Build a Nationwide Agent Network & Win with Assumable Mortgages

Joe (00:00)
And he’s helped us create some of the most powerful real estate platforms that I have seen.

And I mean coast to coast because I have traveled this country. ⁓ I’ve mentored, I’ve worked with investors. used to do, I had a partner, we worked for a national seminar company. We used to do presentations with hundreds of people in the room. They were all real estate investors. And there was always technology, but nothing like we have. And that’s really magic when it comes to the business.

Erika (00:30)
Yeah, absolutely. Can you talk about that a little bit more and how it sets you apart?

Joe (00:36)
Absolutely. One of the things, so whether I’m doing commercial or residential, I have a few platforms that we utilize for that. One of them is my online transparent offer platform. that one is a key, that’s a key, that’s my golden nugget, if you will. That one, it takes my business to the next level.

When I started to implement that, I could really focus on controlling what I do and who I do it with. Right? ⁓ You don’t want to do deals out of desperation.

Erika (02:45)
Hey everyone, welcome to the Real Estate Pro Show. I’m your host, Erika, and today I’m thrilled to be joined by Joe Militello, a heavy hitter in real estate investing, and he’s been crushing it. Joe, welcome to the show.

Joe (03:00)
Thank you, Erika. Glad to be here.

Erika (03:04)
Yeah, we’re happy to have you. So let’s jump right in Joe. For those who don’t know you yet, give us the rundown. How did you get started in real estate?

Joe (03:09)
Thank you.

Real estate I started very young took a lot of bumps and bruises as you can imagine Because there’s always that learning curve when you start the real estate business ⁓ But I was kind of fortunate because when I came into the industry I started with a company or a broker who was an investor himself He was a land developer and he took a different approach when he trained us on the real estate industry It wasn’t so much the a to be

typical process of just listing and selling. It was how to structure a deal, how to get creative, how to put deals together that your average agent in the industry is not doing because they don’t have that niche, if you will. ⁓ So it was really, was ⁓ just a big opportunity for me. Once I got involved, it just, it caught me. I mean, it captured my interest.

Was doing the construction thing before that and it just took off for me and I never looked back I’ve been doing it ever since

Erika (04:14)
That’s awesome. when you got started off, Joe, was there something early in the journey that, you know, you still do today?

Joe (04:25)
Ooh, that I still do? Not really. I wouldn’t think so. From the beginning, well, started, you know, I’ve been here for a while. So I seen a lot of the new technology come in. The technology that the new agents have today, I mean, is far more than we ever could have dreamed of. I think we still had beepers when I started the business. So, ⁓ you know, I mean, consistency is key.

Erika (04:29)
Ha ha!

Hahaha

Joe (04:52)
Really, you know, what I’ve taken out of everything is consistency. Whether you’re an agent ⁓ or a buyer or a wholesaler, it really doesn’t matter. You have to be consistent and create systems. You have to be systematized. Be consistent with systems and I think that creates a, you know, that’s a game winning formula really.

Erika (05:15)
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Do you have any tips for our listeners when it comes to getting those systems in place?

Joe (05:23)
⁓ You know, it’s a funny, that’s a good question because honestly, it really takes people that have that dedication. You know, a lot of people get involved, like agents will come into the industry and they will only last a year or two and then they disappear because they don’t really understand what type of business it is. On the surface, it might look like one thing to them, but you know, once they get involved with it, it might change their opinion at that point.

I would give the advice of make sure if you were to come into the industry that you really know who you’re getting involved with. That’s key right now because what I see in the business is they’re bringing agents in, they’re not giving them proper training or they’re not giving them a focus on maybe like a niche, right? They want to, you know, are you going to be commercial, residential? You’re going to work with investors, just homeowners, whatever that niche is.

It should have a laser point focus, if you will, and have the resources for that new agent to be able to grab hold of and take that somewhere. They have to have a direction.

Erika (07:20)
Yeah, speaking of having a direction, where is that with you? What’s your main focus these days?

Joe (07:28)
⁓ Well, I’ve been in the business a long time, so a lot of business comes in as referrals to me. But I’m building out my agent group across the country, so we’re going nationwide with that. We have created with the agents in my group, I have this incredible individual, his name is Bob Mangold, and he’s just, he’s a tech savvy guy and he’s brilliant. And he’s helped us create some of the most powerful real estate platforms that I have seen.

And I mean coast to coast because I have traveled this country. ⁓ I’ve mentored, I’ve worked with investors. used to do, I had a partner, we worked for a national seminar company. We used to do presentations with hundreds of people in the room. They were all real estate investors. And there was always technology, but nothing like we have. And that’s really magic when it comes to the business.

Erika (08:20)
Yeah, absolutely. Can you talk about that a little bit more and how it sets you apart?

Joe (08:26)
Absolutely. One of the things, so whether I’m doing commercial or residential, I have a few platforms that we utilize for that. One of them is my online transparent offer platform. that one is a key, that’s a key, that’s my golden nugget, if you will. That one, it takes my business to the next level.

When I started to implement that, I could really focus on controlling what I do and who I do it with. Right? ⁓ You don’t want to do deals out of desperation.

You want to make sure that your pipeline’s full. Right? So you’re always doing deals, but you can pick. So I like to cherry pick. That’s what I say, right? I’m going to cherry pick the best deals because now I have the resources, I have the experience, and I also have the platforms.

And that was, that one is laser focused for me because it’s huge. It gives the clients everything they want. It’s basically generated to create a quick sale and provide the highest sale price for the customer. And the transparency is key for all parties, not just the seller, but for the buyers, no more blind bid situations. And the investors love it because we can, if they’re doing a flip and they want us to sell that property, we can have it sold in 10 to 14 days.

What the absolute highest price?

Erika (09:50)
That’s really awesome. How do you balance all those moving parts, your group of agents, this transparency program that you offer, and then any deals you’re working on? What’s that like?

Joe (09:54)
you

You got to have the right people in place. The people

you can rely on, of course, as you probably know, having that reliability is huge. Bob is a huge part of that because Bob, you know, with the creation of the technology and the platforms, he handles most of that for us, which is just a huge benefit for us because, you know, as an individual, I can focus on what I need to do in the business and then I’ve got the support where I need it.

So, and then you have to have your other people in place, right? We’re constantly bringing on admins and assistants. And again, the agents, I’m expanding, we’re looking for agents all over the country. And that I think is going to be, you know, if we can offer them what we have, I can guarantee you when we talk to agents or interview them, 99 % of them are just blown away because they’ve never seen anything like it in the industry. So if you have an offer platform that has an auction style and bidding process,

but a traditional real estate sale, they’re like, what is that and how does that work? And then when we show them the results, the process and results, they’re just immediately want to jump on board with it because they can see how they can fine tune their business, right? So they can have a pipeline full of deals, whether you’re an investor, an agent or a wholesaler and ⁓ refine your business, right? Cause for me, it was time. I wanted to get time back. I, you know, I don’t want to work seven days a week.

you know, for the rest of my life. And that’s huge, because now I have a set schedule. I have everybody in place and I can run my life and my business. And it takes a lot of stress off your shoulders. It really does.

Erika (12:21)
Yeah, absolutely. With that platform and what you’re doing, you work with investors a lot. Joe, what’s one trend in the space that you think investors need to pay attention to?

Joe (12:35)
⁓ Boy, you know some of the trends I’m looking at I Here’s something that I think a lot of them are missing and and ⁓ so I’m glad you brought that up I’m working on a deal right now for an investor And they’re not paying attention to a lot of them do but a lot of are missing still the assumable mortgage with the lower interest rate Because they’re walking away from deals and they’re not you know ⁓ With nothing happening the understanding of they can actually make some numbers work if they have the right deal in place

But a lot of that comes down to how it was presented and who’s presenting it, right? If an agent is selling something that doesn’t have a lot of investment knowledge, they might not know to look that far into that deal. So financing is, would be key right now. A lot of our investors, of course, they pay cash, whether it’s residential or commercial. So we have all shapes and sizes, if you will, meaning dollar amount and what they’re willing to get involved with. So we have. ⁓

to that, I’ve a year and a half ago became licensed as an MO and we brought that in-house. So now we have in-house lending. And I have a whole slew of private lenders too for investors if they need that because lending side’s huge. And the biggest issue that I see or the complaint that I hear the most, ⁓ not only from my investors, but from other investors is the financing seems to fall apart quite a bit on some of these deals.

And that’s the biggest reason I brought this in-house because now I can follow that application from start to finish. know exactly where it’s at. that’s again, streamlining and efficiency is huge, especially when it comes to investments, because a lot of times time is of the essence, right? They need to get it done quick and whoever’s selling that property might need to get out of there immediately. So I would say pay attention to the financing part if that’s what you’re really involved.

Erika (14:31)
Yeah, that’s really clever that you’re doing that. Have you found any tools or tech that help you with that financing?

Joe (14:40)
Absolutely. Tons of different programs. And of course, as a ⁓ mortgage broker, you know, we get to reach out to several different sources. And we’ve been able to even refine and cashing out, do a cash out refi for an investor that’s looking to, you know, keep that money moving, so to speak, right? A good investor is always focused on the velocity of money, they want to make sure that money is continually working for them. I mean, if you have a home that’s paid off, that’s debt equity, right?

You might be making some rental income on it, but how could you double and triple that, you know, by utilizing and leveraging that property? So we help and educate them on that. And one of the ways that we help them get there is through some of the other platforms that I have. So we can structure plans for our investors that do have financing on properties. And we have, I’ll build out a plan for them and show them how to pay off a 30 year mortgage in 10 to 12 years.

And that’s through my equity max platform. That way, if they buy an investment property and let’s say they put a five year plan in place or even three years, they might buy down that principle enough to where they have enough equity to pull some more money back out and then go grab another property. So again, that velocity of money, right? We want to keep that investment moving for them. And with the right knowledge and the right training for the investor, you know, they can do that. They can execute their goals.

And we’re right there with them through the whole process. And I think that’s really what they like the most is because they can rely on me to be able to guide them through that.

Erika (16:56)
Yeah, yeah, that’s really cool. And speaking of, you know, guiding these investors, do you maybe have, you know, what I would call a war story? Maybe a deal went sideways with an investor or you had to pivot fast with what you were doing. What happened and how did you learn from that?

Joe (16:57)
Thank

That’s a great question. ⁓ And that’s happened more than once, of course, over the years. and it most of the time does come down to financing, right? Especially if you have multiple properties or you’re working more in a multifamily, like a commercial type financing. We’ve had to do some starter step in a few times and make some quick moves. And that’s really where we learn from that, right?

⁓ How to position assets how to present the deal properly to the seller so we can maybe get a little creative with the deal to assist with the financing so ⁓ Going back to restructure a deal is never a good thing But if you can save it it is right so that’s where that knowledge comes in is you learn from those from those Those issues that you have and you know just doing those so many times. That’s the part where I’m always trying to you know

open up that next door. Let’s fix that problem. Let’s make it a little more efficient or get us another resource. So that’s why I have my hands on everybody, whether it’s a handyman, a contractor, an attorney, a private lender. I’ve had to bring in private lenders at the 11th hour, literally days before the closing table and, you know, cover a little bit of ⁓ the deal in order to get it to close.

And it might cost the investor a little bit of money, but they’re not losing the deal either. So that’s where we get a little bit creative. And everyone’s different. Everyone with single deals are different, right?

Erika (18:47)
Yeah.

Yeah, and it’s good that you have those relationships with everyone that you can, you know, bring, bring them in at the right time. For you, Joe, what’s been the biggest difference maker with building those relationships? As I’m sure, you know, networking is huge and we have a lot of listeners who, you know, are looking the level up. What kind of advice would you give?

Joe (18:52)
Okay.

Absolutely.

⁓ You know what, for me, what worked for me as staying consistent was those resources. So the group of agents that I work with, ⁓ you know, and Bob really put all that together. He’s the one that, you know, I had a relationship with him before we actually really started to work together, but he’s been in the industry longer than I have. So, you he’s been around a long time, very successful. The man’s done just

You know, he’s the one mortgage brokers and real estate companies. And, ⁓ you know, he’s a success story all on his own, but he really helped me pay attention to my, even my daily processes, right? Accountability, ⁓ how to stay focused on your business, how to build the proper business plan. He’s helped us with a lot of that. And that’s why I say with what we have now with the agents that I bring in.

I try to help them with that. Let’s start with your business plan. Let’s start with that niche. Let’s get laser focused. And let’s build the systems. Let’s create consistency. let’s fill your pipeline, increase your revenue, and just change your life. And that’s what it’s all about. And he’s been monumental in my business for that. And we meet every week. I have a meeting with him online. We do a Zoom meeting every single week.

So we stay in touch and that helps me stay focused. So accountability is huge, really is. Yeah.

Erika (20:46)
Yeah, absolutely. I’ve heard heard that a lot on a different podcast.

Joe, what is next on the horizon for you with real estate? You got a vision that you’re casting that you could share with us?

Joe (21:00)
⁓ I have a few things that I’m working on. ⁓ I think the larger that I get, or the more people that we bring in and get involved is going to help me expand more. So the first thing would be to expand, you know, throughout the state. ⁓ if we can do that, ⁓ we can expand anywhere in the country, of course, doesn’t matter what state it’s in. I even have a few contacts now in Canada that we’re working with. That’s part of our team. And that’s huge because again, that’s a resource and.

You know, over the past, I don’t know, six to seven years, we’re doing a lot more relocation clients. ⁓ And I do a lot of investors from out of country, especially, you know, with commercial and maybe the luxury market, you know, we opened up some of the luxury doors and there’s, there’s some folks that can afford to have a nice big, beautiful home here. And then maybe one in Paris, France. So I’ve reached out globally.

and I actually have global contacts now that I work with on a regular basis as well. Because one of the things that I’ve learned is I need to be a resource. I don’t care if it’s referring a contractor or having a contact in another country. Being a resource for my clients and customers is huge because they know they can turn to me in that need and that helps keep an ongoing relationship.

Erika (22:24)
Yeah, absolutely. And with those plans, are there any challenges that you are foreseeing and you got some plans to tackle that?

Joe (22:35)
Yeah, sure. You got to stay focused yourself, right? Get up and go to work every morning. Although I’m pretty motivated to do that. I like it. I love what I do. I always have. think that’s why I’m still, you know, so heavily involved in it. ⁓ But, you know, I mean, for myself, it’s just, I think it’s that attitude of, you know, you wanting to be successful or, and I don’t mean successful in, it doesn’t have to be a dollar amount.

It could be, again, for me, was time was a huge issue. ⁓ cause you get consumed. This, this industry can consume you. ⁓ so I mean, you can do a hundred thousand dollars a year. You can do a million dollars a year. I mean, if that’s your goal, that’s fine. Go after it. But if it’s time, if it’s family, whatever that might be, that’s where you need to put your focus and just have the right support system with you. And that’s why I love where I’m at and working with Bob and Robert and

And Ryan and just a few other of the close contacts that we touch base with every week, that’s a huge support system. And it’s kept me laser focused and it’s changed my business over the past five to six years immensely, really.

Erika (23:48)
That is awesome. And with your enthusiasm, it really shows. Joe, before we let you go, if someone wants to connect with you, learn more about your approach with deals, or maybe they’re an investor and they need help with something, what’s the best way for them to reach you?

Joe (24:06)
Absolutely. And you know what, even if it’s not here in the state, I have people everywhere. I always have a resource for them. So they can call me direct. I can give you my email. ⁓ You know, they can go to the business website if they like. I can, I can put a few of those out there for you. My direct line is 248-955-2802.

They can email me direct. ⁓ I have an old email that I use specifically for that. Soldbyjoe at live.com. Little cheesy, but everyone can remember it. Soldbyjoe, S-O-L-D-B-Y-J-O-E at live.com, L-I-V-E.com. That’s the easiest way to get a hold of me. A call, a text, an email.

And then I can send out any kind of information they’re looking for, whether they want to visit the websites, if they want to see my platforms, whether it’s an agent or a customer, customer slash investor, we send all that information out for them. So it’s, I’m willing to put it all out there for anybody that’s looking.

Erika (25:18)
Joe, thanks so much for dropping all this knowledge today. I just love your hustle and I think our listeners will too.

Joe (25:19)
Thank

That’s awesome. Thank you for having me, Erika.

Erika (25:30)
It was a real pleasure. for our listeners, if you got value from this episode, make sure that you’re subscribed to the Real Estate Pro Show. We’ve got more conversations lined up with pros like Joe, who are building incredible real estate empires. We’ll see you on the next episode.