170 – How To Create A Virtual Turn-Key Property with Antoine Martel

Synopsis

Antoine has been a real estate investor for 6 years. He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and got interested in real estate after attending a seminar on flipping. Following that, he decided to do everything to figure out how to make real estate work for him so that he won’t have to look for a job after graduation. In this episode, Antoine reveals what is needed to start a turnkey property business.

Key points

Antoine attended networking events and learned about the BRRRR strategy being used out-of-state. He found a house in Memphis, Tennessee which he bought for $35,000 and renovated for $5,000. Afterward, he did a cash-out refinance for properties worth $55,000-60,000.

He kept doing that until people approached him wanting to invest out-of-state also. To help them get started, he offered to sell his properties that have yet to be refinanced. That is what started his turnkey business of buying a property, rehabbing it, renting it out through a property management company, and then selling it.

That business has been scaled up since then. Last year, he did 85 homes and expects to do 120 homes this year.

Choosing Memphis

Antoine listened to real estate podcasts and learned the metrics he should be looking for when finding areas to invest in. Memphis was pretty much unknown back then, but he found out there were plans for it. Because of that, Memphis ticked all the right boxes for a worthwhile investment.

Eventually, Antoine started getting offers to buy apartment buildings and has shifted his business to that. Rather than sell the apartments, he’s holding onto them. Although, he’s willing to consider selling them turnkey later. But, he still does the single-family turnkey stuff in Cleveland.

Building A Team From Scratch

Antoine cold-called property managers and realtors and explained what he wanted to do and how much money he had. Property management companies have their own agents that would be interested in helping you find a property to buy so that they can manage it for you later. A lot of them also know contractors that can do repairs or renovations, which will be an advantage.

If he were to do it again, he would just cold-call all the property management companies and figure out which one fits him best and scale with them.

Another way would be to make a visit to their offices. But Antoine thinks what’s important is finding someone that sees the value of partnering up and growing with you.

When it comes to vetting them, it’s best to start with small, light projects to check if the company can deliver the results while following the budget. Then you can just step up from there.

Deal Sourcing

Antoine sources 50% of his deals from multiple-listing services, 25% from wholesalers, and 25% from off-market listings. He also uses a system a friend of his developed that texts and cold-calls to find off-market deals.

Initially, Antoine used his own money, but when he needed more capital, he would raise money from private investors either through getting a loan or entering into a joint venture.

Difficulties In The Business

With what’s happening right now, people are warier of investing and think that real estate is going to crash. Antoine doesn’t believe that will happen, and we just need to get through this.

Rent collections are at 95-100%, so Antoine plans to collect data that he could share with people to reassure them and get them to start buying turnkeys again.

Selling Turnkey Properties

When it comes to finding customers, Antoine uses marketing either through their podcast and social media pages, through attending BiggerPocket events, or giving presentations.

He likes to maintain their brand image and treats customers like family. Because of this, his repurchase rate is at 80%. And 80% of his new clients come from referrals.

The turnkey properties he sells are bought at their appraised value, so his customers get a fair market deal and aren’t paying a premium.

The clients he gets are typically those who want to invest in real estate with $20,000 or more saved up but lack the time because they have full-time jobs. They are usually around 30-45 years of age and probably have a family, so they cannot travel that much.

Starting Your Turnkey Property Business

The first step is to determine the location where you want to buy.

Then you need to build your team. Cold-call a lot of property management companies to find the right one.

Test the property management company you chose to vet them.

Marketing is the next thing. It can be hard to get people to trust you when you don’t have experience. Antoine started first by investing with his family then later on telling his friends about what he’s doing. Then he made his own site and built his entire sales processes such as getting lenders, insurance companies, property management companies, and buyers.

Scaling up is the next thing. Raising capital is another ball game as most people won’t have a lot of money lying around. It takes some skill, but the idea is to become like an eBay of turnkey properties.

Last Tips

The challenge faced by a lot of people wanting to invest in real estate is getting started.

If you want to start, start by writing down all your resources, money, time, etc.

Then look at all the real estate investment strategies and figure out which makes more sense for you to start today.

Apply one of those strategies. Don’t worry because it is going to help you reach your bigger goals later.

Resources

References

• BRRRR Strategy
• Multiple Listing Service

More from our guest

• You can connect with Antoine on his Instagram
• If you’re interested in investing in turnkey properties, visit his website.