Subscribe via:
Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros podcast, host Michelle Kesil interviews Luis Melo, a successful land investor and educator. Luis shares his journey into the world of land flipping, discussing the simplicity of dealing with vacant land compared to traditional real estate. He highlights the challenges he faced, the importance of data in making informed decisions, and offers advice for aspiring investors. Luis also discusses his focus on scaling through subdivisions and the hustle involved in finding buyers and sellers. Additionally, he emphasizes the value of educating others in the land investing space and how it has become a fulfilling part of his business.
Resources and Links from this show:
-
Listen to the Audio Version of this Episode
Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Luis Melo – The Land Man (00:00)
I’m buying one right now in Texas, I’m escrow, for 194 acres. So after, during the process of buying, we’re working with the city to split that parcel in about 180 vacant lots.So with that, it’s much easier to do the job of selling because you’re gonna be in only one area. And then when you have the subdivision, you’re buying for a different price. So right now we’re buying for $2.1 million. And I raised all the capital.
Michelle Kesil (02:04)
Hey everybody, welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Kesil. And today I’m joined by someone that I’m looking forward to connecting with, Luis Melo, who has been making serious moves as a land investor and a land flipper as well as educator. So excited to have you on the show today, Luis.Luis Melo – The Land Man (02:26)
Thanks Michelle, excited to be here and to share a little bit more on what I do with vacant land.Michelle Kesil (02:31)
Yeah, absolutely. think our listeners are really going to take something away from how you’re approaching the land market as well as guiding people to get in the game. So let’s dive in. For those who are not yet familiar with you and your world, can you share what your main focus is?Luis Melo – The Land Man (02:48)
Yeah, sure. So my main focus for the past seven years is getting properties under contract and then finding a new buyer. It’s pretty much wholesaling.but instead of going for homes, I focus on vacant land because it’s much simpler. There’s no inspections, like no termite inspection, no foundation, no roof, and I don’t have to deal with contractors. Usually I reach out to the seller, me and my team, and then we are able to make offers and we get a few that are accepted. After we get them accepted, we have them sign a contract with myself and then we do a long escrow period between 60, 90, 100,
in
20 days and in that time we’re able to find the new buyer. We call the county, we call the water company, we call local buyers and we do a lot of texting too to get those properties in their contract and then to sell it again and that’s pretty much what I focused on. So instead of like wholesaling houses and any different asset I focus on vacant land because I can do it from anywhere. I live in California and I do deals in Arizona, Florida, Colorado, Hawaii.
Texas, Nevada, even here in California, two hours away that I’d not drive there because I focus my time and I was telling them my strength is making offers. It’s like getting the data, which I download the data myself personally using some demand criteria that I have built over the years and then my team goes and start hammering them.
on the follow up like, do want to sell? And we have a questionnaire and they answer and then we make an offer and then we keep following up and we just like keep acting on every single lead that we have.
Michelle Kesil (04:26)
Amazing. How did you get started with this business?Luis Melo – The Land Man (05:18)
Well, I started the easy route, not the easy route, the most normal route with Bingham Realtor.And then when I was trying to be a realtor, found out about vacant land. I started going to seminars. I went to Robert Kiyosaki, rich dad, poor dad. And then he was sharing so many things to do, mobile home park, for sale by owner, to do fix and flips, the brrrr method. And I didn’t really understand at the time. So I kept moving forward, right? I kept looking for the next thing and I tried being a realtor and it wasn’t working very
well and in the meantime I got to know this guy that was teaching how to flip land so by the moment that I heard that I was just like wow this is such a good thing because I don’t want to move I don’t want to leave my house I want to flip land in my comfort
Because I don’t like to drive. I like to be here and focus like seven, eight hours a day and just hammer almost everything I can do. So yeah, I bought another course, right? A second one after I reached that important dead. And I started flipping land. He taught me how to do the basics. And then I evolved from there.
At the time, was just seven years. was 2019, February 2019. That’s when I sent my first mailer. So was just mail. It was just letters. And yeah, I was in debt for like about $20,000 in debt of all these courses that I had to take because I didn’t know what I wanted. So I just paid people to teach me stuff, which was scary at the time, but it’s the same. was like I had a…
fire under my belly because I was like, I need to pay this debt. ⁓ I was able to pay in 15 months. I was able to pay everything and still make profit and keep reinvesting in the properties.
Michelle Kesil (07:11)
Amazing. So how did you hear about the land business and what did it look like for you to get started?Luis Melo – The Land Man (07:20)
So I usually, I used to go to a…investor meeting here in Los Angeles every Wednesday and elderly investors like seasonal like people that have been in the industry for longer they always liked me and like it was like a mastermind and then in that mastermind they said hey Luis this guy’s coming to town to teach vacant land I think you should do it a couple people told me in that mastermind so it’s just like yeah let’s do it and then I just got
some money out of my credit card and I did it. So was being networking. It was being in trying to see what I can do with vacant land. I didn’t know at the time. I just started going to meetings. I just started being a router, calling sellers, and then he fell in my lap vacant land because I was just not waiting for. yeah, ⁓ I paid the guy to teach me. Like even before the course, he gave me a book on how to flip land. I read the whole thing before his live
call, not live call, live in person meeting. And then I was just like, wow, this is such an amazing thing that you can do with real estate. And I just started doing it after I went to his live event. I was just like, he explained to us again what the vacant land flipping was. And I just started downloading data.
properties in Florida, Arizona, Nevada, no idea what I was doing actually. I was just downloading the data and then sending letters. And I got a few contracts signed with the seller. And then after I got those contracts signed, I found buyers that will pay money for the land. And then I started doing more more and more. And then I never looked back.
Michelle Kesil (09:06)
Yeah, that’s incredible. What do you feel have been some of the biggest obstacles or challenges when learning about the land business?Luis Melo – The Land Man (09:15)
Yeah, obstacles. So I did not have a coach because I didn’t have enough money, right? So I did it myself. I had some help from a guy that was doing lending investing, but here and there I would call him and he would answer me. So the biggest was like I had to figure it out everything. After the guy taught me the simple things, hey, get a property in their contract, find a new buyer, and then you get your money. But at the same time, I wasstruggling to find areas to send letters to. I would just do like any area. And then I was learning, right? So I think the hardest thing was to learn about the data and how to use the data in your favor. Because the last thing you want is to have a property in their contract out of nowhere. And you don’t, you’re to waste time and money in it. And you don’t have a buyer because you first selected the wrong area. And that’s what I tried to avoid at all costs. Like I
don’t download properties anymore that are not according to what I know that I can sell.
Michelle Kesil (10:55)
Yeah, and what does that look like? What is your criteria of knowing that you can sell something?Luis Melo – The Land Man (11:00)
So pretty much is demand. It’s just inventory and demand. That’s it. That’s the main thing that I focus.But for someone like myself that started and had no idea, it was just like, yeah, it was hard.
Michelle Kesil (11:06)
Yeah.of course What would you suggest to investors that are wanting to maybe migrate into the land business? Like what are some things that they should be aware of?
Luis Melo – The Land Man (11:22)
Yeah, start going to events, you know, not only about vacant land. And then start looking at podcasts and how people flip land. And if you have the conditions, hire a coach, hire, buy a course, find something where they have more experience because I have…used and I have purchased so many courses out there. We’re talking about like over $100,000, right? And I get the benefit out of it because I do the daily grind, I do the daily work. And with vacant land is much simpler. So I would just suggest, yeah, find someone that you can attend to his calls and events and classes, and then just start doing your job.
Michelle Kesil (12:07)
Yeah, absolutely. What are you most focused on solving to or scaling next in your business?Luis Melo – The Land Man (12:13)
That’s an amazing question. I’m focused on more subdivisions. So I do 80 to 100 vacant lot wholesaling deals a year, but it’s like you make good money, but you can’t break that barrier of like high money, high earners, right? So with subdivisions, it’s much easier because once you get a property, like let’s say, for example,I’m buying one right now in Texas, I’m escrow, for 194 acres. So after, during the process of buying, we’re working with the city to split that parcel in about 180 vacant lots.
So with that, it’s much easier to do the job of selling because you’re gonna be in only one area. And then when you have the subdivision, you’re buying for a different price. So right now we’re buying for $2.1 million. And I raised all the capital.
I raised the capital for the buy-in, I raised the capital for the expenses, I raised the capital for the building and the roads, and everything related to it. And after we split the parcels and we started
first we pay the debt off, but after we make the profit, it’s a system that allows you to make a way higher profit than any kind of flips out there. I still love the flipping method because I’m able to get tons of deals and sometimes the deals are amazing. Like the beginning of the year I got double close in Texas where I was able to make $50,000 out of the
buyer’s
money so I didn’t touch my money at all.
but subdivisions like the one behind me, that one, it’s 800 acres that we split into 471 parcels. So it’s a lot of land that we’re able to do, one plus acres. I only have helped over 780 families to go there. Like you see the houses in there, build the houses, have farms, have everything they want. So that’s the biggest thing. And this subdivision changed my life and it opened
my eyes, hey listen, if you really want to make good money and you want to use your time wisely, you should focus more on subdivision, thinking to myself. And that’s what I have been doing. Like last Friday, I downloaded over 4,000 properties that I know that I can potentially do a subdivision, right? So those areas are like subdivision areas that I see people doing it. So just like, let me go there. And since I have a team to
to get deals, we just start hammering, we just start making offers, the same thing, but then the exit is totally different and how to see the value is totally different.
I didn’t know that like two years ago. That’s when I started my journey in the subdivision area and at the same time I hired someone to teach me about subdivisions. So I always keep hiring people to explore and to get the benefit, the shortcut, I would say so to do those things. So the guy that taught me seven years ago how to flip land is very different from this guy that taught me two years ago how to do a subdivision, right? And all that money was
my expense to learn and to invest in myself and he paid off like it was the best return on my investment ever.
Michelle Kesil (16:22)
Yeah, amazing. That is so exciting that you’re able to branch out into these new avenues and see that level of return and success.Luis Melo – The Land Man (16:33)
Thank you. Yeah, it’s a lot of hard work, but it pays off like real estate. It does pay off a lot.If you focus on one thing, I think it’s all about niche. What’s my niche? My niche is buy and sell land and then do subdivisions. My niche is not to build on the property. I don’t build any houses. I I build I pay people to build roads, to bring electricity to the property, to do water tests. But I myself don’t do anything with the land, meaning I don’t develop the land. I just do the plat and I get it recorded, I get it approved, and then I sell the smaller parcels to the local buyer.
Michelle Kesil (16:39)
course.Luis Melo – The Land Man (17:10)
investor, builder, whatever it is, and then they are the ones that are going to develop. They’re the ones that are going to hold. Whatever they want to do with the property, it’s fine with me because I just think it’s much easier to do my job than to develop.big parcels or anything, even if it’s close to me. It’s like dealing with contractors, it’s not my thing. I have done a couple things in my house and it’s always like a hustle, right? You’ve got to call them, it’s extra money, materials. It’s like, it’s so much stress in my opinion that I don’t need, I don’t want. It’s an extra, I don’t even think the money’s worth it to be honest with you because it takes longer for you to fix and flip, takes longer for you to build.
Michelle Kesil (17:32)
Sure.Luis Melo – The Land Man (17:55)
I’d flip two, three pieces of land, make the same amount or even more, and have way less headache.Michelle Kesil (18:00)
Yeah, that makes complete sense. So cool that you were able to find the strategy that works best for you.Luis Melo – The Land Man (18:07)
youYeah, I’m glad that I found that strategy. I’m so happy that from early on I was focused on not being a realtor. I tried being a realtor for about a year and it was just not moving the needle. I wasn’t making money. So when I decided to just like, let’s focus on vacant land. Forget about being a realtor. Every single person in the US knows at least five other realtors. So what’s the difference? How can you break that being an early immigrant?
I was like here for a few years and with the vacant land, no one knew who I was. They didn’t have to know. It was just like, how much am I offering them? And then if they accept it or not, that’s it.
Michelle Kesil (18:50)
Yeah, absolutely. And what does it look like to find these lots and to find the sellers and the buyers?Luis Melo – The Land Man (18:56)
It’s a hustle.but it looks like it’s a hustle, it’s a daily grind. It’s like having people in your team to make calls. So, and I have 10 virtual assistants, right? And eight of them are making calls, texting, sending emails every single day, even seven days a week. There’s some girls that do. And then one person for social media. But it’s just like downloading the right data, having the person’s phone number, email.
⁓ and then calling, texting, and doing everything in their power to reach out to that person. So that’s what it like that’s…
That’s the most use of my employees time. It’s reaching out to sellers because without them we can’t do anything. And then once you have a property under contract, Michelle, you just put it on Facebook marketplace. You just hire a photographer. You call the nearby people, the nearby owners. There’s multiple ways, but the hardest thing is to get that person to sign the contract because you have to do a high volume to get a few to accept the offer.
And then to sell it, it’s not as hard as it is to buy. Not to buy, to put it under contract. Because 75 % of my lots I’m able to double close or sign the contract. And 25 % of the properties I buy it myself. So most of them I’m able to just flip quick, make my money, run away, next, next, next mindset.
Michelle Kesil (20:26)
And you’re educating people on this process as well.Luis Melo – The Land Man (20:29)
Yes, have started educate, since I have educated people for like, for a long time actually. Just it came naturally to me on how to flip land. I was just like, you know, this is so simple. I’m not easy, but simple, very simple. And then I started teaching people on the side, like just, know, I remember I was charging this lady $100 an hour plus profit on her deals. And she was happy because she was able to make money. But since,My time is better spent in getting properties like this one, 194 acres, a couple more acres that I have that I’m buying right now. So I created a course. So I spent like two months putting everything from my brain into the live calls and everything else on how to find good areas, how to do texting, how to get the data from the seller. And…
I sell that to people. Right now I have a few students and we do have live calls so they have access to everything that I’ve built. Plus I keep putting more stuff, right? As a matter of fact, like last week I did a video on how to do subdivisions, how to find areas to do subdivision. So I put it on my course, right? So people that buy, they will have access to. And then they come on the live calls. Like I have a live call tomorrow, about an hour, an hour and a half of my time with all these students. And then they
They bring their deals, they bring their questions, they bring their properties. So I help them analyze the deal and I help them find …
Find the next step, right? I like it a lot, to be honest with you. It’s a very good process because you’re able to help other people see the value in vacant land. And there’s so many vacant lots out there that I would not be able to do it myself, not even if I had a team of 100 virtual assistants. And that’s something crazy. So I’d rather teach other people and they go there, they get the deals and they bring it to me. If they need funding, they bring it to me so I make a cut on it.
So it’s like just empowering them to have the knowledge and always tell them upfront, Michelle, hey, this is a lot of work.
If you’re ready, let’s do it. You can make money. remember, this is, it could be a, in the beginning for me, it was a side hustle. It was like my part-time job. And then it grew into being my full-time job after like 15 months in the business. I had a job being a server. So I was a server in a restaurant. And then during the day, I was trying to be a realtor and a land investor. But it came in a time that I was like, hey, listen, I’ve got to quit this job because I’m making money in the land investing. And I should focus all my time in the land.
investing. For someone that’s starting right now, just two hours, an hour a day, and then once you get the success, that’s when you can quit your job and reinvest that money.
Michelle Kesil (23:17)
Yeah, absolutely. That is a very wise advice. Thank you for sharing. So before we wrap up here, if somebody wants to reach out, connect, learn more, join your course, where can people find you and connect with you?Luis Melo – The Land Man (23:31)
Yeah, so the main channel that I use is Instagram and my IG is Landman Luis. So Landman Luis. And besides that, I’m more like my website is luislandcoach.com. My email is [email protected]. So it’s very simple to get rich, to get a hold of myself, you know? And yeah, that’s what I’m here to do, to help other people. And by helping them, I help myself too.Michelle Kesil (23:59)
Amazing. I appreciate your time and your perspective. Thank you for being here. Of course. And for those listeners tuning into the show, if you got value, make sure you’ve subscribed. We have more conversations with operators like Luis who are building real businesses and we’ll see you on the next episode.Luis Melo – The Land Man (24:03)
Thank you. Appreciate it.Thanks.
