Jack Thursday – We are Zip Code Lucky (LA 1666)
Jack Thursday – We are Zip Code Lucky (LA 1666)
Transcript:
Steven Jack Butala:
Steve and Jill here.
Jill K DeWit:
Hello.
Steven Jack Butala:
Welcome to the Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I’m Steven Jack Butala.
Jill K DeWit:
I’m Jill DeWit, broadcasting from The Valley of the Sun.
Steven Jack Butala:
Today’s Jack Thursday and I’m going to talk about how we are all, or nearly all of us are very ZIP code lucky. The way that we send out mailers is very ZIP code-based now and there’s tons and tons and tons of information that’s broken down by the census and all kinds of other organizations that’s free out there about what’s going on in any given ZIP code. And the way that it’s all organized and orchestrated, you can compare it. There’s tons of amazing tools online, especially now because 2020 passed, which is every 10 years they do a census so we got real good, fresh data. Well, I’ll get into it in a minute here.
Steven Jack Butala:
Before we get into it, let’s take a question posted by one of our members on the landinvestors.com online community that It’s free. And don’t forget to subscribe on The Land Academy YouTube channel and comment on the show as you’d like.
Jill K DeWit:
Dan wrote, “I am comfortable sending mail with a little higher percentage of listings on LandWatch and Land and Farm, like two to five percent, if the days on market are low and/or I know the area very well. There’s one county with 13% listings on LandWatch that I killed it in. It’s very rural and I know the area very well. My sales prices are low because I bought super low and now I have a few people that email or call every few weeks to see if I have anything else there. I would not mail a county with a high percent of listings if I didn’t that special knowledge of the area or the days of market were not ridiculously low. I also try to diversify a bit, meaning I will stick to the red, yellow, green test on three or four mailers. And then I diverge a slight bit on one of four in a niche area. At least this is what my personal comfort level is for the properties that are 10 to 60 acres of rural land that I target.”
Jill K DeWit:
I love it. Perfect. I’ve got nothing.
Steven Jack Butala:
This is crossing over the line into being a professional land investor. When you’re starting to do things that make sense to you and you’re going off of the exact Land Academy education, the way that we orchestrate all these mailers and all that. And you’re going off into your own thing.
Steven Jack Butala:
But I will tell you personally every mailer I do, I do some wacky stuff like this. And I only send in markets that I really know well and I know what’s going to happen. So I think this is fantastic and I put this question or statement on Jack Thursday for a reason, because I think it’s really-
Jill K DeWit:
Brilliant?
Steven Jack Butala:
Yep.
Jill K DeWit:
You’re doing it right.
Steven Jack Butala:
It’s approaching brilliance, yep. Today’s Jack Thursday and I’m going to talk about how we are all very ZIP code lucky. This is why you’re listening.
Jill K DeWit:
I’m going to just sit back and chill here.
Steven Jack Butala:
So during the red, green, yellow test, which can be ZIP code-based or county-based or really any geography that you delineate, but I always use ZIP codes. I think most people do. I look at what’s going on from a days on market standpoint, how many properties are listed for sale versus the universe of properties there. We’ve got all these matrix or measurement spectrums that either make it red or yellow or green. What’s not in there and what I’ve been staring at for years and done nothing about until recently is all the other stuff that’s going on.
Steven Jack Butala:
Which led me to even further thinking, “If you spend a lot of time in a really nasty ZIP code and you can find out which ones are nasty because the census data shows it where the incomes are really low and crime is really high. And the education system is not what it should be and the high school graduation rate’s in the 20s, 20%. There’s innately going to be problems in it. You’re really setting yourself back. You’re making everything three times or four times as hard as it needs to be.
Jill K DeWit:
That makes sense.
Steven Jack Butala:
And so many, many, many people would say, “Well, I can’t afford to get out of here.” So I disagree with that. What was the show on Monday? Take action. Taking action. I really think that there are rural places that you could live, especially now if you know how to use a computer. You can get yourself out of these ZIP codes if it’s important enough to you. And I think you would be doing yourself and your family a huge favor to really take a look at what’s going on in the ZIP code or the surrounding ZIP codes where you live and work and spend time, and see if they’re rated so poorly by the census that you just got to find someplace else to live.
Jill K DeWit:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). You know it’s funny I always think that it seems like the people, to me, that have trouble making transitions like that, it’s their extended family that often holds them back.
Steven Jack Butala:
Yeah, the biggest reason people don’t move is, “My mom’s here.”
Jill K DeWit:
That’s what I was thinking. And one thing my mom did correctly-
Steven Jack Butala:
In case, you’re wondering.
Jill K DeWit:
How I was going to word that?
Steven Jack Butala:
… when I say M-O-M, that’s when Jill comes in with all kinds of crazy stories.
Jill K DeWit:
Wow. One thing she did right was sit each of us down, Jeff and I when we got married and we’re moving on with our lives she was very clear in saying, “This is your family now. This is your priority, not us. You guys, you have to do what’s best for you. And it doesn’t mean every Sunday dinner at our house.” My mom was never that kind of person anyway. But she really encouraged us to take our little people and go wherever we need to. We can see each other. There’s things called airplanes. There’s things called cars. There’s phones. There’s computers. There’s FaceTime. And there’s dry cleaners and dentists in other cities too.
Jill K DeWit:
But yeah, sometimes you do have to go off and do that. And it doesn’t mean you don’t care about them or maybe take care of them from afar, and you can do that. So I don’t mean to pick on anybody. I’m sorry if I’m making anybody mad, but that’s what my mom did for us and I personally appreciate that. I think that made us both extra independent. So what happened? I went to Arizona and he went to Chicago as we were adults, not even in relationships. We’re like, “This is where the work is. See you.”
Steven Jack Butala:
Well, I’m sure she raised you all the way through. She wasn’t just one conversation and then, “Oh, we’re leaving.”
Jill K DeWit:
Right.
Steven Jack Butala:
I was born in a D census code, census tract all the way and I went to school there all through grade school. Then my dad came home one day and said, “We’re moving” and we did to an A ZIP code. And I just remember the first summer and particularly the first year of school, I’m looking around going, “I didn’t know people could live like this.” I didn’t know that there wasn’t crime everywhere all this time and that all kinds of terrible stuff doesn’t have to happen.
Jill K DeWit:
I don’t have to carry a knife when I walk to school or something. I don’t know. I have a buddy.
Steven Jack Butala:
I mean, I have story after story after story. And so I really think it’s important to take a look at where you’re spending your time, especially if you have little children and make sure that they get the education that they need and that they’re safe. Because more and more and more it’s just gets kooky what goes on in the world.
Jill K DeWit:
Really?
Steven Jack Butala:
And it’s not going to cost you any more money. You might have to give up some relationship with your mom.
Jill K DeWit:
Your mom.
Steven Jack Butala:
Or move her with you.
Jill K DeWit:
Well, there is that too. That could be part of it. “Mom, we’re going to get set up here and get this going, and have a nice life. And I’m going to build you a guest house or we’re going to find you something, whatever it is because it’s you know what? If we’re leaving because it’s better, I’m going to argue it’s better for mom too.”
Steven Jack Butala:
And I say ZIP code lucky because when you’re young you don’t have a choice in these things. And so we do have a choice, Jill and I now and we live in a pretty amazing ZIP code.
Jill K DeWit:
We do. I’m very happy. I’m digging into this ZIP code, like digging in.
Steven Jack Butala:
I know you are.
Jill K DeWit:
And I really, really, really have some plans to be an even more vocal presence in my community.
Steven Jack Butala:
Jill’s involved with the local stuff.
Jill K DeWit:
Yeah, the government and stuff like that.
Steven Jack Butala:
I’m not going to let the cat out of the bag.
Jill K DeWit:
Oh no. Yeah, yeah, no. Anyway, I got a lot of volunteering ahead of me because you know what? It’s important to me. So maybe that’s it. This is how I’ll end it for me. When you find that ZIP code and you find your people and you’re really happy and the kids are thriving and they’re graduating and they’re going on their own way. I would A. Encourage them to spread their wings. And then B. Look at giving back to your people and helping everybody. Thank you. Do you have anything to add?
Steven Jack Butala:
Nope.
Jill K DeWit:
All right. Happy you could join us today. Five days a week, you can find us here on the Land Academy Show.
Steven Jack Butala:
Tomorrow is Jill Friday and she’s going to talk about New Year’s land investors resolutions. You are not alone in your real estate ambition.
Jill K DeWit:
Tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve.
Steven Jack Butala:
I know.
Steven Jack Butala:
Is that not nuts?
Jill K DeWit:
2022.
Jill K DeWit:
That’s nuts. Do you think 2021 went by fast or slow?
Steven Jack Butala:
Slow as molasses.
Jill K DeWit:
Yeah, maybe that’s why I was laying in bed and accidentally thinking 2023 was coming. Because I’m like, I’m so confused because 2021 was long. So it felt like 2021 and 2022 [inaudible 00:10:00].
Steven Jack Butala:
These last two years were really good years financially for us. But most of them are now these days, but they’re terrible. I’m glad to see these years pass and get into something new.
Jill K DeWit:
Yeah. I hear you. Thank you for tuning in. We hope you find our content valuable and we appreciate your support. If you haven’t already, please check out our YouTube channel and hit the subscribe button. We are Steve and Jill.
Steven Jack Butala:
We are Steve and Jill. Information.
Jill K DeWit:
And inspiration.
Steven Jack Butala:
To buy undervalued property.
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