***Guest Appearance
Credits to:
https://www.youtube.com/@clarkstcapital/
“Overcoming The 5 Roadblocks Holding You Back With Private Lending”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scBB0I89ons&t=894s
In this riveting episode of Raising Private Money podcast, Jay Conner joins Ed Mathews on his Real Estate Underground Podcast where Jay dives deep into overcoming barriers in real estate investing, from sourcing distressed properties to managing investment funds and finding deals in smaller markets!
Below, we delve further into the strategies and philosophies Jay Conner has perfected over his long and successful career.
Yard Sales: The Secret Source for Hot Deals
Jay Conner shares a surprisingly effective technique for finding distressed properties before they can be listed by realtors: yard, garage, and moving sales. He advises investors to look in local newspapers or on the Facebook marketplace for yard sale groups. By contacting property owners holding these sales, you could potentially buy distressed properties before they hit the market. These are typically homeowners gearing up for a big move and looking to offload their possessions, translating into motivated sellers eager to make quick deals.
The Magic of Human Connection
Establishing rapport with potential sellers is crucial. Building trust and discovering their motivations can facilitate better deals. By asking open-ended questions, investors can understand the seller’s urgency and needs, allowing for a more tailored negotiation and, ideally, a win-win scenario.
Transitioning from Bank Loans to Private Money
One of the main hurdles for new real estate investors is funding. Jay Conner’s transition from relying on bank loans to harnessing private money is an enlightening story.
After losing his lines of credit during the 2009 financial crisis, Jay turned to private money and self-directed IRAs. He successfully raised millions by teaching his local community about the potential of earning high returns safely and securely, without ever directly asking for money.
Becoming a Private Money Maven
Educating people about interest rates, protection guarantees, and the process of getting their money back is key. This approach not only secures funds but also establishes credibility and trust.
Jay highlights the strategy of making “good news calls,” where he informs potential lenders about a lucrative investment opportunity without asking for money—just presenting an opportunity they’ve been waiting for. This proactive and educational approach keeps private lenders engaged and eager to participate.
Excelling in Small Markets
Jay Conner’s success is proof that significant profits are achievable even in small markets. Based in a tiny North Carolina town with a population of just 8,000, Jay averages $82,000 in profit per deal. His strategy revolves around knowing the market well, leveraging both free and paid marketing methods, and networking rigorously.
Why Small Markets Can Be Goldmines
Small markets often present less competition, allowing diligent and knowledgeable investors to dominate. Investing in high-demand areas with growing populations albeit smaller populations can offer lucrative opportunities with less stress from cutthroat competitors.
Importance of Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Effective lead management is crucial for scaling any real estate business. Jay Conner underscores the importance of using a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to organize and track leads.
A CRM helps in maintaining constant communication with potential sellers and private lenders, ensuring no opportunity slips through the cracks. It’s an essential tool for managing multiple deals and nurturing relationships over time.
The Power of Mindset and Mastermind Groups
Jay firmly believes that mindset plays a critical role in real estate success. Adopting a mindset of teaching and solving problems rather than merely transacting can alter the trajectory of one’s business positively.
Another cornerstone of Jay’s approach is being a part of mastermind groups. Collaborating with like-minded individuals can offer invaluable support, new perspectives, and solutions to challenges that might seem insurmountable alone.
Final Thoughts: A 3D Approach to Success
Jay Conner’s definition of success is encapsulated in his “3D concept”: Dictate, Delegate, and Disappear. By doing what you love and outsourcing the rest, you avoid making your business another job.
Real estate investing is a multifaceted field with numerous roadblocks. Yet, with Jay Conner’s proven strategies and mindset, overcoming these barriers becomes not only possible but highly rewarding. Whether you’re sourcing properties, raising private money, or excelling in small markets, Jay’s insights offer invaluable guidance for every real estate enthusiast.
10 Lessons Learned in this Episode:
- Identifying Potential Sellers
Seek out yard, moving, or garage sales using local newspapers and Facebook Marketplace. Contact owners before they list with realtors.
- Effective Marketing Tools
Utilize Facebook ads and Google pay-per-lead services to attract qualified leads from those actively looking to sell their homes.
- Building Buyer-Seller Relationships
Establish and nurture trust by asking open-ended questions to gauge the sellers’ motivations and tailor your approach accordingly.
- Efficient Lead Management
Leverage customer relationship management (CRM) software to keep your leads organized and ensure no potential opportunities are missed.
- Making Offers
Regardless of the seller’s asking price, always make an offer. The worst response you can receive is “no,” but you open doors to negotiation.
- Terms-Based Acquisitions
Consider acquiring properties subject to the existing mortgage and selling them on similar terms if they don’t require major rehabilitation.
- Preparing for Unexpected Costs
Include a “Murphy factor” in your rehab budgets to cover unforeseen expenses, ensuring your project remains financially viable.
- Educating on Private Money
Put on your “teacher hat” to educate local community members on earning high returns safely via private money and self-directed IRAs.
- Service-Oriented Investment Approach
Prioritize serving and educating potential investors, steering clear of chasing or pressuring them into investing. Provide value first.
- Defining Real Success
Aim to be a 3D person by dictating, delegating, and disappearing. Focus on doing what you love and outsourcing the rest to avoid turning your business into just another job.
Fun facts that were revealed in the episode:
- Unique Lead Source:
Jay Conner recommends targeting properties of owners who are having a yard, moving, or garage sales. Many of these owners are preparing to move, offering a timely opportunity before they list with a realtor.
- Music and Creativity:
Outside of real estate, Jay Conner and his wife enjoy writing music and playing the piano, especially creating songs for their church and performing live events on Facebook during the COVID pandemic.
- Private Money Strategy:
Jay Conner successfully raised over $1,000,000 in 90 days without directly asking anyone for money. He educated potential lenders on earning high returns safely, which led them to pursue investment opportunities with him.
Timestamps:
00:01 – Raising Private Money Without Asking For It
03:26 – Profiting From Small-Area Real Estate Investing.
07:30 – Introduce IRA Company, Secure Funding via call.
10:57 – Conversation about private money investment certainty and return.
15:20 – Create urgency in pre-sale through limited access.
16:49 – Tracking foreclosures, buying from owners, free lead methods.
20:57 – Facebook ad campaign generates 15 leads per house.
24:06 – Identify hot spots, and softening difficulties in conversations.
28:31 – Realtor emphasizes speed, fair payment, and preparation.
30:59 – Buying a book is a valuable exchange.
35:19 – Success means being a 3D person – dictate, delegate, disappear
Connect With Jay Conner:
Private Money Academy Conference:
Free Report:
https://www.jayconner.com/MoneyReport
Join the Private Money Academy:
https://www.JayConner.com/trial/
Have you read Jay’s new book: Where to Get The Money Now?
It is available FREE (all you pay is the shipping and handling) at https://www.JayConner.com/Book
What is Private Money? Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner
http://www.JayConner.com/MoneyPodcast
Jay Conner is a proven real estate investment leader. Without using his own money or credit, Jay maximizes creative methods to buy and sell properties with profits averaging $67,000 per deal.
#RealEstate #RealEstateInvesting #RealEstateInvestingForBeginners #Foreclosures #FlippingHouses #PrivateMoney #RaisingPrivateMoney #JayConner
YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/c/RealEstateInvestingWithJayConner
Apple Podcast:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jay.conner.marketing
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JayConner01
Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/JConner_PrivateMoneyAuthority
Overcoming Real Estate Roadblocks: Jay Conner’s Expert Strategies for Success
Jay Conner [00:00:00]:
You might not have heard of this one. Maybe you have. But garage sales, yard sales, moving sales. So look in your newspaper, if you still have one in your area. Look in your newspaper under yard sales. But even better than that, go to the Facebook marketplace and look for yard sale groups. Look for yard sale groups. You’ll see where all the yard sales, move-in sales, and garage sales are coming up.
Jay Conner [00:00:25]:
Well, get in contact with the owner of that property before Saturday morning, because guess what? A lot of people who are getting ready to move are having a garage sale because they gotta get rid of all that junk before they move. Right? So you can get up with them before it even gets listed with a realtor or anything like that. So now let’s spend a little money.
Ed Mathews [00:00:44]:
Then this is Real Estate Underground. Greetings and Real Estate Undergrounders. It is Ed Matthews with the Real Estate Underground. Thank you so much for joining us today. Today, like always these days, we’ve been we’ve been on a roll with our amazing guests. But today is a special one indeed, and that is someone that I have known for probably about a couple of years now. I discovered him a while ago, actually, 4 or 5 years ago. But, Jay Conner, welcome to the show, the Private Money Authority.
Ed Mathews [00:01:15]:
I am so excited to have this conversation with you, and it’s good to see you, my friend.
Jay Conner [00:01:19]:
Ed, thank you so much for inviting me along to visit with you and talk about that subject that I’m most passionate about, that being private money. And that’s because private money has had more of an impact and difference on our real estate investing business than anything else we have done in all these years since 2003.
Ed Mathews [00:01:38]:
Yeah. Indeed. And, you know, the thing is is that whenever I meet a new investor or someone who’s kinda just getting rolling, you know, they stop me you know, these folks stop me in the grocery store. Right?
Jay Conner [00:01:49]:
Like, hey.
Ed Mathews [00:01:49]:
I saw you on Facebook or I heard your podcast or something, and, gosh, I wish I could do what you do for a living. And I ask the same question every time. It’s like, what’s stopping you? Right? And, invariably, it’s one of 3 things. It’s, I don’t have the time. I work 60 hours a week. I’ve got a family. I’ve got this. I’ve got that.
Ed Mathews [00:02:10]:
All valid, but, you know, time. Right? The second one is always, I don’t know where to find the deals. And the third is your wheelhouse, sir, and that is, I don’t know where to find the money. And so my answer typically is, well, I’m a cheap date. Feel free. I’ll meet you for a cup of coffee. I’ll even buy the coffee if you want. And, I’ll, you know, ask me any questions you like, and I’ll tell you everything I know about the subject you wanna talk about.
Ed Mathews [00:02:35]:
So I am grateful for the opportunity to do the same thing with you, Jay, and, I can’t wait to get into this. So welcome.
Jay Conner [00:02:40]:
Absolutely. I’m excited to be here. We’ve been raising private money ever since 2009 when I lost my lines of credit at the bank, and I can share what to do and what not to do.
Ed Mathews [00:02:51]:
So for those folks who don’t follow your podcast, if you don’t, you’re out of your mind. It’s an excellent podcast. Private money with Jay Connor. The the why don’t you just give us a little bit about who you are, what your background is, and and then we’ll get into this.
Jay Conner [00:03:04]:
Sure. My wife, Carol Joy, and I, live here in Eastern North Carolina. We’re in a small town. Moorhead City, North Carolina. Population, 8,000 people. Our total target market where we invest in real estate is only 40,000 people. So we started back in, 2003. And, I mean, we’re not a high volume.
Jay Conner [00:03:26]:
We do 2 to 3 houses a month. But as of right now, averaging in the last 12 months, our average profit per deal is $82,000 per deal, per house, per transaction. And I don’t say that Ed, at all to brag. I say that to make a point. And the point is, if you know how to find the deals and you and you got the funding for the deals, you can make significant income in a very, very small area. And there’s an argument really to be made as to how investing in smaller areas is advantageous over big areas, because I don’t have that much competition around here where I am, and you can really, you know, dominate the market. And so we went before single-family houses, and we’ve done commercial deals as well. I mean, we’ve done shopping centers from the ground up.
Jay Conner [00:04:15]:
We’ve done condominiums. But my focus is single-family houses. And so we started way back in 2003 here in this small market. And from 2003 to 2009, I just relied on the local banks to fund my deals. That’s all I knew to do. I had never heard of hard money lenders. I’d never heard of buying creatively and subject to the existing note and all that stuff. I just thought you just had to go to the local bank.
Jay Conner [00:04:42]:
So in January 2009, after being in the business for 6 years, all that came to a screeching halt as far as going to the local bank. I called him a banker. By the way, Ed, you may find it funny to know that we actually still have handsets and cords attached to them here in North Carolina that are attached to an actual landline telephone.
Ed Mathews [00:05:03]:
But, anyway, I called up my If I showed my kids that phone, they wouldn’t even know what to do with it.
Jay Conner [00:05:07]:
They wouldn’t know what it is.
Ed Mathews [00:05:08]:
Wouldn’t even know what it is.
Jay Conner [00:05:09]:
But I called up my banker, Steve, in January 2009. And Steve and I had done a lot of business for the for that first 6 years. And I called him up, Ed, and told him about these two deals I had under contract to purchase. They represented over a $100,000 in profit. And I learned on that phone call just like that that I had been shut down at the bank. My line of credit closed. They hadn’t even told me about it. My first thought was, I sure wish I’d known that before I put earnest money down on those houses.
Jay Conner [00:05:37]:
And so I hung up the phone, Ed, and here’s the first rider downer for your audience. Whenever you have a problem, here’s what I recommend you ask yourself. And by the way, these people running around saying, oh, every problem’s an opportunity. I wanna throw up. I didn’t have an opportunity. I had a problem. Right? So who’s going to help me with my problem? So I sat here for a moment and here’s the magic question. I asked myself, Jay, who do you know that can help you with your problem? When I asked myself that question, I immediately thought of Jeff Blankenship, who lived in Greensboro at the time, a really good friend of mine, and Carol Joy.
Jay Conner [00:06:12]:
Know each other through church and singing events. And I called him up, and I told him what had happened. He said, well, welcome to the club. I said, what club is that? He said the club is getting your line of credit shut down. My bank shut me down last week. I said, well, Jeff, how are you gonna fund your deals? He said, well, have you ever heard of private money? I said, no. He said, you ever heard of self-directed IRAs and how people can use their retirement funds to loan money out to you, tax-deferred or tax-free? I said no. So I hung up with Jeff, and I went to study private money and self-directed IRAs.
Jay Conner [00:06:44]:
And, Ed, I put my program together as to how I was gonna teach people here in our own local area, people I go to church with, the Rotary Club, you know, that I hang out with, how they can earn high rates of returns safely and securely. And you know what’s interesting, Ed? Since I started, I raised over a couple of $1,000,000 in the 1st 90 days, and I’ve never asked anybody for money. And they said, Jay, how do you have all that private money and you never ask anybody for money? And here’s the secret right here. I put on my teacher hat, which says, private money teacher. And so I started teaching people the kind of interest rates I would pay, how they’re protected, how they can get their money back in case of an emergency without pitching any kind of a deal, just the program.
Ed Mathews [00:07:30]:
Right.
Jay Conner [00:07:30]:
And then once they told me how much they had to invest, or if they had retirement funds, I would introduce them to myself, direct to the IRA company that I recommend for people using retirement funds. Then here’s the second way I get all my deals funded without asking, and that is I call them up with what I call the good news phone call. What’s the good news phone call? I call them up, and let’s say, Ed, you’re one of my new private lenders, and you’ve told me you got a $150,000 you want to put to work. So I call you up, Ed. I say, Ed, I got great news. I can now put your money to work. I got a house in Newport with an after-repaired value of $200,000. The funding required for the deal is 150,000, and closing is next Friday.
Jay Conner [00:08:13]:
You’ll need to have your funds wired to my closing attorney by next Thursday. I’m gonna have my attorney email you the instructions. End of conversation. Right. Notice I did not ask you, do you want to fund the deal? Of course, you want to fund the deal. You’ve been waiting for the phone call. And even more than that, if you have moved your retirement funds over to a self-directed IRA company, you’re really waiting for the phone call for me to put your money to work because you’re not earning any money on that money while it’s just sitting there in the account. So it’s all about getting your mindset straight first.
Jay Conner [00:08:47]:
I tell people all the time, that it’s gonna be very hard to own real estate until you own the real estate between your ears. So it’s all about serving, teaching, educating, and none of this chasing, begging, selling, or trying to persuade anybody into anything.
Ed Mathews [00:09:03]:
Right. The thing that I found, and it was a dramatic change in my own mindset was, I don’t ask I don’t ask for money. Right? I provide an opportunity, and you either want it or you don’t. And if you don’t, that’s fine. I’ve got a bunch of other people that do, and, you know, I tell my team, you know, if you’re on the phone with a potential seller or an investor and you have any sort of inkling that you’re trying to convince them, stop, take a deep breath, thank them for their time, and hang up the phone. Right? We are not in the convincing business.
Jay Conner [00:09:33]:
Well, and you’re exactly right, Ed because there’s a whole lot more money out there available that people don’t know what to do with. Right. They’re I mean, they’re depressed over not knowing where to put their money. There’s more money available than there are deals, to tell you the truth. In fact, right before we started this show, here, on here with you, I just went through my list of private lenders and the amount of private money that they’ve got available. Well, I have a problem. It’s a good problem. But I have a problem.
Jay Conner [00:10:01]:
I’ve got almost 1 and a half $1,000,000 in liquidity from my private lenders just sitting there waiting for me to put back to work. I got a call from one of my private lenders yesterday, and she called me up. She says, Jay, I just got a $200,000 payoff check in the mail. She knew it was coming. We inform our private lenders of what’s going on. But she said, I just got this $200,000 check in the mail from, selling that house at 45100 Highway 24. How soon are you gonna be able to put this back to work? So you better be ready to answer that question. Of course, I told her.
Jay Conner [00:10:32]:
I said I should be able to put it back to work for you within 30 days or so. No problem. She says, okay. Well, I’m gonna sit here on the money. You call me soon. So you see how the private lender is chasing us, and we’re not chasing them.
Ed Mathews [00:10:45]:
Right. And, again, it comes down to providing an opportunity to help them grow their own retirement funds.
Jay Conner [00:10:49]:
Right? Exactly.
Ed Mathews [00:10:50]:
And, you know, the thing is that I meet people all the time that all they want is to get off that stock market roller coaster.
Jay Conner [00:10:57]:
Particularly in this market, on my lands. You know, one of my favorite questions, to ask, someone, to start a conversation about private money, I’ll say, by the way, are you investing in anything these days? If they say the stock market I ask a question and I know what the answer is. I’ll say, well, it doesn’t it doesn’t matter what they’re investing in. I have the same question. I’ll say, well, how’s that working out for you in this market right now? I know how it’s working out for them. It’s like and that’s what they love about the private lending program that we offer and teach, and that is, they know exactly what their rate of return is gonna be. They’re gonna it’s just like putting the money in a CD at the bank, and you know exactly what that’s gonna print back to you. Right.
Ed Mathews [00:11:43]:
And without asking specifics about your deals, right, because we shouldn’t do that. But, you know, I’m curious. With regard to private money, you know, what are the what’s the range of returns that that folks can see out there?
Jay Conner [00:11:56]:
8 to 10%. So no origination fees. And, you know, it’s interesting, Ed. I’ve been paying my private lenders the same thing, 8% in the first position, and 10% for junior lien positions. I’ve been paying them the same things since 2009. They said, Jay, that doesn’t make any sense because interest rates have gone up and down and all over the place since 2 1009. For example, before COVID, the average 12-month certificate of deposit yield got all the way down to 0 point 17%. Well, you can go down to the bank right now and get 5%, maybe 5 and a half percent, you know, on a 7 or 8-month CD.
Jay Conner [00:12:34]:
I said, Jay, why are your rates why are you paying still the same rates? Here’s the answer, and here’s a big clue. Because we make the rules. We make the rules. The lender doesn’t make the rules. Now, you know, when you’re buying in I mean when you’re borrowing institutional money or you’re borrowing money from a bank or hard money lender, they make the rules. They set the interest rate. So in this world, we make the rules, we put on our teacher hat, and this is the program. And they say, well, Jay, you’re paying 8% when it was 0.17.
Jay Conner [00:13:05]:
I said, how and they said, how can you still be paying 8% and then get 5 or 5a half down to the bank? I said it’s really simple. 8% is still a whole lot more than 5 or 5a half
Ed Mathews [00:13:15]:
Yes. It is.
Jay Conner [00:13:16]:
Or 10. And plus, it’s backed by real estate. We’re not borrowing unsecured.
Ed Mathews [00:13:20]:
Right. And, I mean, even all you have to do is go in and use the law of 72 to figure out how fast you can double that money at 5% versus 8%, and you realize very quickly that it’s a lot more money.
Jay Conner [00:13:32]:
Absolutely.
Ed Mathews [00:13:33]:
And, you know, time is your friend when it comes to compounding interest or interest. So in terms of the properties that you buy, so single family, you are flipping them or you’re holding them? I think you hold. Right?
Jay Conner [00:13:46]:
So I’m flipping most of them in this market because the appreciation is still just going crazy here in our area.
Ed Mathews [00:13:52]:
Yeah.
Jay Conner [00:13:53]:
However, I’ll buy houses on terms subject to the existing note. So here’s my rule of thumb. When I pay all cash with private money, then I cash out. So I’m not wanting a bunch of money left buried in there. But if I buy on terms directly from the owner of that property, subject to the existing, no under financing, then I’ll turn around and sell it on terms if there’s not any, you know, major rehab, involved. Understood. My definition of major rehab is if I gotta put more than $10,000 in repairs in it, then I’m probably gonna wanna flip it in this market. I mean, in our market here, Ed, there’s no inventory.
Jay Conner [00:14:27]:
We just put a house on the market this past let’s see. Tomorrow would be 3 weeks ago, and, we’re cashing out on it today, as a matter of fact. Went on the market on Friday, and by Sunday, we had 22 showings.
Ed Mathews [00:14:41]:
Wow. So very similar to this market up here in the northeast. I’m in Connecticut. So same
Jay Conner [00:14:45]:
Oh, right. Right. And by the way, this has got nothing to do with private private money, but here’s a big tip. If you’re wanting to sell a house and put it in the multiple listing service, particularly if you’ve renovated it and it’s absolutely beautiful, Let me give you 2 quick tips on how to sell it fast. First of all, we get a professional videographer to do drone footage and professional photos, and we, make a music video out of it. So it’s a tour through the through the house, through the property with music playing. Now here’s the big secret. That link goes into the multiple listing service with my realtor.
Jay Conner [00:15:20]:
On Monday, on Monday of that week that we’re going, it’s in what’s called coming soon, coming soon status, which means they can watch the video, they can look at the pictures, they can see the price, but they can’t get in the house because it’s coming soon. Then we go active in the multiple listing service on Friday morning at 8 AM. And so we’ve already got appointments lined up. My realtors already have appointments lined up. I want people to be on the shoulder in the driveway waiting for the people who are looking at the house to get out of the house so they can come in for those appointments. So those 22 families that looked at that house 3 weeks ago, were lined up on the street waiting to get in. So you see what we’re doing. Urgency.
Jay Conner [00:16:06]:
We’re we’re building demand. We’re creating scarcity. And as you said, we’re creating a frenzy. So when they go to make their offer, they know there are other people making offers.
Ed Mathews [00:16:18]:
Right. Fantastic. Yeah. It’s brilliant. And, you know, that’s the power of, first off, a really good realtor, and also, know, instead of doing open houses, stacking up appointments back to back to back to back. There’s nothing like a line of cars to pique somebody’s interest like, oh, what am I missing here?
Jay Conner [00:16:33]:
Right? Exactly. Yeah.
Ed Mathews [00:16:34]:
Fantastic. Alright. So when you are looking for properties, you know, given the I’m just curious about the single-family business in your part of the world. When you are looking for deals, how what is what are the 2 or 3 ways that you’re finding your single-family home deals?
Jay Conner [00:16:49]:
Yeah. So almost half of our deals now are foreclosures. Okay. And Carol, Joy, and I, started putting together our foreclosure system all the way back in 2000 4. So we track we track every open file in our county and target market from the time the file is opened all the way up into the sale. So the magic window is to buy these properties directly from the owners, and we put money in their pockets and have them get back on their feet. Right. So our foreclosure system, in addition to that, I call so here’s a couple of free methods on, on getting leads.
Jay Conner [00:17:27]:
People love free. Right? So once a week, here’s what I recommend you do. Go on your personal page, not your business page, but go on your personal page on Facebook, and here’s exactly what you wanna type in here. Put a colored background because you’re just gonna put text on it. And here’s exactly what I want you to say. You say, I am looking to buy 2 houses in whatever month you’re in, May April, May, June, July, or November. I’m looking to buy 2 houses in April, say for example, in, Newport, Moorhead, Beaufort, and Havelock areas. So you just put your area.
Jay Conner [00:18:03]:
Whatever your area is. And then I put any condition, okay, all cash, exclamation mark, close in 2 weeks, and then the call to action is the language that Facebook people understand. The call to action is DM me, which stands for direct message. DM me. Don’t put your phone number. No need to put your phone number. Now you look like you’re chasing. Right? They’re not gonna call it anyway.
Jay Conner [00:18:28]:
They’re gonna direct message you. So there it is. I’m looking to buy 2 houses in April in the following areas. Don’t you know, put the areas down. Any condition, okay, all cash, close in 2 weeks, DM me. That’s free. Now I don’t buy that many houses off of that post. I might only get one house in 90 days, but that’s a house I wouldn’t have had.
Ed Mathews [00:18:50]:
Right. Right?
Jay Conner [00:18:50]:
If I hadn’t been doing that. So that’s free. Let me give you another free one, and I love doing this. I love doing this. So I’m in a small area, so I don’t get to see it very often. But once in a while, there’ll be a bandit sign that shows up on the highway or on the street that says I buy houses, and you all, of course, know what those look like. So that’s not my competition. That’s my free lead collaborator.
Jay Conner [00:19:13]:
They just don’t know it yet. So I call him up, and of course, you’re gonna get an answering machine. I call him up and I introduce myself and say, hey. This is Jay Conner. I’ve been investing here in this area ever since 2003, and I need your help. I have a problem. I’ve got a lot of cash burning a hole in my pocket to buy houses with. And when you get a house under contract and you want to assign that contract, they’re all wholesalers.
Jay Conner [00:19:37]:
I mean, they just went to some seminar in Greenville, North Carolina, and all they know to do is put out bandit signs. Right. So when you get a deal under contract and you want me to cash you out, I can cash you out and buy and pay you an assignment fee in only 7 days to 2 weeks. And so I’ll get free leads like that, and, of course, I’m not paying any marketing cost until I pay the assignment fee.
Ed Mathews [00:19:58]:
Right? That’s money they’ll spend.
Jay Conner [00:20:00]:
That’s another free one for you right there. Here’s another one I absolutely love. Ed, you might not have heard of this one, maybe you have. But garage sales, yard sales, moving sales. So look in your newspaper if you still have one in your area. Look in your newspaper under yard sales. But even better than that, go to the Facebook marketplace and look for yard sale groups. Look for yard sale groups.
Jay Conner [00:20:25]:
You’ll see where all the yard sales, moving sales, and garage sales are coming up. Well, get in contact with the owner of that property before Saturday morning, because guess what? A lot of people who are getting ready to move are having a garage sale because they gotta get rid of all that junk before they move. Right? So you can get up with them before it even gets listed with a realtor or anything like that. So now let’s spend a little money. Alright. So Facebook ads. So I spend $30 a day on, 2 campaigns. So that’s actually $60 a day I invest.
Jay Conner [00:20:57]:
I’ve got what’s called a generic Facebook ad campaign. Then I’ve got a distressed property. Both of them, the ad itself on Facebook is a picture of me just holding a yellow bandit sign here in Morehead City on a street in an average, you know, neighborhood Yep. Saying I buy houses, any condition, all areas, and my phone number that goes to one of my answering services. So that’s just a picture of me. Now it takes me 15 leads to buy a house. So you’ll get more leads with Facebook ads than you will, say, with Google pay per lead, but they don’t cost as much. So now let’s move on to the other one that I get consistent leads on, and that is my Google pay-per-lead.
Jay Conner [00:21:40]:
No. Not Google pay per click. Here’s the difference. Google pay per click, you’re you’ve got your own ad account with Google, and you’re bidding for your ad to get clicks. And so you’re paying per click whether you get a lead or not. A Google pay-per-lead service, that’s an agency that’s spending its money to run Google Ads, and now you’re only paying them money when you actually get a lead. Now what I love about Google, paper lead, paper leads is those people are looking for you. In a Facebook ad, it’s just coming up in your news feed.
Jay Conner [00:22:14]:
Mhmm. They weren’t looking for you. They’re just scrolling through their Facebook, and they see your ad. But on these Google leads, the owner of that property has gone into Google, and they have typed in something to the effect of buy my house fast, sell my house fast, something along those lines. So when you get that lead, that’s a much more qualified lead because they have gone, you know, searching for you. And I only need, as I say, 5 to 7 of those leads to buy a house.
Ed Mathews [00:22:42]:
Wow. A whole bunch of gold nuggets there. I hope you were taking notes because I certainly was. So as far as when you go to meet with a potential seller, right, you know, what’s the approach? Obviously, you know, the first filter is kinda actually, I don’t wanna make any assumptions. What’s your approach? How do you handle, the potential seller?
Jay Conner [00:23:00]:
Right. So I love it when people are raising their hands saying, hey, I wanna talk to you. Right? Now I also have a full-time outbound cold caller who cold calls 40 hours a week. You gotta make a bunch of phone calls to buy any of those houses. But in the last 12 months, I bought 4 houses that I would not have had unless I had the cold caller. All the rest of my marketing, people are raising their hands saying, I wanna talk to you. So one of the first things we do, of course, is over the telephone. We’re going to establish rapport, and we’re gonna get information on what we call our property lead sheet.
Jay Conner [00:23:33]:
So we get the information about the property, etcetera. But one of the first questions that we ask the seller, and this is one of my favorite questions because it’s so open-ended. The question is, I’ll say, well, tell me about your situation. You see, they’re they’re calling us in most cases. Right. Responding to our advertising or direct mail. And we’ll say, tell me tell me about your situation. Now the reason that’s such a good question is because ever how the seller answers that question is typically what is their hot spot or what is their main motivator.
Jay Conner [00:24:06]:
So if I say, tell me about your situation, they might be talking about their personal situation of someone passing away, inherited the property, or somebody’s sick, or somebody’s lost their job. Now they’re talking personal stuff. Well, that answer to that question is what we want to circle back around to in conversations throughout the relationship as to how the service we’re providing is going to help soften that difficulty that they’re having. Now if I say, tell me about your situation, if they start talking about the property, then I know immediately they don’t have the money or don’t want to spend the money to fix up the property. So if they talk about the property, that’s their hot spot. If they’re talking about a personal, you know, situation in their life, that’s their hot spot. So that’s how we begin the conversation. Now since we buy a lot of properties subject to the existing note, when we get to the mortgage information, we don’t ask, well, do you have a mortgage on the property that you owe money on? That’s a yes or no answer, and they’re immediately thinking, well, why do you need to know that? So the way we get the mortgage information is just we don’t start out with that.
Jay Conner [00:25:13]:
We get them to tell us about the property. I mean, we’ve probably been talking on the phone for 15 minutes Yep. Before we actually get around to the mortgage information. So when we get to that, we’ll say something to the effect of, well, I assume you still have a mortgage on the property. How much do you owe? Boom. It’s just like part of the conversation. Right? And so we typically get the mortgage information to where we can see if we can possibly buy the property subject to the existing note. So, we’ve got the same acquisitions.
Jay Conner [00:25:38]:
Kim is her name. She’s been with us for 19 years. So she’s been talking to sellers for years years years. So in talking with the seller, she’ll get their asking price. And so something that’s very, very important in the success of our business is the CRM that we use, customer relationship management software. And so all of our communication goes in that software. I tell you, Ed, there’s no telling how many 100 of 1,000 dollars I have lost, maybe in excess of a1000000, when years ago, I tried to run this business on sticky notes and yellow pads, keeping up with seller leads. Well, Mylands, we just closed on a house that we’re almost finished with the renovation right now.
Jay Conner [00:26:18]:
We started talking to that seller a year ago and just closed on it, like, you know, 6 weeks ago. And so it’s so important for all of your leads to go into software that’s keeping up with all the information and all the conversations. Yep. So my acquisition is Kim. I’ll be notified in the software that, hey. I’ve got a deal to review. So I’ll look at the numbers. At that point in time, I’ll decide if I want to get our realtor’s opinion.
Jay Conner [00:26:46]:
I’ll have some sort of idea, but our realtor will give us the after-repaired value typically within 24 hours. At that point, we decide whether it makes sense to go out and look at the property and see what kind of repairs are needed or estimate repairs, etcetera. And, and then at seller is asking. Here’s why. I’ve learned over the years a seller has seller is asking. Here’s why. I’ve learned over the years a seller has got really no idea for sure what they will accept until you make the offer. I mean, even when they say, I won’t take a penny less than x.
Jay Conner [00:27:20]:
My lands, I have bought countless properties for tens and tens and tens of 1,000 dollars less than when the seller said, I won’t take a penny less than x. Well, here’s here’s the bottom line advice. If you want the property, make the offer. Right.
Ed Mathews [00:27:35]:
And the and the thing is that the worst thing they’re gonna say is no.
Jay Conner [00:27:38]:
And, look, how can you lose what you don’t have?
Ed Mathews [00:27:40]:
Correct. And you’re gonna go home. And if they say no and it’s a real no, you’re gonna go home. Your kids are still gonna think you’re 8 feet tall. Your wife’s still gonna love you. Your friends are still gonna love you. You know, your dog probably still loves you, and everything will be it’ll be okay. Right? That’s right.
Ed Mathews [00:27:53]:
But here’s the thing. The, you know, the way that we approach it is similar in that when we start to talk about, you know, what do you need to get or, you know, making our offer, we make 2 offers. You know, 1 if, we are buying it cash and one if we are assuming the mortgage. And, you know, typically, they’re they can be different, right, in terms of the number. And here’s the thing. I’m I’m always looking for, you know, like you were saying, the hot spot. What is their hot spot? Are they trying to close a project or close this sale in 2 weeks because they really need the money? Okay. Well, then then I’m a I’m a potential solution.
Ed Mathews [00:28:31]:
So are you, Jay. If they are looking to max out a top dollar and they, you know, aren’t looking to they don’t care about speed, they care about the top line number, then I’ll refer to a realtor that I trust because it’s I’m not a good fit. You know? My solutions are focused on speed and paying you as much as I possibly can, fair. Right? But not necessarily top dollar because, you know, there’s gotta be space in there for us to do what we need to do. And more importantly, we don’t know what we don’t know. Right? So you get into the mechanicals and the roof and all that, and every property has a curveball, and you gotta be you’ve gotta be able to plan for it.
Jay Conner [00:29:10]:
Yeah. I say Murphy lives in every house. Sometimes Murphy’s cousins, sometimes Murphy’s aunts and uncles show up. If you’re listening and you don’t know what I’m talking about, you know Murphy is if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. Well, hey. Look. After rehabbing over 500 houses, I’ve yet to have one come in on budget.
Ed Mathews [00:29:28]:
Ever. Or time.
Jay Conner [00:29:29]:
Right? Never. Never. Never. Never. That’s why the secret sauce is in the offer. Because we put in what I call Murphy factor money. Murphy factor money. So even when the formula that I use as to what I’m gonna pay maximum all cash, I’m gonna subtract another 10 or $20,000 depending on how Yes.
Jay Conner [00:29:50]:
In case. You know, how big the rehab is or how much money the rehab is costing just for the Murphy factor because I promise you the unexpected is gonna show up.
Ed Mathews [00:29:59]:
Right. Without a doubt. I wait for the 1st 2 to 3 weeks. Invariably, I get a phone call from my contractor and say, hey. We have a problem. Can you come on down? Every property. You know, I haven’t done as many as you, but, you know, I’ve done probably a 100. And Right.
Ed Mathews [00:30:12]:
I don’t remember one. That didn’t happen.
Jay Conner [00:30:14]:
So That’s right. Right.
Ed Mathews [00:30:16]:
Alright. Well, Jay, hey. This has been, a lot of fun. I’m gonna I’m gonna move on to the final 4, and I could talk to you for days about this stuff. And I feel like you’re a willing participant. So let’s talk about the final 4. So finish this sentence for me. My purpose is
Jay Conner [00:30:30]:
Well, I’ve come to a point in my life where my purpose is to make a difference or make an impact. And that’s why I’ve written a book on private money. That’s why I teach private money. I mean, I make we make a lot of impact and impact with that. However, when I’m teaching and I’m here on Zoom and, you know, I’m on the podcast, etcetera, at our live events, I’m able to impact so many more people, other real estate investors, just by sharing, you know, what I’ve learned to do and what I’ve learned not to do.
Ed Mathews [00:30:59]:
And it’s amazing. You know? And I did wanna bring up the book, so thank you for doing that. You know, it’s amazing what you can learn. I can’t remember who said it, but when you buy someone’s book, when you buy Jay’s book, you’re living with him or her 10 years of their life and the lessons they’ve learned and the successes they’ve had and the mistakes they’ve made and how they’ve recovered and, you know, all the things that they had to battle through in order to get to where they are in their station of life now, handing it to you for $20, and it’s an amazing exchange of value. But, Jay, you actually, mentioned something before we started recording that you have something special for our audience today.
Jay Conner [00:31:36]:
I do. So my book, which I recently wrote is titled Where to Get the Money Now, and the subtitle is How and Where to Get Money for Your Real Estate Deals without relying on traditional or hard money lenders. So in this book, by the way, it’s not an ebook. You can’t download it. We actually mail it to you, priority mail, 3-day shipping. And on Amazon, it’s $20. But here, since you’re listening to Edge Show, you can get it for free. Just cover shipping and handling.
Jay Conner [00:32:04]:
And I’ll autograph it for you. I’ll ship it to you. It’s got the whole program lined out as to what we teach our private lenders and how they can get high rates of returns safely and securely. Here’s how you can get the book. Go www.JayConner.com/Book and we’ll rush it right out to you www.JayConner.com/Book.
Ed Mathews [00:32:30]:
That’s wonderful and incredibly generous, and I have ordered mine already. So I’m looking forward to reading it. I can’t believe I missed it. But, and so I can’t wait. So, hopefully, I’ll mine will arrive in the next, day or 2 as well. So, Jay, let’s keep going on the on the final 4. So I’m curious. You know, you’ve done a lot.
Ed Mathews [00:32:48]:
You’ve met a lot of people. I assume you’ve had your own coaches and mentors. You mentioned, Mister Blankenship earlier. Yeah. What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten? Who gave it to you?
Jay Conner [00:32:57]:
The best advice I ever got? Wow. I’ve gotten a lot of good advice. But the best advice I got, and I took them up on it, was not whether you’re brand new or whether you’re a seasoned real estate investor, not be out on an island by yourself. Continue to surround yourself with like-minded people. You know, Napoleon Hill came up with it in his book Think and Grow Rich, and that’s the mastermind. So hang around. Be intentional, be intentional, be in a group with other people who are moving towards the same goals that you are. Carol Joy, my wife and I, we’re in, 2 different masterminds right now, and I can tell you the relationships are phenomenal.
Jay Conner [00:33:43]:
But what I have learned and what I’ve had the opportunity to give back and to serve in those Mastermind groups is just priceless. Don’t do this by yourself.
Ed Mathews [00:33:54]:
This is a team sport. And, you know, as I’ve said and Jay just said, so Jay has his own mentoring program as well as coaching curriculum. And I’m a cheap cup I’m a cheap date. So if you ever have a question, hit one of us up on social media, and I’m sure we can probably help. So, Jay, I’m always curious. You know, leaders like yourself tend to be readers as well. And so I’m curious about the book, whether it’s a physical book or however else you consume information. You know, what’s the book on your on your nightstand, and who are you paying attention to these days?
Jay Conner [00:34:23]:
There you go. Well, let me answer that in 2 different ways because I do wanna share the book that changed my mindset and changed my life when I was in my twenties. And the name of that and I was in a very, very bad place, a very, very dark place, And the name of that book is University of Success. It’s still in print. It’s by Og Mandino, and it’ll get your head right. You gotta get your head right first. Right? So University of Success. The book that I am rereading, one of my favorites, is, titled The Go Giver.
Jay Conner [00:34:58]:
I’m sure you’ve heard of that book, Ed.
Ed Mathews [00:34:59]:
I’m reading it right now.
Jay Conner [00:35:00]:
And in fact, the co-author, Bob Burg, I’ve had on my podcast as a guest, and he is phenomenal. But I love The Go-Giver. It’s a short read, a short book. Fantastic.
Ed Mathews [00:35:13]:
Fantastic. That’s great. Alright, sir. Last of the final 4. Finish this sentence for me. Success means
Jay Conner [00:35:19]:
Success means being a 3D person. What in the world is a 3D person? A 3 d person is someone that I learned about from watching my dad, and he actually said it. So a 3D person is someone who dictates, delegates, and disappears. Dictate, delegate, disappear. So why is that successful? Well, you can’t do everything in this business yourself, running around with your hair on fire, and, you know, who wants to get into real estate investing or be a real estate investor and you just bought yourself another job? Right? And so if you’re gonna do the things that you wanna do, when you wanna do it, with whom you wanna do it, and for how long you wanna do it, then you gotta be focusing on just doing what you love to do and dictate, delegate out the rest and outsource it. And, you know, when I started getting out of my own way and just focusing on these skills and well, or the the the tasks that I enjoy doing, which by the way is the marketing. It’s still my job and I enjoy keeping the marketing machine turned on that we talked about earlier, having all those seller leads coming in. And then the rest of the team takes care of the business.
Jay Conner [00:36:31]:
As a result, I’m working in the business for less than 10 hours per week. So success is you running it and not letting it run you.
Ed Mathews [00:36:41]:
Absolutely. Because if you’re if you are, you just bought yourself a job, and that’s not what entrepreneurship’s all about. Right? So, Jay, when, when you’re not talking about real estate and saving the world from, a lack of funding for real real estate deals, what else do you like to do? How do you spend your time?
Jay Conner [00:36:58]:
Writing music, and playing piano in our living room. Carol Joy and I, in fact, we’re working on 3 songs right now that we’re writing. We write music and songs, for the church. We do secular songs as well. And so music is a big part of my and Carol Joy’s life. Back during COVID, when COVID first came along, we went live on Facebook live streaming every Monday night at 7:30, and we played name that tune. And Christmas that year, we had 1800 people show up on Facebook live stream to play names that tune all organically. We have a lot of fun.
Ed Mathews [00:37:36]:
That’s a lot of fun. So I’m sorry I missed you on COVID, but, hopefully, there are videos of it somewhere.
Jay Conner [00:37:40]:
Oh, there are. There are a lot of them on my Facebook page. There you go.
Ed Mathews [00:37:44]:
Alright. Well, Jay, I know you dropped your, website earlier, but if people wanna get in touch and learn more about you or your programs or your books, or anything else you’re doing, what’s the best way to get ahold of you?
Jay Conner [00:37:55]:
Sure. So the main, website, www.JayConner.com, contact information, resources, etcetera, jayconner.com. You can contact us there. And, again, you can pick up the book at www.JayConner.com/Book.
Ed Mathews [00:38:11]:
Well, Jay Conner, the Private Money Authority, thank you, sir. It’s good to see you, and, I am so glad you came into my life because I’ve learned a ton from you. And just in the 32 minutes we’ve been talking, I learned even more. I’ve filled 2 pages of note notebook pages just sitting here, and you and I have talked, you know, a bunch of times before. So, every every day, every time we talk, it’s something new, and I appreciate it, and I appreciate you. Thank you.
Jay Conner [00:38:35]:
Ed, thank you so much for having me come along. God bless you.
Ed Mathews [00:38:38]:
This has been the Real Estate Underground podcast. Thank you so much for listening. Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us grow. Until next time. Happy investing.