Transcript:
Welcome to the Tax Sale Podcast, where tax sale investing is made easy.
I’m Casey Denman, a tax sale veteran, expert, and trainer, author of the tax sale playbook, founder of the tax sale academy and your host here on the tax sale podcast.
Thanks for joining me on today’s podcast, and as always, at the conclusion of this podcast, if you’re looking to learn more about investing in tax defaulted real estate head to taxsaleacademy.com. That’s taxsaleacademy.com.
Alright…let’s get to it now. Today’s title is Practice Makes Perfect Profits! I’m going to start this podcast with a seemingly non tax sale related story…
Ok, so about six or seven years ago I started the process to get my private pilot’s license or actually certificate as the FAA calls it. Aviation has always interest me and I set aside the time to earn my license. One of the big steps for a student is the first time they fly by themselves which is know as soloing, for pretty obvious reasons. Prior to this point you must fly with an instructor who serves as the teacher and the person that insures you don’t fly the plane into the ground. Now, the way it works is that whenever the instructor thinks you’re ready to solo and can do so safely, he’ll let you. Prior to that point, you do what are called touch and goes. This is where you and your instructor fly around the airport and practice landings. You take off, circle around, touch down, take off and do it all over again. And not like 2 or 3 times, like 30 or 40 or 50 times. You practice over and over again, until you’re instructor says you’re ready to solo. Then you take off by yourself and do it alone.
You practice. Over and over again. When it comes to aviation, practicing is quite literally the different between life and death. But people also practice speaking, playing sports, driving, singing, dancing, you practice so much stuff. So tell me this . . . why the heck wouldn’t you practice tax sale investing?
This concept seems to be so lost for so many new and eager investors. You’ll practice your golf swing or your two step, where the result probably won’t make a bit of difference in your life, but you won’t take the time to practice how to invest in tax defaulted real estate? It might not be life and death, but it can mean the difference between success and no success.
So, how exactly can we practice as tax sale investors? And exactly when should you practice and who should do it?
Well, every single tax sale investor should be doing some form of practicing. As a new investor, you need to really learn this business first and foremost to make sure you’re actually practicing correctly. What’s the saying, it’s not practice that makes perfect, it’s perfect practice that make perfect. In this case we’ll add another P, so Perfect Practice Makes Perfect Profits.
So once you learn the business you practice. And we’ll talk about how exactly to practice momentarily, but I want to make it clear that this doesn’t necessarily go for just new investors.
In fact, I practice my skill, my craft, every single day. So regardless of your experience levels, it’s important that you continue to practice being a tax sale investor every single day.
Alright, so let’s talk about a few ways you can practice as a tax sale investor.
The first is by researching properties. It doesn’t matter if you are completely new to researching real estate or if you have researched properties for years, it’s time to practice. And maybe you don’t even start with a tax sale list. Take the home you live in and research it. What are the specifics on the home? What’s the square footage? What does the county say about the improvements? What about the land? How big is it? What’s it zoned? What else can you learn?
From there, take your neighbor’s house and study it. Then maybe a relative or friend’s house. Then obviously, start researching that tax sale list This is a great way to take the information you can find online and apply it what you know in person.
2.
After that, spend some time driving by properties. Maybe it’s the generic properties you’ve previously researched or perhaps it’s time to start looking through an actual tax sale list and researching those specific properties. When you drive by these properties, write down what you’re seeing and anything that stands out or isn’t what you expected. If you’re an academy member, you’ll have a spreadsheet you can do this with, if not you’re essentially comparing what you found online to what you see.
By researching these properties and then driving by them, it will give you quite a bit of insight on how to become a better researcher. You’ll eventually get to the point where you will be able to even better utilize the information found online, which will help you to be a better and more efficient researched.
3.
Another way you can practice is by attending auctions. And this is especially an important one if you’re just starting out. An auction can be an intimidating place. Especially when you walk into one the first time and plan on buying some properties. I remember my first auction very well. And boy was I nervous.
The one way to combat this nervousness and to insure that you’re successful moving forward is by becoming familiar with the process. Get there are register. Sit down and listen to the rules. Pay close attention when other attendees ask questions, since you can learn so much just by listening to what’s going on in the room.
Pay attention to what people are saying to the auctioneer, what they’re saying between themselves. See if any is surprised or shocked about anything.
4.
Then after the auction, if you can strike up a conversation with another investor then do so. Talk to them, see if they can provide any assistance. Now obviously, they might not be any more experienced than you and their objectives might not be the same as yours, but you can always learn from other people’s viewpoints. Have an open mind and learn from others.
It’s also a tremendous networking opportunity at every auction. Don’t make others feel uncomfortable of course, but if there’s an opportunity to strike up a conversation, then do so, even if it means having to come out of your shell. There isn’t a better place to network as a tax sale investor than at a tax sale auction. As much as you’d like to think it, your competition might just be friendly.
5.
The last way is by following the market. Practice learning about different areas of the county, about different subdivisions, about different markets. On the day I recorded this podcast, I spent half the day just learning about an area I’ve never invested in. I researched what was selling, how quickly stuff was selling, then drove the areas, figure out the ages of the homes and what the typical issues are. I focused on what I was doing, dug in and learned more about one specific area of the county than I had ever known before, and we’re talking about like 2 or 3 small neighborhoods. But I can assure you then next time I see a property pop up in one of those neighborhoods, I’ll know more about it than most people. EDUCATE YOURSELF.
And that’s probably a good way to conclude this podcast. I could summarize by saying you need to get involved in this business in every way imagineable. If a tax sale investor does it, you need to be doing it nonstop. Actually become a tax sale investor in practice, even if it means you don’t invest a single dime. Don’t just sit on the sidelines telling yourself you’ll start one day. Make that one day today. Get started right now. Do the five things I mentioned in this podcast and give yourself a leg up as you move forward.
Again, they were research properties, driveby properties, attend auctions, talk with other investors, and follow the market. Every single one of these things is completely free and things you can start on right now!
Not sure of the specifics on how to research, what to look for or that kind of stuff? We have loads of completely free resources at YouTube.com/TaxSaleAcademy.
Another awesome resource to help you get started is The Tax Sale Playbook, which is getting unreal responses and can be yours – the book is free, we just ask for your help with shipping. You can get it at TaxSaleAcademy.com. And then of course if you want step by step comprehensive training, consider becoming a member of the academy at TaxSaleAcademy.com and clicking on join.
That’s it for today’s podcast guys. Before I end, I’d like to ask for a quick favor from you. We provide lots of completely free training for you guys. All we ask is that you’ll subscribe to us and provide a like or positive rating to let us know you’re enjoying the content and you find it useful.
Take care guys and make it a successful day.
See ya!