All Forum Posts by: Justin Williams

Very True 

@Account Closed could agree more Chris!  I love how you make your goals first and then figure out how to make them happen.  I am the same way.  I'll make a goal (that seems somewhat realistic) even before I know how we are going to get there and then we work backwards to figure out what needs to be done to make that happen.  It is kind of like building an amazing building.  First you have the idea and vision of what you want to accomplish, then you set out to figure out how you are going to build it.  It is all very doable, just takes the right plan, materials, people etc. to make that vision come to life.  

@Jon Klaus thanks Jon!

The average profit is all over the board.  In our current market I am shooting for about 45% annualized Return on the total capital invested into the deal.  (not my capital but the total capital it takes to do the deal, not including financing)  If it is a deal I can do in 3-4 months I am usually looking for about a 15% one time return.  

My capital cost is anywhere from 12% annualized (for private money) and 18% annualized for Hard money so if I am shooting for 45% annualized without considering capital cost it works out. 

Then considering I buy all throughout So Cal and some other states the amount of profit is all over the board, and as you allude to is also effected by the swings in the market.  However we do our best to adjust out profit margins accordingly, so as to where last year we were shooting for 12-13% one time return this year we are shooting for a minimum of 15% and are working more with direct sellers so rather than last year when 12-13% was not only the minimum it was also pretty much the best deals we would get, we are currently ranging from deals that are anywhere from 15-20% and we are also listing more of them in house as well which adds to the bottom line.  

We've also really eased off of the higher end priced homes in each market, which I have noticed a declining trend for in CA.  That can mean a 200k house in some areas a 400k in other areas and a 1,000,000 in others.  Overall I'm really not considering anything above 700k or so right now, but that is just me.  I'm sure there are others who are more focused in that niche and are doing just fine.  What I do is more focused on an overall scalable model.  Wash rinse repeat, repeat, repeat.   

Thanks @K. 

@Account Closed he came down and spoke at the seminar I just put on and he had some pretty good things to say about you, and that you are one of the brightest minds he knows of when it comes to creative financing.  Anyway just thought I would mention that.  It's too often that we neglect to tell someone the nice things we think or heard about them.

Thanks for your feedback and continued support.  It is much appreciated!  

2 Week Update 10/12-10/25

We got 4 more deals in the past 2 weeks.  3 from wholesalers and one in house.  

The most exciting thing is that my father in law got the one in house.  

For years my father in law has been a teacher in Ut.  A couple of years ago he wrote a goal to be able to make $250,000 a year, but nothing happened.  Then recently he came to the realization that if he was going to ever really reach that goal he couldn't keep doing what he was doing.  He loved being a teacher but he realized he had to give up something he loved in order to realize his dreams and provide a good retirement for he and his wife. 

So he recently came down to CA to work and live with and work with us.  He hasn't gotten a lot of support from friends and family.  (not including his wife and kids) and many of them think he has failed bc he has taken a hiatus to his teaching job and can't believe he would get up and leave like that.  

Well since he has been here it has been a really tough battle for him.  Here you have an established professional where the kids and people he worked with loved him and thought he was amazing and now he is calling people who are swearing at him and he has been facing some of his greatest fears (of which include the phone)  Just the day before (well and probably every other day before that) I think he wondered if he would ever be able to make it in this business.  

So to see him get that first deal just might be the best thing that has happened to us all year, and for him to be able to share that with everyone at my seminar this past Saturday was the cherry on the top.  He was able to reach people in a way that I couldn't.  

It was a pretty incredible thing to witness.  It's all about taking action and the right kinds of action.  Don't worry so much about the results but just taking action and knowing you will fail and fail again, and then when you least expect it, "it" will happen.  ;-)  

Have a great week everyone!  

Thanks @Ronald Perich !  Really appreciate the feedback!  

3 week update 9/21-10/11

This past 3 weeks have been pretty interesting.  After what was our best buying string ever we actually had a little bit of a lowell.  The first week GOOSE EGG!  Then week 2 I thought we had another goose egg but was talking to Vanessa (my assistant) last Monday and she was telling me about the deal we got from a wholesaler on Friday and I was like WHAT? lol  You mean you made me suffer through the weekend of thinking we had 2 0 deal weeks in a row?!?! lol  

So week 2 we ended up with one dealt that we got from a wholesaler.  This was a wholesaler who we purchased just one deal from before.  He sent us a good one and then send us a bunch of junk and we told him we couldn't work with him anymore but then he promised us we would like this one and sure enough it checked out.  

Then last week Kale came off of his slump and got a deal, but even more exiting was that our new acquisitions coordinator Jordan got his first deal as well!, and it was a really good one!  

Jordan has only been with us for a few weeks and the first 2 were only part time while he was training.  He has absolutely NO RE investing experience so seeing him get a deal under contract was pretty exciting, and it confirmed a few things for me...

I think it is interesting that when someone is brand new at this business and aren't really that focused, don't get a mentor, and are just here and there and trying to learn from different people and all over the place, their progress is very slow, and they aren't usually very consistent, get burned out, lose their way, and we all know that guy or gal who has been going to club meetings for 2-3 years and has yet to do anything!  So there is that group.  

Then I look at someone like my brother Steven who had someone like me that he could work with (of course he took some massive action as well) and with working his tail off for 3 months he was finally able to make something happen in his 4th month and see a lot of success from there.  

Then you take Kale who was put into a company that could take care of marketing and help with DA and give even more direct support and after 2 solid months of working really hard was finally able to make something happen in month 3.  

Then you take Jordan who was not only in a company structure but Kale (with Vanessa's help) had been able to even help refine that structure to the point where the machine was pretty well oiled (as Joran put it) and that allowed someone who had 0 prior RE investing experience to come in and get an incredible deal in less than a month!  

This is the same principle that all successful businesses operate off of.  McDonalds can hire someone today and have them being productive by the next day bc their systems are so refined.  

We should strive to treat our investing businesses the same way.  Create systems that will create results, and allow you to grow beyond what you ever imagined possible.

Have a great week everyone!  

@Mitchell M. your buying power is unlimited regardless of how deep your pockets are.  There is no way I could do nearly the volume I do without some really good money partners.  Does it help that I have now been able to build up some capital of my own?  Yes absolutely!  But don't let Capital keep you from taking action and making things happen.  It is all about the deal not the capital.  It doesn't take very deep pockets to wholesale.  Thanks for the kind words!  Keep it up!  

Weekly Update 9/14-9/20

Another pretty good week with 4 houses last week.  

3 of them were in house deals and we bought our second New Mexico house from the same wholesaler we bought the last NM house from.  It just so happens that Vanessa wen to visit family this week in NM so she will be able to check on progress while she is there.  Looks like she may be becoming a world traveler here before long ;-)  

I am especially excited about our continued success with our in house acquisitions campaign, and we are considering bring on another full time acquisitions coordinator.  In fact Kale is taking him on a drive to LA this morning to meet up with a seller so they can talk more.  I told Kale it is up to him on whether we decide to hire him or not since he will be doing all of the training.  

Why do I do this?  Well the truth is that Kale is just as capable of making that decision as I am.  He just has to take the time to do the vetting and weigh the options.  So once again I am trying to take leveraging of other people's time and talents to a whole new level.  

In fact lately I've really felt like I haven't been thinking big enough.  If we can flip 100 houses a year and have been doing so for the past 3 years why can't we do 500+ a year?  Really it's just a matter of taking the systems we have been using and making sure they are duplicatable and scaling those systems.  

But then of course you have to consider the capital situation.  I've had a good last few years but there's no way I could pay for the overhead for an additional 5-10 acquisition coordinators, the expense for all the marketing it would cost, and the gap funding for all of those houses we would be buying, so that is where I would really need to either get a financial partner(s) or create a fund and have someone raising capital full time or something to that degree.  

Anyway fun stuff!  We'll start out by bringing on another acquisitions guy and see how that goes and if we can continue to be consistent with Kale and then our next team member then I really think it will be time to sit back and really put together the business plan and put the right places in place to create something much bigger.  

I've been thinking the same with my education business.  Just need to think bigger.

Anyway super excited to have my wife back from her retreat last week, and have all the kids in school (of course we love them not in school as well lol) Going on a run this morning on the beach trail to help catch her up to speed since she will start being a bigger part again of helping carry out our plans of world domination! lol  

Love this business!  (well and business in general ;-))  If you are struggling, keep pushing!

If there is anything I can help you out with please reply and I'll do my best.  I don't have a magic wand but if you have taken a detour maybe I can redirect you back to your course!  Have a great week!  

Thanks Manuel!  

Thanks @Richard Lynch !  

9/7-9/13

Kale strikes again but in a BIG way last week!  5 houses under contract in just one week! 

We were close on one from a wholesaler but it was just a little too tight.  

That's puts us at 80 for the year so far!  

Today I also worked on my goals for next year.  I may adjust in the upcoming months but I really think we can hit 200 next year if we continue to grow and bring even more in house.  We will continue to work with wholesalers and agents but I am really liking the ease of control and scalability with our in house deals :-)