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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros Podcast, host Micah Johnson speaks with Lee, a seasoned real estate investor with a strong background in construction. Lee shares insights into his journey in the real estate market, focusing on wholesale deals and house flipping in South Carolina and Georgia. He emphasizes the importance of understanding property issues, particularly foundation problems, and the necessity of building a reliable team of professionals to ensure success in flipping houses. Lee’s experience highlights the significance of relationships in real estate, as well as the mental fortitude required to navigate the challenges of the industry.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Lee (00:00)
It’s the the number one thing is Winners never quit and quitters never win. So it’s that’s that’s been my mentality You know I’m gonna I’m gonna do this thing until I figure it out and and you have to maintain that mental toughness And it’s you have to work on yourself More than you work on your business business initially because you got it. You got to develop that mental toughness and it doesn’t happenovernight ah
For a lot of people that don’t know me, I’m an eighth grade dropout. And so I started at the very bottom and I’ve spent a lot of time reading books on real estate, Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad. you know, educate yourself.
Micah Johnson (02:12)
Hey everyone, welcome to the Real Estate Pros Podcast. I’m your host, Micah Johnson. And today I’m speaking with Lee, who’s been making some serious moves in real estate since about 2018. Lee, welcome in, man. Glad to have you.Lee (02:24)
Hey, I’m happy to be here. Glad I could accommodate you on this program.Micah Johnson (02:29)
Absolutely, I’m excited for our talk today. I think our listeners are really gonna take something away from just how you approach what it is you do, leveraging your life experience, your past experience, and to making sure that you’re getting good deals, doing it the right way, taking care of folks. So let’s dive in. For people who may not know you yet, what’s your main focus right now and what markets are you operating in?Lee (02:50)
Well, I’m operating in the South Carolina, Georgia area, of upstate South Carolina and Augusta, Georgia, kind of around there. That’s kind of my focus. Wholesale deals are some of what I’m focusing on. My bread and butter has been flipping due to my background in construction. I’ve been building houses since I’ve been 18. and so ahI have my built houses from the ground up. I’ve been operating my own construction company since 2013. so we do, I mean, my background of analyzing deals comes into play because of my background in construction. Um you know. Being able to find the problem areas in houses is something I can do rather.
quickly just from my background in construction.
Micah Johnson (03:41)
For someone who wouldn’t have that background, what’s some quick tips that you could share based on your experience of, pay attention to this. You might want to pay attention to that. Like things where something could be hiding.Lee (03:53)
Foundation, you know, make sure you either you know somebody or you learn how to evaluate what’s going on. If you’ve got if you’ve got issues in the floor, uneven ⁓ termite damage, you want to you want to find that really quick. that can I mean, because that’s cost, a cost extensive to to do, ⁓ I’m able to do a lot of that stuff myself yet.I’m getting to the point where I don’t like to do that stuff, but when it comes to getting it done, I can I can still you know do it. and But yeah, that’s typically, you spend a lot of money if if you end up with ⁓ a lot of damage in the floor.
Micah Johnson (05:24)
Yeah, foundation issues will blow a budget quick. And it’s something that most flippers got a hedge against and it’s quite common for you to go over budget, honestly. That’s the thing about flipping is getting really good at what you do because you never know what’s hiding in there. There’s all kinds of stuff you can find in a house.Lee (05:28)
Yes.there’s all kinds of stuff. I mean, you can think you’re buying something, you look at the panel and it looks good. And then here they’ve done some kind of hodgepodge, something underneath and you find out that you have to rewire most of it anyhow, just because they put a new panel in, they had done something funky underneath. so there’s all kinds of fun stuff that shows up. But when you’ve done it as long as I have,
And then the other key is having key people in the right places. you know, having somebody that’s not going to break the bank on doing specialized stuff like wiring and plumbing and that kind of thing. That’s if you’re in the flipping industry, that’s where you got to make sure you know you have quality people, but they have to be somebody that understands what you do.
Micah Johnson (06:25)
Right.Lee (06:36)
and are able to do it for a little bit less because they know you’re going to use them on another, you know, the next flip. So it’s, it’s using the volume mentality.Micah Johnson (06:42)
All right, volume mentality.And you nailed it there, man. Real estate is a relationship business in general. You can’t buy a house without a team of people, but flipping a house, even more so the folks that you need, because again, not everybody has your experience. And even with your experience being in full time and for a long time, doesn’t mean you do all the stuff. Like there’s a lot of different things that go into making a house, a house, something someone can live in and safely and enjoy.
And none of us can do that alone. Just buying the property, you need a lender typically, and you need a title company or an attorney, and you need an inspector, and you need it. There’s folks you got to put in place. So having those key positions filled, it is one of the main reasons someone is successful or not successful.
Lee (07:19)
No, no.Absolutely, and it’s building those relationships with people that, you know, they know you know what you’re doing and then they’re confident in what you do. ⁓ And so that’s, you know, that’s that’s all comes with time. It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process. And so you have to prepare yourself mentally to stay in the game long enough to to one, build a team. But then two is to be able to have those relationships in place when
that they know that you’re serious.
Micah Johnson (08:10)
Yeah,what mentality has helped you? What have you developed along the way to keep yourself in the game and keep things on track? Maintain consistency.
Lee (08:19)
It’s the the number one thing is Winners never quit and quitters never win. So it’s that’s that’s been my mentality ⁓ You know I’m gonna I’m gonna do this thing until I figure it out and and you have to maintain that mental toughness And it’s you have to work on yourself More than you work on your business business initially because you got it. You got to develop that mental toughness and it doesn’t happenovernight ah
For a lot of people that don’t know me, I’m an eighth grade dropout. ⁓ And so I started at the very bottom and I’ve spent a lot of time reading books on real estate, Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad. ⁓ you know, educate yourself.
You have to stay in, you know, I studied real estate probably 20 years before I ever did a deal. You don’t have to study that long, ⁓ but you have to get to that. You have to maintain
mental stability and that fortitude of not getting knocked out of the game.
Micah Johnson (09:21)
Right. Of how to handle hardwill. Cause it’s on the way. It’s on the way. And the only way it’s like, it’s like working out. You’re not going to, it’s not going to happen fast. And you have to do every single rep. If you don’t do the rep, you don’t get the benefit and it’s getting in there doing the work. And I love what you just said about the education part. You don’t have to read for 20 years, but your first move in real estate is educating yourself.Lee (09:24)
yeah!Micah Johnson (09:47)
It’s not making an offer. It’s not, it’s not those parts. It’s, it’s reading a book, taking that to the next level, going and meeting people that are doing it at high levels and getting, asking them questions and starting to get yourself around it and a mat acclimated to the environment. Because there’s a lot of folks already successful here. No one’s going to come into real estate and reinvent the wheel. There are people have been doing this a long time. There’s, there’s a methods that work.Lee (09:47)
Absolutely.Absolutely.
Micah Johnson (10:51)
It’s a lot upfront. You’re drinking water from the fire hose upfront for sure. However, like you’re telling you, like you’re saying, this is a long-term mentality. This is, I’m going to do this for a long time. What I’ve typically found too is at about the two year mark in your career, you’ll know if you like real estate or not. And if you love it at that point, you’ll typically stay in for a long time. You always reserve the right to change your mind, but those first two years, they’re not going to be simple.Lee (10:54)
yeah.yeah.
Micah Johnson (11:19)
They’re not going to be easy necessarily. You’re going to go through things that are going to make you question why the heck did I ever do this? But I love telling folks that upfront. So when that moment gets there, they’re like, ⁓ Lee said this would happen. Micah said this would happen. This is it’s normal. Cause folks knowing it’s normal to experience the hard better prepares you for when it shows up. Cause the stuff you see online, things that get put out.Lee (11:27)
Yeah. Yeah.Yeah.
Yeah.
Micah Johnson (11:47)
You’re looking at professional content makers make it look easy and they didn’t get to that point. Some of them may never got to that point. You got to trust what you’re seeing, but you don’t get to the highest parts of real estate without walking every step of the way, learning from bottom up how it works, what goes on.Lee (11:51)
Yes.And you made a key point is finding people that have done it. Find those people and get around those people, whether it’s a meetup, whether it’s taking them out to lunch, that works. But get around somebody that is doing what you want to do and then pick their brain. ⁓ Their secret sauce and your secret sauce are going to be
to completely different things because they have a different background. know, not everybody’s gonna have a background in construction like I have. That’s there’s nothing wrong with that. You don’t have to have that to be successful. If you can develop the mindset to stay in the game long enough to develop the relationships, to make the deals happen, that’s the key.
Micah Johnson (12:59)
It is. even, even if you go find a job and construct in real estate first, whether that’s construction, whether that’s a realtor, a lender title, like there’s all kinds of little ways to plug into the game where you can start making money from the industry and learn what’s under the hood. Cause that’s, that’s what gives you all the confidence to serve the people you’re going to serve later. It’s how you’re going to tell that person on the phone, who you’re going to buy their house, exactly how you’re going to solve their problem.It’s how you’re going to actually do the work to flip the house. It’s how you’re going to sell the house. All of it lines up in a row for you do this. This is what’s going to happen.
Lee (13:32)
Yeah.Yep. Stay in the game long enough and you will win. If you don’t stay in, if you don’t, first if you don’t get in the game you’re never gonna win, but if you get in the game, you gotta stay in it a couple innings to get the wheels rolling. ⁓ And so, you have to do that part. Like you said, do every step, do every rep. Are you gonna do it right?
Micah Johnson (13:43)
Right.Got you.
Lee (14:07)
No, you’re gonna screw up some. I mean, I’ve been very blessed and fortunate that I’ve not, you know, had any serious losses that, you know, that’s throwing me out of the game. Cause there’s people that they go in gung-ho and they, and they skip some steps and they get bit. And, you know, and they, and then they get thrown out before they, they get started because they tried, tried.Micah Johnson (14:23)
Right.Lee (14:31)
to skips some steps and then it’s like, well, it don’t work. I don’t want to get into real estate. You know don’t want to be a landlord or I don’t want to do this. And I hear all the different horror stories and it’s like, it’s not really that way.Micah Johnson (14:45)
Right. And real estate’s big. There’s a lot of stuff you can do in the industry, right? Cause you have a business part, don’t you? And y’all have a certain way your business is set up where each person’s skill is leverage. What they’re good at is getting plugged in and what you’re good at is getting plugged in. How has that helped y’all maintain success?Lee (14:50)
yeah.Absolutely.
Well, we stay out of each other’s way. You know, he does what he’s good at and he trusts my process because my numbers work and he’s like, you’re good at negotiating the deal. You do what you do. I just stand back and watch you. You know I don’t have to get involved. I do. He runs his other business. He’s an accountant. He does his thing and you know, we go out for lunch, split our checks and you know.
Micah Johnson (15:51)
Right.Lee (16:15)
go on our way. And so, you know, he respects, he respects what I do and I respect what he does and we don’t, you know, we don’t have to worry about getting in each other’s hair.Micah Johnson (16:29)
And or the part of the business that you would need to worry about if you didn’t have them. That’s another thing that comes from getting out there and building relationships is done well. You will position yourself to your strength, which is the whole point. Position yourself to the thing that you’re good at. Set yourself up to do the thing you’re good at over and over and over again. And you do it by getting a team in there, putting whether that’s just you and a partner, you know, team, lot of folks thinking it has to be some big thing. It really doesn’t.Lee (16:37)
absolutely.yeah.
Micah Johnson (16:57)
It’s just know what’s your weakness. What do you need to offset for so that you can keep doing the part you’re good at? Cause that’s, that’s the name of the game. If we’re going to, got to turn houses to make money and the smoother you can make the process, not just the better it is for you, the better it is for everybody involved. And that’s what creates return business.Lee (17:16)
Yep, absolutely. Yeah, no, it’s, I’ve been extremely blessed in the fact, you know, being able to position myself and find somebody that’s willing to, put up the money and I do the work. I mean, there’s, you know, that’s a match made in heaven because, you know, every deal needs some, you know, capital to make it happen, whether it’s private capital or whether you’re…you’re going out and you know getting a hard money loan. To flip a house, you can’t do it with no money. Yes, can wholesale houses with no money, but to flip a house, you’re gonna have to have some capital somewhere. Somebody’s gonna be paying something to fix that thing up. yep.
Micah Johnson (17:54)
right? And leads right back into relationships. Who’s itgoing to be? Are they a partner? Are they just a company you work for? But again, it just goes along the problems, not really problems, just the process. And it lines up with that mental fortitude that you need. It’s not one relationship. It’s many relationships. Because if you’re planning on being this a long time, that’s what I always told everybody, build your tool belt. If your problem is…
Lee (18:13)
Yeah.Micah Johnson (18:20)
If the solution to your problem is only a phone call away, you don’t really have that bad of a problem. What you really have is a solution. It’s inside your phone. Pick it up, make the call. That’s the benefit of building those relationships is as we grow, we’re falling off the curve, not the canyon. Right. When you don’t fall all the way down, it’s easier to pick yourself back up. Like you said, some folks get in the industry and put themselves in a situation whereLee (18:25)
Right.Yeah. Yeah. yeah.
Micah Johnson (18:46)
They’re only trying to hit home runs and then they don’t get to play the game anymore. And that is, I hate it for them. I hate seeing it because a bad idea, maybe some bad information that you got or, and I was guilty of it too, going in and just putting everything you got in one thing, right? Just shove your chips in. Don’t just shove your chips in. That’s how you do this. You can be really smart about it and take your time. There’s no rush in real estate. That’s the big thing I want everybody to know.Lee (18:51)
Right.yeah.
No!
Micah Johnson (19:15)
There’s always a deal and there’s no rush. Just wake up each day and do your job.Lee (19:15)
Absolutely.Absolutely. Yeah, and that’s what, you know, in talking even with my partners, like, hey, if the numbers don’t work, I walk. If the numbers don’t work, don’t force a deal.
Micah Johnson (19:28)
Right.Right. Leads to one of my favorite quotes. We are deal finders, not deal manufacturers. The more things that have to go right for a deal to be good, the less chance it has of actually working. It’s exponentially against you at that point. Cause if this has to do this, has to do this, run.
Lee (19:39)
Right.That’s right.
You’re in trouble.
Micah Johnson (19:54)
Run, like that is notLee (19:55)
Yeah.Micah Johnson (19:56)
a deal. And that’s where we, you know, as entrepreneurs, we all get antsy. want, we like the feeling of putting the things under contract. We want to be active in the industry. But one of the coaches I work with, says, you know, a champion’s greatest word in their vocabulary is restraint. That’s how you become the best is learning when to take action, when not to take action so that you, you ultimately accomplish what it is you set out to do. Right? No one got into the industry to lose.Lee (20:11)
Yeah. Yep.Yep.
Micah Johnson (20:22)
But take a little time to understand what are you really trying to do with it? What’s the point of what you’re doing? Now we can work backwards and then it starts to make way more sense of, okay, I don’t need to be in a rush. I need to take this time. I’m gonna still be doing this in five years anyway. So what’s the rush to that point? Just let me deal with today and then tomorrow.Lee (20:38)
Yeah.Yep, absolutely.
Micah Johnson (20:44)
Well, Lee man, I really appreciate your time, your story, your perspective today. Thanks for hopping on with me. For those out there that are interested in learning more about you, possibly partnering with you, what’s a great way for them to find you?Lee (20:55)
best way to find me is actually to go on my website at ebyandcoproperties.com you can also find me on Facebook at, EB’s Real Estate and Instagram, I think is also EB’s Real Estate. yeah. And then from there, you can, from my website, you can, you can book a property evaluation. you can, sign up for.to be you know part of the CRM and actually get some letters from me and I’ll be happy to talk to you in any kind of way, whether you have a property for sale or whether you’re looking to get into the real estate game and you know try to figure out how to make this thing work. My phone’s always on and if you have questions, I’d be happy to answer them in any way I can if I can help you stay in the game.
Give me a call, I’ll be happy to do anything I can to point you in the direction you need to be pointed.
Micah Johnson (21:48)
Love that man and thanks for that heart. It’s one of the things I appreciate most in real estate is successful people in this industry will talk to you. They will let you know what’s going on, happy to show you the ropes, show you what to avoid. So thanks for doing that. If you’re listening and watching in out there, please check the show notes. You’ll make sure you’ll be able to find Lee’s info. Reach out, connect with them, follow along with them. There’s nothing like seeing real operators run their business and do it. Cause that’s what again, I help you educate yourself, understand more. So Lee, thanks again for joining us today.For everybody out there, if you got value out of today’s episode, please like this episode, share it with someone else you think could get value out of it. And as always, please subscribe if you haven’t yet. We appreciate everybody that follows along here with us. We got more conversations coming up with our operators, just like Lee, who are out there doing the work, building a real business and creating that life that they wanna live. So Lee, thanks again. Thanks everybody for joining us and we’ll see you on the next episode.
Lee (22:18)
Absolutely.Thank you.
