Panama City Real Estate Investing: Where Florida Investors Should Look Next

Jesse Cole (00:00)
I’m not in any single transaction for that transaction. I’m in it for the relationship. So the better they do, the more likely they are to come back later.

And ⁓ underestimating the fixes, ⁓ that I think that is actually the risk. but it’s really more plan for the worst, celebrate the best, and just take the win. So don’t run the budget so tight. You know, if you think it’s gonna take X, give it X plus 17 to 22 percent, you know, give yourself a little buffer there.

Scott Bursey (02:10)
Welcome back to the Real Estate Pros podcast, powered by Investor Fuel. I’m your host, Scott Bursey and today, pros, we are delighted to have Jesse Cole in the studio. Jesse is a pro in the Florida real estate landscape. He isn’t just another agent. He brings over 15 years of deep, hands-on construction experience to the table. Today we’re going to pull back the curtain on how to build the bridge between building quality assets and scaling a successful.

real estate business in the Panama City Market. Get ready. You’re going to walk away today with some valuable insights and how to spot the kind of value that most agents simply miss. Jesse, welcome to the show.

Jesse Cole (02:55)
Thank you, appreciate it.

Scott Bursey (02:58)
It is just awesome having you here. And if you could please tell us a bit about yourself and where your focus is now.

Jesse Cole (03:05)
Yeah. I’m Jesse. I’m a licensed realtor in Bay County, Florida. ⁓ home of Panama City Beach. ⁓ I wear a couple of hats. I also run a consulting firm in the area that ⁓ I think we’re gonna get into a little bit. It kind of goes hand in hand with the real estate career.

Scott Bursey (03:32)
That’s awesome, Jesse. What a phenomenal start here. And what really caught my attention about you was the way that you’ve been able to pivot that fifteen plus years of construction grit, if you will, into a high level real estate career. That’s a rare combo.

Jesse Cole (03:52)
Yeah, I think pivot is the operable word. I feel like we all you know, pivot or don’t. And ⁓ you know, you know when you’ve pivoted correctly. ⁓ had a long background in construction. ⁓ nearly all of it was construction sales. ⁓ I used to joke around and say I drove around the southeast looking for porta potties to beg builders to buy from us. And ⁓

No, I did that through COVID. And ⁓ that was ⁓ you know, we were deemed an essential industry. So construction didn’t skip a beat. and just kind of over the years developed a lot of relationships with a lot of builders in the southeast. And ⁓ the wife and I, we knew we wanted to eventually be in the Florida panhandle and kind of had one of those.

Pivotal aha moments like, why are we waiting until we retire? Like, why not just go now? And you know, very fortunate. She works remote. ⁓ construction sales. I thought, you know, I’m ready to open up my own construction company.

I pivoted out of that about a year after we got down here and ⁓ ended up settling into more of the sales consulting role again. ⁓

the running the running the entire company was not for me. so I went back to what I was good at, back to the pivot, ⁓ back to what I was good at, just building relationships between the trades and builders, developers, investors.

But I noticed there was one thing that I was always missing, and it was the realtor. you know, we were looking at all each of these projects, and the builders would always say, Okay, you know, we’re gonna allocate this for realtor fees and this is that. And I’d kind of carved out my little niche by connecting like connecting everyone, you know, everyone that’s working together. I was the common denominator, you know. ⁓ builders would come to me with a set of plans, hey, can you

did everything that you can do and just using the network of subcontractors that I’ve met and vetted. ⁓ I try to be a one-stop shop for the builder. Well then I noticed, well, man, these realtors, I’ve never seen an unhappy one. And they come in, they do well, and let’s see what this is about.

So really only got license to run our fix and flips or to help the builders, you know, when they are coming to me for trades. Hey, I can also, you know, list it for you. After the first couple, I realized that I really liked real estate. It was a lot of my skill set that I’d spent the past decade developing. ⁓ told my wife, I said, you know what? I’m really digging the real estate.

I think I’m gonna go all in next year. And ⁓ so that’s kind of that’s kind of where we are now. the majority of what I do is real estate. since I got licensed, I’ve branched out to the general public as well. So of course I’ve still got, you know, my builders and my investors, ⁓ and the developers that I keep.

eyes on this market for. But ⁓ I’ve also been privileged enough. ⁓ I ran somewhere between five and seven first time homebuyers last year. That was awesome. You very rarely get the warm and fuzzies in construction. But first time home buy the closing table, ⁓ it’s like the next best thing since like Christmas morning as a kid. And ⁓

Yeah, we’re ⁓ but I like that word pivot because I feel like since twenty twenty everyone has had to pivot at least once. And that’s kind of my mantra, you know, it’s ⁓ less attractively put, you know, no matter what’s happening, be a cockroach because they survive, you know, like figure out a way, you know, pivot. And ⁓ it’s working for us.

Scott Bursey (09:24)
And I love the word relationships. Jesse, people do business with folks that they know they like and they trust. And we’re really curious to know how does that construction background give you a leg up when you’re analyzing a potential deal that everyone else is overlooking?

Jesse Cole (10:19)
It does. also I’m at a very large, well-established brokerage at Counts Real Estate, the largest in Bay County, Florida. not only can I kind of help myself, most mostly you’re helping yourself avoid a sticky situation, or you’re putting a potential buyer’s mind at ease about something that’s not.

such a big deal that maybe someone who doesn’t have the experience in the industry wouldn’t know. ⁓ you know, in when I’m walking a house with a with a buyer or an investor, you know, ⁓ is that is that fascia a little rotted? Yeah. Yeah it is. But that’s nothing. You know, we’re not ⁓ we’re not looking at, you know, WDO or termite damage. It’s just

Florida and Florida hates construction. So ⁓ I can I I’d say those are the main ways that it helps myself and the other agents at our brokerage. ⁓ we can avoid sticky situations and we can bypass situations that might look sticky but they’re not.

Scott Bursey (11:36)
Thank you for highlighting that. Having that contractor’s eye is clearly a massive competitive advantage. And it’s often said, Jesse, that we’re our own biggest obstacles. What’s the biggest internal friction you’ve had to overcome while balancing the mindset of a builder with the sales process of a realtor?

Jesse Cole (11:58)
That’s a good one. I’ve done a lot of thinking about this and I’ve received a lot of coaching on this ⁓ as my wife is a national sales trainer for ⁓ builders, realtors, and other sales professionals. So we do, we have a sales centric household and we talk about these things. And ⁓ my leash, if you will, is

I do not want and I need to change this. I don’t want to be the carnival barker, if you will. I don’t want to be everywhere that you look. I don’t want billboards. I don’t want all the all the big stuff. I want people that I want to work with people that want to work with me. So they already know me. They already like me. They already trust me.

Or they’re referring me to someone who is going to know me, like me, and trust me eventually. ⁓ the three and a half years we’ve been d here in Bay County, I ⁓ over ninety-five percent of my real estate transactions have been word of mouth referrals. And so far I haven’t paid for any big advertising. ⁓

I’ve managed to avoid coal calling so far. but I know those are two things that would that would help me if I would just embrace it. ⁓ but decade in construction, I’m a little stubborn, so it it it fits the bill. ⁓

Scott Bursey (13:42)
It’s Jesse, in regards to Bay County, where do you see the most untapped potential for investors right now, given your unique vantage point?

Jesse Cole (13:53)
Awesome.

Scott Bursey (13:55)
We’ve got

Jesse Cole (13:55)
⁓

If you grew up in the southeast United States, you probably hit a spring break down here, especially through the 70s, 80s, 90s, and earliest 2000s. ⁓ we’ve got our destination market, investor market. That’s the luxury, the waterfront, the ⁓ rental income. We also have two.

Massive military installations here. we’ve got the Air Force base and we’ve got the Navy base. So there’s a constant influx of people being shipped in and a constant influx of people being shipped out. That market is untapped. ⁓ long-term rentals, investors love buying property close to the military bases. The military, they’re tend to take care of your of your stuff. They tend to pay on time. ⁓

And there’s a chain of command if they don’t, which investors love. so on top of our luxury rental market and our military market, we still have our general populace and they need homes. So as an outside investor, the investors in the Atlanta and Nashville area that I that I work with, I’ve been leaning on them really hard to invest on the east side of our of Bay County.

⁓ it’s our most underdeveloped side. ⁓ it’s the cheapest per square foot, it’s the cheapest per acre. And the our west side, as you move west into 38, it’s already developed. It’s already what it’s going to be. ⁓ great spot to buy over there if you want to enter into a mature market. But if you want to play the five to seven year game.

and buy and hold and rent and sell when it’s right. That in my personal opinion, that east side is that’s where I’d be eyeballing hard.

Scott Bursey (16:42)
Are you seeing a specific shift in what buyers are demanding from a renovation standpoint?

Jesse Cole (16:51)
Noticed that is very specific to the buyer. I’ve had buyers that they just don’t want to create conflict. They’re that’s fine. That’s fine. We don’t no, no, it’s fine. I I can fix that afterwards. And I kind of have to lean in and say, Well, we are well within our right to ask if you know the worst they can say is no, it doesn’t hurt. ⁓ or I’ll offer my services after the after the sale is closed. ⁓ and there’s also buyers on the opposite side of that spectrum.

where I have to remind them this is an as is contract. We cannot ask them to make it showroom ready. but as far as like a general blanket statement, ⁓ I’m seeing buyers that want ⁓ and we’re all familiar with what’s in style, open concept floor plans. we don’t want the kitchen to be in a separate room of the house from the living room. Kinda wanna be able to

You know, socially, we entertain in the kitchen now more than we entertain in a sitting room. So, you know, just a house that flows, it makes sense. fortunately, the way homes were built through the seventies and eighties, even the nineties, they can easily be renovated into what we consider popular now. And with the escalated cost of building.

It oftentimes makes more sense to get something a little older and then make it what you want.

Scott Bursey (18:23)
That’s just great perspective. And Jesse, we’d love to get your take on this. In the current economic climate, what’s the biggest risk you see investors taking when they underestimate repair costs?

Jesse Cole (18:41)
I I think that is the risk, ⁓ underestimating repair cost. I try to combat that by I try to keep my opinions out of it. I like to present the information. I don’t sugarcoat it, I don’t give them the highlight reel.

I’m not in any single transaction for that transaction. I’m in it for the relationship. So the better they do, the more likely they are to come back later.

And ⁓ underestimating the fixes, ⁓ that I think that is actually the risk. but it’s really more plan for the worst, celebrate the best, and just take the win. So don’t run the budget so tight. You know, if you think it’s gonna take X, give it X plus 17 to 22 percent, you know, give yourself a little buffer there.

Scott Bursey (19:38)
If I’m hearing you correctly, control what you can control.

Jesse Cole (19:44)
Yes, and let the rest go.

Scott Bursey (19:47)
And Jesse, many of our listeners are wondering if you were starting your real estate career over today, knowing what you know about construction, how would you structure your first five deals?

Jesse Cole (20:03)
For someone entering today, I would recommend you’re gonna hear a lot of hype about selecting the right brokerage. I do think there’s some importance there. ⁓ I’ve been with three different brokerages. ⁓ Counts Real Estate was the big local, homegrown, number one in the market brokerage. Good connections. I love connections. That’s what I do with my consulting firm. It’s

It’s just connecting people. So it was kind of the obvious choice. ⁓ starting out, go to a brokerage that is established in your neighborhood or in your county. It’s not going to be the end all be all because there’s a million brokerages. But when you get there, find a team that’ll have you and run your first year as a team. You won’t make the same kind of money you’ll make as a solo agent, but

You will get constant experience and exposure. ⁓ you know, the average agent

You’re only doing a contract four to seven times a year, or one, you know, one every two months or so. And if you stay rusty, you know, you run that transaction, you’re like, okay, I remember how to do this, but now the transaction’s over. And now you’ve got a two month wait before you make your next one. And then you’re rusty all over again. But if you can get on a team and the the money is not going to be the same, but that experience is invaluable.

Stay on that team until you’ve built connections with clients that you ran and they’re coming back to you now. You know, hey, my friend said you did a great job with them. Can you when that starts coming in now? Go solo. ⁓ you’ve got your start. You know what to do because you know, a lot of these industries like construction and real estate, they don’t there is no pamphlet.

that says, you know, step by step on how to do what we’re doing. It just you’ve gotta hope you had a good mentor and you’ve got to hope you paid attention and you gotta hope you have the drive to actually care to make sure that it gets done the proper way. ⁓ not just a race to the CO or closing table.

Scott Bursey (22:26)
Jesse, that was a valuable breakdown. Thank you for that. And really, you have given us some great breakdowns today on the insight as it relates to construction and real estate. But is there any other words of wisdom that you could leave with our pros here today?

Jesse Cole (22:45)
Yeah. Fossil like nurture those relationships. And you know, I try to talk to my investor network regularly and not just, hey, I found a house I want you to buy, or hey, there’s this, you know, lot that went up for sale over here. Like I try to develop my relationship with them, you know. How’s the kids? How’s the wife? You know, you do any hunting this year? You know, I mean they all get fish pictures. When I catch something good.

They all know. So it’s you know, I’m not always just calling for business, you know. Sometimes it’s ⁓ it’s good to nurture that relationship. So you’re you’re top of mind, you know, when an opportunity does come along, you know, if they need to put some money somewhere. I just talked to Jesse last, you know, last week. I’m gonna give him a shout. And it makes it more pleasant to do business with people that you genuinely know, care, and trust. ⁓

Yeah, you don’t have to it eliminates some of that worry of, this is gonna be okay. Cause you know them. You know if it’s not okay, y’all will get together and you will make it okay.

Scott Bursey (23:59)
That is powerful. Thank you for that as well, Jesse. And for those of our listeners that want to keep this conversation moving, stay in your lane or collaborate with you, what is the best way for them to plug into your pipeline and reach you directly?

Jesse Cole (24:14)
Yeah. email is the best way to reach out to me. on the real estate side, it’s just my name, Jesse J E S S E at countsrealestate.com. and if you’re someone who is looking for your first investment property, your hundredth investment property, and you’re interested anywhere in the Bay County area, which is

you know, basically Mexico Beach all the way almost to Destin, ⁓ through Panama City Beach. Just reach out, you know, even if you may not be ready, but you just want some information on the market and what the numbers look like. See, you know, kind of explore your potential ROI before you pull the trigger. Definitely reach out. Absolutely. That is that is what I do every day.

Scott Bursey (25:09)
Thank you for joining us today, Jesse. This has been a great conversation, my friend.

Jesse Cole (25:14)
Thank you. Appreciate you having me.

Scott Bursey (25:17)
And to our listeners, we appreciate you. If you receive value from today’s episode, please subscribe. We’ll be filling your tanks with the lineup of elite guests just like Jesse Cole, who are accelerating and setting the pace for the rest of the industry. Until next time, keep your standards high and your vision clear. We’ll see you on the next episode, everyone.