Real Estate Success: Strategies for Aspiring Professionals

Stephen Schmidt (00:03.376)
Welcome back to the show where we interview the nation’s leading real estate entrepreneurs It’s your host Stephen Schmidt And if you’re joining us for the first second third or hundredth time today, you’re in for a real treat today I got Jay York in the house He’s got an extensive background in sales and marketing both b2b b2c digital marketing and the whole gamut He’s been in the real estate industry as a mortgage loan officer now for the past five years and bends over backwards to serve his clients So we’re gonna go into it today. But before we do that, just remember

At Investor Fuel, we help real estate investors, service providers, and real estate entrepreneurs 2 to 5X their businesses, which allows them to build the businesses they’ve always wanted to allow them to live the lives they’ve always dreamed of. That being said, Jay, welcome to the show today.

Jay York (00:45.837)
Hey, Stephen, I appreciate you having me.

Stephen Schmidt (00:48.974)
You bet man, glad to have you here. Before we kind of get into it, some meat and potatoes of what you do and all that, can you just share a little bit about yourself and how you got here?

Jay York (00:59.616)
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, man. So once again, my name is Jay York. I’m a loan officer here in Charlotte, North Carolina with CMG Home Loans. And I’ve been in the mortgage space for right around five years now. And I kind of got here off of, off of circumstance, man. I had a long history in sales and marketing and things weren’t really kind of going in the direction that I wanted them to go. And I had an old manager who at the time went with a company who was really growing in the

D to C space in terms of the internet online lender space. And I reached out to him and said, hey, I see you all are growing. got room for one more. He said for sure. And that’s kind of how I got into the mortgage industry. So I was in the online space for about three years, the first three years. And then I kind of realized that I wanted to focus more on, you know, relationship building, really being able to educate and help clients out.

Beyond just being transactional like it is with the internet space and shift it over to retail in 2023 and I’ve been here ever since

Stephen Schmidt (02:07.983)
That’s awesome, man. So what does long-term vision look like for you? What do you really want to accomplish in this space?

Jay York (02:13.259)
Yeah, man. So my long-term vision is really just to be able to continue to grow, to be able to scale my operation and help clients ultimately be able to achieve generational wealth through real estate and learn how to really, I guess you want to say play the real estate game beyond just having a roof over your head, but then also be able to help my business partners is equally, you know, be able to scale their businesses and grow to achieve their.

their dreams.

Stephen Schmidt (02:44.207)
What does that look like with your business partners? Like is that real estate agents, is that investors? What does that look like?

Jay York (02:50.304)
Yeah, so primarily real estate agents right now. And so that is my primary, I guess, referral partner. Do work with financial advisors as well, just with some great products we have, kind of helping to tap into that wealth side for agents, excuse me, for clients. But for my real estate partners, how I really help them scale is to help them systematize their business, right? Get out of just the hustle that we kind of naturally fall into.

in the real estate profession of just hustling around, scrambling like a chicken with the head cut off, and actually implement the systems and strategies that I’ve gained from being in sales and marketing for so long prior to getting in real estate that I see that a lot of brokerages, even the big brokerages, don’t really teach agents on how to actually build a scale of business. So that’s what that long-term goal looks like from an agent side is helping them achieve that.

Stephen Schmidt (03:46.66)
100 % and Jay, there’s a billion lot loan officers in the world these days. What what what separates you just like real estate agents, right? Like there’s a billion real estate agents, right? Failure is very high in that industry. You’ve obviously lasted five years, you know, which is a crazy five years if you consider that you got started in twenty nineteen twenty twenty. So.

Jay York (03:52.81)
Absolutely.

Jay York (03:57.737)
Right. Right.

Jay York (04:06.475)
Yeah, it’s been a roller coaster. It’s definitely been a roller coaster.

Stephen Schmidt (04:12.429)
What sets you apart? Why do clients like working with you and what have you done to kind of navigate the changing times with interest rates kind of getting back out to where they were in the late 90s, early 2000s? What have you kind of done to separate yourself and really establish yourself in the business?

Jay York (04:22.187)
Mm-mm.

Jay York (04:26.847)
Yeah, man. So my big thing is authenticity, transparency, and education. So when clients, whether it be first time home buyers, move up buyers, when they have their consultation with me, what I immediately try to show them from the beginning is that it’s not about just trying to get you through a transaction. It’s about actually educating you on what’s going on within this transaction and educating you about real estate from both just as individual purchase.

but also as a tool to build wealth or sustain wealth or whatever that case may be and achieve that goal for them. So that’s what a client gets from me that kind of sets me apart. They can easily tell that it’s not just a transaction type thing. It is actually a lender for life. And then from the agent side, how I differentiate myself is just like I mentioned earlier, my thing is not just being a lender like a vendor partner, but a true business partner. So I’m helping my agent and referral partners.

build systems within their business to actually scale and turn their hustle into a business. And that’s just how I bring my value. I differentiate myself from, like you said, the other billion lenders who are calling because I have this great product. We all have products, right? We all can close fast. We all can do 24-hour pre-approvals. All those things are standard. But what I pride myself on are those intrinsic things that other people don’t care to do.

Stephen Schmidt (05:33.551)
Hmm.

Jay York (05:53.077)
Hey, how can we put systems in to help you get four or five more deals in a year? Or from the client side, you know, how can like in this consultation, I want you to learn what is actually in this loan estimate, right? So if you are shopping lenders, you know what to look for when it comes to buy down points or what the costs should be your different loan options. So, so that’s really kind of my, my stick and my niche and what I’ve

know, growing in, especially in these last, you know, year and a half, two years, something in retail side, and really, you know, build upon.

Stephen Schmidt (06:31.907)
Yeah, 100%. So you mentioned helping your partners and such putting in those systems that give them four or five extra deals a year. What does that look like? Like how does that manifest itself into reality?

Jay York (06:42.42)
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So I have a framework that I’ve implemented in my own business and now I’m teaching with them. So basically what that framework is, is that we figure out how to build around the experience they provide, not just the house that they’re offering or the listing that they have, right? So we build their business around the experience that they provide for the client. And how I teach it, my four part framework is,

It really comes down to the people. that’s either the agent and their team, whether it be a TC, VA, whatever the case is, the experience they provide, which is obvious, right? The experience they provide for the client. And then their product is how they provide that experience, right? Whether it be their consultations or their listing.

agreement, excuse me, listing agreements, but you know, like the listing pamphlets or whatever educational pieces that they give. And then the profit part of which is last part of my framework, the profit part is the actual transaction itself. And then what happens after the transaction and how we grow the business relationship. So putting those four things into place and building everything else around, the experience being the biggest part and how everything else builds into the experience is like the tangible aspect of how I help.

Stephen Schmidt (07:52.836)
Mmm.

Jay York (08:07.155)
partners and then in turn that helps clients as well, right? Because that is a repeatable, scalable experience that they can rely on.

Stephen Schmidt (08:17.049)
for sure. You mentioned in one of the past things you said about how you’re educating your clients specifically on like how to build their long-term wealth, things along those lines. Like what does that look like?

Jay York (08:29.543)
Mm.

Jay York (08:35.037)
Yeah, so I mean, it starts with, it really starts with the initial home buyer consultation that we do, right? So in that initial home buyer consultation, because at this point we know kind of the areas that they want to live in, whether it be in the Charlotte area, surrounding whatever the case is. So we start talking about the wealth generation aspect of the real estate transaction early in the process. And that starts with using, you know, like MBS highway, all the standard tools to look at.

to look at appreciation analysis, purchase analysis, things like that so we can see, it’s not just about what you’re paying per month to have it root over your head. Let’s look at what that looks like in the next five or seven years. So we start having that conversation early when they’re actually home shopping after they’re being pre-approved. After we get them the pre-approval letter and they’re shopping with their agents, I have them send me the homes that they’re looking at.

and I run a pre-purchase analysis for them that’s more detailed to that home. Once again, showing the anticipated appreciation, know, the forecasted numbers so that way they know what the investment looks like in the next five to seven years. And then once they actually close on the home and now they’re home owners, they continue to get those equity reports showing this is what, you know, this is what you’re getting, this is what you have in the home. And now we’re talking about how to tap into that.

right, whether it be home equity, laundry credit that we’re using to buy investment properties or tapping into that equity to do things around the house to further the, know, further increase the investment, things like that. So it’s really just a continual test point that starts in the very beginning in terms of shifting that mindset.

Stephen Schmidt (10:18.223)
Mmm. Okay. Yeah, hundred percent now. So what are some of your wealth building strategies that you’re implementing for yourself?

Jay York (10:25.797)
Yeah, man. So really the biggest thing that I’m implementing for myself is that same thing like I just mentioned, right? Like really just learning how to leverage the equity, how to kind of tap into that in order to kind of grow it, right? So where I’m at, my current home that we own, luckily we’re in the area right outside of Charlotte where things are really starting to boom, right? So equity is starting to go up. So the plan there is to be able to tap into that equity.

to purchase investment properties and leverage some of those things that I’ve learned now that I’m on this side of the table, not just as a homeowner side, and implement those and really just kind of increase the doors that way. That answers the question.

Stephen Schmidt (11:06.276)
Mm-hmm.

Stephen Schmidt (11:12.185)
Were you a, yeah absolutely, were you a homeowner before you got into the mortgage business or is that something that you got into the mortgage business and then realized like I gotta get a house?

Jay York (11:21.681)
So I was a homeowner prior to, right? So me and my wife purchased a home before I got into the mortgage industry. And we ended up selling it. We made a great profit on it. You know, we bought it at a great time. It was like a short sale. So we got it for a really good deal, put some work into it, got a good profit out of it. And then I bought, we bought our second home after I was already in the mortgage industry. Right? So, you know.

I was able to better navigate it and kind of know more what we’re doing. And that second time around, and then it was like, man, I really wish we had kept that first one. Because like I said, mean, Charlotte, bought that home in 2012, right? So just to kind of put it in perspective, it was a three bedroom ranch. And I think we bought it for like, like I said, short sale, but it might’ve been like 78,000 or something like that.

Right now, purchase price in the city of Charlotte is like $4.40.

Stephen Schmidt (12:25.295)
No kidding.

Jay York (12:26.503)
Yeah, so, you know, it’s like, yeah, we made a great profit at that time, right? But like, if we held on to it, you know, rent, you know, average rent, three bedroom houses, we’re probably looking at 21, $2,200. So yeah, yeah, so that’s, that’s definitely the biggest thing there is just now having more of education side on it. definitely, you know, excited to be able to put more of that stuff into practice.

Stephen Schmidt (12:54.553)
for sure. So what do you what do you see being your long term strategy? Like what is it to own 50 doors? Everybody’s paying mortgages off 100 doors. You’re to flip properties someday. What does that look like for you?

Jay York (13:06.951)
Yeah, man. So that part of it, I’m honestly still mapping up. You know what I mean? Like, I’m not like, definitely am a person who puts like goals on paper, but I’m not one those people that pretend like I have everything mapped out. I know the property management side is like really tedious. You know what mean? At the same time. So in terms of having a lot of doors, I’m not sure. Definitely like fix and flips is something that, you know, I want to.

kind of get into probably have a couple doors here and there just for that passive income. But yeah, it’s really just more kind of being on the, I guess the passive investor side is probably where I want to be more than like actively holding a lot of doors and a lot of property.

Stephen Schmidt (13:52.665)
Hmm. Why is that?

Jay York (13:57.213)
I think just because it’s a little more hands off, right? Like I have a lot of irons in the fire already. You know, we got a family and I like to golf. I like to do a lot of other things. So, you know, just kind of being able to have more of a passive return on investment that I don’t really have to like worry about managing and dealing with, you know, either the headaches of kind of like dealing with a lot of doors or having to hire.

A lot of people like to manage the properties. It’s like, hey, if I can find an investor or an investor group that’s like, hey, I can invest the money. You do what you do with it. Or like I said, fix some flips and I can be in and out and then I can move on to different things. That’s kind of more of the lane that I like to be in as opposed to like being in the weeds every day.

Stephen Schmidt (14:39.151)
Hmm.

Stephen Schmidt (14:44.579)
Yeah. Why is that? What does that do for you exactly?

Jay York (14:49.83)
I think it just gives me, what’s the word that I’m looking for? It gives me flexibility. You know what mean? Like it gives me more flexibility to kind of be able to shift and adapt as things need to be adapted to as opposed to having, you know, like I said, just kind of being tied to more things. So, you know, I kind of get in, get out and now I’m free to kind of move to the next thing.

Stephen Schmidt (15:00.28)
Mmm.

Stephen Schmidt (15:14.127)
Mm.

Stephen Schmidt (15:20.387)
Yeah, for sure. Are you planning on doing mortgages forever?

Jay York (15:20.965)
with them, Mason.

Jay York (15:26.693)
Probably not personally. Probably not personally. I would definitely, I can see myself being in mortgage for having a long standing career, but ultimately my goal is to build a team and I just kind of become more of the face, the brain maker. And I have people under me that are actually writing the loans and doing all those things.

Stephen Schmidt (15:52.048)
Yeah, 100 % because it’s all about time freedom, right? Like at the end of the day, mean everything you’re saying, flexibility, family, hunting golf balls, like all that kind of stuff. You know, you can only do that when you build when you build massive time freedom, right?

Jay York (15:55.628)
Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Jay York (16:01.913)
Yeah.

Jay York (16:06.309)
Absolutely, absolutely. that’s definitely the goal. And that’s definitely the goal. And that comes back to, kind of like I said, the thing that I preach within my business and what I’m talking about with my great referral partners is building those systems, building those things that can really make it scalable. So that way you’re not the one just in the weeds and in the hustle forever, right? Because at the end of the day, I feel like, and I guess this kind of goes with the property management side too, right? Like no matter how great it is, if you do it enough,

Like you’re gonna get burnt out from it at some point, right? No matter how much you love it. Most things, not everything, but most things, right? So it’s like being able to kind of have that system in place and that team where it’s like, hey, if I want to go in and do alone, because I just had the itch to do one, then I can. But if I don’t, I know somebody who can and the buck doesn’t stop. Or if I’m wanting to do whatever, like you said with my time, I know.

Stephen Schmidt (16:37.935)
Hmm, yeah.

Jay York (17:05.189)
that the operation doesn’t stop. And I feel like that’s how you ultimately build a business, man, and not just be a solopreneur forever. Because even though in our industry, we, I guess, work for whoever. I write loans for CMG, but ultimately, it’s my individual business. So how do you grow that to actually be a business and not just be kind of like the hustle grinder forever?

Stephen Schmidt (17:29.967)
Yeah, 100 % because if you hustle and grind eventually you’ll get ground out, know what I’m 100 % So what would you what would you tell anybody that’s looking to get into that business or maybe their first time homebuyer? Maybe they’re you know looking to get into doing what you do. What advice would you give to

Jay York (17:35.116)
Absolutely, absolutely. The time comes for everybody,

Jay York (17:49.474)
Yeah, man. So I guess twofold, right? If we’re talking about first time home buyers and they’re looking at, right, right. Yeah. So if we’re talking about first time home buyers and they’re looking to get into real estate, my advice here every first time home buyers, especially right now, because of kind of where we are with interest rates and affordability is, you know, the first home doesn’t have to be the dream home, right? Like I preach to, you know, my clients like, hey, let’s figure out what we need.

Stephen Schmidt (17:54.681)
Sure, it’s kind of a two part question.

Jay York (18:19.384)
what we can do and figure out how to get that. Like, let’s just get into something that works for you. And then put a plan together on how to build on that, if that makes sense. And then from someone who may be looking to get into this as like a business, in terms of like being a loan officer or real estate agent or whatever the case is, my thing would be to find your lane.

Find your niche early in the game so that way you’re not just the same thing as everybody else. Especially from the lender side, these agents get probably 20, 30 calls a day from lenders who are trying to talk to them about the next best product or whatever the case is. So find what makes you different and really lean into that and build on

Stephen Schmidt (18:55.407)
Hmm.

Stephen Schmidt (19:12.463)
100 % man. Well Jay, thanks for being here today brother. If people want to learn more about you or what you’re working on, where should they go for that?

Jay York (19:19.873)
Yeah, man. on Instagram, can reach me. My Instagram is Jay York for short. So that’s J A Y Y O R K. The number four short. And then that’s my actually my handle on everything. So or they can email me J Y O R K at CMG home loans dot com.

Stephen Schmidt (19:35.883)
Alright.

Stephen Schmidt (19:41.391)
There you go folks, you heard it here first. Hope you enjoyed today’s show and we’ll see you on the next episode. Thanks again.

Jay York (19:47.799)
No problem, thank you.