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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros podcast, host Q Edmonds interviews Jon St. Leger, a real estate investor and developer based in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Jon shares his insights on equity manifestation, the importance of recognizing unique advantages in real estate, and the necessity of thinking outside the box to find opportunities. He discusses his journey through challenges, including a significant setback during the 2008 financial crisis, and emphasizes the importance of building relationships and networking. Jon also highlights the significance of tax architecture in retaining wealth and expresses his commitment to empowering the blue collar community.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Jon St.Leger (00:00)
putting yourself in the rooms with the right people. Right? I want to put myself in rooms where my wildest dreams are their everyday realities. I mean, talk about an opportunity to level up. Dude, that is the key. Dude, that’s the secret sauce. You’re greatly, you know, you’re the average of the five people you hang out with, right?Get in those rooms, get inspired. But then the next step to that, the next level up is take action. Dude, it’s not that, it’s simple. It’s not easy for some personalities, but it is simple. If you learn, if you can soak it, take it in and then take action.
Quentin (02:08)
Hello everyone. Welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I am your host Q Edmonds and I am excited to be here today. I got somebody here today. I said, this is the point. I said, this guy’s smooth like butter. That’s what I said. I mean, this guy, he knows what he talking about. He knows what he’s doing. He has dropped just phrases that I’ve kind of never heard before, like the equity manifestation.right, equity manifestation, text architecture. I mean, this guy is full of knowledge, full of just nuggets. And I’m just excited for him to share with us. I’m excited for us to see things through his lens. And so I just want to introduce you guys to Jon St. Leger. How you doing today,
Jon St.Leger (02:54)
I’m doing great. Thank you very much for having me. The pleasure is all mine.Quentin (02:56)
⁓man, listen, the pledge is mine, man. Just listening to you talk about what you do, your creativity. know, again, you know, we’ve been talking, but I want our listeners to be able to see things through your lens. So I’m going to pull back and I want to push you forward, man. I want your voice to come forward and just tell us, man, the things that you’ve been involved in. What’s your main focus these days?
Maybe a little bit about how you got started, what market you’re in. Just take us into your world if you don’t mind,
Jon St.Leger (03:27)
Sure thing, absolutely. So my name is Jon St. Leger, based in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, beautiful market. And as a real estate investor and developer with a unique set of skills, I like to specialize in equity manifestation, while creating generational wealth at an exponential rate. And I enjoy teaching others how to do the same by helping them recognize and capitalize on their unique advantage, right? Because I am…true believer that everybody has a unique advantage. And for many folks, they just overlooked it, quite frankly. I mean, your network is your net worth, right? So if we start thinking about what levers can you pull in your network to try to move your ball down the field and the ball down the field we’re talking about, there’s no end zone at this field. The field we’re talking about is the financial field. There is no end zone, right? We can have certain targets we want to hit, but we want to…
We want to do everything we can to get us where we want to be as quick as possible so that we can ultimately, we’re all chasing a version of the similar thing, right? We want time freedom, financial freedom, so we can do what we want, where we want, when we want with the people that we want to do it with. So I love teaching people that and I love help getting myself and my family as far down that financial field as we can. So our portfolio consists of a combination of short-term rentals and long-term rentals.
And we’re dabbling into some other commercial projects right now, which we can speak about if desired. you know, so that’s kind of a kind of it in a nutshell.
Quentin (05:37)
Man, I love it. love how you said everybody has a lever that they can pull. Everybody has some type of unique advantage within their sphere of influence. They may not recognize it, but once you do, you can leverage that influence, that sphere, that lever that you talked about. And I absolutely love that. And just listening to you, obviously you have leveraged yours and it’s…It’s not always easy in this climate. You know, may make it look easy, Jon, but I’m just saying it ain’t always easy in this climate. So what’s been the key to keeping that machine running smoothly,
Jon St.Leger (06:10)
Who just thinking outside of the box and seeing opportunity, quite frankly, where other people don’t see it, right? Whether, you know, I like to geek out and zoom in on zoning, for example, that that’s a unique advantage. If you’re willing to do some of the lead work on the front end, you know, if you’re looking at a particular asset, can you add more units? Can you do an ADU? What kind of value add can you do? How can you reposition the property? Are you sure that what’s there is the highest and best use?Is it being operation is not being operated and managed correctly? Like you can do value adds all kinds of different ways to the property itself to the way that you operate it, right? It’s all about getting that NOI up. in a, in a market where there’s a lot of competition, that’s where I see many projects we’ve overpaid based on the asking price and the general consensus you’ll get from the public or your cohorts and whatnot. We’re like, why’d you pay a hundred K over asking?
Well, because there was 12 offers on the property in 24 hours, but I saw an opportunity that perhaps people didn’t because I can redevelop it like this, or I can add some more units out back or it’s not what’s there. It’s what you can do with it. Cause I’m determined in this market and the market we’ve been in for the past couple of years, even though it is shifting, you don’t very rarely, are you going to find a deal? You have to make a deal. Right. And there’s all different kinds of ways you can do that.
from seller financing to just creativity that the options are endless, if that makes sense.
Quentin (07:32)
absolutely makes sense, man. It absolutely makes sense. And I love it. You said, sometimes you can’t find a deal, you got to make the deal. And again, that’s being creative, right? And that’s why I like talking to someone like you. You see things sometimes from a unique place that some people don’t see. And so I love that you kind of get people’s thing that’s kind of outside the box, right? If they’re stuck, hey, maybe you’re looking for a deal that you actually got to make one happen.And I like that. So I just want to continue to pick your brain. You know, we talk about a lot of times we talk about the success, but we don’t talk about the journey, the process of how we got there. And so I know you’ve been in it for a long time. You mentioned 1999 to me, brother, at one point. So I know you’ve been around for a long time. So, you know, you know, there are times when things get real, when a deal goes sideways, maybe a time when you have to pivot fast. And Jon, I was wondering if you would mind sharing one of those moments that you had with us.
Jon St.Leger (08:27)
Yeah, sure thing. mean, the reality is it’s not all peaches and ice cream. You know, you can see all the gurus and, you know, point fingers in whatever direction. The reality is, dude, sometimes it stinks. Sometimes you got to take one on the chin and it happens. So yeah, started investing first piece of vacant land, picked up in 99, built up a really nice portfolio. You know, we’re probably just under $7 million portfolio going into the 08 before things started going sideways, right?Historically run a construction company really real estate investing on the side try to dabble in restaurants. What a nightmare Don’t advise that I’m not a restaurant penor However, I digress so back in that time. I didn’t have the networks that we do now Quite frankly, I mean there was books out there, but I didn’t know about him I was young and wasn’t it didn’t have a lot of opportunities. It wasn’t YouTube wasn’t podcast It wasn’t bigger pockets. There wasn’t as many play conferences and so forth. So
I was just kind of on a whim and had built up pretty good, which is great. But then dude, when eight came in our market, it was like somebody turned the light switch off. got funky. I mean, I had reserves in my mind. I was doing all the right things, right? I had had eight to 12 months reserves, but dude, eight was long standing and you know, good Lord, we’re not going to see anything like that again, hopefully ever, but hopefully not for at least not for a long time. But so we hung on for several years and
It was like it really got to me and thought that I was letting people down, I liquidated everything I could and ultimately by 2012 I had no choice. Well, I I had no choice. I made peace with the fact that the best decision was to end up going bankrupt and it was painful, right? But that’s cool. Every, every pain point is an opportunity to learn, right? I got the opportunity to go through that. I know what that feels like and I’m blessed to have done that.
before I had kids and a family to support, right? I was single at that moment in time. So I’m very blessed in that sense. So that allowed me to sharpen my sword going into phase two, right? I’ve got the opportunity to have a second chance. I’m very blessed for that. So what does that mean? We’re gonna fricking crush it and we’re gonna do so responsibly and we’re gonna manifest this equity and we’re gonna leave that sitting in the net worth and not be over leveraged. We don’t want anything over 50 % LTV. Try to keep it lower than that. So every hardship to your question and point.
Every hardship, something good and beautiful can come from it if you allow yourself to look at it through that lens. So.
Quentin (11:17)
Jon, man, thank you so much for your honesty, brother, for your transparency. Honestly, that’s what, that’s the difference between people that just dabble and people that sit in for the long term, to be able to take the knocks, get back up and keep on going. And so thank you, man. Thank you for taking us through that process and that journey through your lens. That’s something that we need to hear more about. Honestly, people don’t keep it that real sometimes. And so.Thank you, man. I appreciate you so much. But your bounce back is here. Things are moving on successfully. So I guess my next question is, what are you focused on solving or scaling next? What’s the next real goal for you,
Jon St.Leger (11:53)
So next goal is to continue to build up the portfolio. I’d like to be able to retire my wife at some point. And then I want time for even to be able to, quite frankly, I want more fishing time. I do, I love fishing. I want to get on the water more. I want to be able to go on more travel, travel with my family and get us an RV. That’s one of my goals. And I want to do so responsibly.Quentin (12:08)
Yeah.Jon St.Leger (12:15)
You know, and as far as development goes and so forth, I want to continue to build some really unique properties on the Outer Banks and try to kind of level up and do some super unique stays. We’ve got some fun projects going on. We’re getting ready to develop a 47 key luxury boutique hotel on the oceanfront here in Kitty Hawk Outer Banks. They could not be more excited about. me tell you this. This market is prime for this product we’re putting together. It’s been a brainchild for the past couple years. We’ve been working on entitlement and so forth. So these bigger development plays, they’re a long.There’s a long runway to get to them, right? We’ve been working on it two and a half years, fully entitled. We’ll be breaking ground by the end of this year and we’re super pumped. It’s going to be fire. And we’re also doing an 80 seat restaurant and bar on there too with a big conference center, beautiful courtyard, place for small music, intimate music venues and weddings and so forth. yeah, super pumped about that.
Quentin (13:04)
You getting me pumped about that, man. Oh man, that’s, I told you man, when you talk, you’re great at your storytelling. I just see pictures when you talking. And I know my pictures in my head don’t do it any justice, but you’re excited, man. I’m excited for you. That’s big. Especially when you’re talking about, hey, listen, I’m trying to retire my wife. I mean, we know the next move, it can even compound things or create total chaos, depending on how we play it.But listening to you, you are the type of person that looks into the chaos and brings out the beauty. like, let me wrestle this chaos down, put assistance in this thing and make this thing work in my benefit. And so man, I’m absolutely loving just listening to you talk and the way you’re talking about doing things, man. And so again, talking about the journey, right? You know, we’ve been talking a little bit about just your relationships, the people you’re connected to.
And I think it would benefit people that’s listening to hear this from you because you have said your network is your net worth. So when it comes to building relationships and growing your network, what has made the biggest difference for you, Mr. Jon?
Jon St.Leger (14:09)
Two,putting yourself in the rooms with the right people. Right? I want to put myself in rooms where my wildest dreams are their everyday realities. I mean, talk about an opportunity to level up. Dude, that is the key. Dude, that’s the secret sauce. You’re greatly, you know, you’re the average of the five people you hang out with, right?
Get in those rooms, get inspired. But then the next step to that, the next level up is take action. Dude, it’s not that, it’s simple. It’s not easy for some personalities, but it is simple. If you learn, if you can soak it, take it in and then take action.
I tell people that I coach, consult with and so forth. Like I tell people every day.
Your network is your net worth, yes. But every day, if you want to go find some jewelry on a beach, what are you going to use? You’re going to use a metal detector, right? So if we want to find opportunities out here in the real estate world, the business world, whatever it is, right? I tell people, have on your opportunity detectors, right? That might sound corny, but dude, that means your ears, right? Hearing people talk, hearing whispers, right? Tell people what you do, what you want, where you want to go, where you are going.
Tell them if they don’t know you, they can’t flow you, if dude, and then your eyes always for sale signs, right? Looking for sale signs, looking for opportunities, scroll it, even if you’re not in the buying, right? The network is your net worth, not just so you can get, but you also gotta be a giver. So even if I’m not in acquisition phase, I’m still scrolling the market. Why?
Quentin (16:02)
Ooh.Yeah.
Jon St.Leger (16:21)
Because if I find a deal, I guarantee I know one of my contacts in my network that is looking for a deal. Right? And dude, that shit comes full circle. I love giving. Yes.Quentin (16:30)
Yes, sir.Jon St.Leger (16:31)
Opportunity detectors.Quentin (16:32)
I wasn’t trying to,yeah. Yeah, I wasn’t trying to cut you off, please brother. You flowing, man.
Jon St.Leger (16:36)
Nah, mean, that’s, you know, that, that’s it. Look for opportunity, share the love. Dude, I have a mindset and I think it’s important that everybody does quite frankly, but I have a mindset of abundance, not scarcity. Dude, there is plenty to go around, dude. Plenty. Right. And, and then I’ll kind of curve this a little bit if you’re good with it, but it’s not about what we make. It’s about what we keep. Right. It really is. And so that brings us into like,tax architecture, right? What does this look like? And I’m not going to go down that rabbit hole more than happy to, but I don’t believe we have time for all that. But think about it, learn about that. Right? So my game plan is make capital, deploy capital, and then keep as much of it as possible. And there are so many avenues out there right now. The tax code before the COVID extensions is 6,000 pages. Dude, less than 60 pages of that 6,000 is how you had to pay taxes.
5940 pages of that is how the government incentivizes you to invest in certain asset classes that they don’t want to dabble in, whether it’s housing, energy, technology, agriculture. I mean, there’s just so many sectors. It’s very interesting. So for whatever.
However you fit into that equation, what makes sense for you and your strategy, your unique advantage, but zoom in on that, because it’s not about what we make, it’s about what we keep. That’s how we’re going to get down this financial field further, faster.
Quentin (17:52)
Yeah, yeah. Man, listen, I knew it. I knew it. I knew it from jump, man. You was going to just drop so many valuable nuggets. And man, I thank you. mean, from talking about relationships to, you know, tax architecture, man, I just really thank you. know our audience going to really, really, really find so much value in this episode. So I thank you.and you’re absolutely right, relationships are everything. Get into these spaces, reach out, connect to people because you know, your network is your network. So listen, Mr. Jon, yeah, man, listen, before we wrap, if someone wanted to reach out, connect with you, collaborate with you, learn more about what you’re doing, what’s the best way for them to reach you,
Jon St.Leger (18:23)
100 % brother.And the sure thing you can reach out at on Instagram. It’s J O N underscore B O Y 14.
Quentin (18:42)
Love it. Love it. Listen, I feel strongly, I wanna do this. One more question before we wrap, man. Is there anything on your heart that you wanna give to people that inspires them, that motivates them? Just anything from the heart in your head, maybe a word that people can, that you can give that will really stick with people. I just wanna offer that to you if you have anything like that, sir.Jon St.Leger (19:05)
Yeah, absolutely. ⁓ My heart is in helping empower the blue collar community, communities of America. The blue collar workers is what this country was built on. And it is our time, quite frankly, right? I the services industry is it’s not a one word, I apologize, but like the services industry and like the blue collar workers out there with bloody knuckles each and every day. Dude, you guys have a unique advantage.There will be some stuff coming up in the future where I want to help coach and kind of gear towards that. It’s premature to mention that now, but dude, like being a blue collar is a unique advantage. If you’re in the construction industry and you can add value to an asset, that is your unique advantage. If you’re a doctor working in a hospital, dude.
You’re, you might not know anything much about real estate or how it can do much with your two hands, but guess what? You’re working around other high net or high income earning people. Like I can take any personality out there and help them extract their unique advantage. they’re like, they have these, I like helping people have these aha moments. So any who shout out to the blue collar workers of America. Love y’all. And dude, like it’s our time to shine really is.
Quentin (20:11)
Well, listen, there he is, Mr. Jon St. Leger. Thank you, sir, man. Thank you so much for your story. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your perspective. Man, we definitely need more people in this space that is doing it the way you’re doing with integrity, equity, manifestation, really understanding and preaching that message that, hey, everyone has a unique advantage. Go ahead and pull that lever and inspire people around. So again, sir, I appreciate you. Thank you so much,Jon St.Leger (20:37)
Thank you brother, have a great day.Quentin (20:39)
Absolutely, you too, man. Now listen, everyone else, you’ve heard him. You got the value. You do not want to miss out on these valuable conversations. You watch and I say it all the time and then you still don’t subscribe. Listen, let’s change that today. Go ahead and hit that subscribe button so you do not miss out on these valuable conversations. Mr. Jon, thank you again. And to everyone else, we will see you on the next time.
