Transcript:
Hey guys, it’s Casey Denman here from Tax Sale Academy.com
Thanks so much for joining me on today’s livestream here on Youtube. As always, at the conclusion of this livestream, if you’re looking to learn more about investing in tax defaulted real estate head to taxsaleacademy.com, that’s taxsaleacademy.com.
Alright guys on today’s livestream I want to talk about a term that has such a negative connotation, but it shouldn’t. That term is scavenger. Let me start this livestream with a quick story. It’s a story I’ve told in detail in The Tax Sale Playbook, but I’m going to go over it very quickly in today’s livestream to just set the context.
I’ve been a tax sale investor since 2002, so roughly 16 years as of today. If you look back at the market cycles you can probably guess what happened. From 2004 to 2006, I was still very green and very inexperienced but I was making loads of money. By 2007 the market started to decline and I ultimately lost all the money I had made. I had been chasing money and deals instead of building a sustainable long term business. I eventually developed systems to prevent this from happening again figured out how to make the business work in all market cycles.
But back to 2007, when I had virtually no money left to invest. I remember traveling from one auction to the next to the next buying any properties I could afford. These were absolutely the cheapest properties available. The properties that were one step up from being absolutely worthless. But I was buying them for pennies and reselling them for nickels. I wasn’t making much money, but I was making money. I was actually growing my business in a recession instead of it shrinking. Looking back I built a huge business that had crashed and went to zero. Then I began again from the very bottom floor during the recession. The deal was that I didn’t care if it was a boom, a bust, a recession, a depression or any other type of financial term. All I cared about was paying my bills.
So, I was buying the properties that were left over from all of the cash flush investors who were taking advantage of the downturn. I was buying the properties that most people ignored, including myself a few years prior. The properties that no one else wanted. Then one day at an auction, an auctioneer who I was familiar with and who can be a little abrasive, looked at me and said what are you, like a scavenger or something? I was offended at the time, but you see, he was absolutely right. I was a scavenger. But, I was making money. I was paying bills. And most importantly I was growing my business at a time when everyone else was losing their homes, filing bankruptcy, leaving the business and all sorts of other issues.
And that leads me to today’s livestream. You see, everyone has visions of their future. Of their desired outcomes. If you’re just getting into tax sale investing, then your vision is probably not to be a scavenger. It’s likely to create an incredible business where you can buy mansions for nothing and sell them for millions. Right? And there’s so much in society that says that’s exactly what we’re supposed to do. We’re supposed to only go after the biggest deals. We’re supposed to be making millions, that put us in the mansions with the fancy cars. That’s what we’re “supposed” to be doing. Nobody wants to be a scavenger.
And let me tell you something, when I was called a scavenger by that auctioneer, it stung. I was the guy a few years prior doing double closings making tens of thousands on any random day, I was the guy buying brand new cars, living like a king. Then just a couple of years later I was a scavenger.
You see, there might not always be a direct path to that vision we paint for ourselves or in our endeavors. In this business, there is no zero to hero immediate path. This is a long term sustainable wealth building business where we actually INVEST in real estate. And it takes time to learn this business and to see sustainable success. And the path to that success might not always be the path that we intended for it to be.
So, don’t get tunnel vision and close off opportunities. Don’t get the impression that you must be buying and remodeling tax sale homes to HGTV type standards. Don’t think that you MUST buy homes, or acreage or something that makes you feel fancy.
How about the stuff no one else at the auction wants? Maybe it’s that lot out in the middle of nowhere that you can sell to someone who wants to park an RV there? Or how about that parcel of land that’s just large enough to build on in the area with acreage tracts? Or how about the property that might have some issues or some hurdles to overcome?
How about that lot that you can get for $800 and flip immediately for $1200? Or maybe you can buy something for $500 and sell for $800. Sure, it’s only a few hundred dollars. But it’s something. It’s a start. It’s progress. It puts your business in the black. It gives you experience and something to build off of. In fact, this was the way I rebuilt my business and the way I’ve seen many others build their successful businesses. It’s manageable, easy to come up with the funds and a great way to start.
I can name probably a dozen investors off the top of my head that are multimillionaires and deal in properties that the so called mainstream investors turn a blind eye to. Mobile home lots, old homes in bad areas, single wides, that kind of stuff.
The point of this livestream is to remind you not too get too fancy for you own good. No matter how much you’re starting with, if you’re just starting, don’t overlook the so called scavenger properties. The leftovers.
Guys, now is probably a good time to add a disclaimer here. Obviously you must always research every property. Don’t just buy something because of price and I actually did a podcast episode on cheap properties yesterday, but we never buy based on price alone. The leftover property that no one else wants must have some value to you and must have some value to your potential buyer. Never buy something just to buy something. But get creative with these properties, maybe you buy and hold financing for $99, $99 month for 99 months or something, I don’t know, just be creative.
Look at all of these leftover properties that get no other interest and ask yourself how you can make it profitable.
Now guys, some areas will obviously not have a single leftover or scavenger property that is worth anything. But many areas with have hundreds. So take a look at the list, and figure out just how exactly you can turn one of those properties into a profit. Figure out how you can market that property and line up a buyer. Figure out how to make it a successful investment.
I hear it all the time from new investors. Land is boring. Or I won’t deal in that area. Or I want to only flip middle income homes. I want to remodel stuff.
Guys and girls, here’s the deal: Don’t get fancy. You’re never too good for any profitable property types. Sure there’s opportunity cost. But at the end of the day, don’t get too fancy for your own good. It’s completely ok to be a scavenger in this business and in fact, it can be very profitable.
Guys, I really hope you enjoyed today’s livestream. If you do enjoy these livestreams, be sure to subscribe to us and click that thumbs up button so we know, and that way we’ll be able to continue to make these training videos for you.
And of course, if you’re looking to learn more about investing in tax defaulted real estate, head on over to TaxSaleAcademy.com. When you’re there you can grab your free copy of Tax Sale Playbook, just cover shipping and of course you can also join the academy by clicking the join button to take advantage of our most comprehensive training.
Guys, I hope you have an incredible week. Take care, bye bye.