Do Less, Win More in Real Estate | Jeffrey Saad on Smarter Investing

Jeffrey Saad (00:00)
and what people need to do in life is reduce.

Get out all the extra stuff. Every time you say yes, it’s no to something else. So you need to think of your yeses as dollars. I’ve got 20 yeses. How do I want to spend them? And that’s the return you’re going to get. If you’re just easy with your yeses, you’re never going to get the yeses that make a difference.

Cody Crabb (01:55)
Welcome back to the real estate pros podcast. I’m Cody Crabb with Investor Fuel. And today I’m joined by Jeffrey Saad a Los Angeles based real estate agent with compass, who alongside his wife runs a high performing residential business, but his approach is all about doing less and doing it better. And he says you get more out of it. I’d love to dive into that mindset a little bit. we could, I feel like I could definitely do, do less. That sounds kind of wonderful right now. And we’re going to figure out how that translates to real estate, to investing and just life in general. So.

Jeffrey, thanks so much for joining us today.

Jeffrey Saad (02:26)
Yeah, thanks for putting this community together. It’s great stuff. Everybody benefits. I love it.

Cody Crabb (02:30)
Yeah, so let’s start with kind of the origin story. That’s one of my favorite parts about these. So how did you first get into real estate and why?

Jeffrey Saad (02:38)
Well, you know, I was a 24 year old kid and I had finished my undergrad at Hotel Restaurant Management and then I was in culinary school, Cordon Bleu, San Francisco. And at the graduation, the speaker said, the only difference between dreams and reality is how bad you want it. And I thought, I’m opening my first restaurant this year.

And everyone’s like, yeah, it doesn’t work that way. You need to go work for other people, get experience. You but I’ve been impressed since I was 13 years old. I hadn’t owned one or run one and I was 24 years old, but I said, I got this. So I signed a lease in the Marina district of San Francisco, opened my first restaurant. It was a huge success, but it was funny, you know, as an investor, returns come from risk. If it was obvious and safe, everybody would do it. It wouldn’t be an investment. It would just be, you know, an index fund. So.

Cody Crabb (03:26)
Yeah, it’s something you

do, yeah.

Jeffrey Saad (03:28)
I closed the cash register with $300 in it and that was all the capital I had left. I’m 25 years old, I signed this lease, I don’t know why they let me sign the lease, I had no business doing this. And it was like, make it or break it. And thank goodness we made it. So I built up this, by time I was 27, I had three restaurants and we were crushing it. So I decided to take my daughter and my wife to Paris for a couple of months and hang out. My wife’s like, but we own three restaurants. And I said, that’s the point. If we’re not gonna leave, we might as work for somebody else, we own them.

So while

Cody Crabb (03:57)
Yeah.

Jeffrey Saad (03:58)
we were in Paris, a guy came and wanted to buy all of them from me. So here I am, 27, with this big check. I’m like, he’s like, I want to buy it. like, let me think about it. Yes. You know, in the restaurant business, somebody wants to buy, you say yes. So we sold out and ironically, we used that money to buy our first real estate investment in San Francisco. And what was going on at the time, this was back in 1990.

Cody Crabb (04:10)
Yeah.

Hmm.

Jeffrey Saad (05:10)
seven-ish, 98, 98. It was just that beginning of…

taking a two unit building, a four unit building, turning them into condos and then selling them as condos and making the spread by all of a sudden a two unit building is not nearly as valuable as two separate condos that have fee title. So that’s what we did. We bought this thing, we renovated it and we tripled our money. And you know, we were lucky because we sold it right before the dot com crash. But what’s interesting, my first real estate lesson.

Cody Crabb (05:41)
Mmm.

Jeffrey Saad (05:44)
Time makes everybody a genius. Because I sold at the top, I’m like, aren’t we geniuses, you know? And then sure enough, after the crash ended and things came back, they sold one of those units for 20 % more than we sold it for. So the thing to remember in real estate would…

Cody Crabb (05:47)
You

It’s a little bit how I’m smug

about crypto right now. Like I never got into it. So I’m like, yeah, I knew the whole time. No, I didn’t. I didn’t know anything. Yeah.

Jeffrey Saad (06:06)
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, and well, that’s

the biggest thing about real estate investing is

you never can time the market. I don’t care how smart you are, how aggressive you are. If you time the market, it’s luck. You know, what we say to our clients is investing is a long-term game. If you’re looking for a quickie, it’s not buying real estate. Real estate is a hedge. It’s amazing. It’s real. It’s property. It’s forced savings. You know, even with, with people buying their first condo or their first house, you know, we take the investment angle on it. You know, I had one client who’s like, I want to put like, you know, a million down. I’m like, why not put half a

down and buy two properties. Use the leverage, you still got plenty of equity and that’s how you start you know getting returns. I mean we have lots of clients that have very successful businesses but most of their wealth comes from their real estate and it’s over a long haul. You know I always say to clients in places like Los Angeles if you want to be the hero first you have to feel like a fool because I’ve never had a client that goes wow I got a great deal. No everyone thinks they’re overpaying and it feels like you’re overpaying because the market just keeps going up and what do they look at?

Cody Crabb (07:09)
And you’re in Los Angeles.

Jeffrey Saad (07:11)
Yeah, they’re like, well, it

sold for half a million less two years ago. I go, I know. So you better buy now. And then sure enough, in five years, they’re like, yeah, in five years, like, I saw the opportunity and I let them, you know, I let them boast and take all the credit. It’s fine. But I’m like, you know, it’s same thing with right now. You know, there’s a pause in the market for the last few years. Don’t wait for a dip by the pause, because when there’s a pause, there’s room to negotiate. If everyone’s waiting for rates to lower, well, guess what? I’ve seen this story a million times.

Cody Crabb (07:16)
Imagine two years from now.

Jeffrey Saad (07:41)
this 25 years. The second everyone’s in, everyone’s in and now prices go up and everyone’s competing. Great, you got a lower rate and you just paid 15 % more for the property. So we always tell people the exact right time to buy is when you’re ready to buy.

The rest let time be your biggest hero because it always will. know, and that’s how we built our our wealth is basically so we sold the restaurants. We we flipped that two unit. We live there, which is the greatest thing about real estate too, right? While you’re living there, you’re making money. And then, of course, we’ve always taken advantage of the IRS 121 code, which is that, you know, you get 250 tax free if you’re single 500 if you’re married. So every two years, you know, you can flip a property you live in and

pocket half a million dollars. That’s real money. And so we bought and sold a ton of properties. So we bought that two unit. We came down. We bought a place in LA.

And then we got lucky and it was right when the market was booming. So six months after owning it, the bank gives us an equity line of $300,000, which was basically like all the equity in the house. I’m like, they’re crazy, but you know what? That was the market at the time. So I’m like, I’m in. And then we use that to buy a duplex. Then we flipped that and bought a house in Bel Air.

so, you know, and that’s the beauty of real estate. You just keep leveraging up. You know, my wife says, you’re such a bad realtor, because I always tell people, don’t sell. You know, they call us to sell their house. I’m like, don’t sell. I’m like, what are you going to do with that money? If you have a better place for the money, then let’s do this. You know, or if you need that money to upgrade. But otherwise, I’m like, here’s what you do. Refi, pull out the money, use that to buy your next product.

Let the tenant pay both loans. You know, that’s what we’ve got. We’ve got a house right now that we’ve Refied twice to buy the real estate the rent we’re getting on that house is paying for all the real estate You know and we’re getting the equity so it’s really brilliant. But again, I also tell clients listen The only people who lose in real estate are the ones that have to sell So don’t put yourself in a position where you’re so leveraged or so tight that you are in control anymore Because that’s the only time people lose right just like the 08 bust. It’s like

Cody Crabb (09:21)
Sure, yeah.

Jeffrey Saad (09:48)
you know, if you’re gonna, you know, get something you can’t afford and have a payment you can barely afford and have no equity, that party’s not so fun to be at.

Cody Crabb (09:57)
Yeah,

for sure. Well, yeah. So thanks so much for that background. think that gives us a lot to, you really are showing like, yeah, you’ve been through this, you know, know. And it’s one thing that strikes me is you’ve been through all of that and you’re like, no, don’t do more. You’re still like, do less after all of that. So I’m curious, like tell us, you’ve told me a little bit in the pre-podcast chat there about

kind of your philosophy on this. I’d love to hear more about that. doing less sounds really, really good right now. That sounds great right now.

Jeffrey Saad (10:33)
You know, I have a book coming out called The Reduction. It’s coming out in May and it pivots off of my podcast, which is called The Circle with Jeffery Saad. And The Circle is about the circle of control.

focusing on what you can control. Most people spend all their energy trying to control the universe, putting all this thought time, all this energy into things they can’t control. Politics is an obvious one right now. What I focus on is making my circle bigger by focusing on what I can control. So, and part of that reduction…

is getting rid, you know, it’s a cooking analogy as a young chef, you know, I’d start with a big stock pot of bones and veggies and water and you taste it and it’s like horrible. It tastes like dish water. You bring it to a boil, all the impurities rise to the surface. You skim those off, you start boiling it down and you’re left with all the savory elements. And now it’s rich and flavorful. That’s why restaurants are so much better than your home cooking because they use that stock as the base for like their water. So,

and what people need to do in life is reduce.

Get out all the extra stuff. Every time you say yes, it’s no to something else. So you need to think of your yeses as dollars. I’ve got 20 yeses. How do I want to spend them? And that’s the return you’re going to get. If you’re just easy with your yeses, you’re never going to get the yeses that make a difference.

Cody Crabb (12:31)
I’m

I feel like I’m being called out a little bit right now because I’m very much I’m very much like that Yeah, I love the idea of using it as currency because it really you do get a return on investment So like if you’re gonna if you’re going to do something, yeah, make it work. Make it worth your time for sure

Jeffrey Saad (12:42)
That’s it.

And you know, a lot of people don’t even pay attention to their ROI, right? Your return on investment. But I also tell people, what’s your EROI? What’s your emotional return on investment? Because for example, I have investors that they’re so hooked on the 1031 exchange, right? As you know, it’s a tax deferred exchange. If it’s not your primary resident, any other investment, you can sell it, roll the profits into a new property, no tax. But I have a guy who’s like…

70 years old, super wealthy, and he’s constantly stressed about the next rollover. You know, so it’s like…

is more really better? Like take a minute, like what is the quality of life you want to have? Cause I’m not just here to sell. I’ve never sold anything. If you want something, I’m here to facilitate it, but I want to help you make sure it actually makes sense. Do you really want to keep being in this game just to save some taxes? And I’m sure some people listening will be like, absolutely. But you know, if that’s your, you know, I have something called a personal constitution. That’s part of the reduction. You know, who are you and what’s the life you want to live? And I use that as a filter for every decision I make.

Cody Crabb (13:39)
Yes.

Jeffrey Saad (13:50)
Then all of a sudden, most people, every time something comes to them, they start from zero. ⁓ I don’t know, sure. But when you have a constitution that runs your life, you go, nope, that’s not a fit. I’m not doing it. And I’ve turned down so many people. I love nos. know, and my wife and I, say no to more listings than we take because I know it’s not gonna result in a better ROI or emotional ROI. I don’t want to be, you know, stressed with people who don’t want our expertise.

don’t appreciate our expertise, which is why we don’t negotiate on commission. You know, it’s like, you know, an investor especially will say, oh, well, they’re doing it for 1%. I go, sounds tempting. Why don’t you do that? Well, we really, you know, we really like you, but it sounds like you don’t think there’s value. If you think you’re going to net more with this discounter, then you should do that. But let me ask you, what is it about them giving away their money that impresses you?

Cody Crabb (14:41)
Yeah.

Jeffrey Saad (14:45)
You know, because it’s silly, right? Yeah, I’m like, listen, what I’m doing with you right now is what I’m gonna be doing with the buyers and agents. This is how I’m gonna negotiate on your behalf. So if you want excellence in a higher bottom line and a smooth transaction with somebody that’s got your best interest in mind, I’m your guy. If 1 % is your goal, go less. There’s people who will do it for almost nothing. You know, but that’s a different plan. And see, I’m clear with how I operate, clear with my goals. My single goal is to help you. I say as a realtor or an investor,

Cody Crabb (14:46)
That’s such a good question. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Jeffrey Saad (15:15)
you have to treat every client like it’s your mother, assuming you’re like your mother, and that you’re a billionaire. Because the second you think about the check, or the second you’re not thinking about the client’s best interest, you’re failing. And it will come back to haunt you. Again, the reduction. You don’t win by doing a million deals. You win by doing the right deals, keeping those clients for life. I’m selling my client’s kids investment properties now, because we’ve had those kinds of relationships. Yeah, that’s how old I am. So, know, it’s, but it’s, and clarity is a beautiful thing, because we,

Cody Crabb (15:27)
Yeah.

wow. Yeah.

Jeffrey Saad (15:45)
you have a structure to run your life, you’re not guessing anymore and automatically you end up just getting what you’re meant to get. You put yourself on a frequency that connects with that like-minded kind of mentality. If your goals, if your standards are I do anything with anybody, well then guess what? You’re at every frequency and that’s why you get all the static.

Cody Crabb (15:56)
Yeah.

Yeah,

static is the right word. Yeah, I feel that for sure. Like I said, I feel maybe personally a little too called out by this episode. so that I’m curious like how you are in this world of real estate and particularly real estate investing. me give me an besides just like saying yes or no to particular listings. What are some other ways that real estate investors can kind of do that reduction that you’re talking about?

Jeffrey Saad (16:23)
Yeah.

Well, you know, I always say nothing great happens till you’re sick to your stomach. So if you want to buy gold, you buy Beverly Hills. Yes, it’s pretty freaking safe. You’ll probably always be okay, but that’s obvious. Again, buy an index fund. You know, but if you want gain, you have to accept risk.

Cody Crabb (17:18)
Yeah.

Jeffrey Saad (17:30)
And again, that’s why the no’s are so important because if you do that with everything, you’re probably in trouble. For example, in 2004, so I had had my license for three years, my wife and I were new into this. And as I was telling you before, we got into real estate because, well, for two reasons. One, as a restaurateur, I can’t sit still. You know, I’m about being of service and running around. So I said, all right, what can I do? Be of service and run around. Oh, real estate sounds interesting. And I want to invest in real estate.

Cody Crabb (17:58)
That’s literally the

perfect thing, yeah.

Jeffrey Saad (18:00)
Yeah, I believe in real estate as the ultimate investment, truly. But again, it’s not for people who want quick returns, it’s for people who want to build wealth over a period of time and do really well. So, 2004, I go to this four unit building at Echo Park, which was still major gang bangers at the time. And I said, yep, we just got an accepted offer. My wife’s like, what are you thinking? That area is horrible. I’m like, just trust me.

And the day after closing escrow, was a drive-by shooting, took out my tenant’s window. My wife’s like, I told you, this is ridiculous. Why did we do this? Just wait. We were getting $600 to $500 per unit. I got all those tenants out slowly. As they left, I renovated each unit. Now we’re getting $10,000 in rent, $2,500 per unit from that four unit building. It’s cash flowing.

eight grand if you calculated property taxes and landscapers. So, you know, it takes time, right? It’s 2026. That’s been 22 years and that has been a progression, right? It’s gotten better every year, but that’s the property’s tripled in value. The income is incredible, right? You want to buy Beverly Hills, you’re going to pay triple the price and the growth won’t be as good. It’ll be solid. It’s buying bullion. And again, it’s about hedging, right? Maybe you want one in Beverly Hills. You want two in the funky area, but you have to be willing. And that’s where we have a lot of

value because we’ll tell clients listen this is a next up-and-coming pocket this is happening and they’re like yeah I want to be an investor and then they go and they’re like I’m scared I don’t like this you know so you’ve got it again that’s why having your standards is important because you can say you want to take on risk and get a big win but then you have to actually be willing to do it and deal with the challenges along the way you know

Cody Crabb (19:49)
Yeah, you know, I really resonate with that don’t do it until you’re sick to your stomach thing because that you’re not risking anything otherwise like the other one, you know, yeah, that’s that’s a really good point because if you if you’re fine with it, then it’s probably it’s probably not that big of a risk in the first place. Like if you just feel great about it. So that’s I’m going to I’m going to remember that you’re very wise, Jeffrey. I’m going to have many things from today’s episode on my mind today. So, OK. ⁓

Jeffrey Saad (19:59)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, you know, as you know, it’s not

really real estate, it’s psychology. You know, I mean, that’s at end of the day.

Cody Crabb (20:18)
You know, I always hear

it’s a people business, it’s psychology, but it’s not real estate. That’s all I know, it’s not real estate.

Jeffrey Saad (20:25)
Yeah,

real estate happens to be the thing that you’re buying, but it’s really the process is helping people get to their own truth. And sometimes that means not getting a sale. You know, it’s like, you always have to the client’s best interest in mind. One of my investors walks into my open house 20 some years ago, spiky, white haired, skateboard under his arm, 20 years old, total punk. I treated him just like I treat everybody. Welcome.

Let me know how I can be of help. And I don’t make people sign in because why start a relationship with the one thing people don’t want to do? That makes no sense. I’m confident in who I am and my skills. If you’re interested in engaging me, we will engage. I leave them alone. I let them see the house. He bought it all cash. So then he says, my dad wants to buy a property. So we’re looking, we’re looking. I call him up. said, I have good news. He says, what? said, I found the perfect property for your dad. It’s exactly the one he wants.

He goes, awesome, why are you hesitating? I said, it’s for sale by owner, so I can’t help you. He goes, well then why would you tell us about it? Because it’s a fit, because it meets all your criteria. So they went and they felt terrible and they’re like, well, we gotta find a way to take care of it. I’m like, no, just listen, I’m about being of service. So they get into escrow, turns out there’s one foundation problems they canceled. I’ve done 10 deals with them since then, because my goal was their best interest.

Cody Crabb (21:24)
because it’s a perfect property. Yeah.

Jeffrey Saad (21:42)
Right? Other realtors would be like, well, you signed with me or they wouldn’t even tell them about the pocket listing. But I’m like, no, it’s the right thing to do. So, you again, big picture thinking, stay focused on the client. And I’ve also talked to clients out of stuff. I’m like, does that, you know, we have one that lost the fire, lost their house in the Palisades fire and they’re stressed out and I’m listening to them. I was checking in with them regularly. They’re stressed out about rebuilding and all this stuff. And I finally said,

Cody Crabb (21:47)
Yeah.

Jeffrey Saad (22:07)
This may be inappropriate, forgive me if I’m crossing the line. What is your life gonna look like in the next few decades? You guys are my age, kids are off to college, you don’t need the rooms anymore. Are you rebuilding because you think you’re supposed to or because you really want to? And they’re like, yeah, it’s a good point. And I’m walking them through this. They had another rental house that actually would be the perfect downsize.

Cody Crabb (22:27)
Good point.

Jeffrey Saad (22:33)
I said, does it make any sense to maybe let that tenant leave, go back into that house, fix it up, add value, make it how you’ve always wanted to make it when you guys used to live there, didn’t have the money, and then reevaluate. Let Palisades settle out, because why rush into something that’s so unknown? And that’s an example of the risk isn’t for everyone, because I’ve told people, this is the time to buy Palisades land, say. And I said, well.

It’s pretty clear that nobody knows where this is going.

If there’s a win and it may be a big one, you’re talking minimum 10, 12 years. And then you still don’t know because if some of these developers come in and build a bunch of track housing, it’s not going to be the same place. So if you’ve got so much money to do with it, sure, you can land bank. There’s some deals on land right now. But again, why is there a deal? There’s a deal because there should be. The land’s full of toxins. City’s not making building easy. I mean, there’s a million reasons why it’s priced right.

Cody Crabb (23:28)
Yeah.

Yeah, I know some people that are like, you

you can buy like three duplexes in Missouri for the same thing, for the same price you can get at a house in Salt Lake City. And I’m like, yeah, but why do you think that is? Yeah, you have to think about what you’re getting out of it too. So yeah, very.

Jeffrey Saad (23:48)
Yeah, it’s like my sister

in Chicago, when I’m doubling every 10 years, she’s up 1%. But yet their property taxes are triple. You know, on her little house, she pays more property tax than I pay, you So again, you’re exactly right. It’s just because, you know, the price isn’t always the answer. It’s the return. It’s the emotional return. Do you really want to manage properties on the other side of the country if you’re in another part of the country? All those things should be factored in, because it’s not just the money. Now, for some people it is, and that’s okay. But even when it is just about the money, again, you only have so many yeses.

Cody Crabb (23:55)
Yeah.

I’m gonna take that to heart. I really resonate with that. This has been really helpful today. Thank you so much for coming on and giving us all that wisdom and calling me out without even realizing you were doing it. ⁓ So yeah, do less, but do it better. I love that theme. So okay, if people wanna work with you, if people wanna get in touch with you, who should they be? Who’s the ideal person to get in touch and how do they get in touch with you?

Jeffrey Saad (24:28)
Yeah

Well, so [email protected] is my email. My podcast is The Circle, if you like the idea about the stuff we’re talking about, Spotify and Apple. The book coming out in the spring is The Reduction. But basically that’s my email and reach out anytime. And I don’t prejudge anything, so.

I’ll know if you’re the right person when you call because I want to make sure I’m the right person for you. And we have that conversation. And in 10 minutes, I can usually figure out if I’m going to be the right fit or of service. And that’s why we get so many referrals from around the country from other agents, because they know that I’m going to put them with the right person if it’s not me. And again, that’s how you build a network of agents, which then coincidentally end up bringing you more deals. And that adds value for my clients.

Cody Crabb (25:24)
So,

does someone have to live in California to work with you or can they live somewhere else?

Jeffrey Saad (25:29)
Well, the beautiful thing, that’s a great question, thank you. The beautiful thing about Compass is my wife and I were the first six agents in California. There are now 360,000 agents worldwide. And we believed in it from the beginning. Again, another risk reward.

Cody Crabb (25:38)
wow.

Jeffrey Saad (25:44)
Do I want to spend this? Yes. Joining this unknown company. I saw the reward. So we did it and it’s been phenomenal. So to your point, I can get you a realtor almost anywhere in the world, you know, with a phone call. And that’s really helpful. And my Instagram is chefjeffreylsaad And you know, cause again, I’ve had tons of restaurants. I’ve lived my life waking up doing what…

Cody Crabb (25:54)
Mmm.

Jeffrey Saad (26:05)
Empowers me what I enjoy so I’ve had a food a TV show on Food Network. I’ve had a cookbook I have my own show on cooking channel. I do this real estate investing and The nice thing about that is when you wake up loving your life and doing the things you want to do You bring that to each thing you do. I’m a better realtor because of my cooking I’m a better chef because of my real estate it all blends together and that’s the joy

Cody Crabb (26:28)
Yeah, yeah, and I think

especially because you’re looking for the right fit because of your specific skills that you’ve leveled up, you’re going to be a really good match for particular people. So that’s a really good point. Amazing everything that you’ve said. I’m just like, yeah, I’m going to write all this down. your book, remind me one more time when that comes out.

Jeffrey Saad (26:47)
Yeah, it’ll be out roughly in May. It’s called The Reduction. And this is not a real estate book directly. It’s a book about how to live a life you love. To live a life that every day, you know, my philosophy is I can die any day and my last words will be thank you with a smile. I have no should-ofs, would-ofs, or could-ofs. I just have did. And the journey is what’s gotta be great. The second you’re focused on the outcome,

you’re in trouble because the outcomes are never guaranteed, but the journey is guaranteed. So if you love what you’re doing each day, chances are you will get the outcome. But if you’re only after the outcome and you’re miserable for the journey and then you have a heart attack right before the outcome, oops. So it’s really about clarity. And if you go to the Circle podcast, you’ll get the updates on the book and if you check out my Instagram as well. So I’m gonna confuse everyone because I’ll go, why is this a chef Instagram?

Cody Crabb (27:12)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Awesome. Well, ⁓ I don’t remember. He said he was

in real estate or something. I don’t remember that. Or he’s like some kind of guru or something. I don’t really know. Yeah, well, thank you so much. We’ll end it there because that was an amazing line of like, don’t focus on the outcome, focus on the ⁓ journey. Yeah, so thank you for that. And listeners, if you got something out of this, and you did, I know you did,

Jeffrey Saad (27:39)
Hahaha!

Yeah, yeah.

the journey.

Cody Crabb (28:01)
Go ahead and hit subscribe, leave us a like, leave us a comment, and don’t miss another episode. Jeffrey, once again, thank you so much for joining us today. yeah, see you later.

Jeffrey Saad (28:09)
Thank you, Cody. Have a beautiful weekend.