5 Essential Insights on Real Estate Coordination with Anna Bledsoe

Dylan Silver (00:01.102)
Hey folks, welcome back to the show. I’m your host, Dylan Silver. And today on the show we have Anna Bledsoe, who is the owner of Apex Coordination specializing in real estate transaction coordinating for investors with a unique focus on creative deal structures. Anna, welcome to the show.

Anna Bledsoe (00:23.342)
Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.

Dylan Silver (00:25.516)
Absolutely. Before we hopped on, I didn’t even ask you what area of the country you’re you’re based out of. Where are you based out of?

Anna Bledsoe (00:31.784)
am based in Tennessee.

Dylan Silver (00:34.374)
Our last guest was also in Tennessee. This is interesting. I don’t think I’ve had any Tennessee guests to this point. Now I’ve had two back to back. So there’s something in the airwaves over here. Where are you? Are you in Chattanooga?

Anna Bledsoe (00:48.224)
No, so I’m on the other side of Tennessee. I’m right outside of Memphis. So I’m kind of in between Memphis and Jackson, Tennessee.

Dylan Silver (00:52.154)
Okay.

Dylan Silver (00:56.374)
Okay, I’m getting my my my Tennessee bearings here for the first time today. But but Anna, how did you get into the real estate space? I think for folks on the outside looking in the we see the success, but we don’t necessarily see the beginnings. What was the beginnings like for you?

Anna Bledsoe (01:13.292)
Yeah, great question. So I started my entrepreneurial path about nine years ago. And when I first started, I had launched a virtual assistant business. And it was just like general admin. I was working with all different types of industries. And that turned into I went from just the admin assistant to managing the business and the operations. And I realized

You can’t really niche, I mean, I’m sorry, you can’t really scale that when you’re working for like 10 or 11 different industries. And so I really needed to niche down. And I had a client that was a creative investor. I started working with them just doing general admin, quickly fell in love with creative deal structure and the whole industry. And so I became their operations manager. They were focused on doing like sub two reps. And so…

Again, after working with a few investors, realized everyone did everything a little different, and so I was running into that same problem where I can’t scale this. So I needed to focus on the part of the whole operations that I truly loved and was passionate about, and that’s how I ended up as a transaction coordinator as my main focus.

Dylan Silver (02:29.368)
Okay, wow. So you really started off as a service provider to the real estate space drilled into I’m going to do real estate and then decided I’m going to go transaction coordinator route. Was there anything specifically that drew you towards transaction coordination or was that just divine intervention?

Anna Bledsoe (02:50.094)
I would say a little bit of both. So first off, I am a totally nerd about paperwork and finding typos and I’m really good at, I refer to it as hurting cats. So as we get closer to the closing day, people tend to get a little frenzy and I’m really good at keeping calm and making sure everyone stays on the same page. However, if I were to tap into the passion side of it, I really love working.

with the sellers. A lot of times with investors, the sellers are in tough situations and I have a compassion to serve those in need. And so I really am able to kind of flex that as being a transaction coordinator.

Dylan Silver (03:34.436)
This is very interesting. Herding cats and staying calm when the wires may be fraying in people’s minds. Did you develop this or was this just your disposition that you realized, I’m actually pretty suited for this?

Anna Bledsoe (03:42.359)
Yes.

Anna Bledsoe (03:49.57)
Yeah, so I realized that I’m pretty suited just by jumping in. Again, like I started as just a general admin, making sure utility bills are paid, the files are organized, and I really learned the ins and outs of this. And so I realized that transaction coordinating is so much of getting the deal closed, and it’s like hand holding the buyers and the sellers.

And so I found out that there is a certification that you can take that will teach you primarily creative deal structures and how to TC it. So I had already had the experience of two years before taking the certification, but it really just like solidified my education and doing it the correct ethical way.

Dylan Silver (04:41.124)
So Anna you’re a transaction coordinator now I’m familiar with this as either an in-house individual in a company who handles the loose ends I’m familiar with someone who’s doing maybe a similar point of contact at a title company. Are you the owner of this business at this point in time.

Anna Bledsoe (05:01.39)
Yes, I am owner operator and I do have a team under me and I act as like the managing TC So I still touch every file I still just make sure everyone’s staying on track. But yes as as you know TC becomes like the glue of the deal So we’re the center point of contact for everyone involved in the deal

Dylan Silver (05:21.69)
this is my own ignorance and I didn’t realize so people are reaching out to you to be a transaction coordinator but you’re not you’re not W2 for them right so you’re you’re your own entity and they’re seeing the value and having a third party transaction quarter am I getting the gist right here.

Anna Bledsoe (05:40.13)
Yeah, that’s exactly it. So we are an LLC. We are our own entity and we come in. So I’m gonna answer that, also kind of throw in a little side note. A lot of times investors feel like they need to be at a certain point before they can bring on any type of admin help. And with that, there’s a whole stress of scaling and training and the time. And it’s like, if you’re already so busy with your deals, how are you gonna make time to train and how are you even going to train?

Dylan Silver (05:50.554)
Go ahead.

Anna Bledsoe (06:09.366)
And the truth is a lot of investors are not super savvy or love the paperwork side of things. And so what we offer is transaction coordinators that are ready to just jump in, we’re already trained, we already fully understand your deal structure. And so there’s not really like that overhead or that stress of needing to train, but you still get that support that you’re needing.

Dylan Silver (06:34.222)
How many TC’s do you have right now?

Anna Bledsoe (06:37.368)
So it depends on what the deal structure is and what state it’s in. So I have access to, because of the training that I did in the community I’m a part of, I have access to countless TC’s that are trained just like I am that may specialize in a state or a certain deal structure that I don’t have a ton of experience in.

and I would bring them in under me. I would still manage the TC, but I would be able to really lean in on their expertise.

Dylan Silver (07:09.572)
This is really my own ignorance showing here, Anna. So I’m totally new to the idea that you could get a third party transaction coordinator. Of course, I’ve seen them in-house, right? And the idea that you could offload that to a trusted resource is really great. Are you seeing a lot of people who are maybe in a scaling phase like you mentioned previously? Or is it a lot of people who…

who are familiar with you personally and realizing, I can benefit from this, why do this myself when I trust Anne or is it a combination of both?

Anna Bledsoe (07:46.158)
Yeah, again, that’s a really great question. I would say it’s a combination of both. A lot of my newer clients are newer investors. So I have some clients that are doing just one deal every 90 days or something like that. And then I have more experienced investors that are closing up to 20 files a month. So it really just, I serve all types of investors. I’ll put it that way.

Dylan Silver (08:15.244)
Okay, so when you’re first starting at your your your business as a transaction coordinator, was this was this a space where there was mentorship where you had lots of people to go to or were you carving out a niche for yourself that was unprecedented?

Anna Bledsoe (08:32.216)
So as you said before, you know about the traditional TC’s that work with real estate agents. That has been around for, I don’t know how long. That’s like not a new thing. I did not reinvent the wheel on that one. However, getting to know like the creative deal structures and what all is involved in the crazy world of investors is new. And so when I first started doing this, there really wasn’t a…

big community, there was no way to learn it. I had to learn just by jumping in and using my professional experience to make the investors appear more professional. know, hey, I mean, it is what it is. A lot of the investors are coming in and they don’t really have like that professional background. And when you’re working with title companies and closing attorneys, they’re…

There is a need to show up professionally. I’m sorry, and going back to your question. So I was already in this for about two years before I found that community of TC’s, that mentorship. And I believe that they actually started that mentorship right around the time that I was also learning it. I just was not aware of that group yet.

Dylan Silver (09:50.554)
So at this point in time, there is people in the country that are doing third party transaction coordinating, but it’s just rare.

Anna Bledsoe (09:58.484)
Yes, and a lot of them that are a lot of the TC’s that are coming in, they are newer to the industry and they are learning and a lot of times those newer TC’s will work under as more experienced TC’s to really get some files under their belts and learn like the best practices.

Dylan Silver (10:16.324)
So what types of guidance are you able to provide to real estate investor are you able to guide them on contracts or is it purely I have the contract I’m bringing this to the title company I’ll reach out to the buyer if you’re representing the seller or are you able to give them like opinions and advice on all types of aspects of the transaction.

Anna Bledsoe (10:40.494)
So I always tell everyone I am not an attorney. So I cannot give legal advice and I cannot create legal documents. With that said, the way that my file submission form is, I get you to fill out all the information and to give me the details of the deal structure and then you’re gonna submit your contract. Now I’m gonna read your submission and I’m gonna read over your contract and make sure that your contract reflects what you’re telling me you want that deal structure to look like.

So with that, I will give feedback about, I mean, with the investment deals, like they can get really kind of crazy and creative. So, you you wanna make sure that what you have verbally communicated with your buyer or seller, it is reflected in your contract. So I do hope that way, but as far as legal advice, I tell everyone, go get an attorney.

Dylan Silver (11:32.154)
I had to say that’s pretty good blanket advice for most people. I can speak for myself and saying that when I was a brand new wholesaler, I would have needed an Anna Blutso because I had no idea how to interact with title companies. It wasn’t until that I became a licensed real estate agent in Texas that I realized, okay, this is totally different than what I thought initially. Like just as an example, when people used to tell me that I’ve opened title, they would say, we’ve already opened title.

I just in my head was like, I guess now we can’t go to any other title company. Like they’ve already put in so much work. You know, I can’t possibly switch them elsewhere.

Anna Bledsoe (12:11.488)
Yeah, there’s, and that goes back to like what I was saying earlier is a lot of the investors they come in and it’s great. We need the investors that have the heart and the drive that they have. But I feel like a professional TC can really bridge that gap. We speak investor and we also speak closing attorney and title companies.

Dylan Silver (12:30.542)
Yeah, it’s a separate language. I feel like Anna, got my real I don’t feel like I know I got my real estate license just so that I could speak real estate agent. That was the only reason you know the main reason I’m sure there’s others but I felt like this wholesaler you know we’re gonna blah blah blah even to the point Anna when I was in the real estate school physically and they were like do we have any wholesalers here and I raised my hand I felt like

Anna Bledsoe (12:32.11)
Yes, it is.

Dylan Silver (12:59.724)
no, I shouldn’t have done that. I’m on the outs now.

Anna Bledsoe (13:04.365)
it’s like a bad word or something.

Dylan Silver (13:06.254)
Yeah, yeah, I mean, you interface with title companies and with investors all the time, right? So I’m sure you’re dealing with a lot of this. How do you deal with this? How do you deal with kind of mixed sentiments or people saying, you know, this is, you know, a strange way to go about things or thinking thinking negatively about a deal.

Anna Bledsoe (13:36.558)
So.

I’m three years in now and I have a directory per state, per deal structure of closing attorneys and title companies and insurance agents that will work the deals that we have coming in. I do find in states that are more like county specific.

There’s a vetting process, like if I’m in a new county and I don’t have a solid title company that I know is familiar with this type of deal structure, I will call them and I have a whole script that I follow that I type out of certain questions that I’m gonna ask, you know, are you familiar with this? Are you gonna be able to prepare these documents? And I give them a chance to really give me feedback.

Usually from that phone call I can tell just by their answers I can tell whether or not they’re gonna be a good fit and if they’re not then I move on to the next one.

Dylan Silver (14:34.808)
I think there’s so many parts to these deals which people don’t think about, right? So it’s already hard enough to get the deal under contract. It’s hard enough to find a buyer, right? But then you have to navigate these elements and it’s like an afterthought. It’s like, wait a minute, I now have to do this. And so I think having that resource, which you provide is truly invaluable because let the investors, especially new investors,

worry about the stuff that is already hard enough. Let’s take out the anxiety and let’s take out the intelligence, not intelligence, but the intel that they would otherwise need to run through these title situations.

Anna Bledsoe (15:17.006)
Yes, and to add to that, there’s a whole aspect that a professional experienced TC will bring to the table as well that I think that kind of goes a little overlooked, but it’s so valuable. And that is building rapport with your sellers and your buyers. So anyone who’s been doing this for a while, they know that a seller can get a little cold feet. They can get nervous. Is this a scam? How do I trust you? And so I feel like that’s one of my superpowers that I bring to the table.

is I meet with sellers and I become literally like their best friend in the deal because I really do want to make this as smooth as possible. It’s already real estate is such an emotional experience and we’re talking about people’s lives and a lot of times the sellers that come to investors they’re in really hard situations whether it be financial or a health problem and I like to

spend time with them and really understand their situation and build that trust. And that helps with seller retainer.

Dylan Silver (16:20.282)
I can think of one deal in particular, of course, to keep people’s identities, you know, confidential. There was a deal where I had where before I was a licensed agent, this this woman had ended up finding herself in jail. And so we had a seller in jail and we had buyers who wanted to see the property. And I’m thinking like, I am unqualified to be to be communicating between these parties. How do I do this?

Anna Bledsoe (16:35.31)
you

Dylan Silver (16:49.838)
you know, and it was for me learning on the fly. And these are for people who may be hearing this and saying, they want to sell the home, they want to buy the home. These are people who can at times be an emotional or financial distress like you wouldn’t believe. Quite literally, you know, someone who’s facing incarceration or incarceration. And then a buyer who may be,

suspect if you will of this process because why can’t I get into the house so on and so forth and Anna I know you deal with this all the time and so for you it’s like old hat but for me and for any investor at the time who’s going through that it’s like a super super difficult conversation and can be to have.

Anna Bledsoe (17:34.766)
So I would say going back to the question of do I give people advice? Legally, no. But in these situations, yes. So I mean, I’ve had to send mobile notaries to jails several times just to get the contract signed. And there’s tons of situations like that. mean, people who are getting like health treatments or illness treatments, I don’t know how you would say that, but.

Yeah, mean, at this point I’ve single-handedly closed over 200 files that are creative. And so you can only imagine how creative the situation is and how we’ve had to pivot and be quick on our feet to get it closed.

Dylan Silver (18:17.272)
Wow, so many questions, so many ways to go through this. Don’t give away all the game here, Anna, but I will ask you some questions here. So you’re active in every state in the US, yeah?

Anna Bledsoe (18:30.26)
My main focus is the eastern and southern side of the U.S. And again, that’s when I rely on my other TC’s in the community to come under and let me lean on their expertise on the western side.

Dylan Silver (18:44.666)
So Eastern and Southern, I’m originally from New Jersey, but I’m in Texas right now. So that’s kind of my backdrop, where that’s informing my opinion. I know some of these things can be way trickier in some states. This is really a broad question. Are you seeing any level of increased difficulty with these subject to deals, assuming loans, creative deals?

in states like my home state New Jersey or the states around it Pennsylvania, New York versus a Texas versus a Florida

Anna Bledsoe (19:22.104)
You know, you would be surprised. Texas can actually be a tricky state to close real estate in. yeah. So,

Dylan Silver (19:27.556)
don’t doubt it. I don’t doubt it.

Anna Bledsoe (19:32.174)
I don’t see like an increase in things being harder, except for like wholesalers. So some states are really starting to make rules around wholesaling just to kind of clean it up. And I think that can contribute again to the lack of professionalism and ethical practices. And I think again, having a TC on your team can kind of help build that rapport and that…

What am I trying to say? That.

Dylan Silver (20:05.53)
Bridge.

Anna Bledsoe (20:06.606)
Bridge, yes, thank you. I was blanking out. But yeah, states like Tennessee, where I’m at, yeah, mean, we can get as creative as we want here. It really does come down to making sure that what you’re doing, well, first off, making sure that all parties have been disclosed on what’s going on. We’re being honest, we’re being ethical, and you have a good closing attorney or title company that’s gonna do it right for you.

Dylan Silver (20:15.002)
That’s right, yeah, you’re in Tennessee.

Dylan Silver (20:36.93)
And being in Tennessee, I asked the gentleman who was just on before you about how Tennessee compares to these other areas of the country. This is the first time that I’m hearing you know Tennessee is actually pretty I’m glad to hear this. I want to go visit Nashville now. Tennessee is actually fairly straightforward when it comes to creative deals. How why is it Anna that people are maybe have blinders on and go Texas.

Florida other areas. How come I’m not here and go to Tennessee? Is it just me? What’s going on?

Anna Bledsoe (21:13.518)
Honestly, it might be just you. I know a lot of investors that are buying in Tennessee, we do have some really, really hot markets all throughout the state. So depending on what type of deal you’re working on or what your exit is, we have a lot of different options here in Tennessee.

Dylan Silver (21:33.23)
Are you seeing, and I know your purview is transaction coordinating, so you’re not fixing flipping properties yourself, but are you seeing that in general all the Tennessee cities are expanding and that they’re ripe for investment for real estate investors, or are you seeing a dip in the markets in any of these cities?

Anna Bledsoe (21:56.938)
No, it’s definitely expanding and growing, especially in Middle Tennessee and East Tennessee.

Dylan Silver (22:03.044)
Okay, very interesting. Again, I guess I gotta make a trip out to Nashville. I say this, this is an aside pivoting a bit here, Anna. When I went through Nashville the first time that I’d ever been, for some reason in my brain I was expecting it to be like Disneyland for music. I didn’t expect there to be like a whole city, you know? And I’m like, wait, no, this is a metropolis. Like where in my East Coast mind did I think in my New York mentality that I was just gonna go around there was gonna be like,

Hard rock cafes everywhere. No, it’s a giant, you know. And so now I wanna go back to Nashville and this gives me another reason to go.

Anna Bledsoe (22:41.218)
Yeah, so if you do come to Tennessee, hit up Nashville and then go ahead and make the trip to Gatlinburg too and see our mountains. They’re incredible.

Dylan Silver (22:49.868)
my goodness. Yeah, I would love to do this. You’re you’re gonna have me relocating to Tennessee here in the next couple of years. I don’t know. I’ve told many of my guests favorite area in the country for me is Fort Lauderdale. I’ll close second is like Colorado in the summer. Winter is way too cold. But now maybe I may I may have to throw throw Tennessee on the map here. But I’m Anna, you know, for folks who are

looking at getting into real estate investing just in general. What kind of feedback would you give them based on your own experience for scaling a business of any kind in the real estate space?

Anna Bledsoe (23:33.108)
say first and foremost you’re going to hit a ceiling if you try to be a one-man show. So you are going to limit yourself on how much you can grow and how fast you can grow if you try to do it all yourself. And I know that especially when you’re working so hard to get these leads and you’re working to get everything under contract and set up your exit, you feel like there’s no one that you could trust to do it better. But I’m here to tell you that there are people

that may even do it better than you do. And we’re here, we’re ready, and we help you scale quicker.

Dylan Silver (24:11.578)
This is such a niche thing that people need to take a look at because you don’t think about the ways that you could hold yourself back by trying to do everything yourself, right? But I know for myself personally, it wasn’t until I say the term fanatically networking that I realized, okay, I don’t have to know everything. I have to be competent in a couple core competencies as a wholesaler. was talking to sellers.

understanding where my buyers buy boxes and when it comes to like you know contract law which I thought I really needed to be super you know I I was like no there’s people who are experts at this and I can refer them people been doing it for years and I can jv with them I don’t have to learn it all at once

Anna Bledsoe (24:57.164)
Yes, and I feel like, so I’ve worked with investors from all different, like mentorship groups and stuff like that, each group has its own little niche way to do things, and I feel like there are groups who are really big on like forming your group, JV, have a team, and then there’s others that are like, you should do it by yourself and be a one man, one man team. And just from the outside looking in,

It’s a clear difference of who grows quicker and who can close more files.

Dylan Silver (25:32.41)
We are coming up on time here and where can folks go to get a hold of you?

Anna Bledsoe (25:36.748)
Yeah, you can visit apexcoordination.com. That’s obviously our website. On there, there’s links to schedule a call with me or submit a file. If you have any questions or you wanna reach out to me directly, you can email me at Anna, A-N-N-A, at apexcoordination.com.

Dylan Silver (25:57.41)
Anna, thank you so much for coming on the show today.

Anna Bledsoe (26:00.328)
Thank you for having me. This has been great.

Dylan Silver (26:02.52)
Absolutely.