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Show Summary
In this conversation, Kristen and James Shelby explore various aspects of real estate investing, emphasizing the importance of networking, the unique opportunities in Montana, the impact of AI on the industry, and the personal lessons learned throughout James’s career. They discuss how genuine human interaction is crucial in a digital age, the challenges of remote investing, and the need to define personal success beyond financial metrics.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
James Shelby (00:00)
I would say to anyone that’s starting investing or even from the agent side of things, there’s always more things that you can do. There’s always better ways to ⁓ scale your business, you know, so don’t be afraid to go all in.I think that would be one of my biggest tips to people is you’ll figure it out, right? I wouldn’t encourage people to get over leveraged, but if the deals make sense, keep buying them, keep doing them, you know, because you can always make the money back later, but once an opportunity is missed, you know, you can’t go back and get that opportunity again. You gotta go find another one.
Kristen (02:13)
Welcome back to the Real Estate Pros Podcast. I’m Kristen and I’m here with James Shelby, who’s an investor and a real estate agent out of Southern California. Thanks for being here, James.James Shelby (02:21)
Thank you for having me, I appreciate it.Kristen (02:23)
So you have such a great, you have such great knowledge being on sort of both ends of the coin here, being an investor and an agent. And you’ve kind of, you’ve identified really great markets to invest in. So we’ll get into all of that. I’m excited, but to start out, how did you get into this industry?James Shelby (02:42)
you know, I think it was back when I was buying my own first house back in 2013. And, ⁓ at that time I was in auto glass. I was doing auto glass and you know, the market had just crashed essentially, you know, or was just about to start rebounding from the 08, 09 crash. And, you know, I didn’t know a lot at that time about the economy or housing, you know, the market.You know, was just trying to survive. ⁓ I had a kid really young, ⁓ a child really young, and then I got married later on. And so, you know, all I knew was just working to survive, you know. So I wasn’t paying ⁓ much attention. I didn’t have a lot of money. But somewhere along the line, I started kind of hearing things, headlines, and you know, this is a terrible economy. And I’m looking around at these houses that used to be at least in the area I was living.
They used to be, you know, 500,000 and now they’re, you know, 180,000. And I’m like, maybe I should probably try to buy a house because I might not get another opportunity. so when I was trying to buy my first house is kind of how I stumbled into real estate and the, I mean, can give you the long version, but that’s kind of the short version.
Kristen (04:03)
Yeah, no, that’s awesome. I mean, what about real estate was obviously the opportunity just from a financial perspective, but what kept you in it?James Shelby (04:13)
Well, I don’t know. mean, what kept me in it? Yeah, I I like the industry. ⁓ It kind of hits all the buttons for me as far as matching my work to my personality. So it just kind of made sense. When I was looking for my house at that time, I was working with an agent, but she didn’t live in my area. I was kind of a friend of a friend. And ⁓ what I would do when I was out doing my job,installing real estate at people’s houses. would drive through these neighborhoods and I would notice that these brand new houses or maybe they were a few years old, there were so many of them that were unkempt and the yards were overgrown. And I would reach out to my agent and say, hey, do you know why these houses might be like this? And she’d say, hey, give me the address. And she’d look it up and hey, it’s in foreclosure.
Maybe what you could do is knock on the door and see if they’re maybe thinking about doing a short sale.
I just would start talking to these random people ⁓ for my agent, essentially, because he wasn’t in the area. the rest is kind of history. She said, you’d be good at this. So that’s kind how I stumbled into it. And what kept me into it was it’s a perfect match between stuff that I already naturally enjoy doing and then doing it to make some money.
Kristen (06:22)
Yeah, well you mentioned knocking on doors. I know that’s a big strength of yours is networking and being able to put yourself out there. Can you talk about, because I think a lot of people are afraid of that part of the business. Can you talk about kind of your mentality with it?James Shelby (06:36)
Yeah, I think there’s different types of networking. There’s networking, I don’t even know if you would necessarily call this networking, but there’s getting out there and talking to people face to face, whether it’s door knocking or going into local businesses or local business meetups and things like that where I would almost say that’s obviously more kind of active prospecting, right?⁓ But then you’ve got networking where you’ve got people within your own industry, meetups and masterminds. Both of those types of networking are having conversations with people that could potentially help you increase your business. Whether it’s on the investment side, talking to people about, I’m always buying houses. I’m always looking for houses to buy. People talk, right?
From that perspective and then on the flip side, I’m always looking for more people to help buy and sell real estate if you’re on the agent side. Other agents from different areas throughout the nation can send you referrals. And then when you’re talking to obviously people out in the streets or other businesses, they’ve all got friends and families and coworkers looking to either buy or sell real estate. So it’s important to get out and talk to people for sure.
Kristen (08:03)
Absolutely. What would you say to someone who kind of feels annoying doing it? Like they’re bothering people.James Shelby (08:10)
You know, ultimately I think despite what most people might think, most humans want to interact with other human beings. Especially in the day and age where we’re doing a lot of this, right? Where we’re behind screens. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with that and it gives you the ability to reach a lot of people that maybe you wouldn’t have otherwise been able to reach. But I think as we divedeeper into a digital age, in an age of AI, ⁓ people are going to crave more one-on-one, real human interaction, right? So I would say just try to keep in mind that, number one, most people are open to having conversations, right? And number two, if you, especially during the prospecting side of things when you’re knocking on doors, if you genuinely have an… ⁓
an approach that you are truly there to help people that need your service, right? Or on the investment side, right? You’re truly there to help a homeowner that maybe is underwater or they have a home that’s in disarray and then, you know, they don’t even know where to start. You know, I’ve run into a lot of people where they don’t even know where to start. They want to sell their home, but they’re embarrassed about it or this or that. So, ⁓ approaching the conversation with…
a genuine curiosity of, how can I really help this person?
Kristen (09:38)
Absolutely, yeah, providing value to people and not underestimating the value you can give to people. think a lot of people, know, they just see themselves like, I’m so annoying, but you’re actually providing value though.James Shelby (09:52)
100%. Yeah, I mean, you know, when you actually need a service and there’s someone there that can help you provide it to you,you don’t get annoyed by that. You get annoyed when people approach you you don’t actually need the service. So that’s another thing that I would keep in mind is, you know, when you’re out talking to people and you get that rejection or they seem a little irritated, they just don’t need what you’re offering in that moment, right? So just don’t take it personal, you know.
That’s a big part of it.
Kristen (10:59)
Yeah, and life goes on if you get rejected. Rejection is not the end of the world. So I’d love for you to talk about, know with your investments, so you’re in Southern California, but you invest a lot in Montana. I would love to talk about that market, what makes it special and all that.James Shelby (11:06)
No, not even close.Yeah, I think people from Montana won’t want me to say this, right? But it’s a special place. I’m born and raised in Southern California. I always looked at things. I’m 40 years old now, but I always looked at ⁓ other people that moved out of California. And I always kind of thought, is ever going to beat California or be better than California. And in some ways, that still might be true. But over the last,
four, five, six, seven years, I think we’ve all seen a trend where people are moving out of highly populated areas to more rural and more, ⁓ you know, just places that feel like you can maybe slow down a little bit, right? So, you know, we’re seeing the Ohio’s, and affordability too, right? You’re seeing the Texas, you know. ⁓
But I think Montana specifically for me, my parents ended up moving out there to kind of retire. And you know, the first or second time I went out there, I was pretty much hooked because it’s just such a beautiful place, right? And I think for specifically the type of investments that I’ve been doing, both long-term and short-term rentals, it just made sense, you know? ⁓ But I will say, you know, it’s not cheap.
you know like like some of these other states where investors are flocking and I think that’s another reason why I kind of like it because it doesn’t have the high highs as much as maybe at California but it doesn’t have the low lows either and I think it’s steadily growing and it’s a place that I think a lot of investors might want to take a second look at.
Kristen (13:07)
Yeah, 100%. And I think that, well, I’ll ask the question, what would be some of the challenges of remote investing and what have been some of your tips to kind of do that more efficiently?James Shelby (13:22)
You know, I think for challenges, think, you know, Montana specifically, I’m kind of investing in the Bitterroot area of Montana, the Bitterroot Valley, and that’s from like Missoula on down south through the 63 freeway. ⁓ One of the challenges I think is there’s not a whole lot of different industries there. know, rents are steady, but they’re notskyrocketing you know i mean they they’ve doubled of the last five six years but you know i think they can only go up so far because there’s not a lot of industry there so while there is steady growth ⁓ it’s not you’re not going to get this flood of of people moving there like you would in the texas or you know some of these other states i think that’s the biggest challenge ⁓ is just knowing that you’re going to get steady appreciation but it you’re not going to get this
crazy influx of people moving there. ⁓ It’s going to be more steady. And then think the second challenge is just like a lot of areas, you get a lot of people that don’t want people moving in there. So dealing with people that have been there a while, I think you have to be cautious how you approach those conversations. You don’t want say, hey, I’m from California, I’m from Florida, and I’m coming to buy up everything.
Kristen (14:37)
Yeah.James Shelby (14:50)
You have to be very tactful.Kristen (14:53)
Totally, I feel like a lot of this industry is about kind of how you’re phrasing the opportunity to people or the situation to people. ⁓ Like the language you use really does matter.James Shelby (15:01)
Yeah, I appreciate it.Yes, that’s a big, that’s a great point. You know, not only how you say things but even what you say, both very, very important. And I think sometimes that gets lost on people. You know, they have no tact.
Kristen (15:56)
Yeah.Yeah,
absolutely. Well, kind of going off of that, I think it’d be interesting to talk about AI and the implementation of that in your business. I know that that’s something you’re both excited about, but also kind of see some threats there. ⁓ But how do you kind of implement that into your business while still keeping your uniqueness and your tact and what makes your original voice special?
James Shelby (16:31)
Yeah, know, we’re starting to, a friend of mine, a partner of mine, we’re starting to experiment with some of the AI code calling stuff, you know, and it’s scary but it’s exciting at the same time. I think, you know, I think that’s a way that you can talk to a lot of people, reach a lot of people.Kristen (16:53)
youJames Shelby (16:59)
⁓ by click of a button you know so when it comes to acquisitions and finding deals you know that’s that’s one that’s already working for us ⁓ we’re still you know it it it takes some work to dial things in and work out some of the hiccups but i think there’s a window of opportunity there to use that AI ⁓ that portion of AI as a way to find deals ⁓Kristen (17:18)
youend.
James Shelby (17:26)
at a relatively inexpensive cost. I’m excited about that. But also I don’t know how long that window of opportunity will be there because with rules and regulations and laws, I’m sure at some point you won’t be able to do that anymore. for now it’s exciting. And I think too, when we look at the big picture of real estate investing and home ownership in the nation,Affordability has obviously been the big word over the last three years or so where people just say, it’s unaffordable to purchase a home. And I think that if AI continues to grow and it continues to have the ability to do people’s jobs and you see some people losing their jobs, how is that going to affect home ownership? If a large portion of the
the population can’t afford to buy a home because they lost their job, ⁓ you know, it’s going to be interesting. I’m not going to sit here and pretend I have the answers or know exactly what’s going to happen. It could go both ways, but ⁓ it’s going to be interesting to see how the AI affects every single aspect of our society moving forward for sure.
Kristen (18:46)
Yeah, absolutely. I think that’s a really good, you know, recap of both sides of it. ⁓ I think a lot of people are a little nervous, but at the same time there is a big opportunity to help you scale your business and to be more efficient, which is, ⁓James Shelby (19:02)
Absolutely.Kristen (19:03)
That’s not a bad thing at all. awesome. So thank you so much for, you know, all of these tips and tricks. What would be some advice that you wish you learned earlier in your career, whether it be on the agent end or the investing end, ⁓ that you can share with us?James Shelby (19:19)
Yeah, you know, it’s so tough because you don’t know the future, right? So at least for me, everyone’s personality is different. But for me, when it came to investing, when it came to investing in, you know, buying properties, buying stocks, buying crypto, and just investments as a whole, I was bold enough to do it.because some people never do it, right? So I’ve got to give myself some credit, but I always end up saying, man, I wish I would have bought more or I wish I would have invested more.
I would say to anyone that’s starting investing or even from the agent side of things, there’s always more things that you can do. There’s always better ways to ⁓ scale your business, you know, so don’t be afraid to go all in.
I think that would be one of my biggest tips to people is you’ll figure it out, right? I wouldn’t encourage people to get over leveraged, but if the deals make sense, keep buying them, keep doing them, you know, because you can always make the money back later, but once an opportunity is missed, you know, you can’t go back and get that opportunity again. You gotta go find another
So some of these opportunities are huge and
Again, I just wish I would have went a little bigger on him.
Kristen (20:46)
Yeah, no, I think that’s great advice. think people, I mean, there’s two sides of it. I think there’s some people that aren’t afraid for that, but I think that it is a little nerve wracking starting out and people are extra cautious. So I think, as you mentioned, like there is a fine line between that. You want to be cautious and you want to know what you’re doing, but you can also take some calculated risks.James Shelby (21:09)
Yeah, you know, and I think, I don’t know, there’s so many different, ⁓ what’s the word I’m looking for, just, everyone has different goals, right? And everyone has different strategies and everyone has a different way of approaching things. So I guess, you know, another thing I would say is that what success is to one person is not necessarily going to be success to another person. You know, for some person, they might have a hundred doors.and they’re not happy or satisfied. And for another person, they might have 10 paid off houses and just be happier than anyone else because they’ve reached this goal of financial freedom. And I think that’s another important thing to keep in mind or to figure out early is what am I doing all of this for? Whether you’re just a real estate agent or whether you’re an investor or both or whatever industry.
When you’re setting these goals and like, I’m gonna buy two rental properties or I wanna reach a certain amount of doors or I wanna sell a certain amount of houses. Ask yourself why though? What’s the end goal? Because if you do reach that goal, then what’s next? What’s the point? And what is the true goal behind the goal, right? If the goal is to sell 100 homes, why?
Are you looking to get financially secure? Are you looking to buy a bigger house? What is the true meaning of what you’re actually doing? Because almost every goal that I set out to reach, I’ve reached it. And sometimes I sit back and think, OK, now what? Am I happy? Is it really accomplishing what you set out to do or what you thought you would?
Do you feel the way you thought you would once you got there? And sometimes less is more. Sometimes the more things I’ve had, the less happy I was. And sometimes when I’m in Montana in my little one bedroom, ⁓ short term rental with a little fire going, I’m as happy as I could ever be. So I don’t know. You kind of have to understand, what are you doing it all for?
Kristen (23:31)
100%, I think that’s such a good thing to end on because a lot of people get into the industry and they just want to make money or whatever it is, but it’s really important to drill into why you’re doing it, what’s going to make you happy. Because as you say, you can just be on a hamster wheel, just chasing this elusive success your whole life.James Shelby (23:48)
Yes.100%. Yeah. Yeah, you, couldn’t have said it better myself. You’re 100 % right.
Kristen (23:59)
Well, thank you so much for all of your tips and tricks and perspective on the market. think that people probably learned a lot from this. Tell people where to find you and how to work with you.James Shelby (24:08)
Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate you having me on. So you can find me primarily, I’m in that millennial age group, so I’m on Instagram the most. James_Shelby. If you search James Shelby, I should pop up. I have TikTok. I don’t use it a whole lot. And then, you know, I’m out here in Southern California. So if there’s anything you can do to help anyone, you know, I’m easy to find. can Google me. You’ll find me.Kristen (24:33)
Well, thank you so much for being here. And thank you everybody for listening. Hope you got some inspiration for your own business and we will see you back next time. Bye.
