesome.

Richard:                              Making offers, doing some research, seeing what the prices are. Like you say, go to LandWatch, go to Land and Farm, and find out what half is. You got to pick it up for less than half, at a quarter of that price to sell it at half.

Jack Butala:                       It’s not hard, is it?

Richard:                              It’s not. Research to me is the easiest part. It’s actually one of the parts I enjoy. I’m like you, Jack. I really don’t want to talk to a lot of people. This should sell itself. Don’t make me sell it to you. It’s so cheap, how can you not want it?

Jack Butala:                       Right. Well said.

Richard:                              By copying, pasting, putting the graphics together, that’s time-consuming me. Like you said, it can take a day.

Jack Butala:                       Yeah. Wow, you do listen to the show.

Richard:                              I do.

Jack Butala:                       Subdividing like you described, breaking down the properties like that, that’s my thing. How has your experience been with that?

Richard:                              I’ve been lucky, because I purchased 440 acres, which had three APN numbers. 140 had an APN, Assessor Parcel Number. Two … An 80 had an assessor and then the other nine acre or nine parcels had one tax assessor number. I called up the assessor and asked her, “Do you mind if I subdivide these into 40s?” She says, “Yeah, no problem.”

Jill DeWit:                           Wow.

Richard:                              I asked her, “Well, is there a fee? Do I have to fill out an application?” She’s just, “No, I’ll do it in the next two weeks.”

Jack Butala:                       Oh my gosh.

Jill DeWit:                           Wow.

Richard:                              I said, “Do I have to send you a check?” She says, “No. It’s no problem.”

Jill DeWit:                           Did you send her flowers?

Jack Butala:                       Oh my god.

Jill DeWit:                           Or brownies or something?

Jack Butala:                       Wow.

Richard:                              I’ve been meaning to go out there to look at the property. When I go out there, I’ll stop in for sure, bring some cookies.

Jill DeWit:                           Yeah.

Richard:                              It was stupid easy. I didn’t have to do anything.

Jill DeWit:                           That’s your new best friend.

Richard:                              Oh, yeah.

Jack Butala:                       Never tell anybody where that is or don’t ever talk about that again.

Richard:                              What? Believe me. It’s like poker. Everyone in this business kind of keep their cards close to their chest, they want to reveal everything.

Jack Butala:                       Yeah.

Richard:                              Their little niche, their little corner of the world.

Jill DeWit:                           Wow.

Jack Butala:                       I can honestly say I cannot top that story.

Jill DeWit:                           That’s amazing.

Richard:                              You made my day, man.

Jill DeWit:                           That’s one of those no one would believe.

Jack Butala:                       Yeah. Jill, I was going to say the exact same thing.

Jill DeWit:                           You walk around telling people that, they’re not going to believe you.

Jack Butala:                       I would not believe it, we’re in business.

Richard:                              When you do your data and your Excel and you see one person has 20 lots, you delete them all and just send them one letter. When he’s interested, he’ll bring up the others. That’s what happened. I sent a thousand people a single letter, but he might have had 10, I just deleted those and just sent one letter. “I’ll sell you the one, but you need to but these other 10.” “Right, I can do that.”

Jack Butala:                       I love it.

Richard:                              I was so nervous because I think, “He didn’t reply to my email. We’re not communicating.” Then all of a sudden he popped up, “Yeah, I’m ready. Here, take it,” two weeks later. I had these APN numbers and I realized how many parcels under at one APN number.

Jack Butala:                       It just ball parked? Are you going to sell them … How much money are you going to make? Not in dollars, but just are you going to double your money, triple your money?

Richard:                              Triple. Triple’s my business motto. I figured I have my investment, let’s say for numbers’ sake. I buy a piece of parcel for five grand, I have to sell it for 15. Why? I take five grand to reinvest, I take another five grand to double my money and reinvest. The other five grand, I put in my pocket to live.

Jill DeWit:                           Cool.

Richard:                              If I’m spending what I’m making, I’m just spinning my wheels.

Jack Butala:                       That’s great.

Richard:                              I need to grow it and double it. I have a seven-year plan of doubling and doubling and you can kick … I do kind of numbers, also get in seven years.

Jack Butala:                       Yeah. We live those numbers and it’s fun to watch. It’s not hard to do when the assessor says, “Sure, I’ll just send you the new assessor parcel numbers.”

Jill DeWit:                           “Give me two weeks.”

Jack Butala:                       “What’s your email address?”

Jill DeWit:                           Yeah.

Richard:                              Jack, are you telling me that’s not normal?

Jack Butala:                       No, it’s not.

Jill DeWit:                           No, that’s so good.

Jack Butala:                       The only person I would ever be- Well, I believe you because you’ve been with us for so long. If Jill said that, I would believe it because of her personality. Usually that doesn’t happen ever and that’s great.

Jill DeWit:                           That easy. That was really good.

Jack Butala:                       I think that large size has a lot to do with it.

Richard:                              Well, that was my first one.

Jill DeWit:                           That’s so good.

Richard:                              And counties, they’re zoning 40 acres. If you break it down under five, then it gets a little bit more challenging.

Jack Butala:                       Yeah, so you probably didn’t break their zoning. It was probably zoned like, “Are you 40 or … It doesn’t matter, I’m not asking him.” I’m just thinking …

Richard:                              Yeah, yeah. It probably is. I don’t know, I just asked her to do it.

Jill DeWit:                           She was just moving papers around. “Here we go. Okay.”

Jack Butala:                       The other thing, and I’d say it was beginner’s luck but you’re not a beginner at all so … I don’t know. That’s great.

Richard:                              Well, it was my first time to break down a large parcel. That was my first parcel to break down.

Jill DeWit:                           Now he thinks it’s always going to be that easy.

Jack Butala:                       Yeah. It’s like …

Jill DeWit:                           What do you mean you can’t just do it and send it to me in two weeks?

Jack Butala:                       It’s like walking into a casino and winning the first time.

Jill DeWit:                           Yup.

Jack Butala:                       Worst thing that can happen.

Richard:                              Right. It’s terrible.

Jack Butala:                       I didn’t think it was supposed to happen that way all the time.

Jill DeWit:                           Exactly.

Richard:                              It’s like when the first child turns out okay and then you think all the rest should just be like that.

Jill DeWit:                           Yeah, with no work just coasting?

Richard:                              Yeah.

Jill DeWit:                           Yeah, I know.

Richard:                              They can raise themselves, the first one’s fine.

Jill DeWit:                           Exactly. Just follow that one. That’s so good.

Jack Butala:                       “Do what he does. Don’t bother me.”

Jill DeWit:                           Exactly. You just went to my thing too. Where are you going to take this? You have a seven-year plan. Where are you in the plan?

Richard:                              Well, I was driving my daughter and she listens to me in car and she’s always looking at Zillow and looking for different properties and houses. We’re just doing some math and seven years she’ll be in college. My wife and I would be … the kids will be in college or out of the house. I’m ready to either have a house in Colorado and one in Miami. When it gets too cold there, come to Miami. When it’s too hot here, go to Colorado. My kids would be somewhere in between there and studying university. I love traveling. Traveling is my thing.

Jack Butala:                       Those are two great places for our business, both of those states. There’s just seems to be no shortage of rural vacant property in Florida and Colorado. You can see that by how many properties are on the radar of the taxing authorities for some reason. Florida’s just packed.

Richard:                              Also they say Florida, and specially whenever … I have good success whenever I pull some property and a snow blizzard hits northeast and I put it on Craigslist. I can’t tell you how many calls. People are home, they’re thinking, “I got to get out of here in seven years when I retire. I’m going to Florida.”

Jack Butala:                       I could not agree more. I used to gauge our whole business model based on the weather like in the northeastern part of the country.

Jill DeWit:                           Like I was in last week.

Richard:                              A lot of years … Yeah, exactly.

Jack Butala:                       For Jill, it’s nice just to go, visit and you’re out of there. To live there all the time, that gets brutal.

Jill DeWit:                           Exactly. It was so funny because they’re just … I’ll tell you, Richard, this is actually my second official getting-off-the-plane trip to New York. I’m walking around in day two going, “This is pretty darn fun.” Also, Jack’s like, “Well, yeah, you also kind of don’t have a job and you’re staying at the Waldorf Astoria.”

Jack Butala:                       Nice. Isn’t that nice [crosstalk 22:14]?

Jill DeWit:                           That might have something to do with it. Yeah, which one?

Jack Butala:                       The one with the big mural behind it.

Jill DeWit:                           Okay. That’s the …

Jack Butala:                       The lobby, just off the lobby.

Jill DeWit:                           The lobby one, yup. There you go. I went to underneath one there another night and I had so much fun.

Jack Butala:                       Before we go, you got to tell Richard some of the perceptions you have in New York, because I think … because he’s a New Yorker.

Richard:                              You think?

Jack Butala:                       No. I mean, like for instance, New York doesn’t … Manhattan, they don’t have alleys.

Jill DeWit:                           Right. All the trash is lined up on sidewalks.

Richard:                              Yeah, it’s true.

Jill DeWit:                           Was different to me and then when I was sitting in a cab, I look over and see someone on side on the curve like cleaning out their car. All their doing is taking the trash out of their car and throwing it on street. I’m like, “Oh, boy.” In California you’d be in deep … You can get in trouble for that.

Richard:                              I think it’s a felony in Scottsdale.

Jill DeWit:                           It’s like, “Oh my gosh.” It’s was just … and he didn’t thought nothing of it.

Jack Butala:                       Oh, no. It was funny, I wasn’t there not too long ago and I used an Uber. I got into the wrong Uber and he calls me, “Hey, John.” I said, “No, I’m Richard.” He goes, “You’re in the wrong Uber, you know?” I was calling for Ubers and I didn’t know how to deal with an Uber in New York City. There’s so many people.

Jill DeWit:                           Yeah, it was so interesting but I got my little New York fix now, so I’m good.

Jack Butala:                       Nice.

Jill DeWit:                           Food’s fantastic. I had so much fun.

Richard:                              Oh, man. Yeah. That can make it all go away. How good the food is, for sure.

Jill DeWit:                           Oh, the food’s great.

Jack Butala:                       All the time.

Jill DeWit:                           I told Jack that I thought of New York. New York to me is like a baby, like an infant. When they’re crying and fussy, and you know, whatever. During the day it’s crowded and busy people are going places and you got to get out of their way. Then at night, when the buildings are all lit up, and it’s all this fun and it’s like a sleeping baby. It erases all the muck from the day. You’re like, “Oh, it’s beautiful again.”

Richard:                              Oh, yeah. I think the fastest people walk are from New York. The fastest walkers. Trying to keep up with them. Did you see any shows?

Jill DeWit:                           I did. I saw Book of Mormon and then I went to a comedy thing. I was there for New York Fashion Week, so I got to get in all of that. Do a late night after party underground. It was really fun.

Jack Butala:                       I got more work done than I ever have in California because I …

Jill DeWit:                           Because I wasn’t here?

Jack Butala:                       Allowed to.

Jill DeWit:                           Yeah, it was perfect. Really, really good. Cool.

Jack Butala:                       Hey Richard, anything else you want to share with us before we wrap it up? It’s been a pleasure to have you with us. All these, I guess 18 months.

Richard:                              This has been my honor to be on this show. You’re inviting on to the show, that’s very special. I just want to just tell whoever’s thinking about it. We talk about having a lot of money and needing a lot of money. You know what? You can get by with couple thousand dollars. Get started, get your feet wet. You might make a mistake, it’s okay. You learn more from your mistakes. It doesn’t mean you’re a failure or failed. You can learn more from the mistakes where your success is. Keep on doing it. Just don’t stop. There’s nothing out there better.

Jack Butala:                       Awesome. Richard, thank you so much.

Jill DeWit:                           Thank you.

Jack Butala:                       We really appreciate it.

Richard:                              Jack, I’m surprised I didn’t call you Steve but … [crosstalk 00:25:30] I have Paul, I was going to say Jack.

Jill DeWit:                           Exactly.

Richard:                              Jack and Jill, thank you so much. [crosstalk 00:25:36] It’s been wonderful.

Jill DeWit:                           Thank you, Richard.

Richard:                              I’m looking forward to seeing you guys. Maybe I’ll take a flight out to L.A. When are you having the get together? The 18th-ish?

Jill DeWit:                           I have one the 22nd, February 22nd here and then I’m going to do March 1 in Scottsdale. I’m going to try to do every other month, depending where we are.

Richard:                              I might fly out there and meet up with you guys with one of the two.

Jill DeWit:                           We’d love that.

Jack Butala:                       Awesome. That’d be fantastic, actually.

Jill DeWit:                           Cool.

Richard:                              Have a fantastic day. Pleasure. All the best. Take care.

Jill DeWit:                           Thank you, Richard. [crosstalk 00:26:01] Take care.

Richard:                              Keep safe. Bye-bye.

Jack Butala:                       Bye.

Jill DeWit:                           Bye.

Jack Butala:                       Wow, I didn’t expect that at all. Did you?

Jill DeWit:                           That was so cool. I’m glad that we got to catch up with him and I love his model.

Jack Butala:                       It’s real examples. That’s what I love. Boy, here’s a math on that and it doesn’t matter where he’s doing it. Let just say for the sake of argument that he’s buying these properties. Let’s just use nine [40 per acre 00:26:24] properties that he buys all at once. Him or anybody. For a hundred bucks an acre, 1,937, that’s 36,000 bucks. Then he sells them both for …

Jill DeWit:                           Triple.

Jack Butala:                       Triple. Right. I was going to say 12,000 but you can probably sell them for 20, but let’s just say 12,000. Now you’re looking at … I’m doing math on my calculator. Pulling out a hundred grand on 30,000 bucks. That’s, in his case, just talking to the assessor for a while.

Jill DeWit:                           Exactly.

Jack Butala:                       That’s a niche I love. There’s a lot of little tiny niches in these businesses and that’s mine. If he can do it, I’ve done it on real large scale, it’s like 12,000 properties and he’s taken down to 40s or 12,000 acres. Take it down to 40s, it’s great.

Jill DeWit:                           The other good thing that I think Richard mention that I want to bring to everyone’s attention is, he’s been focusing on the east coast. A lot of people coming to our world saying, “Does it work on the east coast?”

Jack Butala:                       Oh yeah, Jill.

Jill DeWit:                           “All I see is you guys talking about the west coast. I hear it by doing west coast. West coast, west coast. Do you have any in east coast?” I always say, “Yes, there are people in east coast and Richard’s one of them.” Clearly, he’s just now branching out and testing west coast properties. It really is true when we say this does work everywhere. You just got to sit down and do your due diligence and we are here to help and show everybody how.

Jack Butala:                       The other thing that he put … These concepts are not new, but the way that he put it about this failing thing is perfect. If you have a lot of question and you’re real concerned, you’re already starting to fail. You’ve been from that school where you just got to do it.

Jill DeWit:                           Right. You do. You do.

Jack Butala:                       If you talk about it and whine about it a lot …

Jill DeWit:                           You’re right.

Jack Butala:                       I love that.

Jill DeWit:                           Yeah. I’m glad you brought that up too, because I felt didn’t mean to discourage anyone saying, “If you don’t have these five things or whatever, you can’t do it.” No, that’s not true. Because motivation trumps everything.

Jack Butala:                       If somebody told me, “You don’t have these five things, you can’t do it,” I would go get the five things.

Jill DeWit:                           That was kind of where I was going with it. It’s like if you’re coming to me saying, “I need to show me Excel,” I’m not going to do that but when you come and say, “I just spent 90 days or whatever it is,” now I got this. You know what I mean. I was afraid of data, but now I’m not. And be honest with you Jack and everyone, I was not a data pro coming into this. You learn and you just learn and not be afraid, like Richardson.

Jack Butala:                       It’s amazing to me, Jill, this more for you than the listeners. I look at the numbers hat this podcast, people who listen to this. We started this … We just did show 400 on Friday. Last Friday. The numbers constantly go up. They don’t spike too much, but they go up the way that they should, organically. Right? We’re not spending any advertising or we don’t have any advertisers. For the last couple days, I’ve spoken with people who are diehard listeners on the show and who are really successful at flipping dirt. That’s a huge accomplishment for us. It’s like putting a face with a name sort of, or just really realizing that because this is a lot of work to show. People are getting something out of it. The last four people I spoke with have said, “I’ve heard every episode you guys had put out.”

Jill DeWit:                           You’re right. You know what? You’re right, that’s a good point. Even though we have our member calls and we have our online community and we have these other ways that we are helping and guiding, this show is actually more powerful than I think we realized.

Jack Butala:                       I had no idea. I was explaining and I don’t think … maybe our listeners know. I was explaining to somebody recently that Jill was never supposed to … was supposed to just be boring me. That’s what the name of the show was.

Jill DeWit:                           Which is yours.

Jack Butala:                       I had a lot of bunch of guests. They’re still on iTunes if we go back. Not on iTunes, on the internet. These guests would constantly not show up so Jill would just fill in. Pretty soon  everybody’s like, “Come on, let’s just have Jill on the regular show,” and it worked out great.

Jill DeWit:                           Thank you.

Jack Butala:                       I’m glad you like it. Some people are like, “I’ll never want to do that again.”

Jill DeWit:                           After show 400, have I passed? Are you done testing me out? Am I still filling in?

Jack Butala:                       Let me tell you, sweetheart …

Jill DeWit:                           I’ve fill in show number 500. Okay.

Jack Butala:                       You are the show [crosstalk 00:30:34]. I’m the straight man, you’re the … people listen to you, not me.

Jill DeWit:                           Silly.

Jack Butala:                       Trust me.

Jill DeWit:                           Silly.

Jack Butala:                       [inaudible 00:30:44] a good analytics on that, I know I’m right.

Jill DeWit:                           Gosh. Thank you.

Jack Butala:                       Your information and inspiration to buy undervalue property.

If you enjoyed the podcast, please review it in iTunes . Reviews are incredibly important for rankings on iTunes. My staff and I read each and every one.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me directly at jack@LandAcademy.com.

www.landacademy.com

www.landpin.com

I would like to think it’s entertaining and informative and in the end profitable.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes.

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LA 1998 WP

How To Be Successful At Flipping Land (LA 1998)

In this podcast episode, learn how Jack and Jill successfully flip land. They emphasize the importance of experience and knowledge in the land flipping business, and highlight the value of learning from those who have been in the industry for a long time. They outline

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LA1997WP

Respond To Change in Real Estate 2024 (LA 1997)

Jack Butala and Jill DeWit explore the real estate market, discussing the anticipated stagnation in 2024 and offering valuable insights for investors. Jack shares three crucial strategies to thrive in this shifting market: increasing offer volume, recognizing the rise in rental demand, and predicting demographic

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No need to hire staff - we did it for you.

Land Academy PRO is the brainchild of founders Steven Jack Butala and Jill DeWit. Designed at the request of Land Academy members who are ready for a higher level, we’re excited to continue to provide the tools and support needed by professional investors.

Each level comes with a preset amount of included data, Concierge Mail service, and postage. For example, the Green level includes 6,000 units of completed-for-you mail completely out the door at no extra cost to you.

All levels include a PatLive introduction and preset script (we will set up your phone answering for you), use of Land Academy’s personal Transaction Team to manage your deal flow, an AirTable (CRM) base setup managed by our (and your!) Transaction Coordinator, personal consulting, regular office hours, and includes your Land Academy subscription cost.

If you’re making this a business, Land Academy PRO takes the work off of your plate so you can focus on the things that matter – like running your business.

Green

$10,060

per Month

Silver

$14,590

per Month

Gold

$19,120

per Month

Platinum

$23,650

per Month

Black

$28,180

per Month

Concierge Data+ (with data) Included mailers each month (data + concierge + mailer + postage). Our team will do your data for it and get it out the door.
6,000 mailers 9,000 mailers 12,000 mailers 15,000 mailers 18,000 mailers
PatLive introduction at no cost We will help you establish your first script and get PatLive set up on your behalf to answer your phones.
$500 value $500 value $500 value $500 value $500 value
Transaction Coordinator Use of our personal Transaction Coordinator team to manage your deals. Trained and ready to go!
$7,500 value $7,500 value $7,500 value $7,500 value $7,500 value
AirTable Ready-for-you CRM managed by your personal Land Academy Pro Transaction Coordinator
$100 value $100 value $100 value $100 value $100 value
Personal Consulting 1 on 1 personal consulting with our Transaction Coordinator each week.
- - $1,000 value $1,000 value $1,000 value
Regular Office Hours Regular office hours with Jack and Jill + our staff. Private for LA Pro Members Only. (Think Career Path Office Hours)
$2,500 value $2,500 value $2,500 value $2,500 value $2,500 value
ParcelFact ParcelFact is included in your LA Pro membership with unlimited pulls.
$150 value $150 value $150 value $150 value $150 value
FREE Career Path Access
$23,000 value $23,000 value $23,000 value $23,000 value $23,000 value
Land Academy No more separate charges - Land Academy is included with LA Pro Membership. This includes all education, tools, support, and future releases.
$300 value $300 value $300 value $300 value $300 value
Subtotal: $8,550 value $8,550 value $9,550 value $12,050 value $12,050 value
Mail Value: $7,500 value $11,250 value $15,000 value $18,750 value $22,500 value
Total Value: $39,050 $42,800 $47,550 $53,800 $57,550
Apply Now Apply Now Apply Now Apply Now Apply Now

Green

$10,060

per Month

Concierge Data+ (with data) Included mailers each month (data + concierge + mailer + postage). Our team will do your data for it and get it out the door.
6,000 mailers
PatLive introduction at no cost We will help you establish your first script and get PatLive set up on your behalf to answer your phones.
$500 value
Transaction Coordinator Use of our personal Transaction Coordinator team to manage your deals. Trained and ready to go!
$7,500 value
AirTable Ready-for-you CRM managed by your personal Land Academy Pro Transaction Coordinator
$100 value
Personal Consulting 1 on 1 personal consulting with our Transaction Coordinator each week.
-
Regular Office Hours Regular office hours with Jack and Jill + our staff. Private for LA Pro Members Only. (Think Career Path Office Hours)
$2,500 value
ParcelFact ParcelFact is included in your LA Pro membership with unlimited pulls.
$150 value
FREE Career Path Access
$23,000 value
Land Academy No more separate charges - Land Academy is included with LA Pro Membership. This includes all education, tools, support, and future releases.
$300 value
Subtotal: $8,550 value
Mail Value: $7,500 value
Total Value: $39,050
Apply Now

Silver

$14,590

per Month

Concierge Data+ (with data) Included mailers each month (data + concierge + mailer + postage). Our team will do your data for it and get it out the door.
9,000 mailers
PatLive introduction at no cost We will help you establish your first script and get PatLive set up on your behalf to answer your phones.
$500 value
Transaction Coordinator Use of our personal Transaction Coordinator team to manage your deals. Trained and ready to go!
$7,500 value
AirTable Ready-for-you CRM managed by your personal Land Academy Pro Transaction Coordinator
$100 value
Personal Consulting 1 on 1 personal consulting with our Transaction Coordinator each week.
-
Regular Office Hours Regular office hours with Jack and Jill + our staff. Private for LA Pro Members Only. (Think Career Path Office Hours)
$2,500 value
ParcelFact ParcelFact is included in your LA Pro membership with unlimited pulls.
$150 value
FREE Career Path Access
$23,000 value
Land Academy No more separate charges - Land Academy is included with LA Pro Membership. This includes all education, tools, support, and future releases.
$300 value
Subtotal: $8,550 value
Mail Value: $11,250 value
Total Value: $42,800
Apply Now

Gold

$19,120

per Month

Concierge Data+ (with data) Included mailers each month (data + concierge + mailer + postage). Our team will do your data for it and get it out the door.
12,000 mailers
PatLive introduction at no cost We will help you establish your first script and get PatLive set up on your behalf to answer your phones.
$500 value
Transaction Coordinator Use of our personal Transaction Coordinator team to manage your deals. Trained and ready to go!
$7,500 value
AirTable Ready-for-you CRM managed by your personal Land Academy Pro Transaction Coordinator
$100 value
Personal Consulting 1 on 1 personal consulting with our Transaction Coordinator each week.
$1,000 value
Regular Office Hours Regular office hours with Jack and Jill + our staff. Private for LA Pro Members Only. (Think Career Path Office Hours)
$2,500 value
ParcelFact ParcelFact is included in your LA Pro membership with unlimited pulls.
$150 value
FREE Career Path Access
$23,000 value
Land Academy No more separate charges - Land Academy is included with LA Pro Membership. This includes all education, tools, support, and future releases.
$300 value
Subtotal: $9,550 value
Mail Value: $15,000 value
Total Value: $47,550
Apply Now

Platinum

$23,650

per Month

Concierge Data+ (with data) Included mailers each month (data + concierge + mailer + postage). Our team will do your data for it and get it out the door.
15,000 mailers
PatLive introduction at no cost We will help you establish your first script and get PatLive set up on your behalf to answer your phones.
$500 value
Transaction Coordinator Use of our personal Transaction Coordinator team to manage your deals. Trained and ready to go!
$7,500 value
AirTable Ready-for-you CRM managed by your personal Land Academy Pro Transaction Coordinator
$100 value
Personal Consulting 1 on 1 personal consulting with our Transaction Coordinator each week.
$1,000 value
Regular Office Hours Regular office hours with Jack and Jill + our staff. Private for LA Pro Members Only. (Think Career Path Office Hours)
$2,500 value
ParcelFact ParcelFact is included in your LA Pro membership with unlimited pulls.
$150 value
FREE Career Path Access
$23,000 value
Land Academy No more separate charges - Land Academy is included with LA Pro Membership. This includes all education, tools, support, and future releases.
$300 value
Subtotal: $12,050 value
Mail Value: $18,750 value
Total Value: $53,800
Apply Now

Black

$28,180

per Month

Concierge Data+ (with data) Included mailers each month (data + concierge + mailer + postage). Our team will do your data for it and get it out the door.
18,000 mailers
PatLive introduction at no cost We will help you establish your first script and get PatLive set up on your behalf to answer your phones.
$500 value
Transaction Coordinator Use of our personal Transaction Coordinator team to manage your deals. Trained and ready to go!
$7,500 value
AirTable Ready-for-you CRM managed by your personal Land Academy Pro Transaction Coordinator
$100 value
Personal Consulting 1 on 1 personal consulting with our Transaction Coordinator each week.
$1,000 value
Regular Office Hours Regular office hours with Jack and Jill + our staff. Private for LA Pro Members Only. (Think Career Path Office Hours)
$2,500 value
ParcelFact ParcelFact is included in your LA Pro membership with unlimited pulls.
$150 value
FREE Career Path Access
$23,000 value
Land Academy No more separate charges - Land Academy is included with LA Pro Membership. This includes all education, tools, support, and future releases.
$300 value
Subtotal: $12,050 value
Mail Value: $22,500 value
Total Value: $57,550
Apply Now

Disclaimer: *We have a monthly “use it or lose it” policy with mail and data – Land Academy PRO is designed to keep you on-track and consistent.

To cancel, all packages require a 30 day notice to move you back down to regular Land Academy membership.

Office Hours Schedule

Scheduling a Career Path interview call is currently on hold and will resume closer to Fall 2024 as we approach Career Path 10.

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