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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros Podcast, host Michelle Kesil interviews Spike Spencer, a seasoned real estate investor and coach. Spike shares his journey into real estate, emphasizing the importance of mindset, setting boundaries, and finding enjoyment in the process. He discusses various strategies, including creative solutions in real estate, the significance of networking, and his current focus on family and legacy. The conversation highlights the balance between professional success and personal fulfillment.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Spike (00:00)
there’s a deal that may come across.and you just get this feeling where it’s like, I don’t know, maybe
It’s kind of a sketchy deal or maybe I don’t like the guy selling it. Something doesn’t quite feel right, but you’ve got to make a deal. You’ve got to make that deal. So you end up doing it and regretting it because your boundaries got pushed back and you didn’t have a set of boundaries that you made for yourself
I’m like, okay, this is too much. This is too many deals, ⁓ too much stress. And that’s what I’m not going to do again. Because that wrecked my first marriage a long time ago.
Michelle Kesil (02:07)
Hey everybody, welcome to the Real Estate Pros Podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Kesil, and today I’m joined by someone that I’m looking forward to connecting with, Spike Spencer, who has been making serious moves as a real estate investor as well as NLP, voiceover, and real estate coach. So excited to have you on the show today, Spike.Spike (02:32)
It’s great to be here. I hope I can help.Michelle Kesil (02:35)
Absolutely, I think our listeners are really going to take something away from how you’re working on real estate mindset, speaking, creative solutions, deal making, and yeah, all of the other things that you have in store to share. So let’s dive in.Spike (02:51)
Great. What would you like to talk about first?Michelle Kesil (02:52)
Awesome.Yeah, just first off, for those not familiar with you and your world, can you just share what your main focus is?
Spike (03:02)
Okay, ⁓ my main focus right now in real estate ⁓ is expanding a portfolio of my family. ⁓ We’ve got some multifamily, I’ve got some other creative stuff, we’ve got some properties that we’re buying and holding, there’s subject twos, all kinds of different ways. ⁓ Creativity and flexibility is what I’m really working on now and not being overwhelmed by the…all the deals and all the stuff that comes with being a real estate investor.
Michelle Kesil (03:38)
Absolutely. How did you get started in your journey to become an investor?Spike (03:45)
⁓ well, that happened a long time ago. It was in Houston back in, gosh, the mid 90s. And heard this guy on the radio, you can buy properties with no risk to you, no credit check and no money down. All right. I was like, wow, okay, cool. That sounds great. Let me try it. And I checked it out. And I started doing pre-foreclosures ⁓ and knocking on the doors. And this is back in the day when you had to go to the courthouse and get the map.that you had to look at and you had to look at all the loans and it was just a lot of work. And about three months in, me and my then wife, we did that to all these places and finally got one deal. ⁓ And it was a lot of hard work, which they don’t tell you all about that part, just so you know. It was a lot of hard work and ⁓ got a deal, ⁓ ended up buying it. ⁓ Gosh, was very, very cheap. But everything that we did was wrong.
And somehow, even with the clouded title, we made like $5,800 on the deal. And I was like, okay, if I had not done that, if that had not worked out, I wouldn’t be here right now. And I wouldn’t, I would have never done real estate again in my life. But that’s how I got started and kept going on that and just expanded for about 10 years out of Houston.
Michelle Kesil (05:54)
Awesome. And is there a specific strategy that you have worked with like fixing flips, wholesaling, like what’s your strategy?Spike (06:04)
⁓ Gosh, I did just about everything back in the day. ⁓ So I’ve got a few different ways I’m doing things right now. I’m looking at the fix and flips, ⁓ but I don’t want to do that again. Because you have to start, when you do the fix and flips, you have to get all of the crews lined up. And I used to be able to make three phone calls and have all kinds of things done. But starting over where I am now, having just moved back to the Texas Hill Country a couple of years ago, ⁓ I am looking at ease.I am at that point in my life where ⁓ I’m not looking to, you know, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go, let’s get, you know, 20, 30 deals going, et cetera. No, no, no, no, not at this point in my life. I’m looking for something simpler, ⁓ relaxing, and something that I can do ⁓ without having to do all that work. So wholesaling is a possibility. ⁓ Fortunately, we are able to purchase a property outright sometimes, and you can hold that and then flip that around. ⁓
do subject twos, that’s another possibility as well. So I’m not looking to do the crazy, crazy stuff that I used to. And some people that get into real estate investment, that’s what they see. I was like, wait a second, I’ve got to do all this stuff and I already have another job. And so I know that feeling. And I know it’s one of these parts where if I had it to do all over again, I’d make it easier and simpler. And that’s what I’m doing now.
Michelle Kesil (07:28)
Yeah, absolutely. Sometimes easier and simpler is the most rewarding.Spike (07:34)
Absolutely.Michelle Kesil (07:36)
Yeah, I know you mentioned you do a lot with mindset. What was the mindset shift that had you make that, you know, executive decision to change your strategy?Spike (07:48)
Absolutely. So with mindset shifts, like, I’m a certified master coach in neuro-linguistic programming and several other different ⁓ aspects and different coaching methods and trained with a lot of different people. But it really comes down to owning what you want to do and having some boundaries. Like,there’s a deal that may come across. And if you’re starting out, let’s say, or even if you’ve been doing it for years, and you just get this feeling where it’s like, I don’t know, maybe
It’s kind of a sketchy deal or maybe I don’t like the guy selling it. Something doesn’t quite feel right, but you’ve got to make a deal. You’ve got to make that deal. So you end up doing it and regretting it because your boundaries got pushed back and you didn’t have a set of boundaries that you made for yourself already. I am not going to do A, B and C. And then you end up doing A, B and C and going, I messed up. ⁓ Which I’ve also done by the way. Boy, do I have stories.
But now I know that there’s certain things I’m just not gonna do. When I start feeling hectic, I’m like, okay, this is too much. This is too many deals, ⁓ too much stress. And that’s what I’m not going to do again. Because that wrecked my first marriage a long time ago.
It was just a lot of stress. And you get behind the eight ball and you just keep going and keep going and trying to make money. You end up spending more money on advertising and then you’ve to make up that money and then you’ve got one deal that’s
finally closing and you may, yay, I made 50 grand. wait, pay this bill, pay this bill, pay this bill. And you go, I made four. Ooh, that’s not good. So I don’t, I’m not doing that again. So I’m really structuring ⁓ what I want to do. And I’m staying true to those boundaries that I set. I think that’s a key that a lot of people don’t quite get.
Michelle Kesil (09:42)
Yeah, absolutely, that makes a lot of sense. think that once you start and you’re in the flow of the deal, you kind of forget about those things that you said like you were going to do for yourself and you can just get lost in it.Spike (09:57)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it can overwhelm you quickly.And that really takes a toll on your relationships, which I did relationship coaching as well and dating and all of that. So I know what happens when that overtakes your life. ⁓ And being a father now, ⁓ later in my life, I had my first child at 48. ⁓ And that was, now I have three. And I know that’s more important than anything else, but you still have to make money.
Michelle Kesil (10:36)
short.Spike (11:02)
So you have to find balance and the setting those boundaries before you start get started and say, okay, I’m not going to do this, whatever that is on your boundaries and stick to that. And I think you’ll feel a lot better. You’ll do a lot better.Michelle Kesil (11:18)
Absolutely, that’s important. What are some other tips and tricks, whether it’s ⁓ action steps or mindset, things that people that are in the beginning stages of their investing journey should take note of?Spike (11:36)
Well, think about what are your values? You know, what are your values? If money is your highest value, then you could have a lot of trouble, you know, moving forward. Because what will you do for that money? Or what other things will you cut? Think about what your values are and say, okay, I’m going to be true to my values. Think of the golden rule. How do want people to treat you? I want to treat people nice. I want to have fun doing what I do.that’s the big kicker for me is am I enjoying what I’m doing? If I’m not, I’m gonna stop. setting those boundaries helps you stay in the moment where you’re having a good time. Real estate is fun. I love doing real estate. You can get very creative with it. ⁓ The hunt, who doesn’t like the hunts for a good deal? You can also help the people out. And that was the hard part for me sometimes.
Helping somebody out, doesn’t sound like you’re helping them out, but if it’s a foreclosure, know, people say, I’m gonna help stop your foreclosure. No, you’re not, you’re gonna buy their property. They won’t have a foreclosure, but they’re still gonna have to move, you know? And it’s that little bit right there is the problem. They say, look, I’m sorry, I’m gonna be honest with you, and that’s the best I can do, and stick to that. You don’t have to lie, you don’t have to cheat, you don’t have to do any of that. Just be straight up, you know? ⁓
That’s the relationship aspect of it. That’s like when I was teaching dating and relationships, it was the same thing. Be honest, be true, be kind, do the best you can. And that’s the one thing I try to do the best I can to help other people. I think you can have a win, win, win, win situation all the way down the line. You just have to make the deal and make sure that everybody’s happy along the way. If you can, just do your best ⁓ and enjoy.
enjoy what you’re doing. When you stop enjoying what you’re doing, that’s going to affect all the other parts of your life. So if you’re not having fun with real estate, take up crocheting or something else.
Michelle Kesil (13:43)
Yeah, I love that, that’s such good advice. I know I think that many people can get caught up in the money piece and yeah, forget about all the other aspects of the fun and the passion that you’re supposed to have with, you know, your jobs and the things that you put your energy into.Spike (14:03)
Absolutely.Michelle Kesil (14:06)
So what are some of the creative real estate solutions that you have figured out for yourself or have coached people on?Spike (14:18)
Well, there’s, gosh, there’s so many of them. That’s quite a broad situation, but let’s take an example right now for a subject two. ⁓ Learning how to take over a property ⁓ subject two is different in different states. So for example, if I’m doing it in, guess, Iowa or Arizona or something, you can do, ⁓ somebody has to, they just can’t pay their next note. This is a classic.⁓ Gosh, all the way back from Ron LeGrand and you know, all these people that have done this, but you take over the note. Well now there’s there’s so many little parts of that in most of the teachings. It’s like, okay, here’s how you do it.
It’s fairly simple. And then once you get into it, it’s not. So learn as much as you can as you go and ask questions as you go. But getting creative in how you work a deal is going to be different in
Iowa or Arizona or Texas, because if you’re doing a lease with an option to buy in one state, well, you can’t do that in Texas. And you have to come up with something more creative. So you have to look at, and this is where it gets weird, you have to look at every single aspect of the rules. And this is where a lot of people get lost because their personality is, no, no, I just want to go, go, go, go, go.
and you don’t take the time to really, really focus on what kind of deals are, ⁓ what the rules are in your state. For example, ⁓ the lease with an option to buy in Texas doesn’t work, but you can do a couple of things that can work with that. Now, I don’t want to get into legal aspects of it, but look at the timeframe of how long, how many days, how many months does the actual rule kick in?
for the lease with the option to buy? And then how can you structure something that is a little different besides that? So you can do ⁓ an option, yes, and down the road, you can do an actual contract to purchase the property. Now, those are interesting concepts. I’m being a little bit vague on purpose, apologies, but that gives you an idea.
of how things can go. If you look at the rule, what are the days? How long can you do one thing? And for example, ⁓ another deal that I was ⁓ looking at the other day, ⁓ IRS, for example, IRS liens. When somebody sees an IRS lien, and I did this when I was first doing deals, it was like, God, not, not even, I’m just hands up, throwing hands up. I’m not even looking at it. Not even looking at it.
And I didn’t realize that IRS liens, now correct me if I’m wrong on this, if anybody can, but this is what I found, is that after 10 years, those IRS liens are gone. They don’t work. So if you’ve got a property and say, there’s an IRS lien on it, well, look at the date. Look at the dates. No matter what it is in your deal, don’t accept it. Look at it. Look at every part of it because
That is where the gold is. You’ve got to really look in, look at, well, wait a second. This one, this IRS lien was dead like three months ago. It’s gone, that kind of thing. Those are very, very important. Look at the little bitty, teeny tiny stuff and that’s where your wiggle room comes in. That’s where you can get creative and structure something different.
Michelle Kesil (18:43)
Yeah, thank you for sharing that. That’s such good advice that isn’t so commonly worded in that way. So I love that you were able to give some new examples here for the audience.Spike (18:51)
YouI hope they’re able to pick kind of the little golden chunks that were in there.
Michelle Kesil (19:03)
Yeah, I’m sure. Awesome. So when it comes to like business growth, are there sort of any like networking or relationship building strategies that you have implemented that have made a big difference for you?Spike (19:23)
Absolutely. ⁓ Anytime I meet with somebody, I meet somebody new, I hey, let’s go grab a cup of coffee. ⁓ And my wife is really, really great at this. So she’s a high performance coach and does all kinds of things. So we are crisscrossing back and forth. That’s how I’m on this podcast. And she’ll say, I met this person, you got to meet him. And I do it. I don’t procrastinate about that. ⁓ I meet them and then I chat with them. I get to know them.And I say, hey, is there anybody that you think I should meet? Always ask, just ask. And then they will say, yeah, you need to talk to this guy and this guy. And then ask them for referrals if you need something. I need an attorney, a local attorney who specializes in A, or C. You know, do you know somebody? That’s just a simple referral. It’s been done forever, but people don’t do that. ⁓ And that’s, I think that’s a shame. You make the referrals now.
before you need them. This is like, whenever you need money, it’s like, can always get money, except when you need it. So start building the money now. Go out and get a line of credit now. Do something now, get ready and prepped and prepped, and that way, when you need it, it’s already there. And that’s the same kind of thing with relationships. Make them now. Start building those relationships and get to know folks.
Michelle Kesil (20:51)
Absolutely, that’s such great advice. Yeah, relationships can really elevate you in this space if you take advantage of it.Spike (21:00)
and see what you can do for them. Always lead with that. One of the things, so I was a cheerleader in high school and my wife was a cheerleader as well. so we, we totally different places, but so it’s funny. So when we look at each other, we have this thing. It’s like, hey, I support you. And it’s this, this is how you would cup your hand and somebody would step in your hand and you’d vault them up to the top, right? And so that’s our thing together. It’s like, hey, I’m here to support you, go.Michelle Kesil (21:02)
course.Spike (21:30)
And that’s the same thing with other people. How can you support them? How can I help you? And that I think goes a very, very long way.Michelle Kesil (21:42)
Definitely, yeah, you always want to look at how you can also add value into others lives.Spike (21:49)
Absolutely.Michelle Kesil (21:51)
Awesome. So what are you most focused on solving or scaling to next in your business?Spike (22:00)
Right now, I’m focusing on family. ⁓ I am focusing on legacy, ⁓ which oddly enough is the name of my new LLC. ⁓ Legacy for my family is the top priority. So looking at things like ⁓ high cash value life insurance policies or self-directed IRAs, ⁓ looking at, like I said, the homesteading aspect of my own home.making sure we have backup water and all the stuff that you would do to what now they say preppers, I’m like, we used to call them boy scouts, always be prepared. Hey, you know, so I’m like, okay, we got some backup water, we got some backup food, you know, I got some backup money ready to go if I have a good deal, you know, get those lines of credit lined up so that you have money there, so that if a deal comes up, you’re ready to go, that sort of thing. And that’s my…
Everything that I’m doing right now is based on that. I’m not trying to like build this big monster business. I’m looking at what will help my family. This deal going into a self-directed IRA. Okay, that builds the IRA. Or putting money into the cash value thing and being able to pull that, doing the ⁓ infinite banking or the home personal banking setups and those sort of things.
That’s what I’m really focusing on for my kids. That’s the most important thing in my life.
Michelle Kesil (23:31)
Amazing. I love that. That’s your goal.Spike (23:34)
Yep, absolutely.Michelle Kesil (23:36)
Beautiful. So before we wrap up here, if someone wants to reach out, connect, learn more, where can people find you?Spike (23:45)
Very simple, SpikeSpencer.com. I’ve been doing, I’ve had that for forever and you won’t see a lot of real estate there right now. I’m restructuring some things, but you’ll see the voiceover and coaching and things of that nature that I’ve been doing for 30 years. So that’s it, just SpikeSpencer.com.Michelle Kesil (24:04)
Perfect, well, I appreciate your time, your story, and your perspective. Thank you so much for being here.Spike (24:11)
Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.Michelle Kesil (24:14)
Of course. And for the listeners tuning into the show, if you got value, make sure that you’ve subscribed. We have more conversations with operators like Spike who are building real businesses and we’ll see you on our next episode.
