Land Academy Member Luke Smith Buys a Vacant Church Riddled with Drama (LA 1775)

WP Land Academy Member Luke Smith Buys a Vacant Church Riddled with Drama LA 1775

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Land Academy Member Luke Smith Buys a Vacant Church Riddled with Drama (LA 1775)

Land Academy Member Luke Smith Buys a Vacant Church Riddled with Drama (LA 1775)

Transcript:

Luke Smith:
Hi, guys.

Jill DeWit:
Hey, how are are you?

Steven Jack Butala:
Hi, Luke.

Luke Smith:
Hey. It’s my…

Steven Jack Butala:
Here we go.

Jill DeWit:
Cool.

Steven Jack Butala:
Let’s just jump right in. I’ll start it, Luke, and we’ll just… We’re pros, both of us. Steve and Jill here.

Jill DeWit:
Hello.

Steven Jack Butala:
Welcome to the Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I’m Steven Jack Butala.

Jill DeWit:
And I’m Jill DeWit, broadcasting from the valley of the sun.

Steven Jack Butala:
Today we have Luke Smith, and not just an interview with Land Academy member, Luke Smith, but Luke’s specifically here to tell us a story about buying a church.

Jill DeWit:
It looks like a fireside story based on where Luke is sitting. The only thing we need now is a pipe.

Steven Jack Butala:
And a beard.

Jill DeWit:
And a fire behind you.

Steven Jack Butala:
Hi, Luke, how are you?

Luke Smith:
Hey. Yeah, why not buy a church, right?

Jill DeWit:
We got to hear this. Okay, wait. So how did you… Was this in Discord?

Steven Jack Butala:
It was in Discord. Yeah.

Jill DeWit:
Okay. So, did you just drop some nuggets in there and people started asking questions? Or do you just tell the whole story, I’m just catching it?

Steven Jack Butala:
It was a rant. It was in the rant section, I think.

Luke Smith:
I was heated. I was heated because I just got off the phone with the sheriff, right? And I’ve had a lot of sheriffs call me, and my favorite sheriff call is like, “Luke, the road’s blocked because there’s a bunch of people here. They say they’re looking at your property that’s for sale and there’s no for sale sign and they’re blocking the road. And you made a video on TikTok and nobody sells land on TikTok, you idiot. This has to be a scam.” That’s my classic sheriff call. My sheriff’s call, neighbors are pissed because of some TikTok video I made, right? But this one, I sold a property on TikTok earlier this week, 240 grand on TikTok.

Jill DeWit:
Wow.

Steven Jack Butala:
Wow.

Luke Smith:
Yeah, baby.

Jill DeWit:
That’s crazy.

Luke Smith:
I got multiple buyers, too. I got more buyers after I signed the first one. Like mom forwarded-

Jill DeWit:
Was it the house next door?

Luke Smith:
… to daughter a video. Like, hell, yeah. Sorry. I’m off on a different angle here. So-

Jill DeWit:
Great.

Luke Smith:
… I was heated because of the sheriff call and he just did not make sense. He did not make sense. And I get into these different phone calls, lawyers call, and people are always haggling over something, and I feel like I’m at the short end of the stick because I don’t know any better. And I started taking law classes. I’m not going for a degree or anything, but like property law and contract law. I’ve got all the books and all the audio lessons, and I ride my bike to the notary, listening to contract law and property law. I can quote cases on down the line. And this sheriff is telling me that this church that I sold is not on the deed and these guys that I sold the property to, they went to the church and they broke into the church and the sheriff showed up and they’re inside the church, and they said it’s their church.
I’m like, “Yeah, it’s their church. What’s the big deal?” And the sheriff says, “Well, it’s not. I’ve had them in prison. I’ve had them in jail all weekend, waiting to get in touch with you.” And I’m like, “Oh, man, these poor guys.” And like, “Who’s the victim? What’s the problem?” Nobody owns the church. It’s vacant. It’s been empty forever. I tried to sell it to the pastor I found online and there’s no contact. It’s all closed and done. I had multiple people. I marketed the thing on YouTube. I marketed on TikTok. Lots of people got into it on TikTok. And they went and checked out the church. They researched the church. They looked at it, local people from the local town and people from the other side of the country, everything. All the internet sleuths that I could reach through social media.
I called people around town. I was trying to sell it to somebody right there that might want to go for it. And they’re all like, “It’s closed. It’s vacant. There’s nothing going on.” And there’s nobody to sell the church to. So I hit social media, right? I bought the church for 50 bucks and it was like Arkansas classic. I bought hundreds and hundreds of properties. The rules changed in Arkansas. You got to go in a proper auction now against other people, but you used to be able to just buy them right out over the counter and just offer. It was a closed bid, I guess you call it. I just mail them a check with some paperwork. Here’s my bid, and if they took it, they sent me… And if they didn’t take it, they’d send my money back, or they’d send you a counter offer. But I bought, like, “Let’s just take them all.” And one of them was this church.
And it was, the property… The weirdness of it was, the church spreads across three different lots. And so one lot is the one that I got from the tax collector, that they didn’t pay the tax on. And the other two lots are still owned by the church who’s not paying taxes on, and so nobody ever takes it away. They didn’t do their paperwork right somewhere along the way to say that they’re a church and they’re open one hour a week and they’ve got, I don’t know if it’s three members or five members or whatever it is there. You’ve got to have some minimal members that show up regularly to qualify as a church over the long run, or else the local tax authorities can tax you and you don’t just get that automatically.
You have to apply for it and you have to get approved. So they didn’t do their paperwork right on one of the three lots. And the other thing the sheriff kept saying is, they can’t lose the property because they’re a church. They don’t have to pay tax. Well, that’s not the case either. The other thing that the sheriff thought he was dead right about holding these guys in prison, and he’d been researching this all weekend and getting heated and emotional, so you know he knows there’s something fishy about it. He’s like this worried and calling me and everything, right? It’s not just a closed case, throw the guys in jail. We call it commercial trespass. 15 years penalty.

Steven Jack Butala:
Gosh.

Luke Smith:
Right? Yeah. So, going, oh, no. So he said, “The church isn’t described on the deed.” I’m like, “That’s Property Law 101. The legal description is the land. It’s a description of the land, and then everything that’s attached to it just goes with it. The church is attached to the land.” And so if they’re on their one third of the church, I think they’re in the right. The other two thirds, they don’t technically own it. If I were them, I would go for squatting rights and see what the local squatting rights are to take over the other two thirds, if nobody shows up and it’s truly vacant and everything.
And the sheriff says, “It’s not vacant. There’s files, there’s stuff inside the church.” I’m like, “What does that matter? Where’s the people?” So, what’s the eviction process in a commercial property, in a church where they’re not open but they left stuff inside and went away. Sheriff says he found the pastor and the pastor says, it’s theirs. And he’s got a deed. I’m like, “Yeah, the deed from back in the day before he didn’t pay the taxes.” Like that helps. Doesn’t mean he owns it. State takes it away. Arkansas, it’s two years. You don’t pay the taxes for two years, the state take-

Steven Jack Butala:
Wow. That’s it?

Jill DeWit:
That’s crazy.

Luke Smith:
Yeah. The shortest timeline in anywhere in the US that I know of. Most places are maybe-

Jill DeWit:
Eight.

Luke Smith:
… three years is like a little one. Five years is normal. Lots of places are eight and 10 and 15, but two years in Arkansas? Whew. No wonder they take so much stuff away.

Steven Jack Butala:
That’s seven years here in Arizona.

Luke Smith:
Seven in Arizona. Lots of places have differences between vacant land and residential. But I mean, nowhere it’s two years. That’s like a bad address and you lose your property to the state. They give you more time after that to still pay the taxes and get it back. But, I mean, they deed it to the state. The state takes it two years to the state’s name. They start doing warnings. Yeah. So back and forth, back and forth with the sheriff. I was on the line for over an hour talking to this guy and he just kept calling me a scam because I’m from Southern California and I’m not local and I’m selling land on the internet. And a small town kind of guy, and I just couldn’t get over the fact that he didn’t understand the deed, the deed that the guys that he threw in jail had and showed him is their name going from my name to their name. He checked it with the county courthouse and it’s in their name. It’s recorded. It’s in their name.

Jill DeWit:
Yeah. [inaudible 00:15:28].

Luke Smith:
And it’s like the building. They can’t go in the building and the building’s not described on the deed. So I said, “Look, I’m sure you own your own house, right? Break out the deed on your house-

Jill DeWit:
And look.

Luke Smith:
“… and look for your building on there. It’s going to describe the land and the lines around the land or what the shape of the land is in legal description. And it’s not going to say anything about the building.” He said, “No, mine describes the building 100%, every square inch,” on and on and on. And what eventually came down to is, he’s talking about the assessor, the assessor’s file verse… I’m talking about the deed.

Jill DeWit:
Oh, right.

Luke Smith:
The deed transfers the land, the assessor’s records has nothing to do with the ownership. That’s about how much they’re going to tax it and they’re trying to keep their files up-to-date so they tax properly, right? That’s where he believes his house is described and he didn’t realize the difference between the assessor’s records and the deed. So I tried to explain that to him. He just gets mad or, doesn’t work. So I don’t know. I told him-

Steven Jack Butala:
Good thing that you don’t reside in that jurisdiction because they would’ve showed up at your house.

Luke Smith:
Right? Yeah.

Steven Jack Butala:
And you’d sit in jail with those guys.

Jill DeWit:
Yeah.

Luke Smith:
I got an attorney in Arkansas, if anyone else needs an attorney in Arkansas for real estate stuff. This guy’s… His dad is like an old judge. You call him on the phone and he says, “Luke, this is what you have…” when I have problems in Arkansas, “This is what you do.” And he’ll quote a case off the top of his head, and you can go look up the case and exactly what they did and what the precedent is. And he’s got two sons and one is licensed in California. I’ve used him for California stuff. One is licensed in Tennessee. I’ve used the other son in Tennessee and they’re all licensed in Arkansas and they charge Arkansas rates, even though they have California license. I mean, they’ve settled some cool stuff for me.
I had one where I bought this land and a small town is different town than the sheriff that was complaining. And I looked at it and I looked at the legal description and I mapped it out because it wasn’t really clear on the maps, and there’s a house on it. And I’m like, “Okay, there’s a house. This is a $50 property.” So I sold the house for, I think it was like 19 grand and it’s gone. Social media, sell it on the internet. And then the guy goes over there and looks at the house. “Is there somebody living in the house? I want my money back.” It’s like, “Okay.” Yeah, I’ll sell it to somebody else. I sold it for like 15 grand.
They go over there, they said, “Somebody’s in the house. I want my money back.” Whatever. I’ll sell it to somebody else. I sold it again for like 10 grand. And the same thing. They went over there and the guy in the house is irate. Can’t get rid of him. I want my money back. Like, geez, this is a boomerang that just keeps always coming back property, right? Fine. Give you a refund. Even though it says no refunds all over everything I’m selling, like, “Come on. I don’t want it back. This should be an easy one to sell, right?”

Jill DeWit:
Right.

Luke Smith:
And so I sold it again and this guy goes over there and he talks to the guy in the house. The guy in the house says, “No, I bought this from the bank and I’m making payments to the bank. I still have a mortgage with the bank-

Steven Jack Butala:
He [Inaudible 00:18:57].

Luke Smith:
“… property. This is the contact information for the bank.” And this is like a one branch bank, local town, right? It’s like, okay. So the guy wants a refund. Like, fine. I’ll figure this one out. This is mine. I’m not selling this one. I’m going to get a realtor or some [inaudible 00:19:16]-

Jill DeWit:
Right.

Luke Smith:
… this one. I’m not going to sell it with a credit card checkout anymore. So I called the bank and I said, “What’s going on?” And the banker says, “Yeah, that’s our property. We’ve got a mortgage on it. We foreclosed on it.” I’m like, “I’m looking at the legal descriptions and I’m looking at your mortgage because it’s online, and you’re describing the vacant lot that’s next door, like the backyard of the house, and you’re not describing the house. You didn’t pay tax on the house. The state took the house away, and I bought it from the state.” This is years ago because I’ve been trying to sell this for years. Like, you don’t just go get it back from the state, right?

Jill DeWit:
Right.

Luke Smith:
And I don’t want to kick the guy out of the house. Let’s come to a settlement. And the banker’s like, “No, I got to…” This is what the banker tells me. It’s like, “No, I got an appraisal of the house. I got it right here in the file. And it’s got a picture of the house.” Like, “Okay, so your appraisal has a picture of the house. This is the same thing. Land trades on the legal description, not on the mailing address, not on a picture, not on a map.” The legal description transfers land and the bank screwed up. They wrote a mortgage on the vacant lot and they did this back in the past and the guy that they mortgaged it to had the house and the lot. He mortgaged it and the bank put a mortgage just on the lot, and he didn’t understand the legal description part either, and didn’t pay the mortgage. Lost it to the bank.
The bank foreclosed. They went and they resold what they thought was the house to this guy that moved into the house and nobody paid the taxes. The guy is in Arkansas, when you’re above whatever, 62 or something, you get a big tax break. You don’t have to pay the first 500 or $800 or something in taxes. And that’s all the houses in Arkansas, right? And so they’re like, “He’s old enough. He doesn’t have to pay tax.” Well, they did all the paperwork on the lot next door and the guy that they defaulted on the mortgage never got the mortgage on that property. He never paid taxes and the state took it away and I ended up with it. So I got this. The banker wouldn’t do a deal with me. He wouldn’t hear me out. He’s like, “You got to get it surveyed. You got to blah, blah, blah, blah.” So I got this one attorney I’m thinking of in Arkansas and the judge, right? He wrote them a letter, charged me 150 bucks.

Jill DeWit:
Oh, my goodness.

Luke Smith:
Wrote this letter to the bank. No, he wrote it to the guy in the house, and the guy in the house who… It was like, “We’re going to evict you and kick you out. Go fix this. Take it to your banker.” And he took it to the banker and had the banker call the attorney and the attorney settled. They drop a deed and they put a cashier’s check in there and they sent it to me and said, “Sign here and keep the money.” Send it back. It’s like, boom, done. Settled.

Jill DeWit:
How much was it?

Luke Smith:
Claimed it over to the guy in the house.

Jill DeWit:
How much did they pay you?

Luke Smith:
It was 12 grand.

Steven Jack Butala:
Awesome.

Jill DeWit:
All right.

Steven Jack Butala:
For 50 bucks?

Luke Smith:
$50 house. $150 legal bill.

Jill DeWit:
Wow. You know what’s so funny? I’m a nutcase about these contracts and deeds. I’m just thinking, even our own personal property stuff, I especially pay attention to those. I make sure… Like, we have sat in title offices. I’m like, “Do it again.” Let’s all talk about JTROS.

Steven Jack Butala:
Yep.

Jill DeWit:
I make them take their stack and go back and do it again. And that’s great. Now my name’s spelled wrong. Please go do it again.

Steven Jack Butala:
Yeah. So, yes.

Jill DeWit:
You’ve got to watch this stuff.

Steven Jack Butala:
You have to educate everybody and you have to do math for them. And it’s amazing, actually.

Jill DeWit:
Yeah. So-

Steven Jack Butala:
What happened to the guys in jail?

Jill DeWit:
Yeah. What did the church thing end?

Luke Smith:
Oh, they got out. The sheriff didn’t say “sorry.” He said, “You’re so lucky we’re reducing this to a misdemeanor and your court case is later. And you should be ashamed of yourself,” and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So they got in touch with me and the buyers, my clients. And I said, “Here’s your attorney.” Like, let’s see how much money you get out of this one, right? Like these guys, if they don’t take the case, I bet you they know who will. And they were pissed. They were pissed at this sheriff. They were pissed at how they’re treated. They had three dogs, and that’s what they were most pissed about. They had their three dogs with them in the car and they got arrested and they got thrown in a hot car and forever like in there, and the guy, the sheriff let the dogs out and the dogs are running around the neighborhood, running up and down the street.
Animal Control eventually came, got the dogs and took off with the dogs while they’re in jail. And they were really pissed and worried about their dogs more than anything. The last time I talked to them, they still hadn’t got their dogs back. And it’s like the fallout bystander of that… I’m a dog guy, right? I’ve got a dog that pulls at my heart, too. Just the way it happens. I mean, yeah, they should have… If there’s something in the church, someone, if the church is still being used or any inclination that it’s still being used, they should have done some eviction process, whatever the local standards are. But I was under the influence it was vacant. They were under the influence it was vacant. I mean, what do you do? You look through the windows? Do you knock on the doors? You wait till Sunday morning or something? I mean, come on, you just-

Jill DeWit:
Everybody’s walking around in good faith trying to do the right thing here. Everything-

Steven Jack Butala:
I should explain to people who are listening. This is certainly not-

Jill DeWit:
Exactly.

Steven Jack Butala:
… [inaudible 00:25:40] the business we’re in.

Luke Smith:
No.

Steven Jack Butala:
Back tax property is not… We don’t even buy back tax property anymore. And, Luke, you probably don’t either.

Luke Smith:
Yeah.

Steven Jack Butala:
We send out offers and we never have issues like this, but back tax properties always got some crap, some type of drama associated with it, which is why Jill and I don’t do it anymore.

Jill DeWit:
Yeah.

Luke Smith:
And not always. It’s just a few of them. Just a few of them are burning bridges. They get under your skin. They’re just awful. And if you pay so little for them that it’s like, whatever, throw that one away and just focus on the rest of them, it works. But the price [inaudible 00:26:18] the back tax properties has gone up a lot. There’s more competition. There’s other people bidding for them. It’s not as easy as it used to be. I’m sure there’s still deals and things to be had if you go searching. But it’s just like Jack is saying, it’s a lot easier to send mail and get cleaner properties with less drama that are higher quality, less picked over, no competition, or hardly any competition. And you can just go work on those properties.

Steven Jack Butala:
And then go sell it on TikTok.

Luke Smith:
Yeah. You sell on TikTok. I love TikTok. I wish I had more time to do TikTok videos. It’s so much better than YouTube. I love YouTube, too, but TikTok, 15-second video, like 15,000 viewers. Bam, here you go, right? And TikTok is amazing at finding locals, locals to that property. They throw their stuff at the wall, they throw your stuff at the wall, right, and see what sticks. And people that know the area or are familiar with the area or something they forward it to the person that lives in that town, and the person that lives in that town sends it to the other people who live in that town or that street or that… You know, “I’ve driven by here,” whatever it is, they’re really good at geolocating stuff. And I don’t think they mean it for real estate.
I think they mean it for kids’ dancing and stuff, to like, you know, around Times Square. They’re going to show this… People walking through Times Square. You’re going to get the video of people dancing in Times Square, right? But if they’re walking by my property, they’re going to get the video of my property, or they’re walking their dog, whatever it is, and they’re watching TikTok at the same time, driving and watching TikTok. I don’t know. Hopefully you don’t do that. TikTok finds you and they put my stuff in front of you. And the people that get back are amazingly accurate at loving these properties. They’re good at understanding who likes these kinds of videos, these kinds of sales pitches, whatever it is. Their algorithms are [inaudible 00:28:21] above and beyond the other social media networks that are promoting land.

Steven Jack Butala:
No, we’re not on it, and I need… I just wrote a note because I’m going to see if we can air this show on there.

Jill DeWit:
So, I started to play with TikTok a while. I got Clubhouse. I’m all about Clubhouse, but I never… I started to play with TikTok and then I got… Remember all that like scares a little while back about who was managing… I don’t know. Then so I offloaded TikTok. And then I honestly didn’t know that-

Luke Smith:
Chinese.

Jill DeWit:
… I thought the average viewers were our son’s age and he can’t afford a property. So I didn’t know. This is really good. So, we’ll have to circle back around. Maybe it’s changed, too.

Luke Smith:
I sold-

Steven Jack Butala:
I have a bunch of Arkansas property. I’m going to go see if there’s any churches.

Luke Smith:
20, 30, $40,000 credit card checkout properties on TikTok, the same day the video goes out. Sometimes within an hour of the video going out.

Jill DeWit:
Do you link them back to your site and then they check out there?

Luke Smith:
You used to be able to put a link in the comments, but it’s not linkable. I tell them to cut and paste it and then put it in. Now you can’t even do that.

Jill DeWit:
Okay.

Luke Smith:
So I started getting flagged for putting the link. So now I just tell them, “My name is ruralvacantland.com.” It’s like, “Hello, you can figure that out.” And then I put search and then the property number on there, and they can go to my website and they can search whatever that property number is.

Jill DeWit:
Perfect.

Luke Smith:
So you get the ones that really care going to the website. And if you watch the traffic on the website, like you make the video, then the traffic goes, bam. You know people are back at it. They go hit it.

Jill DeWit:
I love that.

Luke Smith:
Down the rabbit hole a bunch of other properties on the website, too. But, yeah, TikTok, it’s fun. It’s so much more efficient, short, little fast videos. You got to get your sales pitch out there quick, you know what I mean? You make a long video, it doesn’t get passed around. People lose attention and they’re not watching at the end of it, and you want them to watch it multiple times. And when they watch the video multiple times, the ratings go up and you want them to ask questions. You don’t want to answer everything. I thought it’d be a great idea to answer all these stupid questions I get in the comments before they even ask them. That’s not a good idea because then they don’t answer the questions. You want them to ask the questions, and when they ask the questions, your rankings go zing.
And then you answer the questions, and you just like burning out your fingers answering questions on your phone as fast as you can go. The more you’re answering questions, the more your ratings go up and the more you’re online, the more you’re talking to these people and the more they’re sharing with people, the more your ratings go up. And then you turn your phone off. You come back later and look at the ratings. As soon as you turn your phone off, your ratings drop off.

Jill DeWit:
Awesome.

Luke Smith:
They want you to stay on there.

Jill DeWit:
All right.

Luke Smith:
Which, I don’t like that part, but-

Jill DeWit:
I have a vision. Because I know you have a little… We have met your children. So I can imagine five to seven o’clock in the evening after homework’s done and daddy is handing out burner phones and making the kids answer questions on TikTok.

Steven Jack Butala:
Right. Well, I thought Jill was going to say, the kids need a T-shirt that says, “My daddy single handedly wrecked TikTok.”

Jill DeWit:
That’s it. We’ll get on that.

Steven Jack Butala:
Totally wreck TikTok.

Jill DeWit:
My daddy broke TikTok. That’s good.

Luke Smith:
I researched the heck out of TikTok and there’s not a whole lot of good stuff about their algorithms. Hardly anybody describes it. You just got to try it and test and see. And it seems to go in waves. It’ll start slow and they’ll maybe show your video to a 100 people or something. And if any of them watch it a couple of times or ask questions, then they’ll show it to a 1,000 people. And then the next… It circles for a little bit, and then they’ll throw it at like 5,000 people. And it goes in waves. Next thing you know, they throw it at 100,000 people and, like, holy cow, your thing is fricking alive.
You’re you got like millions of views. Like, millions of views. And the comments are, “What?” Like it’s got zeros next to the numbers of the comments and it just goes and goes and goes. And then the sheriff calls. Then we’re back to where we started. Then the sheriff’s calling wondering why so many people are blocking the road by your property, right? Then it worked.

Jill DeWit:
Excuse me, sir. Did you not see the TikTok yourself?

Steven Jack Butala:
Wow.

Jill DeWit:
Yeah, again.

Steven Jack Butala:
It’s just fascinating.

Jill DeWit:
I know.

Luke Smith:
How did you miss my TikTok video? You’re not watching TikTok while you’re driving around looking for speeders? Come on, man.

Jill DeWit:
Sure. Exactly. Exactly.

Steven Jack Butala:
Luke, we’re out of time.

Jill DeWit:
That’s awesome. Thank you. Can I just, before we go?

Steven Jack Butala:
Sure.

Jill DeWit:
Because we haven’t seen you in a while and I know you guys caught up recently, so, everything good? Everybody happy and-

Luke Smith:
Yeah.

Jill DeWit:
… and the horse is good?

Luke Smith:
The horse is good. Yeah. Horses. My wife has, I think, 15 horses now and she’s got too many horses. Yeah. We’re going to Sweden for the summer. We’re just about… It’s like a month until we make the switch over to Sweden. We’ve got horses that we rent there, the same horses as last summer. We go ride on the beach and through the woods and all over the place. That’s where my wife’s from, and take the kids and go get some Swedish culture and then come back for school in the fall. So that’s what we’re gearing up for. I miss a lot of the regular Thursday shows because I have the kids. It’s like after school time and I’m on deck with the kids that time. But I miss your shows. I should get into a more reschedule or something, but that’s just the way it is.

Jill DeWit:
I’d love to have you-

Luke Smith:
So, yeah, kids are great.

Jill DeWit:
… if you could sneak away.

Luke Smith:
I know. Right? Yeah. Or do you-

Steven Jack Butala:
Luke’s going… You know, it’s always a pleasure to talk to you. And like I said last time, we’ll make this some type of regular thing because you got great stories.

Jill DeWit:
Oh, yeah. Always good to have-

Luke Smith:
Sheriff stories behind us. Do some big dollar spread stories. That’s what we should-

Jill DeWit:
My stories are not that good, and I got to go up, but this is good. Thank you for putting them in Discord, too, and sharing with everybody because I know everybody gets a lot out of that.

Luke Smith:
Yeah. I like Discord. It’s a good tool. A lot goes on there. I can’t keep up with it all, but-

Jill DeWit:
Totally.

Luke Smith:
… it’s good.

Jill DeWit:
Great. Thank you.

Steven Jack Butala:
Thanks again. We’ll talk to you soon, Luke.

Luke Smith:
[inaudible 00:35:01]

Steven Jack Butala:
Thanks. Bye.

Luke Smith:
Bye.

Jill DeWit:
Bye.

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

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

The BuWit Family of Companies include:

https://BuWit.com

https://offers2owners.com

https://landinvestors.com

https://landacademy.com

https://landpin.com

https://parcelfact.com

https://countywise.com

https://deedperfect.com

https://ownersdata.com

https://houseacademy.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 Apple Podcasts.

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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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