Inside a One-Stop Real Estate System for Investors & Homebuyers

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (00:00)
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think there is so much whether you’re buying or investing, ⁓ you know, we really focus on working with investors or helping consumers become educated on investment. ⁓ like I said, we want to create a relationship, not focus on a transaction. So we want to be, you know, working with you for the rest of your life once you meet us. So we always start with a

Free, no pressure call. We want to understand their goals, their risk profile, their budget, ideal timeline. And again, really what are they trying to achieve? ⁓ so that we can design the right exit strategy, you know, figure out their financing options, again, set the budget, the location, and the timeline around those specific needs. And ⁓ what a lot of agents do is just kind of show houses in an area whereas we’re gonna source.

And we’re gonna hand pick the best opportunities, ⁓ investment grade, pocket listings, distress properties, you know, value add. And we’re gonna actually analyze that, pre-underwrite it, soft underwrite it for our investors, provide them an ARV, a cap rate, an ROI calculation.

renovation or build cost estimate and really literally send them a package deal.

Meghan Escobar (02:53)
Hello everyone. Welcome to Real Estate Pros Podcast. I’m your host, Meghan Escobar, and today I am joined by someone that I actually have been looking forward to chatting with. We have a Jonathan D ⁓ on with us today, who’s been making some serious moves in the ⁓ building industry. you you focus on building homes, is that right? Yeah, renovating building and renovating. been making some serious

⁓ moves here in that space in the Tampa, Southwest Florida area. And so glad to have you here, Jonathan. I think our listeners are really going to take something away from how you’re approaching your your business, right? I love what you said earlier on about how the way that you focus on business and working with your clients is

you are not here to make a sale but to actually help your client achieve their goals. There’s no forcing. ⁓ I think that’s that’s an incredible asset in the in the real estate industry that most people don’t focus on. Most people focus on making the sale. So you’re focusing on what ⁓ how to help your clients achieve their goals. So let’s dive into that. So first off for people who might not be familiar with your world, give us a short version of what your main focus is these days and

What markets that you’re operating in?

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (04:17)
Yeah, sure, Meghan . So my company, ⁓ Glazing Bay Construction mostly focuses on the Sarasota and Tampa Bay markets, which is pretty broad, ⁓ but we do focus on niche areas within there. And like you said, you know, our goal isn’t to force anybody into signing a contract with us. we want to build and design a strategy around their desired outcome. And we just so happen to also be, you know, I happen to be a licensed sales agent.

So if, you know, building new doesn’t end up being their thing, we we have all the options to help them one way or another. So it kind of helps diversify us, set us apart a little bit, to kind of be like a one-stop shop, not only for consumers, but also for our investors, ⁓ who, you know, we we offer some very good incentives and competitive pricing too.

Meghan Escobar (05:09)
I love that. ⁓ what type of other ⁓ w when you mean one stop shopping, can you dive into that a little bit more for me for people who might not know the entire process of what it takes to getting into buying a home or building a home?

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (05:24)
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think there is so much whether you’re buying or investing, ⁓ you know, we really focus on working with investors or helping consumers become educated on investment. ⁓ like I said, we want to create a relationship, not focus on a transaction. So we want to be, you know, working with you for the rest of your life once you meet us. So we always start with a

Free, no pressure call. We want to understand their goals, their risk profile, their budget, ideal timeline. And again, really what are they trying to achieve? ⁓ so that we can design the right exit strategy, you know, figure out their financing options, again, set the budget, the location, and the timeline around those specific needs. And ⁓ what a lot of agents do is just kind of show houses in an area whereas we’re gonna source.

On and off market properties across our network from Tampa to Sarasota, all the way out to the Gulf Coast Barrier Islands and in, you know, like ⁓ Don Pedro and Estero area. And we’re gonna hand pick the best opportunities, ⁓ investment grade, pocket listings, distress properties, you know, value add. And we’re gonna actually analyze that, pre-underwrite it, soft underwrite it for our investors, provide them an ARV, a cap rate, an ROI calculation.

renovation or build cost estimate and really literally send them a package deal.

So it you know, the I don’t know many other realtors doing that. Maybe some investment in finance specialists, which I’m not, full disclosure, not a licensed, not a licensed finance advisor. So nobody thinks that.

Meghan Escobar (07:59)
You may have some experience, but I I’m

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (08:02)
Yeah, we help our we help our investors and consumers make informed financial decisions so that they’re set up to win in any market. I love that. That’s what we do.

Meghan Escobar (08:12)
That

I absolutely love that. And you said something in there that that kind of just caught my attention real quick, only because I’ve had many conversations with many people and in my background and what I do. Do you ever come across somebody who maybe isn’t too clear on what their goals actually are? And do you ever have to walk somebody kind of through what that looks like?

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (08:36)
All the time, all the time. ⁓ you know, like I said, we take pride in educating consumers, but also really heavily leaning into our investors. and part of educating consumers, ⁓ because most of them go into the buy, you know, the buy process thinking, okay, this is you know, this first one’s gonna be my forever home and this and that. And it’s, you know, I’m oftentimes on a call going,

So what’s your goal with that? And they go personal. And I’m like, okay, well, what do you think in five years you’re where you’re gonna be? ⁓ I’m like, well, do you think, you know, is it important to you for that home to be worth a couple hundred thousand dollars more? Would that help you out if you had that exit strategy? What about if we bought it at the right price and we know that your mortgage is gonna cash flow on a rental? Would that would that help change your life if you could move into this house for a year or two?

Change your framework. If you could live here for one or two years instead of five, and then rinse and repeat the process, put 5% down on another house and do it all over again. How would that change your life? And so I think once you figure out again a solution to people’s problems and listening to their problems, saying, okay, so you know, what’s going on now? And how could we help you get to a more comfortable place?

Meghan Escobar (10:00)
I think that is so important and absolutely love that. Wish I found you when I was making my move here, ⁓ down here in Florida. But it’s okay. It all worked out. So another thing that caught my attention about the way that you’ve been able to help people and walk them through the entire process. ⁓ you know, always focused on improving your ⁓

you mentioned you’re always focused on improving your business, your knowledge in the industry. And I think that ⁓ is also kind of leaning into or spilling into your strengths, right? Because you mentioned that as a weakness, but that’s actually kind of spilling into to your strengths and your business growing. And I don’t think that’s a very easy thing to do, especially in this climate. ⁓ what do you what what would you say has been the key element to keeping that machine running smoothly?

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (10:57)
⁓ high expectations for myself. I think as an entrepr I think any entrepreneur can relate to this. ⁓ and it’s not so much being unsatisfied with what you have, but knowing that you could be better. ⁓ and so when I say, you know, always improving systems is a weakness, it’s it’s almost like a mental.

It’s more of a mental battle, right? For an entrepreneur, because you know in the back of your mind there’s always something you could be improving or doing better that would yield a higher return in your business. And so that I think it’s it’s every entrepreneur’s weakness in a way.

Because we’re all even Jeff Ba you know, we’re all trying to no matter how much money you have, no matter how big of a business you built, there’s always gonna be something that’s eating at you that you’re like, I need to improve this. This needs to be better, this could be tighter, I c I could work on this here. ⁓ and so it is a strength, but it’s also a weakness. Yeah, it’s it’s the double edged sword, right? So to speak, of entrepreneurial ⁓ entrepreneurialism.

Meghan Escobar (12:18)
Yeah. I can’t agree more. Yeah, try to say that three times fast. So every owner and every operator that I know has a moment where things got real. Maybe it’s a deal that went sideways or a time that they had to pivot really fast. Would you mind, Jonathan, sharing one of those moments for you?

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (12:20)
Fun word to spit out.

⁓ I would say the moment when it got real was probably the 2024 hurricane season for us. ⁓ it really got real. We had ⁓ you know, we had clients mid-renovation that got wiped out, you know, starting over from scratch. We had clients who were in permitting delays. ⁓ you know, people were

losing a lot of money. People are in certain markets still losing a lot of money. ⁓ but that was a really tough time because not only did it hurt our consumers and investors that we already had active in the market, ⁓ or living here, but it also hurt the potential of new incoming business for for, you know, quite a while. And ⁓

Now, with it having been calm for the last, you know, two years and everything, ⁓ we’re seeing traffic come back in to the coastal regions. ⁓ you know, builders like myself and and other reputable companies have been really focused on strategically developing, you know, storm resilient products on the coast. And those are selling very well. ⁓ but it it hurt.

For like the last 24 months, that really kind of effed up our market. That in combination with, you know, a correction ⁓ of inventory and of pricing, which was to be expected. ⁓ I mean, people were paying a hundred grand over for a house. You know, we can’t we can’t expect that to not correct at some point.

Meghan Escobar (15:02)
Right, exactly. And unfortunately that y you know, referencing I believe Ian, ⁓ you know, that natural disaster was something that most people don’t consider or ever even experience, if you will. ⁓ and the kind of stuff that most people don’t talk about enough because we can never prepare ourselves for something like that, right? So, ⁓ but you’re still here and you’re still

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (15:27)
Yeah, we’re

still here.

Meghan Escobar (15:29)
Yeah,

it’s it’s what separates the folks who are here to just dabble ⁓ and you know, from the ones who are here to stay in the game long term. ⁓ so you know, let me ask you this, like Jonathan, what are you most focused on solving or scaling next? What’s the next real goal for you in your company?

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (15:51)
I would say we’re heavily leaning into, you know, vertical development. That’s where our focus is right now. ⁓ and then with you know, with helping ⁓ past clients and ⁓ consumers with renovating their existing homes if they’re not in a position to move. ⁓ so that’s really the driving force of of my companies right now, both in my sales focus and in my construction focus, is is we’re looking to

really have a heavy foothold in the coastal market and ⁓ be doing a lot of vertical construction out on the beaches and stuff like that.

Meghan Escobar (16:30)
Love that. That’s big. Especially, you know, when you you mentioned something earlier on, too, that I think is really incredible that ⁓ a a lot of people in the real estate industry as an agent aren’t focused on, right? It is very transactional. ⁓ I I love that you mentioned helping past clients and that you’re here to stay with them for the lifetime because it it’s not just

purchasing a home and see you later, right? Like you need to keep that relationship going ⁓ and keeping that in place, I think is probably what’s keeping you in the business long term, potentially a big piece of it anyway. ⁓ but it sounds like with your goal being vertical development and helping past clients and staying with them for a lifetime, all right, that is something that can potentially compound things for you.

To the next level or potentially maybe create chaos, depending on how it’s played. ⁓ so I know a lot of people listening are either maybe early on in their journey or maybe looking to level up and can probably benefit from hearing this, but when it comes to building relationships and growing your network, what’s made the biggest difference for you?

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (18:33)
Putting you know, you gotta put yourself out there. ⁓ put yourself in uncomfortable situations, get into rooms with people who are smarter than you, bigger than you, better than you, and admit to yourself that you’re not the best. ⁓ and and like I was saying earlier, with the whole entrepreneurial mindset and always feeling that need to improve, that ties into with you know, networking. If

If you want to be better, you have to be around people who are better than you and you have to be willing to put yourself in those uncomfortable situations. So as much as people like poo-poo on country clubs and yacht clubs and fundraising events and philanthrop philanthropic events and you know local ⁓ you know local community outreach events, all of those things if

If you make an effort to show up and show that you care about your community, you care about being involved, you care about meeting people, then you know that’s really what will propel your network. ⁓ it’s hard being an entrepreneur, it’s even harder if you’re a solo entrepreneur and it comes with a lot of dark days. ⁓ it helps if you build a network that you love.

And that you feel like you can lean on and reach out to a colleague and say, hey man, I know you’re in a similar industry. I’m really having a problem with this. Could you help me? Could you help me out? And you know, the internet is a fabulous place. It’s a it’s an awesome place to go to like Eventbrite or get on Facebook and look up what in-person events are happening in your community. ⁓ because that ⁓

Plenty of investor communities and that’s where I’ve made a lot of my best connections. I know you asked about that earlier. What communities am I involved in? ⁓ and it’s just a bunch of them because there’s not a community that I don’t want to be involved in because you’re turning down an opportunity.

Meghan Escobar (20:40)
Amen to that. I I I think that is so powerful. I learned long on my journey in entrepreneurship almost a decade ago that just what you said, it’s getting into the rooms with people who are smarter than you, people that you wanna like you have a desire. Ever we all have a desired life, right? Versus the life that we’re living. And one thing that I’ve learned from a mentor of mine ⁓ a few years back, almost eight years ago now, is

Your network is your net worth, right? And if you’re not if you’re not willing to get into the rooms and be a little bit uncomfortable and maybe get over that imposter syndrome a little bit, like you’re never gonna grow, right? Like ⁓

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (21:20)
Sometimes

it’s not even about you talking, it’s about making an introduction and just listening to what they have to say. And that’s what most people want when when you’re in those settings is they want you to listen to them. They don’t want to hear you talk. They want to talk. And if you listen to them talk and you indulge in them and you show interest and you show you care, they will slowly and gradually become your friend.

Meghan Escobar (21:27)
Yeah.

That’s it. ⁓ one of the books, one of my favorite books is how to influence people. How to win friends and influence people, right?

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (21:52)
Anybody who listens to this, you know, episode should go and listen to the audiobook or buy the heart buy the hard copy and read that book because it’ll change your life, change the way you interact with people. My mom always said, like like you were saying, network, net worth. My mom also always said, you become who you surround yourself with. Mm-hmm. So think about, you know, any of you guys out there who are like, God, my life’s going nowhere. Look look at your friend group. I just say.

Meghan Escobar (22:20)
Yeah,

yeah.

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (22:20)
And if you you know, there might be more influence coming from your friend group than you think. ⁓ once you change that up, you know, that’s been a s that was a struggle of mine as a teenager and a and a young guy hanging out with the wrong people. You get in with the right people, it’ll change your life.

Meghan Escobar (22:37)
You and me both, Jonathan. But we live and learn, right? Like you you have to do some wrong in your life to know like how to take a right turn, you know? So that is something exactly. Exactly. And active listening, active listening, like you said, it’s so, so freaking important. And you know, you can’t fake that. Relationships are everything in this space, especially in the entrepreneurial world, as we keep

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (22:40)
Yeah.

Make a ray. Yeah.

Meghan Escobar (23:06)
mentioning. but the truth is is like we we talk often you hear about like the people wanting to live the American dream and I hate to break it to you guys, but it’s not working a nine to five, right? Like that’s never gonna get you to live the desired life that that exists in here. ⁓ and so many words of wisdom that you know came from this and

Before we wrap it up, Jonathan, if someone wanted to reach out and connect with you and hear more about some advice that you might be able to give or potential collaborations, like ⁓ just really learning more about what you do, what would be the best way for them to reach you? If you wanna drop an email or a phone number or whatever.

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (23:51)
Yeah, I mean the easiest way for them to, you know, set up an intro with us, it would be to go directly to our site, livingsaltlife.com but they could also reach out to me directly on any of our social media platforms. I do respond within the same day, and it is actually me managing my accounts. So you can just Google Jon DeBellevue or you can Google Glades and Bay Construction. It’ll pull up any of our numerous social accounts, and you can always reach out to me directly on there.

Meghan Escobar (24:20)
I love that. And what was the website again?

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (24:24)
livingsaltlife.com. Just don’t tell Salt Life, all right? Cause they might get mad. No, I’m just kidding. They already sent me a cease and desist and I won.

Meghan Escobar (24:34)
⁓ That’s hilarious.

Jon ( The Builder ) DeBellevue (24:37)
That doesn’t

give me some entrepreneurial spirit to never give up, never give up.

Meghan Escobar (24:41)
Never give up. You heard it from the man himself. So perfect. And listen, I really appreciate your time, your story. Most and most importantly, your perspective. I think perspective is so important. And like Jonathan said, active listening, listening to someone else’s perspective could help you shift yours. So we need more people in this space who are doing things the right way. And clearly he is, he won the lawsuit. So thanks again for being here.

Those of you tuning in, if you got any value from this, please make sure you hit subscribe. We’ve got more conversations coming with operators just like Jonathan who are out here building real businesses in real time. We’ll see you on the next episode.