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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pro Show, host Erika interviews Ed Laine, a seasoned real estate professional who shares his journey from starting in the industry to becoming a successful coach and trainer. Ed discusses the importance of understanding revenue pillars in real estate, balancing speed and quality in transactions, and the current trends affecting investors. He emphasizes the significance of networking and building connections, as well as his future goals of achieving passive income through his work.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Ed Laine (00:00)
I said, have you completed the 12 week program? He said, yes. He goes, because of my military background, I need more structure. And I said, if I create a training program for you, where I tell you what to do every day,Will you do it? And he said, absolutely. That’s what I need. I need to punch a clock. And I’m like, all right. So I gave him a 30 day training program that literally says on day 31, go back to day one and start again. But it covers managing your sphere and being top of mind. It covers lead generation and it covers farming. He…
followed my advice and he made 150,000 in the next 12 months because of that. And his career was launched at that point.
Erika (02:15)
Hey everyone, welcome to the Real Estate Pro Show. I’m your host, Erika, and today I’m thrilled to be joined by Ed Laine. He’s been crushing it in the real estate space. Ed, it’s awesome to have you here today.Ed Laine (02:16)
youThank you
Erika (02:31)
Yeah, so,you know, let’s dive in, Ed. For those who don’t know you yet, give us the rundown. How did you get started in the real estate world?
Ed Laine (02:39)
Yeah, happy to do that, Erika. And again, thank you for having me. I actually got in the business in 1987, so probably before you were born. And I was in college still and I had an internship with a mortgage company. And so that was my first taste of the business and I loved it. And I also realized that people are going to always want to own real estate and have shelter. So being in a position to financethat is not a bad place to be. So that’s how it all started. Yeah, that is really cool.
Erika (03:10)
Yeah, that’s really cool. Was there amoment for you along the journey that you thought, this is my lane, this is what I’m going to keep doing?
Ed Laine (03:19)
yeah, you know, I added a real estate license in 2004 and I think that’s when it really fell into place for me becauseI realized early on that realtors actually made more money than loan officers for the most part. But the loan officers did more work than the realtors for the most part. And so I was like, shoot, I have the skills to do both. Why don’t I just do that? And so I actually started my own brokerage with a business partner at that time. And that was our model, was be a one stop shop for buyers and sellers. And only hire people that were able to get licensed in both.
which wasn’t as easy as it might seem. And we built that business up to 150 agents in two states and over 4 million in revenues and built a nice little business doing that. ⁓
Erika (04:09)
Yeah, that’s really amazing. So tell me moreabout what you’re doing today if we fast forward. What’s the main focus? What niches are you in and which markets are you focusing on?
Ed Laine (04:20)
So.Fast forward the business that we built, I actually had intended to build it up and sell it. And what I found was that the appetite for buying real estate firms ebbs and flows with whatever the real estate market is doing. And at that time, the real estate market wasn’t that strong. Combine that with the fact that I was the top producer by a large margin, and I’m sitting there going, buy my business and I’m going to retire.
It wasn’t a very compelling value proposition. So was around that time I saw EXP’s model and I realized pretty quickly that I could do the same thing and I would never need to sell it. There’s no liquidity event required. It’s just revenue share that goes on into the future and is even willable to my children. So it really was a no-brainer to make that switch. So what I do today is I coach and train brokers
every day, literally, and I help people buy and sell houses every day, literally. And that’s what’s fun and it fills my bucket to help people achieve their goals through real estate. So I teach classes, I run webinars, I’m actually running a mastermind here in a couple hours of top producers that are willing to share what’s working for them.
Erika (05:40)
That’s really cool. Do you have any stories when it comes to educating those brokers, anyone that you really helped out or it’s been a game changer?Ed Laine (05:51)
Yeah, so I have a lot of stories as you might imagine. I’ve sold over 3,000 homes and I’ve closed over 5,000 mortgages. So I have a breadth of experience that a lot of people can’t even comprehend. But the game changer story that comes to mind is I had an agent on my team and I have a 12 week training program that I put people through.Whether you’re brand new or experienced and you’re just trying to get started or take your business to the next level, I have a 12 week program that the average person who completes it has three deals in escrow by the end of it. 12 weeks is 90 days. And I don’t know how much you’ve looked into it, but most brokerages tell you don’t plan on making any money for 6 to 12 months.
And I honestly think that’s a load of crap because if it takes you that long, you’re working on the wrong stuff. So I’m telling you this because it’s context for the story.
I had an agent on my team, wonderful man, retired from the military, got into real estate, and he went through the 12 week training program and he really struggled because one of the downsides of real estate is the freedom.
So if you don’t have a structure to your day, your day will fly by and nothing will happen, right? So he came to me and he said, I need your help. If I don’t start selling houses, I’m gonna lose my house. And I said, have you completed the 12 week program? He said, yes. He goes, because of my military background, I need more structure. And I said, if I create a training program for you, where I tell you what to do every day,
Will you do it? And he said, absolutely. That’s what I need. I need to punch a clock. And I’m like, all right. So I gave him a 30 day training program that literally says on day 31, go back to day one and start again. But it covers managing your sphere and being top of mind. It covers lead generation and it covers farming. He…
followed my advice and he made 150,000 in the next 12 months because of that. And his career was launched at that point.
Erika (08:45)
That’s really awesome. When it comes to, you know, the brokers that you have. Now, what is that process like for which markets to target and you know, especially with like the different trends that we’re seeing in the housing market and in real estate as a whole?Ed Laine (08:46)
I’m sorry.Yeah, yeah, I always tell agents that you you have this opportunity and there I call them revenue pillars. So a first time home buyer would be a type of buyer or an avatar or a revenue pillar, right? So when I’m working with you, I tell you, okay, Erika, you’re going to start with three revenue pillars, a buyer pillar, a seller pillar, and your sphere of influence will be the third.
And then from there you can add as many others as you want because if you think about it, there’s hundreds of ways to make money in real estate and you can specialize in any of them. I happen to specialize in all of them and that’s only because I’ve been doing it so long. I’ve touched every type of revenue pillar you can think of. But that also puts me in a position to train you on your pillars and then help you transition and add additional pillars. So whether
You could say my first pillars are going to be first time home buyers and investor sellers.
and sphere, right? Or investor buyers and luxury sellers and sphere. Or fill in the blank, fill in the blank, fill in the blank, right? Sphere is always going to be one of them because you want to start with a structure for your sphere and past clients so that you can remain top of mind with them. But you get to pick. And that’s, to me, that’s what’s fun. Like you don’t want me to pick for you, but what you do want me to do is tell
you and coach you whether you’re going to be good at it. Because you might say, want to work investors and I’m terrible at math. Well, that’s going to be a problem, right? Or…
I want to work with first time home buyers, but I don’t have patience and I’m not an empath, right? That’s a problem. So I’ll ask you about your strengths and weaknesses and then I’ll coach you on which pillars might suit you. And then the other thing that factors into this is what if you said, I want to sell 200 homes a year like you did, Ed.
Okay, what are your pillars? If you said first time home buyers, I would say you’re nuts. Right? I’d say it pleasantly and charmingly and all that, but you can’t do 200 first time home buyers in a year because they’re higher maintenance, higher touch. You got to be more patient, et cetera. I like to deal with first time home buyers every year because it fills my cup, but
But I don’t make that a focus. I just teach a class a few times a year and I cultivate more first time home buyers. And I mix them in with my other business.
Erika (11:35)
Yeah, that’s a really smart way of doing things. And speaking of all that volume that you’re doing that I’m sure our listeners would love to replicate, how do you balance the speed and quality to make sure that every deal is a win?Ed Laine (12:25)
Great question. And I would tell your listeners that you decide what your financial goal is. that’s one of the best parts about real estate is we’re one of the last unlimited income potential industries. If you want to make two million bucks a year or more, you can absolutely do that. You don’t have to be able to run a four, four, or 40 to make two million bucks in real estate, right? But…I would tell them sit down and figure out, do I want to sell a house every month or a couple houses every month? Or do I want to sell 200 a year? If it’s anywhere in between, I can help them do that. And the best thing that you can do is have a system, right? It’s because I have a system that I can sell over 200 homes a year. It’s because I have a system that I can vet a client quickly and know
whether I can help them. And I’m never gonna just say I can’t help you, I’m not your guy. But I will say, I can definitely help you, but step one is this, step two is that, and step three is the following. And we’re gonna set sale for you to own a piece of real estate in a year, or two years, or whatever it is. I always tell people, know, the record’s three years. That’s the longest it’s taken me to get somebody into a house.
but I helped lots of other people in the interim and that family just needed time to heal their credit. And that’s not uncommon, right? So getting the guidance on day one, here’s another way to think about it, Eric. And I apologize if I’m.
being tangential, but your question is, it can be answered a lot of different ways, right? But here’s one thing to just think about for your podcast listeners, and that is, if your goal is to own real estate, you can’t possibly.
Erika (14:04)
Go for it!Ed Laine (14:14)
reach that goal without knowing where you’re starting from. It’s almost like a trip or a journey on a map. You need to know what your starting point is. So I always tell people, let’s get with our lender or your favorite lender and find out where are we at in relation to where we’re trying to go. Because then I can tell you if we’re going to be able to achieve that goal in 30 days or 30 years.I mean, it doesn’t matter to me, I’m gonna still be helping people, maybe not 30 years from now, but definitely four or five.
Erika (14:47)
I want to give it a bit and talk about investors, which I know that you you’ve had your share of experience working with investors. What’s a trend that you see in the real estate market that investors should pay attention to?Ed Laine (14:47)
I want that.Yeah, great question because it is changing the landscape. Short-term rentals are suffering right now. I don’t know if you’re familiar with AirDNA, but that’s the software to analyze the revenues from AirBnBs and VRBOs, and it’s all on the decline. So the bigger trend right now is…
midterm and long-term rentals, midterm for like traveling nurses because they’re getting paid very well and they’ll take better care of the unit. But I do encourage people to decide, are you a buy and hold person or a fix and flip person? And if you’re fix and flip, I’m in Seattle.
It’s hard to find flips in Seattle. It’s not impossible, but it’s hard. And usually we find them off market. Because I mentioned to you before we got started, I was at GC, I’d flipped homes.
I have a contractor. If you ever go to my YouTube channel, you’ll see the premier video is actually me showing all the tools that are in the trunk of my Mercedes. I got more tools than the average contractor has in his F-150, and they’re in the back of my Mercedes, which is just weird, right? But that’s still an opportunity for people. You just have to kiss more frogs to find them.
And we use an off-market system to find those. So we use direct mail. We’ll target a neighborhood where we know the homes are of a certain age or older. And we’ll just start hammering away on them with direct mail, explaining that I’m a cash buyer or explaining that I have a buyer who would like to buy their home if they’re interested in a full market value offer.
and then we just negotiate, well, what is full market value?
Erika (16:50)
Yeah. And you know, the other thing too, about, you know, working with investors is, you know, their, their needs can be very different. Have you ever had a moment where you had to pivot fast to, you know, help a deal come through for an investor? What was, know, what was that like in, what did you learn from it?Ed Laine (17:09)
Yeah, mean, it doesn’t happen very often because I always start at the beginning of the relationship by asking, what do you consider a win? So that helps me determine what your criteria is gonna be. Is it gonna be ROI? Is it gonna be appreciation or cash on cash return? Is it…Cap rate, know a lot of investors want to use cap rate I can use anything you want but I don’t want to project on you what I think a win is I want to know what you think a win is right? So if you Tell me you’re a seasoned investor. I’ll be able to say well, tell me about your last deal What made that attractive to you because I’ll bring you more of those if that’s what you want and and in the end
I’ll deliver whichever criteria it is that you’re focused on. And that’s what helps you win. having said all that, sometimes deals get squirrely, right? Or you do an inspection, you find out it’s a lot worse than it could have been. So I have a couple different techniques that I can employ when that happens. And one is because of my time as a GC, I’ve got over 200 subs.
that I used to work with that I still work with, I just give them to my clients now, right? So if we found that this place needed a roof and without replacing the roof, it’s gonna fail. And with replacing the roof, it no longer pencils.
I’ve got roofers that work very inexpensively. I also have gotten lots of sellers to pay for the roof or split the roof or somehow get the roof done. We’ve even done roofs, you know, did you know that you can roll a comp roof right over the top of an existing comp roof? A lot of people don’t know that, right? It’s not a good idea because it cuts a 30-year roof life in half.
Erika (19:31)
No. Yeah.Ed Laine (19:39)
but it also cuts the cost in half. So I can put a 15 year roof on your house for half the cost and then sell it and it’ll pass inspection because inspectors just want to know that there’s five years left. So there’s some tricks of the trade there. And then on the other side of the coin, and I just got one of these deals approved.creative financing. using seller financing or a combination of the purchase money second plus the seller carrying some of the note. I have a background in mortgage, I have a degree in finance, I know how to navigate those channels as well. So our first goal is always to cash out the seller but sometimes that’s not possible.
And if we can’t, we might be able to pay him more for his place, but he’s going to have to be patient. So we’ll give him an incentive to be patient, but those are probably the two most common pivots, condition or financing.
Erika (20:34)
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. You know, with all of your experience, I’m sure you have a lot to say about networking. Ed, what for you has been a game changer with making connections? Was it a specific networking group? Was it, you know, like a mentor or you know, what’s been that like?Ed Laine (20:54)
That’s a good question. I haven’t really thought about that because I’m so involved with so many organizations. So maybe the decision to do that and be involved, you know, I’ve sold over a thousand bank owned foreclosures. I’m the lead regional manager for a national organization of REO brokers, which is what we call a foreclosures and REO.So I network with brokers all over the country for that.
I mentioned the mastermind. I’ve also networked with all 3000 of the brokers that I’ve sold houses with and to, right? Because of that depth of experience. was talking to a broker just today and she goes, man, I keep bringing up your name to people and everybody knows you. I’m like, that’s not a bad thing because referrals between brokers should be a revenue stream for any broker, right?
And one of the things that EXP makes super easy is finding brokers anywhere that we are, which is 28 countries. They have a whole platform. I can jump in there and go, I need a broker in Spain. Boom, it spits out who’s in Spain. And you can call them and say, hey, would you like to handle this buyer? They’re coming over to purchase a second home.
I use it a lot more in the United States than I use it internationally, but anything is possible.
Erika (22:21)
Yeah, I love that attitude. Well, Ed, what is next on the horizon for you? Can you share what your next big move might look like?Ed Laine (22:22)
Okay, well done.Yeah, my goal is to stop selling houses actually. And I’m only able to do that because EXP offers rev share or passive income. And I’m on the path to no longer needing to sell to take care of my family and my needs. And I like that because I mentioned to you, I think it was before we started recording that I always tell agents have three or four listings that are walking
distance from your house because that gives you a better quality of life, right? I don’t follow my own advice. I have listings right now that are all over the freaking place and I have a two million dollar seven thousand square foot ski chalet that’s an hour drive from me but I’ll drive an hour for a two million dollar house, right? So it’s
What’s on the horizon for me is continuing to grow my team and my rev share so that I don’t need to say yes to that listing that’s an hour away or further. needs overstating it. I want that listing that’s an hour away because it’s two million. But.
It’ll also be nice to only sell to people that I want to work with that are close by because I’m X thousands of dollars every month from my rev share. So that’s my biggest goal and I expect to achieve that goal in the next two to three years.
Erika (23:47)
Well, that’s really exciting. Ed, before we let you go, if someone wants to reach out, connect, learn more about what you’re doing, what’s the best way for them to get in touch?Ed Laine (23:58)
People can ⁓ find me on all social channels as Ed Laine Realtor. They can certainly call or email me and even go to edlane.com and you’ll find me.Erika (24:10)
Thank you so much for dropping all this knowledge today.Ed Laine (24:13)
My pleasure, Erika. Thanks for having me on.Erika (24:15)
Yeah, and for everyone tuning in, if you got value from this episode, make sure that you’re subscribed to the Real Estate Pro Show. We’ve got more conversations coming up with operators like Ed, who are out there building incredible real estate businesses. We’ll see you on the next episode.
