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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros podcast, host Q Edmonds interviews Phil Bonnie, an expert in the auction method of selling real estate. Phil shares his journey into the auction world, the lessons he’s learned, and the importance of relationships in this business. He emphasizes that the auction method is not just a way to sell properties but a powerful marketing strategy that can benefit sellers by eliminating unnecessary costs. The conversation also touches on the challenges faced in the auction process and the significance of resilience and adaptability in overcoming them.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Phil Bonnie (00:00)
This is the auction method of selling real estate. Okay. This is the way that someone can sell their most prized asset at their terms, their wants, their wishes, and not have to pay any source sort of marketing costs or commissions. my motto isQuentin (00:05)
sir.Phil Bonnie (00:22)
Why should you have to pay to sell your most prized asset? That doesn’t make sense to me.Quentin (02:00)
Hello everybody. Welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I am your host Q Edmonds and I’m excited to be here today. I’m excited because I’m going learn about something that I don’t know too much about. I do a lot of these episodes and I don’t think I interviewed or talked to or held space for or engaged with anyone like my next guest and the topic that they’re going to talk about. And they’re going to talk about the power of the auction.And I know some people when you hear auction, you may have all kinds of preconceived notions, but I’m glad he’s here because he’s going to set the record straight and really show you how powerful and helpful auctions can be. And so I am really excited to introduce you all to Mr. Phil Bonnie Mr. Phil, how you doing today, sir?
Phil Bonnie (02:46)
I’m doing well my friend, how about yourself?Quentin (02:48)
Oh man, doing good, especially knowing that you’re not too close. You’re kind of in the same neck of wood. So man, you know, this is good for me, you know, cause you’re close. I was considering you my neighbor, you know what I mean? so Phil, man, I’m happy to have you going again, excited about this topic. And so I kind of want to dive in, man. I would love for you to tell the people what your main focus is these days. I would love if you can give us a little bit of an origin story, man. How did you get into this space?And then also, I said you was neighbors, but tell them where you are geographically if you don’t mind. So Phil, sir, you have the floor, man.
Phil Bonnie (03:24)
Sure. ⁓ So my firm, Dudley Resources we’re based in Richmond, Virginia, ⁓ but we have a global reach because everything that we do with the auction method of selling real estate is all done onQuentin (03:45)
Oh, yeah, it was quick and concise to the point. I love it, man. I love it. Tell me, how did you get into this space of auctions, right? Like, I mean, I wouldn’t even know where to begin if I wanted to be an auctioneer, you know, if that’s the correct term. So how did you get into this space? Tell me the story behind it.Phil Bonnie (04:03)
well, it’s a combination of hard work and being in the right place at the right time. So, I started in real estate in 2019. I was in the commercial side. I put together a new development in downtown Richmond. And I realized that once my job was done and we exceeded all expectations thatI knew I needed to grow. I wasn’t sold on the corporate world and I realized that there was a lot more out there. So I met my partner, Tim Dudley, who has been doing real estate auctions for I think about 45 years.
And once he explained to me what the auction method of selling real estate actually was, I was hooked. mean, it just the manner and the method of how we twist turned how to sell real estate. It’s just led to unimaginable growth and opportunity.
Quentin (04:58)
Yeah.Yeah, yeah. I love it, man. Thank you, man. You know, I had you in 2019. was, you know, commercial, new development, but you felt like you needed to grow. You was like, listen, this is cool and all, but there gotta be more for me out here, right? I love it. You know, you talked about me and Tim Dudley. And so I have a saying, cause I know, you know, we talked about 2019, but I believe even before 2019, I think you was kind of being prepared for this moment. And I tell you why I say that.
Because I have a saying where I say destiny has no wasted moments, right? Meaning no matter what we go through in life, there are moments that kind of make us who we are today. And so you’re in the auction space. You had to make that pivot. I would love to know what did it teach you about yourself? Did it teach you to be resilient? Did it teach you discipline? Like what did it awaken in you, this moment in destiny? What did it teach you about you?
Phil Bonnie (06:55)
Well, I’d say the resiliency that stems from my time in the Marine Corps. But I would say the auction method, it’s taught me that there’s always an answer. There’s always to figure out how it can be sold. Sometimes you got to think outside of the box. You got to think outside of the books.Quentin (07:02)
Yeah.Hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Phil Bonnie (07:24)
And that’s what the auction method has taught me that there’s an answer to anything. You just got to look.Quentin (07:32)
Yeah. Yeah. I love that. I love how you talk about thinking outside the box because I tell people often that everything doesn’t go the way we plan all the time. Sometimes we have to pivot extremely fast. And so sometimes adversity comes and you got to find a way to kind of pivot with the adversity. So in the auction world, how does adversity look? mean, is it sometimes people,They say they got what they need to get the thing done, but they actually don’t have the paperwork. Does people give you false or fraudulent information? How does adversity actually look in the auction work?
Phil Bonnie (08:10)
Sure. I mean, because of where where we work and we work in any state in the country, mean, of course, you’re going to have have the opportunists that are say that that they own this freight free and clear. And, you know, there’s no issues with with it. So right from from the get go, we’re doing a deep dive.Quentin (08:24)
Yeah.Phil Bonnie (08:38)
where if there’s any LLCs, we’re pulling the other records, we’re doing title search, searches, indeed search searches. So we wanna make sure ⁓ that the assets that we are given are marketable.Quentin (08:55)
Gotcha. Love that film. So let me ask you, what is, what’s the next real goal for you guys? Like, what are, what are you looking to solve a scale next? Like what’s next for you guys within this world?Phil Bonnie (09:10)
Well, the biggest thing I’m focusing on right now is growth. And with growth is knowledge. And I’m a firm believer that knowledge is power. And so what I’m focusing on is teaching people and explaining people that all those preconceived notions about that oppression era auctions, that banks are bad.the little man is getting to take an advantage of that is not what we are doing.
This is the auction method of selling real estate. Okay. This is the way that someone can sell their most prized asset at their terms, their wants, their wishes, and not have to pay any source sort of marketing costs or commissions. my motto is
Quentin (10:24)
sir.Phil Bonnie (10:41)
Why should you have to pay to sell your most prized asset? That doesn’t make sense to me.Quentin (10:46)
I think when you just said not having to pay commissions, I think a lot of people looked up and was like, wait a minute, You got a of people insisting not having to pay commissions. You just said it perfectly and so eloquently, why you have to pay to sell your most precious asset? I mean, that’s, if that’s not enough to get people’s wheels turning, I don’t know what is. ⁓ So that’s all about people. Now, within your world, let’s talk about relationships specifically. So within what you do,Phil Bonnie (10:52)
I know right?Quentin (11:16)
within your world, within the auction world, is building relationships important? Have it served you well? Like how does relationship building function and factor in what you do?Phil Bonnie (11:29)
sure. I mean, that’s all we we do from my database. And we also have have another auction company in northern Virginia. We have about three point four million people that are past bidders, buyers, sellers. Now, not just the the real estate, but we also have our hands in a lot of other pots. So.the business assets, the cars, the vehicles, planes, trains, automobiles. I mean, if we can get it sold, we’ll get it sold. But the car guys love real estate. The the the machinists love personal assets. So it’s just taking all these people and finding out what do you have to sell? And then so we keep up with them with with the marketing. We let everyone know what’s going on, what we have coming.
so it’s just keeping those clear lines of chem, chem, communication open. and, and, that’s really what it is. And like I said, the majority of my businesses, I go around to, to brokerages, around the state and, and educate them because the auction method, it is a very valuable tool for one, real estate.
agents, brokers, but also for investors. And all of these people, they come to my auctions and I speak with every single one of the registered bidders. So right from the get go, I’m developing a level of trust that my product you can count on, that I’m going to provide you every single thing that I know about this asset, whether it’s
Quentin (13:10)
Mm-hmm.Phil Bonnie (13:20)
inspection raw ports, appraisals, well-incepsed, I put all of this together in a comprehensive due diligence packet so that everyone can feel good and confident into the asset that they are bidding on on a competitive bidding platform.Quentin (13:41)
Yeah. man. Sounds phenomenal. Sounds really, really good. Sounds tight. Sounds useful. Sounds like it’s really, can really help people again, dispel these misnomers when it comes to what auctions are. And so let me ask you this. Is there any subject that I have not brought up that you would like to talk about? Or is there any other words of education?motivation, inspiration that you want to give. I kind of want to open the floor up to you and create space. If it’s still something that you feel like we need to hit this, hit this nail on this, this hammer, hit this hammer, hit this nail on the head.
Phil Bonnie (15:06)
So the auction method of selling real estate, it’s not a asset type. It’s not a property class. It’s a marketing strategy. And what it allows us to do is to cast a worldwide net to attract bidders. So the auction method, it’sIt really is based around two things. One is the level of marketing through all the MLSs and the states, the cruxies, the loop nets, the property blasts, the email blasts, mailers, the social media campaigns, the SEO marketing campaigns, the geo targeting. So once you take all of these potential bidders, you put them into an open bidding platform.
where they can see the bidding as it comes in real time. At this point, human nature and psychology wants to take over because one, you want to be the best. I mean, that’s human nature. And if you can be the master of your own destiny and know how much it’s going to cost to secure this asset, I mean, that’s what it’s all about. I mean, if
If you think about it, realtors unknowingly are already doing auctions. They just don’t have any way to control it. And by what I mean by that is escalation clauses. How much more could you have offered to secure this asset? You’ll never know. I take all that guesswork out of the equation. Everyone’s playing with the clear terms. They are aware of everything that’s going on.
And at the end of the day, it’s who has the deepest pockets. It puts the average player on the same field as the Black Rocks and all of… that
Quentin (17:10)
Well, there he is. Mr. Phil, man, thank you so much for sharing. Listen, if someone wanted to reach out to you, connect with you, learn more about what you’re doing, like, or even collaborate with you, how can they reach out to you,Phil Bonnie (17:25)
Sure. Well, I mean, you’re welcome to go to my website. ⁓ It’s Dudley resources dot com. That’s where the competitive bidding platform is. You can see all the assets that we have sold and all the assets that we are currently selling. I mean, I deal in anything from and I hate to say it, but.We have sold everything from crack shacks to NASCAR race tracks and everything in between. mean, one of the big things I’m selling right, right now is a short term rental. is a short, term term rental that’s generating, over 100 K a year net. mean, it’s just, we have the ability.
Quentin (17:56)
Here we go.Phil Bonnie (18:11)
of selling any type of of assets. So either go to my website, dudleyresources.com or give me a call directly. I’m happy to talk about everything really and explain all the nuances and how this is truly the best way to sell your own real estate. Give me a call (757)651-1729Quentin (18:34)
There he is again, Phil. Sir, let me say three things to you. First, thank you for your time, right? You could have been anywhere else in the world, but you chose to spend time with us. So thank you for your time, man. Time is a precious commodity, so thank you. Secondly, man, thank you for your story, for your narrative, telling it with clarity, telling it with authenticity. I believe your narrative, what you talked about today, is really going to help people out and really maybe change, of course, correct some people.So again, thank you for sharing. Yeah.
Phil Bonnie (19:04)
Well, I hope it does. I know it works. I I sold118 pieces of real estate last year through the auction method. So I know it works. ⁓
Quentin (19:12)
Yeah. Listen,well, y’all hear him. And so with that being said, last time, I to thank you for your mindset, man. Thank you for the way you think and bringing that perspective, that mindset to this platform. Again, I really believe you’re to help somebody possibly course correct, change their mindset towards the way they are selling. so, man, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate you, Absolutely. So listen, y’all heard Mr. Phil.
Phil Bonnie (19:36)
Thank you.Quentin (19:41)
look in the show notes, get in contact with him, connect with him. Definitely make sure you’re subscribed here because we’re gonna continue to bring up amazing people that’s doing amazing things that maybe you not quite didn’t think about in helping you think outside of the box. So Phil, thank you again. And everyone else, listen, y’all have a fantastic day.
