Land Investment Buddha Style (LA 1353)
Land Investment Buddha Style (LA 1353)
Transcript:
Steven Butala:
Steve and Jill here.
Jill DeWit:
Howdy.
Steven Butala:
Welcome to the Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I’m Steven Jack Butala.
Jill DeWit:
And I’m Jill DeWitt, broadcasting from sunny Southern California.
Steven Butala:
Today. Jill and I talk about land investment, Buddhist style.
Jill DeWit:
This is going to be funny. This came as a result of me sharing a little bit with Steven the other day about what I was listening to on my walk, so let me back up. Right behind us is the strand. So a lot of mornings I’m out there. Before I start my day, I get up, throw on my running shoes and I speed walk a good distance and back, and I’m always listening to podcasts. That’s my thing.
Steven Butala:
Do you listen to other people’s podcasts?
Jill DeWit:
I do. I do. And I just stumbled across this one and she was getting all into Buddha stuff and it was just a healthy reminder of things to not get hung up on and why. So I want to share this, the other funny thing that I was going to bring something funny about this. As you could see, people walking behind us now. If you’re watching on YouTube, you can see it. It’s comical what goes on. I’m really proud of myself. I am learning to eye read. I can now eye read.
Steven Butala:
Oh, because of the mask?
Jill DeWit:
I did. There was a gentleman just now walking by and his eyes were so big and he had his blue mask on. I could see his mouth was wide open. I could tell because I’m getting good at this. It’s so funny. Anyway, thank you.
Steven Butala:
Before we get into it, let’s take a question posted by one of our members on the landinvestors.com online community. It’s free.
Jill DeWit:
Martha wrote, Hello. This is a perfect use of this form, by the way, I can already tell. Hello. I have possible deal. 4.5 acres in X County that I posted last Thursday in the meeting that both Steven and Jill said it was a good deal. My issue now is this, oh, we got new information, the seller accepted the verbal offer for $20,000 and will sign the purchase agreement if we pay the closing costs. Can that be done? Doesn’t the seller usually pay closing? I don’t want to lose this deal, but I also want to do it right. What would you advise?
Steven Butala:
Jill, right. This is an absolute perfect use of land investors. She’s in the group. She’s seems like she’s pretty new, based on this question, which is fine. That’s why you join a group like this. What should I do? What happens with closing costs, typically, Jill?
Jill DeWit:
It’s all whatever you want. Escrow companies work for you, not you work for them. You can say we’re splitting closing costs. You can say he’s paying all the closing costs. You can say I’m paying all the closing costs. Whatever you want, you just tell them. My best advice is, do whatever you agreed with the seller. Just follow through with what you said. You guys really had a conversation. I’m trying to see here. The seller said, I’ll do it, but we have to pay the closing costs. So that’s on you now. All right. So let’s say it’s $1500, so really, you’re buying the property for $20,750. For me, I would do that, and I would be happy because I’m assuming this is the scenario. I’m assuming you’re buying a property for 20,000. It’s probably worth 70. I’m just kind of guessing.
So do I have a problem with that? That’s the one last thing he asked for? I pay all the closing costs? Nope. Done. And all you need to do, Martha, is just convey it to your title agent and they’ll say, okay. And by the way, don’t worry about it. There’s a real strong likelihood, when the closing statement comes out on the HUD one, and they forget it, you just remind them, Hey, don’t forget, that’s on me. Okay, I’ll move it over. That’s all I do.
Steven Butala:
Netflix and Amazon are packed full of shows about bartering and bickering and picking. And it’s fun to watch some of these shows where somebody reads a newspaper ad that says, come and get my stuff for a thousand dollars. And so then they film all this stuff. It’s a show. So the guy goes over there, he meets the other seller. The seller says, Hey, look, this stuff’s not worth a thousand dollars, but I see all this other stuff in your yard. I’ll give you 500 bucks if you throw in that, that, that and that. It’s the same thing.
So for whatever reason, it’s making sense to the buyer, that $500 price, plus the other stuff. He knows he can resell it for more, and they filmed that too. It’s the same thing here. Now, you’re not doing it. The purchase price no longer is $20,000. It’s really $2100 or $2,200. If you’re going to sell it for 80,000 bucks, does that work or not? It’s all a function of money. I think what Martha’s really asking is, is it legal? Can it be done? [crosstalk 00:04:53] And Jill’s right. Anything can be done as long as it’s within the limits of the law. So you can change all these rules.
Jill DeWit:
Everything.
Steven Butala:
You just can’t do anything illegal.
Jill DeWit:
It’s the same as if you have a broker. There’s no flat percentage by law. It’s whatever you guys agree on. Hey, I got a broker that’s willing to take 2%, or I got a broker is willing to take whatever percent. That’s great. They lowered it to 1%. We hear about this often in housing things. A good broker, to get a deal done, will change the percentage of what they’re getting just to close a deal.
Steven Butala:
I’ve done that.
Jill DeWit:
Right?
Steven Butala:
Personally.
Jill DeWit:
Because they know that, man, 2% of 3 million is better than 3% of nothing. I think I’ll take the 2% of 3 million, whatever it is. And it’s …
Steven Butala:
I learned that the hard way on a commercial real estate deal when I was really young.
Jill DeWit:
Oh. You dug your heels in?
Steven Butala:
Well, the lawyer, with a smirk on his face came to us and said … because he knew we were real. We’re super young. I don’t know. I was right out of college. To get this deal done, you guys are going to have to take 28,000 bucks instead of 42. I had a partner in the deal. It was in Milwaukee. We drove from Detroit to Milwaukee to get this deal done. That was still when you had to sit there and close at a desk. Of course, we said yes. And then when I look back on that, I still want to smoke that guy.
Jill DeWit:
Well, that, I agree with you. You are right.
Steven Butala:
He just did it to mess with us.
Jill DeWit:
Let me finish with this, Martha. Exactly. Don’t let your escrow agent or your broker [crosstalk 00:06:26] call the shots. And I always take a look at it like this. When I’m on the phone with these people, I might as well be shaking their hand and that’s it. Whatever we agree on, that’s it. Done.
Steven Butala:
Here’s a line. My whole rule on stuff like this as if it makes economic sense, I’m all for it. And Jill is so much better about this than I am. There’s a line where it’s like, you know what? You’re being an idiot about this right now. You’re being a bully. If you’re just doing it to make some point, I’ll walk from a deal like that.
Jill DeWit:
You know what? Because I don’t think this is wrong, too. This guy [crosstalk 00:07:08] Yeah. I think you’re doing right. And this ties into what we’re going to talk about today, which is doing the right thing, part of it, and following through. This guy really wants to get a check with his name on it for $20,000. That, I think, is what’s in his head. And if there’s closing costs, it’s going to be $18,952. He wants 20. Am I going to let that kill the deal? Heck no. It’s not …
Steven Butala:
Well, let me ask you a personal question.
Jill DeWit:
Sure.
Steven Butala:
Is it just economics? So, if the guy’s the biggest loser, whack job, I can’t say the words that I want to say because the environment we’re in, are you just going to get over it and do the deal?
Jill DeWit:
You know what? I wouldn’t. This is a truth time. I actually put these comments in air table yesterday. If you go looking for them, you’ll find them. It’s really funny. I didn’t even talk to the guy. I can tell by the way he wrote back at the purchase agreement, what he said on it, and his counter offer. I said, we’re not even going to touch this guy.
Steven Butala:
Excellent, Jill.
Jill DeWit:
I said, we are not canceled because of me, the buyer.
Steven Butala:
Excellent.
Jill DeWit:
Because, number one, I don’t like his price. And number two, I can tell he’s a jerk by all this, this is this …
Steven Butala:
Jerk is the word I was looking for.
Jill DeWit:
Jerk is not the word you were looking for, I’m sure.
Steven Butala:
It was more than one word [inaudible 00:08:25] with the adjectives and adverbs.
Jill DeWit:
Yeah. I won’t kill a deal for one or the other necessarily, seriously. I mean, price, for sure. But just because he’s a jerk, not necessarily. But if I got both, done. It’s easy to walk away.
Steven Butala:
Do you have any idea, you just made my day? You have any idea how happy that makes men, on behalf of all men, when their woman has a line and they won’t put up with it? And won’t be taken advantage of by other people, and where you just say, it doesn’t matter now, I’m done?
Jill DeWit:
Yeah.
Steven Butala:
How happy that makes me?
Jill DeWit:
Oh, thank you.
Steven Butala:
I’m literally going to sleep better tonight because of that. I don’t want you to put up with crap from anyone. I know you talk to a ton of people all day, and if they’re not going to treat you right, just shove it right back in their face.
Jill DeWit:
Okay, it’s not worth it. We’ll talk about here more.
Steven Butala:
And I’m happy to call any of these men if you’d like, if they’re not [crosstalk 00:09:17] I live for that stuff.
Jill DeWit:
I know you live for that. It’s kind of funny. It’s almost like, God, let me call him, Jill. Come on. That’s funny. Thank you.
Steven Butala:
Today’s topic? Land investment, Buddhist style. This is the meat of the show.
Jill DeWit:
You know, it’s funny. We haven’t used this phrase in a long time, but don’t think that I don’t know that I always have in my back pocket, my junk yard dock from Detroit.
Steven Butala:
Good. That makes me feel all warm inside when you say that.
Jill DeWit:
I know …
Steven Butala:
I’m a little out of practice, so [crosstalk 00:09:55] throw me some stuff.
Jill DeWit:
Okay. All right. I’ll let you have some. Okay. I’ll come up with a few. So again, this topic was so funny just because I was listening to Buddhist stuff and he was just talking about … I think that you see how I try very hard to incorporate this stuff into my life. And you know what the real reason is too? The reason I walk around this way and try to do things easier and less stressful because it’s just easier and less stressful. That’s it. There’s no underlying theme. It’s not like this is a sales tactic. It’s not like this is a way to get my way. Nothing like that.
Steven Butala:
It just feels better.
Jill DeWit:
Right. I just don’t want to go through life being unhappy and angry.
Steven Butala:
Heck, yeah.
Jill DeWit:
So I pour this into my relationships. I pour this mindset into the way that I do business and we do business. And you know what? It’s worked out great. So I’ve got a couple tips that I wanted to share. And please, interrupt me, ask me any questions, or comment however you want. One of the things that I do and have found is that it is the easiest to walk around trying to be the best version of you. And it’s funny. I think everybody has a role model, someone that you look up to. And this is a little bit of Jill therapy right now. It’s truth time.
Steven Butala:
That’s what this show is about.
Jill DeWit:
That’s right.
Steven Butala:
It’s Friday …
Jill DeWit:
If you really want to get into my head, I’m letting you right in. There is someone that I really look up to every single day. And I say, this is my thing, what would blank do? I have my person. Do you know who that is?
Steven Butala:
No. I don’t, actually.
Jill DeWit:
It’s so funny. My person is Grace Kelly.
Steven Butala:
Wow.
Jill DeWit:
She, to me, is a strong woman, graceful. There’s things that she would not stoop to. There’s words that she wouldn’t say, just how she carries herself. That’s my inspiration. So I try to be my best version of me every day. And I did it even this morning. This morning, not even knowing what we’re going to talk about, I’m like, all right. I was mad about something. I was really mad about something. I’m like, let it go. Jill, you’re going to walk down the stairs mad, or are you going to walk down the stairs happy? How’s it going to go? And I put myself like, all right, she would not stoop to acting like this, so that’s not what I’m going to do. And it’s the easiest way. Number two, I don’t get hung up. I do my best. Another truth time. Nobody’s perfect, by the way. This is what I strive to do, is I really strive hard to not get hung up on other people’s issues.
And how do I do that? I really tried to take a step back and it’s hard to put yourself in their shoes sometimes. So, what I do instead is I just say, I feel sorry for them. It’s like, you’re driving and your cutoff. Or in our world, someone’s yelling at you about an offer that they got and whatever they’re yelling at, it makes no sense. It’s not even about the offer. It’s like, where are they going right now?
Steven Butala:
Yeah.
Jill DeWit:
And I’m like, God, I really feel sorry for this person. Is that how they operate?
Steven Butala:
Or if their deal didn’t close.
Jill DeWit:
Right. It’s like, do they chase the mailman? This is my thing. I’m like, because they act like this. They get our offer in the mail. And it was so funny because we got one the other day and I have a new, less than six months new transaction coordinator who I love and she’s killing it. And this is the first time she got one of these. She’s like, this person wasted their own money to put a stamp on it, to mail back this letter with this on it. I’m like, Oh, get used to it, honey. She’s like, I can’t believe people get that. They waste their time and energy to send it back. They could have called. They could have emailed. They could’ve thrown it away. I’m like, I know.
Steven Butala:
Yeah, whatever’s happened in that person’s life for the last 20 years, they’re expressing it with the .55 cents stamp [crosstalk 00:14:12] against you, for whatever reason. I know what you’re talking about.
Jill DeWit:
And again, gosh, who else do they get mad at in their world? Heaven forbid, my food delivery is wrong or such and such. They’re coming at you.
Steven Butala:
I have canned answers for confrontation and it [crosstalk 00:14:32] happens to all of us.
Jill DeWit:
So that’s what works for you.
Steven Butala:
Yeah. It happens to all of us. One of my canned answers that it works like a charm is when it’s person to person. Hopefully, a confrontation is person to person because you can manage it a lot better than on the internet. It’s terrible. But my canned answer for somebody saying you took my parking spot, or you’re not looking at it the right way, or whatever, it happens, is this: Look, man, if this sets you off like this, what else is going on in your life that’s just a dramatic mess? Because all it is, is XYZ. What’s your wife think about it? How’s that go? That shuts him up right away.
Jill DeWit:
And that helps you, so I understand that. I mean …
Steven Butala:
Canned answers help a lot.
Jill DeWit:
That’s a good one. That works for you, so that’s good. My third point is, I have four points here, and the third point is you could choose a laugh or cry or say something. And none of them is wrong. You are allowed and should have whatever feelings that you want. I personally choose to make a joke out of things and laugh.
Steven Butala:
I think you’ve got to defuse the situation. That’s my whole goal.
Jill DeWit:
I don’t. Let me tell you, I don’t. I let them have their feelings. I let them have their feelings because I feel strongly. My job is not to change their mind. My job is to get over this real quick and get this out of my life. I’m not here to change their mind. I’m not here to make them feel good. I just say, okay, gotcha. You’re on my do not contact list. Thank you very much. That’s it, done. I’m not here to get into a discussion and make them feel good about it. Heck no. This is my personal perception, is distanced myself from those people, but that’s what feels good for me. You’re trying to help them maybe [crosstalk 00:16:23] and I understand that.
Steven Butala:
You know what I’m trying to do? Is bring some finality to it so that everybody walks away and it’s over.
Jill DeWit:
Okay. I walk away …
Steven Butala:
Without any real confrontation. Because I’ll tell you why [crosstalk 00:16:33] It’s all individual, so this is a great conversation because if I don’t don’t address it, I feel worse about it later.
Jill DeWit:
Oh. It bothers you by not saying.
Steven Butala:
Yeah.
Jill DeWit:
Okay. And that’s cool. This ties into it. Laugh, cry, say something, don’t say something. It’s whatever feels right for you, no way is wrong. The most important part of it is that, and it makes my point for, my final point, however you do it, you have to end it, you have to move on, and please don’t waste any more energy. Your energy is valuable. I got a lot of deals I got to do. I have so many good things going on in my life. I have Land Academy. I have a wonderful community. I have members that love us and need us. They don’t want me coming into a meeting or getting on a call bent out of shape because of an idiot I just got off the phone with. They don’t deserve that. And I don’t want to give that person that power, that energy. So, however you do it, laugh, cry, again, say something, don’t say something, don’t hit something. Maybe hit a pillow, if you need to, don’t hit a wall.
Steven Butala:
Yeah.
Jill DeWit:
But hit a pillow, take a walk.
Steven Butala:
Yeah.
Jill DeWit:
Whatever it is, move on.
Steven Butala:
I have to tell you on a personal note that when I first met you, this is why I was all up in your business.
Jill DeWit:
Oh.
Steven Butala:
I love this part about you and this whole … because I’m not. I’m a junkyard dog from Detroit, in my soul. And I can get pretty amped up pretty quickly and wound up about meaningless stuff. Although, the older I get, the less that happens, but you’ve always been just really even, and had a great outlook on stuff. I’ve learned a lot from you, and I hope and continue to do that along these lines and others. And I hope that other people learn this stuff, too, from you. That’s the point to all of this.
Jill DeWit:
Thank you very much.
Steven Butala:
Or at least take it into consideration.
Jill DeWit:
Thank you. It’s like ying and yang.
Steven Butala:
Yeah.
Jill DeWit:
We’re good. And thank you. I’ve learned a lot from you, too, obviously.
Steven Butala:
Good.
Jill DeWit:
I appreciate that. Happy to join us today. Five days a week, you can find us right here on the Land Academy Show.
Steven Butala:
Tomorrow, join us for another interesting episode because I haven’t titled it yet. You are not alone. You are not alone in your real estate ambition. It’s tough, Jill.
Jill DeWit:
That’s truth time. In case you haven’t noticed, on Friday, there’s never a title for Monday. That’s true. We don’t know what it’s going to be yet, but I think that’s one thing that’s good about us. Remember back when we were first starting podcasts and it was just becoming a thing? I remember talking to a UF guy and stuff. He’s like, Oh, I’m like eight months out. I’m like [crosstalk 00:19:14] how are you eight months out? Who does that?
Steven Butala:
How is that pertinent?
Jill DeWit:
Exactly, and I don’t want to hear show today that you did eight months ago.
Steven Butala:
I’ve often thought that too, like, I’m not so sure you could be two weeks out. We’re a week out.
Jill DeWit:
Yeah.
Steven Butala:
And we always have been. It’s always been we’re five shows ahead.
Jill DeWit:
I love it.
Steven Butala:
Because stuff might happen next week.
Jill DeWit:
Exactly.
Steven Butala:
Like this data thing we were talking about yesterday, that could change.
Jill DeWit:
There’s another beautiful example. Okay, this is airing. I don’t date this is airing.
Steven Butala:
Friday.
Jill DeWit:
Okay. But the day that we’re recording, the Saturday before, Saturday Night Live just came back and they did Saturday Night Live like two days after the president went into the hospital with the coronavirus thing. They were practicing, writing and rehearsing what they’re going to do for Saturday Night Live. And then two days before, they had to change it all. But they did and I appreciate that.
Steven Butala:
Did they pull it off?
Jill DeWit:
They totally pulled it off. They rewrote some things to go at it with that new information. And I love that it was like us, it was that current, that up to the date, and it makes me happy. Thinking of making people happy, if we make you happy, please share your love and show us your love by liking or subscribing or writing some comments because it’s important to us. We read them, we appreciate it, and it helps us do future content.
Steven and Jill:
We are Steve and Jill, information …
Jill DeWit:
And inspiration …
Steven Butala:
To buy undervalued property.
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