Scaling Your Real Estate Business: Insights from Ed Prather's Team and Strategy

In this episode of Raising the Flipping Bar, we continue our conversation with Ed Prather, from navigating challenges in volatile markets to scaling a team that thrives, Ed offers practical advice for real estate investors at all levels. We dive into the critical importance of emotional intelligence, strong team leadership, and adapting strategies to shifting market conditions. Whether you're a new investor or a seasoned pro, his journey offers valuable lessons to elevate your real estate game.
Key takeaways include:
1. The importance of mental fortitude and discipline in investment
2. How to handle unexpected challenges and maintain momentum
3. Insights into building a successful real estate team and brokerage
4. The influence of market conditions on investment strategies
5. How to leverage data and market trends for informed decision-making
If you found this conversation valuable, please share it with your network and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback helps us reach more aspiring real estate moguls like you.
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The recent NAR settlement is reshaping the landscape for real estate agents!
With changes in how commissions can be negotiated, it’s more important than ever to align with a brokerage that supports your growth and adapts to industry shifts.
Why ELEVATION? We're a company that thrives on innovation and transparency. We understand the market’s new demands and are prepared to help you navigate these changes successfully.
With ELEVATION, you’re not just surviving the changes...you’re thriving in them!
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References:
Connect with Ed Prather:
https://www.facebook.com/EdPratherRE/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-prather-0b9741b/
https://www.edprather.com/
Our Podcast Sponsor - Backflip https://backflip.com/
Connect with Derek Marlin and ELEVATION!
Derek on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/derekmarlin
ELEVATION’s website: https://elevationinvest.com/
ELEVATION on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevationinvestmentproperties
ELEVATION on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevationinvest/
ELEVATION on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elevationinvestmentproperties
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Welcome to raising the flipping bar, the go to podcast for aspiring and seasoned real estate investors.
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I'm your host, Derek Marlin, and I'm the CEO of Elevation.
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We're a real estate investment company based right here in Denver, Colorado.
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We'll dive into smart investment strategies, market insights, and essential tips for scaling your real estate ventures.
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Whether you're making your first investment or your hundredth investment, this podcast is your blueprint for success in the ever evolving world of real estate investing.
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Get ready to elevate your real estate game and begin your journey with me.
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something that I really want the audience to key in on is what Ed just said is that things don't always go perfect.
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We can all absolutely lose money.
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You know, it was funny.
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And when we've done almost 90 flips now, I think we're on 89 that we'll close on at the end of this month.
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And I actually had a person that approached us about investing in With us and scaling up and giving us the ability to do more properties.
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And this was in 2021.
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And I literally had never lost money.
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I think the first half of that was just.
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Being cautious in and walking before we run.
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And then I think the second half of that was the freaking best market ever that we'll probably ever see in 2021 and 2022.
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And this was a wall street guy.
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And actually he told me, call me when you lose money.
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And I was like, you know what?
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That, that weirdly resonated with me.
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Now I'm a little bummed because it like, Two deals later, I lost money on my first deal ever.
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So I didn't want it to come that fast, but I think that that those battle scars really, really help, make you a better investor.
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And I really want the audience to key in on this.
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So thank you for, you know, being vulnerable and sharing that everything's not perfect.
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There's some other very large real estate podcasts out there that only talk about that, the things are the best all day, every day.
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And that is, man, in real estate, that's not the case.
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Well, not.
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And I think if you're going to do a flip, a flip a year, then yeah, I mean, you can, you should do fine.
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And really, there's really no excuse not to do fine because the worst case scenario is you need to be able to hold it in my opinion, like I'm not going to exit a position at this point.
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If it's, if the circumstances aren't right, but if you're going to do volume and that's something that I mean, I'm a deal junkie.
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I love it.
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you have got to understand that crazy stuff is going to happen.
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Stuff that is unexpected is going to happen.
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And you're going to take some lips, like the idea that you're going to bat a thousand just isn't realistic.
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And so if you can take a step back and go, okay, out of 89 flips that you've done, I've got four that were crappy.
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I mean, that's 5 percent and, and the upside, the return, you know, would be incredible is my guess.
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But to expect that it's not going to hurt is unrealistic.
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And what is trickier is in that moment, how we react and how we behave.
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You know, because it's hard to go, Oh, this is that time that I reminded myself what my mentor said was coming.
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but to have that mental fortitude and the discipline of, Hey, I'm still doing this, I'm still doing my next deal.
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Or I have the discipline to treat this situation this way, whether that is how we're treating the people around us or how we are operating moving forward, you know, whether we're pivoting or, you know, I mean, we've all discovered things that we don't want to discover.
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Yeah.
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What are we going to do?
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And frankly, I've seen people just get destroyed mentally.
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In my earlier days, I was there.
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I mean, I was that 12 plex that I did.
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That was one of the most difficult things I've ever done.
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We opened up the drywall.
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It's like full of rats.
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Um, that, but, you know what, like the world continues to turn.
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And so if you're not going to turn with it, you shouldn't be in this business, I think is as Frank as that is.
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Yeah.
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And I think that's so well said.
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And this honestly gives us like the perfect segue because the first.
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Part of this episode, we've really dove deep into your investment background, all the, you know, the cool, unique things that you're doing over a long period of time.
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What I would love to get, because the thing that's great about, Ed here for everybody listening is you've got Tons of experience.
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You now have a team that you've run for five or six years.
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And so you were in the day to day, you have a lot of transactional volume that your team's doing.
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So maybe give us an idea.
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Let's kind of pull this back down to current day to Denver real estate.
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Give us a little bit of a deeper dive into how is your team structured?
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How is your brokerage structured staffing lay the groundwork so that they kind of understand where we can go and bring this down to Denver real estate?
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absolutely, absolutely.
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So, you know, we, we do operate, it's a brokerage, but really that operates as a team, and we launched sort of end of 2019 in what was critical was the inside sales piece.
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And I think Derek, what we've realized and what I coach my agents is whether it's a friend, a family, whatever we're in sales, you know, we are here to influence folks.
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And sometimes that's a lender.
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Sometimes that's a listing agent.
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whatever it may be, but the, the big launching point for, for us was an inside sales associate or agent, whatever you want to say, it was really talented.
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Because in the beginning, when you don't have any money, you have to be able to generate bottom of funnel listings.
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Buyers are good, SOI is great.
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I mean it like, those are good, but listings drive the brand and they create bottom of funnel buyers.
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So part of listings that are bottom of funnel are expires.
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And those people get hammered with calls.
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And so, in 2019, I was the one calling and you cut your teeth.
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Cause if you can't, you're not going to be able to coach it.
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You're not going to be able to teach it.
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You know, so your only hope would be to bring in a very expensive coach and that's probably not going to work because who's going to follow somebody that's not willing to do it.
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Yep.
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So we had a really talented guy in the seat.
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in February, 2020, we launched radio with Mr.
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Rick Lewis, a good friend of mine and a month later, we all know what happened.
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And I thought the universe was against us.
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I was, I was like, Oh my gosh, you know, we've saved up just enough to do this.
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Anyway, I'm sorry, short, it wasn't that it created, incredible drops in mortgage rates, which fueled one of the craziest or, greatest runs in value that I think we've ever seen.
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And it allowed us to, I think, build the brand quicker because we were able to build revenue.
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And.
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I really am a proponent for delayed gratification.
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What I mean by that is whether we're talking about building cashflow for the future, or in this case, putting everything back into the business to buy more radio advertising to, Build out infrastructure, whether that be, the tech stack, the team itself, whatever it may be.
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And so we did that a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot.
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And that time I was taking every listening appointment.
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I was actually taking every radio call too.
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So it was intense.
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2021.
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Got out of the listing agent seat and then was running the team.
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Basically doing some deals, but really trying to remove obstacles as a team lead.
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At that point we, we had a TC, a transaction coordinator, who handled our marketing.
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We had sort of a operations person and, we had probably five agents.
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And, as of 2021, one dedicated listing agent, when you're really specific, it costs us about 6, 000 per radio lead.
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even the acquisition.
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Before like the acquisition of the call.
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So it's really crucial that those convert.
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And so when it wasn't me, there was another guy that was here, very, very talented, went out.
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I think he alone did 66 deals in 2021.
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So, you know, what I realized is the team.
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Initially, it was like, Hey, I want to make ends meet and I don't want to be the guy all the time.
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I had done that before with a bunch of coaching with Tom Ferry and it was great, but I realized like, Hey, there's something bigger here.
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And so initially what started out is, Hey, this is to make ends meet, became like having a lot of impact in the team and with the people around me.
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And this is what we do to take care of our family, but equally to have such an amazing group of people around me is really special.
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And now we've got a director of sales director of operations, marketing department, coordination department.
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Right now we've got about 15, by side agents.
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And I think just one listing agent.
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Who handles just an incredible amount of volume.
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We'll do nearly 50 million this year, just himself.
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Wow.
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That's awesome.
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And it's a really, I've said this to them and I mean it, it's the most amazing iteration of the team.
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Part of that is experience and understanding like what works and what doesn't, and I think with a team, it is when you're dealing with 1099 folks with a low barrier of entry, it is a different world from the beginning where it's setting interviews with agents.
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You're having a no show rate more than any other industry for sure.
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It's just different and that's okay, but over time you start to understand it.
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And so right now, these guys, what we really push for is a very deep model, meaning they do a lot of business, like each and every one of them versus the big box brokerage.
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And there's nothing wrong with this, but just a lot of agents.
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And you're sort of hoping that.
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do some volume.
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And so to see these folks like, you know, and a lot of them are younger folks, but to see them grow and make more money than they thought possible and get really good.
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I think there's something about brokerage and investing and just, Hey, if we're going to be here doing something, let's do it at a high level and care about it and have standards.
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And that's been, it's hard.
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We talked about just the emotional load that comes with residential, but it's fun.
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And that's what we focus on is number one is quantitative.
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And I'd say that to everybody in the organization, like I need, we need you to be able to win at the biggest level possible and have a trajectory.
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In the financial space, like, you know, I want you making more money than you thought possible.
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And then the qualitative and that is, what does it feel like?
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And what I've realized there's a wonderful book and I know we'll talk about this, but yeah, culture code and understanding how to change and affect culture is so incredibly powerful because it's the little things, it's the in between things.
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So how do the meetings look?
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How do they sound?
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Is there music on?
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Are there people in the office?
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Why are there people in the office and why aren't there people in the office?
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What's on the screen?
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I'm like, Oh, CD, as you can tell, but I care.
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And I know you care too.
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I mean, you have such an amazing space in the Broadway collective.
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it's been really fun having it develop.
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And, right now I think we're 47% up versus last year, which feels like an amazing win.
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because it also feels like we're, calling and scratching for every deal.
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Yeah.
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And you know, it's cool about that very last statement is fantastic because I think a lot of times people use the market as an excuse and yes, the market makes things more difficult.
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We've got more.
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Inventory than we've ever had in the last 10 to 12 years.
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We have higher rates.
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We have some of these barriers.
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We, who knows whether we are or not in a recession but we're not booming and you guys are up 47%.
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So I think people listening to this really need to key in on whether you're an independent agent, whether you are an investor or you're running a team, like you have the inputs and the ability to grow your business and you don't have to just sit back and wait.
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So man, kudos to having those types of numbers.
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I want to kind of ask you a question cause I love it that you are a numbers guy.
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You mentioned that at that point, you were spending 6, 000 per lead on the acquisition side.
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Is that still kind of a current number?
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I know you've shifted your radio mix and your marketing mix a little bit.
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What's maybe your current, customer acquisition costs, and then do you have those metrics where you're like, Hey, we got to see a three times return, or maybe talk about the numbers.
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Cause I think people don't really.
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A, they don't think about it and B, they don't talk about it.
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So I'd love to know what you're comfortable sharing with our audience.
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Well, Oh my gosh, I'll share everything.
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But real quick, you know, two things here.
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The first thing is, people wonder like, why, how are you up?
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And in everybody in this space, like all the agents, they like, it's all about leads.
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It's all qualitative.
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The reason we're up for the two leaders, there's two women in our organization, the director of ops, director of sales that are outstandingly talented.
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And that is what it is.
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I just say that because I'm so proud of it and it's not this like new tech thing.
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It's not these more leads.
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I keep wanting, we'll kind of pivot now.
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I keep thinking that it's our fifth year in radio.
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Like we're going to crush and it's just not that it just isn't, I wish it were.
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So I have to say, I don't have a bottom line.
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We have to be at three X.
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We're looking, very, very closely at where we're at.
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And it's not as good as we'd like.
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And I don't know, we've tested everything with copy.
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We have wonderful personalities on the radio, that we work with.
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It's consistent, but there's, you wonder, you're like, gosh, I think we should be getting more calls, especially when you're out in the world.
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And like, everybody's, wait, you're the Ed Prather.
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And I always joke about that.
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I'm like, you can be the Ed Prather too.
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You just write a check to 103.
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5, the Fox and they'll take your money.
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I promise you.
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I think three or four X, but then like, what are you looking at?
00:13:41.297 --> 00:13:41.746
Right, Derek?
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Like, are we, are we looking at GCI?
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Are we looking at gross profit?
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G GCI is going to be gross commission income versus a gross profit number, which is, what comes in after you pay commission to the agents.
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At the end of the day, it's certainly profitable.
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We'd like to see that grow.
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I think right now you've got suppression just with the inventory.
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We actually have seen over the last six weeks, things kick up since the end of July fed meeting, which has been interesting.
00:14:11.116 --> 00:14:16.616
Um, but what's really interesting here is I believe that it helps us convert.
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And I talk about the big media stuff.
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I believe it helps us convert every other lead because people, whether it's good or bad, they kind of know us.
00:14:25.244 --> 00:14:29.793
In the market, like, Oh, you know, we hear you on, cause we do a lot of sports and we let them do a lot of news talk.
00:14:30.183 --> 00:14:30.464
Yep.
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I think it's helpful.
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I believe that it's a branding exercise as well as a direct lead, exercise.
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And so we're constantly trying new things, tweaking things.
00:14:43.604 --> 00:14:45.163
But at the end of the day.
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I believe it goes beyond the numbers.
00:14:47.984 --> 00:14:56.803
And so, because of that, we were not stuck to that three X, but it's funny that you say that, cause that's kind of where we want to be is three X.
00:14:56.823 --> 00:15:02.943
And, and especially if we can be three X of gross profit, it is a sustainable model.
00:15:03.283 --> 00:15:08.844
But the critical piece here is those leads, those appointments have to convert.
00:15:09.104 --> 00:15:12.494
And so they, not only do they have to convert to a one status.
00:15:12.938 --> 00:15:15.979
But they have to convert to a closed status.
00:15:16.219 --> 00:15:21.349
And that is tough because situations change markets are tricky.
00:15:21.629 --> 00:15:23.139
You know, we try to qualify really well.
00:15:23.139 --> 00:15:26.109
It's not going to be worth anybody's time for us to go sit down with a seller.
00:15:26.448 --> 00:15:35.318
Who's unrealistic about price or, or you know, that paints them in negative light and I don't mean to doesn't have the ability to hit a price that makes sense for the market.
00:15:35.869 --> 00:15:41.028
And so because of that, we're really careful about, helping and setting expectations.
00:15:41.278 --> 00:15:54.479
The byproduct of that is a very high, conversion rate in because the people that are in charge of those metrics are very talented, from inside sales to operations to the listing agent and marketing and everything else working together.
00:15:55.364 --> 00:15:58.423
Dealing with hard money lenders is the biggest headache real estate investors have.
00:15:58.663 --> 00:16:01.313
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00:16:02.083 --> 00:16:05.474
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00:16:52.303 --> 00:16:53.384
Now let's get back to the show.
00:16:55.211 --> 00:16:57.360
Well, and, and I want to be super sensitive to your time.
00:16:57.360 --> 00:17:12.971
So we've got one more topic that I want to hit on, but before we move on to this last topic, I would love to hear if there's maybe one gem or one quality with your sales and your operations leader, I should say, is there one thing that, that these women do, that you feel like has really driven results?
00:17:12.990 --> 00:17:13.340
Cause you're right.
00:17:13.340 --> 00:17:14.490
It's not just pouring more.
00:17:14.715 --> 00:17:16.205
Dollars into the ad budget.
00:17:16.236 --> 00:17:17.496
It's it's this leadership.
00:17:17.496 --> 00:17:22.615
It sounds like, so is there something that sticks out where you're like, okay, a, we have the right person and B they do this thing.
00:17:22.935 --> 00:17:24.715
And it just really drives results.
00:17:25.286 --> 00:17:39.211
So number one, and it's one of sort of the values that we carry here, on, at the team, but they work really hard and I know that that should go without saying, but it doesn't, they work really hard and they have a high level of emotional intelligence.
00:17:39.260 --> 00:17:56.421
So understanding that, if we're trying to influence all the way down the line to a seller and we're on the buy side, our only option is to influence the listing agent and we need to influence the lender to make sure they call the listing agent.
00:17:56.986 --> 00:18:12.236
But these two people, understand and have such a high emotional intelligence that they can coach our agents, to influence, and get the results that I think a lot of other folks aren't getting.
00:18:12.635 --> 00:18:21.705
And part of that is just having the influence to get people to take action and put in that hard work because agents, I think I can say this and not feel bad.
00:18:21.746 --> 00:18:22.756
Agents do not work hard.
00:18:23.050 --> 00:18:29.921
there's like 3 percent or 5 percent that work really hard and that's why they get all the volume and that's, they deserve it too.
00:18:30.381 --> 00:18:44.911
And so I think that's, it's kind of this grit and also if I could just add one more thing, it's that I used to do this thing and I think as business owners, we do it where we know something's wrong and we kick the can down the road cause it's not that wrong.
00:18:45.520 --> 00:18:50.010
They do not allow that and they're like, Hey, and we have this funny thing that we say, Hey.
00:18:50.270 --> 00:19:00.101
Are we doing the thing like by keeping this person here when they're not doing any business and they're stressed financially and they're not making it work and they're a wonderful person.
00:19:00.381 --> 00:19:04.320
Are we doing the thing by not saying, Hey, here's what we need to happen.
00:19:04.330 --> 00:19:05.270
Or let me help.
00:19:05.540 --> 00:19:07.000
Let me help you make a change.
00:19:07.306 --> 00:19:09.365
Because capacity is limited.
00:19:09.715 --> 00:19:22.576
And if you've got folks that aren't positioned well, or whatever it may be, but those things that are out of whack and we let happen, the friction arises and it, and of course it's going to be difficult to grow.
00:19:22.596 --> 00:19:25.086
So we don't do the thing, anymore.
00:19:25.096 --> 00:19:25.826
And that's been helpful.
00:19:26.320 --> 00:19:27.820
No, that's, that's really good.
00:19:27.820 --> 00:19:28.520
And I love that.
00:19:28.520 --> 00:19:29.790
That to me is gold.
00:19:29.800 --> 00:19:35.381
I think that it's those uncomfortable conversations sometimes and it's good old fashioned hard work.
00:19:35.431 --> 00:19:36.161
I mean, you're right.
00:19:36.221 --> 00:19:39.540
people say the 80 20 rule for many parts of business.
00:19:39.540 --> 00:19:49.631
I think real estate it's the 95 five rule that really there are 5 percent a player dominator, Type of individuals that crush it and do 95 percent of the business.
00:19:49.951 --> 00:19:54.411
We know the simple math is 50 percent don't do anything in real estate, which is mind blowing.
00:19:54.421 --> 00:19:58.411
Like they don't do a deal 50%, but of that, I think, yeah, I think you're spot on.
00:19:58.711 --> 00:19:59.020
Okay.
00:19:59.020 --> 00:20:00.510
So again, want to be sensitive to your time.
00:20:00.530 --> 00:20:05.611
I would love to get your take as we kind of close out this next episode is the Denver market.
00:20:06.060 --> 00:20:07.490
I know this is crystal ball.
00:20:07.490 --> 00:20:09.550
I know I'm trying to lead you down the primrose path.
00:20:09.550 --> 00:20:17.141
We're going to drop, you know, probably right at the change from end of third to early fourth quarter for everybody listening.
00:20:17.590 --> 00:20:20.980
We'd love to know how you're, well, not feeling, but also seeing it.
00:20:20.980 --> 00:20:23.601
Cause you have so many agents, you do a lot of deals, you see data.
00:20:23.971 --> 00:20:29.810
How do you see the rest of this year going and what do you see for 2025 in residential real estate in Metro Denver?
00:20:30.510 --> 00:20:51.431
I love this stuff, and still, , we're guessing at best, but you know, we talk every month about a number of key metrics and it's probably the stuff, that most of us are looking at, a big driver being cuts with the fed, but even deeper understanding, like, You know, we have a dual mandate, you know, for stable prices, and employment growth.
00:20:51.881 --> 00:20:54.480
And with that, that's really difficult.
00:20:54.711 --> 00:20:59.401
I mean, you know, maximum employment and stable prices is very difficult because they're contradictory.
00:20:59.961 --> 00:21:09.921
So what I think is, since we had the fed talk at the end of July, and it seems more and more likely in, since then, again, in Jackson Hill time.
00:21:10.520 --> 00:21:15.550
About the fact that rate cuts are coming because the economy is slowing down.
00:21:15.760 --> 00:21:21.500
So what they have done by keeping rates high, just the cost of borrowing in general high is really slow things down.
00:21:21.891 --> 00:21:28.651
What I've noticed is, or I guess what we see is the market is extremely rate sensitive.
00:21:29.121 --> 00:21:30.711
And it's not just the rate itself.
00:21:30.711 --> 00:21:32.221
It's the news around the rain.
00:21:32.260 --> 00:21:39.421
So since that end of July, we've seen a lot of activity and by the time this drops, I'm nearly positive, that we will have a rate cut.
00:21:39.550 --> 00:21:42.201
But we've seen it, excuse me, activity really kick up.
00:21:42.701 --> 00:21:44.361
And what I mean is loan applications.
00:21:44.651 --> 00:21:55.901
Showings offers properties going under contract, but still with that, we have this, we're still above that 10, 000 unit, point which we haven't seen in 10 years.
00:21:55.951 --> 00:21:57.550
And we've talked a lot about that.
00:21:57.550 --> 00:21:59.800
And then of course I'm talking about active inventory.
00:22:00.050 --> 00:22:01.461
What's really interesting here.
00:22:01.881 --> 00:22:06.921
Is we have not at least between June and July and we'll have our August data, like today.
00:22:07.090 --> 00:22:09.661
But between June and July, we haven't seen value slip.
00:22:09.750 --> 00:22:11.770
I mean, they like change nominally.
00:22:12.020 --> 00:22:25.855
So if you have that much active inventory to not have value slip, what comes to mind is resilience that you've got sellers that may not need to sell because they're not willing to chase that price down, which is really interesting.
00:22:26.226 --> 00:22:45.155
As far as, rest of this year, I think the rate cut is going to push things further in the direction of more activity, but you and I both know that this is kind of common knowledge now, like we're going to get a September cut unless there's some things that really went sideways, you know, in like employment was really good or kicked up.
00:22:45.625 --> 00:22:57.836
But with that, You're going to see activity, I think really increase in, especially if we get the December cut, which I expect that we will.
00:22:58.215 --> 00:23:03.326
We're watching really closely because active inventory and we have a lot to choose from.
00:23:03.615 --> 00:23:05.980
And if you've got the neighbor on either side.
00:23:06.250 --> 00:23:11.621
The law of supply and demand would absolutely tell you that values have to come down.
00:23:12.060 --> 00:23:13.010
What I've heard.
00:23:13.010 --> 00:23:23.671
And what we talk about a lot is that psychologically, when rates hit five and a half, that people are going to be more willing to let go of that three or three and a quarter mortgage.
00:23:23.691 --> 00:23:25.090
Now we'll see if that happens.
00:23:25.211 --> 00:23:28.851
And we have one path where you could say, well, that's going to flood the market with more inventory.
00:23:29.300 --> 00:23:30.901
And you have this other half.
00:23:31.881 --> 00:23:43.391
You've just got a lot of optimism in the market and you've got, I think right now you're seeing a lot of opportunistic buyers, jumping in and going, Hey, like there's deals to be had.
00:23:43.800 --> 00:23:46.800
But when you get the general public and that psychology to shift.
00:23:47.050 --> 00:23:54.270
You know, people aren't using reason, you know, in decision making, they're using their interests and the emotion around it.
00:23:54.300 --> 00:23:55.070
And that's okay.
00:23:55.351 --> 00:23:57.201
We just need to understand that.
00:23:57.621 --> 00:24:06.230
So it will be really interesting to see what happens, but I think that the values, especially in 2025 will certainly go up.
00:24:06.621 --> 00:24:14.641
I got to be really careful because that is the crystal ball, but I just think, and it will be heavily segmented because if you're talking about.
00:24:14.891 --> 00:24:24.351
Areas that have circumstances and I hate to bring it up, but certain parts of like Aurora, where you're up against some things that are really difficult and out of our control.
00:24:24.931 --> 00:24:25.730
That's different.
00:24:25.730 --> 00:24:40.810
But what we're seeing is like some of the adjacent areas of the metro area, people are less inclined to be in the city of Denver or some, I should say, I mean, there's wonderful places in Denver, but we've seen a lot of action in the suburbs and a lot of stuff happening on the West side.
00:24:40.891 --> 00:24:44.800
So I expect values to come up, but we're really.
00:24:45.181 --> 00:24:48.701
We're watching very closely in across a number of metrics.
00:24:48.730 --> 00:24:49.830
And I love this stuff.
00:24:49.830 --> 00:24:54.961
So I don't mean to get too far in the weeds, but, from GDP, the last reading on GDP was 2.
00:24:54.980 --> 00:25:00.411
8, which is going to be revised down significantly, just like the last jobs report was.
00:25:00.621 --> 00:25:02.310
And so now we're talking about recession.
00:25:02.721 --> 00:25:06.750
Which is really interesting because what are we talking about?
00:25:07.121 --> 00:25:09.901
GDP goes flat, for more than a quarter, or negative.
00:25:10.290 --> 00:25:11.181
And at 1.
00:25:11.240 --> 00:25:12.921
7, like we're far from flat.
00:25:13.181 --> 00:25:17.191
And so it would be really interesting because now you're feeling the pain.
00:25:17.550 --> 00:25:26.121
You know, Ed, one of the things that I've always enjoyed about us getting together off camera is you're, you've got a finance background, you've got an econ background, like you're a data guy.
00:25:26.131 --> 00:25:36.127
And I think, yes, all things being equal, gut feeling should help sway somebody on the final, whatever, 2 percent of their decision, but especially in real estate, it's a data thing.
00:25:36.127 --> 00:25:38.730
So maybe, is there one other thing you're looking at that we can do together that we can do together that we can do together that we can do together?
00:25:38.730 --> 00:25:45.040
That helps make your decision, to inform yourself of yeah, this is the way we kind of think the rest of the year and next year is going to go.
00:25:45.040 --> 00:25:48.461
What's maybe one other data point you're kind of looking at, cause you've brought up some gems so far.
00:25:48.691 --> 00:26:00.557
I think what I want to do is there's a couple of things that the fed really looks at, and I think taking that in cross referencing where mortgage rates are at, so let's just pick one of them.
00:26:00.586 --> 00:26:01.817
And that would be inflation.
00:26:01.817 --> 00:26:07.576
So that cross reference with, employment and basically can we get to cuts?
00:26:07.596 --> 00:26:15.787
Because again, all that really matters is the debt to income ratio and then the psychology of that.
00:26:16.237 --> 00:26:24.092
And so if we can get to that five and a half and let's say it's not even five and a half that like, you know, Freeze people up and it gets people excited and things are happening.
00:26:24.092 --> 00:26:26.551
And Oh my gosh, like it's back to where we want to be.
00:26:26.981 --> 00:26:34.971
Maybe it's five and a quarter, but there is a strike price, or there is a strike rate, let's call it, where you're going to see a lot of action.
00:26:35.241 --> 00:26:36.701
And I think it's the sentiment.
00:26:36.761 --> 00:26:39.717
So we have to get past the recession talk.
00:26:39.967 --> 00:26:45.987
And if we go into recession, we go into recession, you know, it's again, kind of like we talked about, like I can't control those circumstances.
00:26:46.257 --> 00:27:04.497
In fact, what we'd want to look at is like, there's opportunities, you know, that occur in that case, but we're looking really closely at probably employment inflation and how it's going to affect the feds decision to cut and, it's just a correlation, you know, like the cut doesn't mean that we're going to see an exact cut in mortgage rates.
00:27:04.787 --> 00:27:06.807
So we watched a 10 year treasury bill.
00:27:07.126 --> 00:27:12.817
That is, the closest indicator and actual mortgage rates, and it's dropping really quickly.
00:27:12.817 --> 00:27:24.122
So I know I overcomplicated things badly, Derek, because there's a few things we're looking at and at the end of the day, Because of that rate sensitivity, that's the number one thing.
00:27:24.771 --> 00:27:35.162
We're not going to have a boom if mortgage rates go up to six and a half, it just isn't realistic, but you could say, well, we're kind of talking about economy, but we have mortgage rates now at the low fives.
00:27:35.192 --> 00:27:36.432
You're going to see a housing book.
00:27:36.852 --> 00:27:37.971
You just will.
00:27:38.021 --> 00:27:40.342
Especially cause you have so many frustrated people.
00:27:40.352 --> 00:27:43.981
Cause we went from, I can't get an offer accepted to.
00:27:44.551 --> 00:27:47.592
Now I can't afford a mortgage, as a perspective buyer out there.
00:27:47.592 --> 00:27:48.811
So there's frustration.
00:27:48.842 --> 00:27:49.731
And I think there's people.
00:27:50.086 --> 00:27:50.997
Wanting to get in.
00:27:50.997 --> 00:27:52.547
I think the funny thing about that is you're right.
00:27:52.547 --> 00:27:58.896
Going back to 2000, we've had whatever six or seven recessions, depending upon how you classify COVID.
00:27:58.916 --> 00:28:05.497
I guess that's my little asterisk, but it was only the great recession of 2008 where prices went down and it's because of the foreclosure boom.
00:28:05.497 --> 00:28:06.467
So I I'm with you.
00:28:06.497 --> 00:28:08.076
I think that it is interesting.
00:28:08.606 --> 00:28:13.497
Sense wise, it doesn't really, calculate that values are holding in, but I think you're right.
00:28:13.497 --> 00:28:17.237
And then we kick in that supply and demand side of things here in the next 15 months.
00:28:17.727 --> 00:28:19.396
I do think we're going to have a healthier market.
00:28:19.426 --> 00:28:24.477
So man, I have love, we could do a whole two other hours, but I know you got a lot of other things going on.
00:28:24.527 --> 00:28:30.136
So we're going to wrap today, but before we go, what I would love for you to share with our audience is how can they get a hold of you?
00:28:30.146 --> 00:28:31.517
How can they contact you?
00:28:31.557 --> 00:28:32.737
Man, you're doing such cool things.
00:28:32.807 --> 00:28:34.406
Make sure and give us, ways we can get in contact.
00:28:34.436 --> 00:28:34.916
Absolutely.
00:28:34.967 --> 00:28:35.846
My personal self.
00:28:35.872 --> 00:28:41.122
303 870 4749 or ed at ed Prather.
00:28:41.122 --> 00:28:41.612
com.
00:28:41.842 --> 00:28:42.842
I love this stuff.
00:28:42.862 --> 00:28:50.211
Derek, you and I get along so well because I think, we all know, and you and I certainly know that there's infinite, there's plenty of deals.
00:28:50.422 --> 00:29:01.991
And one thing I would say is I know I can get in the weeds with the economic stuff, but if you want to educate yourself with a very accessible source, I would look at Marketplace.
00:29:02.332 --> 00:29:05.991
Which is basically an affiliate of NPR.
00:29:06.301 --> 00:29:12.971
It's a daily show and it talks about the economy and what's going on and how it affects us as consumers.
00:29:13.362 --> 00:29:23.102
And it's so much more accessible than some of these papers that come out and things, and it's really been fascinating because it's a lot simpler than they want to make it seem.
00:29:23.531 --> 00:29:29.951
And when you start to understand it, you can at least have a feeling of if this happens.
00:29:30.527 --> 00:29:31.906
Then this other thing's going to happen.
00:29:31.926 --> 00:29:35.576
We don't know if this thing's going to happen, but it's interesting.
00:29:35.576 --> 00:29:40.267
So, if nothing else, I just, I had to mention that cause it's been really informative.
00:29:40.926 --> 00:29:45.846
No, thank you so much for saying that because I think so many other things can be so skewed and so biased.
00:29:45.846 --> 00:29:49.436
And here we're not here to talk politics, but like things can just get totally out of whack.
00:29:49.436 --> 00:29:50.507
So that's great data.
00:29:50.787 --> 00:29:54.426
man, Ed has been an absolute pleasure on having you on the raising the flipping bar.
00:29:54.426 --> 00:29:56.366
We will definitely have you on again.
00:29:56.376 --> 00:29:58.787
We'll look forward to connecting offline as well.
00:29:58.967 --> 00:30:00.217
But we really appreciate it.
00:30:00.396 --> 00:30:01.787
And Ed, we'll catch you on the flip side.
00:30:02.037 --> 00:30:03.416
Hey, thanks again for having me, Derek.
00:30:03.416 --> 00:30:04.946
It is absolutely a pleasure.
00:30:05.646 --> 00:30:08.676
Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of raising the flipping bar.
00:30:09.057 --> 00:30:22.366
If you found value in our insights and stories, let's keep the conversation going, connect with me on social media, and be sure to share this episode with friends or colleagues who might benefit your feedback and reviews, help us grow and reach more listeners like you.
00:30:22.747 --> 00:30:25.896
So please, if you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review.
00:30:26.727 --> 00:30:29.656
Thanks again to the elevation Academy for sponsoring today's show.
00:30:30.257 --> 00:30:33.567
If you're interested in learning more, click the link in the show notes below.
00:30:34.076 --> 00:30:35.517
And remember every property.
00:30:35.576 --> 00:30:36.297
Tells a story.
00:30:36.646 --> 00:30:37.936
Every deal brings a lesson.
00:30:38.507 --> 00:30:41.297
Keep reaching for those goals and we'll catch you on the flip side.
00:30:44.061 --> 00:30:44.642
Hey everybody.
00:30:44.662 --> 00:30:47.862
Thank you so much for listening and watching raising a flipping bar.
00:30:48.172 --> 00:30:53.511
Just a basic overall disclaimer is that a, this is not legal advice.
00:30:53.711 --> 00:30:55.122
B, this is not tax advice.
00:30:55.123 --> 00:30:56.862
See, this is not financial advice.
00:30:57.231 --> 00:31:00.912
I hope you get the gist, but I'm obviously not a lawyer, not a CPA.
00:31:01.051 --> 00:31:05.592
Hell I'm not even a real estate agent actually, but in general, we hope you get a ton of value out of this, but there is a bit of a disclaimer.
00:31:05.592 --> 00:31:09.152
Please consult a professional if you have any questions whatsoever.
00:31:09.201 --> 00:31:09.392
Thanks