Zachary is a real estate investor and son in law of Chris Prefontaine, who we had on the show back on episode 116. In this episode, Zach will tell us how to do a massive amount of deals at a young age as well as go over the scripts to use when talking to sellers on the phone.
Zachary used to be a bartender and personal trainer. When he was 24 years old, he decided he wanted something better, so he approached his father-in-law about going into real estate. He started making outbound calls to get his feet wet while still doing his job. After 6 months, he joined the family business. He has since completed over 100 deals after working hard for 3 years.
Zachary had to start at the bottom, making outbound calls for 50-60 hours a week so the business can keep making 4-5 deals a month. Then as he mastered his script, he went to making follow-up calls to going to appointments, and eventually, to negotiating the deals and getting the property under contract.
While Zachary initially started with a script given to him, he learned to tweak the script here and there as he figured out what worked and what did not. All the time he spent making outbound calls gave him the chance to experiment and change his scripts.
The fear of rejection or call reluctance is something everyone has. But Zachary prefers to do the hard things first thing in the morning. He wants his schedule to set him up for success.
He believes that if you attach your reasons for making those calls and the benefits you can get, you won’t allow that fear to weigh you down.
The best time of the day for making calls tends to be in the afternoon from 4 pm-7 pm towards the end of the week. Saturdays between 10 am and 1 pm is good too.
But for those starting out and dealing with call reluctance, the best time of the day won’t matter if you’re not making those calls. So set yourself up for success by making those calls in the morning.
A proper introduction, confirmation that you’re talking to the right person, and getting permission to ask certain questions are three important parts of a call.
People are less likely to get annoyed by being asked too many questions when you set the guideline and tone for who you are, making sure who you’re talking to, and getting the permission as it confirms that they’re open to answering the questions.
Zachary primarily works on single-family homes. They buy property either through a lease-purchase, owner financing, or buy a property subject to the existing loan.
They then sell the properties they bought to people who need more time before they’re able to get financing.
What they do is called a sandwich lease, where you have the seller, the investor, and the buyer. The investor is able to tie up the property for a certain price with the seller then sells it for a higher price with the buyer.
The advantage for the investor is that you get three paydays. The first one is the non-refundable deposit from the buyer. The second one is the spread or the difference between what you have to pay the seller or mortgage lender every month and what you can collect from the buyer. The third one is when the buyer finally gets financing and cashouts.
It’s a passive income stream without the investor needing to put out capital.
The seller wants to net the most profit. They get to avoid paying commission, and they can negotiate not to pay the closing costs. If they were to sell via a realtor, they’d have to pay a 5% realtor commission and 1-2% closing costs. If they agreed to sell below their asking price, then they’d net less.
It’s also unrealistic for people to expect to get 100% of their asking price in cash.
Even if the seller wants to sell for entirely in cash, it still comes down to their motivation and what it is they really need. As an investor, you can provide the solution to their needs and convince them to sell on terms.
There’s a significant change in profit if they are willing to wait. If a seller can’t wait to get their money then they’ll have to dump their price.
Financial stability and the ability to wait are two factors that can influence their decision.
Those who are looking for debt relief or mortgage relief might also be willing to sell on terms.
As an investor, you benefit from the significant pay down every month for the long-term. Even if the market changes, you only owe the seller the equity lock-in at the beginning, and you don’t have to cash out until several years.
Zachary’s day to day involves being on the trenches for their buy and sell real estate company and being with their students, helping them with their outbound calls and negotiations.
He does one-to-one coaching calls, speaking with sellers, and deal negotiations for their associates. They do 12-15 deals around the country per month.
A lot of new associates come from the position of being an employee, which has a different mindset from being an entrepreneur. You’d have to learn a lot of new skills to eventually make that jump.
One of those skills is time blocking because it lets you set enough time for your priorities
Other than not being equipped with entrepreneurial skills, expectations also matter since you won’t be getting a deal tomorrow. You’d have to put in the work first and do those outbound calls.
Mindset, personal development, and morning routines are common themes Zachary saw among the successful investors he talked to in his podcast.
It’s important to have a morning routine to set up your day in a correct way.
A good morning routine is to start in the offense rather than defense. This means you’re starting the day with gratitude and setting yourself up to win for the day, which could include planning, visioning, working out, and things that are about taking care of yourself.
The opposite side would be to start out answering emails. This puts you in reaction mode for the rest of the day, and you won’t get your mindset right.
As you grow, you shouldn’t let things get into your priorities that aren’t moving you towards your goals.
Going on offense first means that you accomplish something early on and it allows you to keep forward.
As for Zachary, he avoids getting surrounded by negativity from the people he works with.
Zachary uses social media more as an educational process rather than as a lead generator.
He feels they can impact a lot more people if they understand the benefits of what they offer.
Social media is good for educating your prospects and bringing familiarity.
Testimonials are enough to let people know that you’re legitimate and you’re trying to help people.
If you cover the bases, if you understand how you can truly help someone, then how old you are doesn’t really matter. Younger and younger people are joining the industry and are able to do deals because they’re able to provide solutions.
We only get one life, so if you feel real estate is the way to get you the life you want, go for it.
Follow the right steps. Ask yourself a couple of questions.
Which niche do you want to be involved in?
Who is out there who is doing well, who can be your mentor?
Do your due diligence. Find the place where you belong and a person you can follow.
Go to YouTube, read some books, or go to your local chamber of commerce. There are many amazing entrepreneurs near you that you probably don’t even know about.
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