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Show Summary
In this episode, Leo Wehdeking interviews Jeff Bentley, a seasoned real estate professional with over 50 years of experience. Jeff shares insights into his approach to real estate, emphasizing the importance of energy efficiency and building relationships with clients. He discusses the challenges of affordability in the housing market and his vision for innovative building solutions that address these issues. Jeff also highlights the significance of listening to clients and treating them like family, which has been key to his success in the industry.
Resources and Links from this show:
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- Investor Fuel Real Estate Mastermind
- Investor Machine Real Estate Lead Generation
- Mike on Facebook
- Mike on Instagram
- Mike on LinkedIn
- Jeff Bentley’s Website
- Jeff Bentley on Instagram
- Jeff Bentley on Youtube
- Jeff Bentley’s Phone Number: (214) 695-4949
Listen to the Audio Version of this Episode
Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Jeff Bentley (00:00)
You know, we build our cars in ⁓ a factory, in a manufacturing, in a controlled environment. We build our airplanes in a controlled environment. We build every piece of technology that we use today, computers, phones, watches, everything that we use, we build in a controlled environment. And the most expensive item that we ever…purchase in our entire lifetimes is built outside of the elements in a very uncontrolled environment exposed to the weather, the wind, the rain, the snow, the frost, exposed to all the elements.
Leo Wehdeking (00:30)
Hey everyone, welcome to the investor few podcast. I’m your host Leo Wehdeking and today I am joined by someone I’ve been looking forward to chatting with Jeff Bentley, ⁓ who’s been making serious moves in the industry ⁓ of real estate. right, Jeff, glad to have you here,
Jeff Bentley (02:31)
Great to be here, thank you.Leo Wehdeking (02:33)
Alright, very good, very good. Jeff, I think our listeners are really going to take something away from how you’re approaching your real estate business and how you’ve been able to keep it ⁓ running for over 50 years. So, for people that may not be familiar with your world, can you give us the short version on what’s your main focus these days?Jeff Bentley (02:57)
Well, my main focus is no different than it’s always been, and that’s to help folks with their real estate needs, whether they’re buying or selling. But the thing that I’ve learned over the 50 years in this business is everybody wants a deal. Well, the deal is made when you buy or build, not when you sell. And so,You don’t know what you don’t know until you have someone that’s been in the business or been ahead of you 50 years that knows the answers to the questions. So that’s my job and I enjoy helping people do that.
Leo Wehdeking (03:29)
All right, all right, very good. And Jeff, in what markets are you operating right now?Jeff Bentley (03:35)
I’m in the Dallas-Footworth area.Leo Wehdeking (03:37)
Okay, alright, alright, love it. Now, Jeff, what actually caught my attention about you, it’s how you’ve been able to keep your business in real estate for over 50 years, alright? I also want to know how you’ve been able to…Perform real estate and at the same time you became a certified energy ⁓ Exactly, can you tell us a little bit about that?
Jeff Bentley (04:10)
Raider.Well, about 10 years ago, look, I’m a self-professed house nerd. Anything about houses, I love it. I love everything about houses. I love…
building houses, showing houses, walking houses, designing houses, building. I love everything about it. So about 10 years ago, as a matter of fact, it was 10 years ago in the June, our governor, Governor Abbott signed a bill that became law that said that all new homes permitted would be required to meet these new higher energy codes.
And so after reading this about this bill, I learned about the specifics
of this new energy code that all homes were required to be built upon. And so I contacted a friend of mine who’s the CEO of a large energy rating firm here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. And I had a meeting with him and I asked him, does this mean what I think it means? And he asked me, he says, well, what do you think it means?
Well, the two biggest components of that bill were that all homes had to meet a HERS 65 score or lower. Well, that’s just plug and play with building components, a more efficient heating and air conditioning system, a more efficient appliances, LED bulbs versus incandescent. Those are simple items that you can plug and play in. But the second component of that bill required that all homes had to meet a
maximum of three air changes per hour on their blower door score. In other words, that’s an infiltration rate. And the current requirement was seven air changes per hour. And so we had to build our houses tighter to get it down to three. Going from seven to three from one day to the next wasn’t gonna happen. And I told him that. I said, that’s great, that’s not gonna happen. And is immediately his response was, yeah, you understand it. He goes in, you’re hired.
Leo Wehdeking (07:00)
That’s not gonna happen.Jeff Bentley (07:06)
I’m like, what do you mean you’re hired? I’m not looking for a job. I said, I said real estate. He says, oh, I know what you do. He goes, but I want to hire you. I’ll hire you for 18 months. I’ll pay you a salary and you go help me consult and you go help me show my clients. have some national home building clients, how to comply with these new energy codes. And he goes, we’ll just do it for a year and a half and we’ll see what we can do. So I did. He goes, you show my office.Leo Wehdeking (07:06)
ThankJeff Bentley (07:36)
at 6.30 in the morning and from 6.30 to 12 every day, Monday through Friday, we can do our thing and you’re gonna get your energy raider certification from ResNet, which is the real estate services network. It’s the national entity that certifies energy raiders in this country. And I got to live in that life Monday through Friday from 6.30 to 12 and he says after 12 o’clock every day, you can go be a realtor for all I care. I said.He goes, I’m going to pay you a salary. And I said, well, how much are going to pay me? And he told me, and I said, what’s your address? I’ll be there Monday morning. so for year a half, I got paid to have fun and gain a new certification and new expertise that no one had. And I later was told by several people that I’m the only real estate agent in this country that has an energy rate or certification.
Leo Wehdeking (08:13)
YouJeff Bentley (08:32)
And I just did it just for the fun of it. I didn’t do it for any particular reason. So I walk away from that after 18 months with this new expertise and this new knowledge of what makes homes better and more affordable and safer to live in and raise your families in. That complimented everything else that I had learned over the years.Leo Wehdeking (08:53)
Alright, that’s actually very bigman. That’s very big now Jeff. What’s been the key to keep your business running smooth?
Jeff Bentley (09:02)
the key is referrals, repeat clients. I’ve had two, three generations. I’ve had families that have asked me to sell 25 to 27 homes in their family to family, other family members. So the key is, is taking care of everybody like their family. And I’m not really selling anything. just, I’m just helping them with their need is all I’m doing. ⁓ And so when you take care of people like family, they’re going to come back to you. And that’s what, that’s how I’ve been able to.Leo Wehdeking (09:26)
Exactly.Jeff Bentley (09:31)
That’s how an old construction boy has been able to sell houses all these years.Leo Wehdeking (09:35)
Yeah, that’s actually very good. I believe that, ⁓ well, in order to have good referrals, you need to provide an excellent service. And to provide an excellent service, you need to build up relationships. Relationships that last for more than 31 years. If I’m not wrong, you told me. All right. OK, that’s good. That’s good. Now, Jeff, I knowJeff Bentley (09:47)
Yes.Yes. Yes.
Leo Wehdeking (10:35)
every operatorhas a moment where things got real all right maybe a deal that went sideways or a time that they had to pivot real fast do you mind sharing one of those moments
Jeff Bentley (10:50)
when a deal got sideways?Leo Wehdeking (10:53)
Yeah.Jeff Bentley (10:58)
Well…So far, knock on wood, I don’t think I’ve ever had a scenario where things got out of hand that I couldn’t handle. ⁓
Leo Wehdeking (11:13)
Alright. Well, let’s hope he never comes, right?Jeff Bentley (11:14)
Maybe that day is coming, I don’t know, but I don’t have, I can’t speak of that one yet. Now,I’ve had plenty of clients who said they had the money to buy a house and they wound up not having the money to buy a house, but that’s a whole different story.
Leo Wehdeking (11:32)
All right, all right. Now let me ask you this, Jeff. ⁓ What are you most focused on solving or scaling next?Jeff Bentley (11:48)
That’s a good question. ⁓You know, I want to help people the best way that I can with all of the talents that I’ve been given. And I’m starting to feel the ground starting to speak and say that we need an answer to this affordability problem out there. There are a lot of people, including I have sons that are not able to afford, are not a bit.
do not have the ability to afford a home today because the cost of homes are so high. ⁓ They have good jobs. They make good money. ⁓ And their spouse is included. But they still don’t make enough to afford ⁓ a nice home and a good neighborhood with good schools. ⁓ So the affordability problem has directly affected my family. And I’m sure it affects.
And I know it affects everybody else’s family as well. ⁓ knowing what the solution is, but it’s not a simple solution. That’s the thing. It basically means building the houses in a different way than we’ve built in the past. ⁓ it’s just the way that we build houses. That’s the problem. And it’s compounded the multiple.
Leo Wehdeking (12:51)
Yeah, exactly.Jeff Bentley (13:16)
multitude of layers of labor, overhead, and profit, and then you add the bill of profit, and then you ask the buyer to come along and pay all of that. It’s gotten to the point where it’s unaffordable. The only solution is we need to build houses a different way. That’s the solution.Leo Wehdeking (13:32)
correct ⁓ now let me ask you something so what is the next real goal for you right nowJeff Bentley (13:43)
Well, the next real goal for me is to find lots and other investors that want to join me in finding a solution to the affordability problem. Building the house is the easy part. ⁓ Like I said, I’ve built over 4,000 houses in my lifetime. ⁓ Building the house is the easy part. It’s the planning and making sureLeo Wehdeking (14:01)
Hold tight.Jeff Bentley (14:13)
that it works for whoever the occupant is going to be. And there’s a lot of planning involved. It’s not just getting the house designed and getting it finished out in terms of the finishes and the countertops and the fixtures. That’s the easy part. It’s the building codes. It’s the energy codes. It’s the building protocols. That is a word that most people don’t even know exists. It’s the building protocols and how the home is supposed to perform. ⁓Home performance is a buzzword that I learned in the energy rating business. You’re either a code builder, which means you build according to the local energy code, which is the minimum standard, or you’re an above code builder,
Leo Wehdeking (14:45)
youJeff Bentley (15:41)
which means you build to higher protocols that are greater and better than the building code protocols. So I want to be an above code builder.And I want my homes to perform at a higher level than the code build homes. When I say perform, mean perform in a improved energy efficiency, ⁓ build power, create power behind the meter, have a safer indoor living environment than those that do not. and I know how to implement those building protocols into the construction of a home.
Leo Wehdeking (16:06)
Okay.Jeff Bentley (16:22)
That’s where the difficulty lies. It’s not, it’s not, it’s the planning. It’s not the building. Building is the easy part, but it’s the upfront. And that takes a lot of knowledge and expertise. Quite honestly, I thought I knew everything about houses, but I didn’t know diddly until I got into the energy rating industry about 10 years ago and realized there’s a whole aspect of home building that I was not exposed to, didn’t know about. So it was a great education. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it’s made me a better builder. ⁓Leo Wehdeking (16:29)
Correct.Jeff Bentley (16:52)
Once you’re a builder, you’re always a builder. You know, you can’t take the cat out of lion. So it’s made me a much better builder. As matter of fact, I think every builder in this country needs to have an energy rate or certification. The guys that are building the houses need to be energy rate certified. It’ll cause them, it’ll force them to think differently about what they build and how they build it. And that’s important because at the end of the day, it’s the buyer that’s bringing the money to buy those houses.Leo Wehdeking (16:58)
Exactly.Correct.
Jeff Bentley (17:22)
It’s what makes our world go around. We have to make sure that we’re doing what we can to the best for them.Leo Wehdeking (17:27)
And yeah, actually that’s big, know, especially when you have everything, you know, together. ⁓ I think that you will need to know how to play it, okay, once you have the land and the investors that you’re looking for, okay. You need, yeah, yeah, because you can either compound things or create chaos, you know, depending on how you play it. Right? Okay.Jeff Bentley (17:47)
Yes.Right, right. But I think
getting a few ⁓ investors together that want to help me provide a solution. So here’s the thing. You asked me about competition. When I build the way that I’m going to build, I don’t have any competition. I’m going to be able to build a better house in a shorter period of time at a lower price.
So no one’s getting compromised. The buyer is not buying a compromised home that’s inferior in any way. As a matter of fact, the house can be built to better protocols than the ones that are being built today. ⁓ It’s not going to take four or five or six months to build. I can get that done in 30 days. And because of the multiple layers, and I mean hundreds, I’ll just tell you.
I did an analysis on the construction process, the home building process as we have it today in the United States. There are over 700 layers of subcontractors and suppliers and middlemen and wholesalers and retailers and originators and manufacturers of every building product that goes into a home.
Leo Wehdeking (19:06)
youyou
Jeff Bentley (19:22)
There are over 700 layers of labor, overhead, and profit that are added on top of each other, that are compounded on top of each other. So the problem is, is we’ve got to take a lot of that labor out, and we’ve got to be able to build it in a different way so that we get a better product at a lower cost, so that we can sell it at a lower price, so that we can immediately address the affordability problem. You you can’t.Leo Wehdeking (19:33)
Hmm.Exactly.
Jeff Bentley (19:51)
Youknow, we build our cars in ⁓ a factory, in a manufacturing, in a controlled environment. We build our airplanes in a controlled environment. We build every piece of technology that we use today, computers, phones, watches, everything that we use, we build in a controlled environment. And the most expensive item that we ever…
purchase in our entire lifetimes is built outside of the elements in a very uncontrolled environment exposed to the weather, the wind, the rain, the snow, the frost, exposed to all the elements.
Leo Wehdeking (20:23)
outside of the elements in a very uncontrolled environment exposed to the weather, the wind, the rain, the snow, the frost, exposed to all theJeff Bentley (20:33)
And then it’s built by people that don’t work for the company. They’re third party contractors. They don’t show up when they’re supposed to. They don’t do the work that they’re supposed to when they’re supposed to. And they don’t do the quality job that the people need to have.Leo Wehdeking (20:37)
The third party contest is…Jeff Bentley (20:48)
And the job is let’s do it a little as we have to and get our check and run and go to the next house. That’s not the way we want to build our houses, especially when I have to deal with the people that are buying them on the back end. And I have to go sit and do those walkthroughs with the builder. And I have to see the poor craftsmanship and the poor quality and the poor installation and the poor manufacturing of various products because everybody gets in a hurry.Leo Wehdeking (20:55)
Exactly.Jeff Bentley (21:17)
No one wants to take the time to do things right the first time. So I have been on thousands of walkthroughs with homeowners with their builder at the end of construction. I have personally witnessed the construction flaws. I could write a book on all of the things that are wrong with the system. Rather than write a book, I think I’ll just fix it and do it myself.Leo Wehdeking (21:21)
Exactly.Hahaha
Jeff Bentley (21:44)
So there is a way and I know how to do it. As a matter of fact, I know people that are doing it right now. So I want to, think that’s where the best opportunity is for me rightLeo Wehdeking (21:52)
Okay, that’s good.Ok, perfect, Now, Jeff, I know that lot of people listening are either earlier in their journey or they’re just looking to level up, ok? And I think they will benefit from hearing this when it comes to building relationships and growing your network. What’s made the biggest difference for you?
Jeff Bentley (22:22)
I don’t know that I understand your question. What’s made the biggest difference to me for what?Leo Wehdeking (22:24)
Yeah,when it comes to building relationships and growing your network, what’s made the biggest difference for you?
Jeff Bentley (22:32)
⁓I’ll tell you, it’s very clearly, when I started this in sales, when I got out construction 31 years ago, my mom was in the business and she was selling homes. And she gave me two pieces of advice that to me have given, proven to be very, very true and really the basis and the foundation of my business. And they were number one, she said, don’t worry, you’re not selling anything. Listen to your clients and listen for the need.
and go find a solution for their need. Number one, you’re not selling anything. So don’t feel like you’re having to push anything. You’re providing a solution to their need. Number two, she says you take care of every client, every one of them, just as if you’re taking care of me, your mom, and buying or selling a house. If you take care of everybody like family, they’ll keep calling you. And you will know.
Leo Wehdeking (23:07)
Correct.Yeah, I-
Jeff Bentley (23:30)
Once they know you and they trust you and they trust you with their children and their grandchildren, they’ll never stop calling you. You say your phone will never stop ringing. And that’s been true. So those two pieces of advice that I received almost 32 years ago were probably the most important pieces of advice that a kid coming out of construction could ever hear when he’s never sold a darn thing in his life.Leo Wehdeking (23:54)
Exactly, that’s correct, that’s correct. Actually, that’s something that you cannot fake, okay? ⁓ The way you treat people, if you treat them like family, they will always come back to you because they say like, okay, Jeff is a nice guy, know, he knows what he’s doing. Plus, the experience of making a deal with him is the best because he treats you like family. He treats you like one of his own. So that’s good, that’s good. All right, Jeff.Jeff Bentley (23:59)
No.Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Leo Wehdeking (24:24)
Now before we wrap up if someone wanted to reach out connect with you ⁓ maybe collaborate or learn more about what you’re doing what’s the best way for them to reach out to you?Jeff Bentley (24:37)
Well, there’s a multitude of ways to reach out to me. Obviously my cell number. I’m at remax DFW Associates in Frisco, Texas. My cell number is 2146954949. I’m on Instagram at TX solar expert. I’m on YouTube shooting straight about real estate. You can catch me on Facebook or I do have a website. It’s texas solar properties.com.where I help people specialize in those that have solar on their property, help them sell and gain the added market value, or I help buyers buy solar without having to pay anything for that. creates savings, and the savings creates market value, and there’s money there. There’s money to be saved there. If you know how to buy it, you know how to use it, and you know how to leverage it.
Leo Wehdeking (25:08)
Okay.Perfect.
Jeff Bentley (25:33)
I teach people, I’m a past instructor, but I teach people how to leverage the benefits of solar and anything high performance that has to do with energy efficiency and power production. I show them how to benefit on a home purchase or when it’s time to sell. using a little bit of my energy radar background into my real estate business. So I’m easy to find. My number hasn’t, my number hasn’t changed in over 30 years, so I’m pretty easy to find.Leo Wehdeking (25:56)
okay.Perfect, perfect. Well, listen, Jeff, I really appreciate your time, your story and your perspective. OK, we need more people like you in this space who are doing it the right way. All right. So thanks again for being on the show. And for those of you tuning in, if you get value from this, make sure you’re subscribed. OK, we got more conversations coming up with operators just like Jeff, OK, who are out there building real businesses. All right. So until then, see you on the next episode.
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