The #1 Mistake Real Estate Beginners Make (& How to Fix It) » REI in Your Car » 1409

If I had to start over from scratch in real estate, I’d focus on one thing: becoming a deal finder. That’s the most important skill you can develop in this business. We are not deal creators; we are deal finders. Too many beginners waste time trying to force bad deals to work instead of finding great ones that already make sense. In this episode, I share exactly what I’d do differently if I had to rebuild from zero and what I believe every investor should master to build a sustainable business. It all comes down to three things: marketing, talking to sellers, and making offers. These simple skills are what drive consistent income and long-term success. Forget the distractions like logos, websites, or chasing the newest strategy. Focus on actions that move the needle. If you can learn to find good deals, build real connections, and make offers every day, you’ll never have to worry about where your next deal or dollar comes from again.What’s Inside:—The difference between a deal creator and a deal finder—Why marketing is the real business you’re in—How to master talking to sellers and making offers—The three daily habits that keep revenue in first position

If you’ve ever worried about overpaying for a property or getting stuck with a bad deal, I get it—I’ve been there. One of the biggest fears new land investors have is not knowing how to value a piece of land. What if you can’t find comps? What if it’s landlocked or has zoning restrictions or wetlands you didn’t catch? In this episode, I’ll walk you through how simple it actually is to evaluate vacant land, find comps, and know exactly what to offer.I break down my entire process for determining land value using free tools like Zillow, Redfin, and Google Maps, plus a few powerful paid ones like Regrid, Land Portal, and Prycd. You’ll see how I find comps, analyze sold and active listings, and use price-per-acre averages to get a solid ballpark value—without getting stuck in analysis paralysis.You’ll also learn why being a conservative buyer protects your profit margins, why data matters more than emotion, and how to use my free Zillow Chrome Extension to scrape comps and instantly calculate offers. Whether you’re new to flipping land or refining your process, this walkthrough will show you exactly how to simplify valuations and make confident, profitable offers every time.What’s Inside:—How to find accurate land comps using Zillow, Redfin, and Land Portal—Why price-per-acre is the simplest way to value vacant land—Joe’s proven formula for making offers (40–50% of resale value)—The key due diligence checks every investor should follow

The market is shifting as prices drop, sellers get more motivated, and investors start backing out. But that’s great news if you stay in the game. When competition drops, response rates go up, and that’s exactly what I’m seeing with my students and clients.Take Janet, one of my apprentices. She made $5,400 on a land deal using a simple “urgent buyer” letter she wrote on a yellow legal pad. She’s got several more in the works. Another client just closed a $13,000 profit on a property that was 95% wetlands. The key is simple: keep marketing, talk to sellers every day, make offers, and follow up.If you’re new, don’t sit on the sidelines. Partner with someone already doing deals, bring them leads, and split the profits. The market rewards those who take action.What’s Inside:—Why this cooling market is full of opportunity—The “urgent buyer” letter that works—Partnering with investors to close deals fast

I’ve been looking forward to this conversation for a long time. Every time I used to search iTunes for real estate investing podcasts, one name always came up at the top: Dustin Heiner. Dustin has built a life that many of us dream of. He walked away from his job at just 37 years old and now calls himself “successfully unemployed.” He spends his days with his family, traveling, and teaching others how to create financial freedom with real estate.What I love about Dustin’s story is how relatable it is. He didn’t start with hundreds of doors or big apartment complexes. He started small, made mistakes, and learned how to do things the right way. Getting laid off was his turning point—it pushed him to build a portfolio that could provide real passive income. Now with over 30 properties, Dustin shows people how to buy the right rentals, build a business around them, and create consistent cash flow month after month.If you’ve ever wondered whether single-family rentals can actually free you from your job, this episode will encourage you. Dustin’s story proves that when you buy right, manage right, and focus on cash flow, you can build wealth and freedom faster than you think.What’s Inside:—The story of how Dustin’s layoff pushed him into real estate full-time—Why cash flow beats appreciation every time—The right way to work with property managers and build a rental business—How Dustin’s daughter bought her first rental at just 16 years old

One of the things I love most about land investing is how simple it really is. We are not dealing with contractors, tenants, or complicated rehabs. It is just dirt, and people are happy to sell it cheap because they are not emotionally attached to it. That means you can step in, buy low, sell a little higher, and keep the process moving quickly. In this episode, I am pulling back the curtain on how to consistently find land deals that are both cheap and fast to sell.The truth is, success in this business comes down to four simple rules: always be marketing, talk to sellers, make lots of offers, and follow up. Most beginners overcomplicate things, but I will show you how to keep it simple and set up systems so your marketing works for you even when you are not thinking about it. When leads are flowing in every day, you do not have to chase bad deals. You can cherry-pick the good ones and keep your pipeline full.I also walk you through how to choose the best states, counties, and zip codes to focus on. The tools I share will show you where buyers are already active so you can target the markets with the most demand and move your deals faster. Whether you’re brand new to land or you’ve been thinking about jumping in, this is where you’ll see just how simple it can be to build a business around flipping dirt.What’s Inside:—Why consistency in marketing beats everything else—The four rules to never run out of deals—How to choose the best states, counties, and zip codes for land investing—Tools that make finding buyers and sellers almost effortless

One of the biggest traps in real estate is chasing shiny objects. It is tempting to look at bigger deals or new strategies and think they will get you further ahead. The problem is, when you stop doing what is already working, your pipeline dries up and you lose momentum. I have seen it happen to students and even to myself over the years.The truth is, focus will make you rich. Every day you need to ask: what is my fastest path to cash? The answer usually comes back to the basics: marketing, talking to sellers, making offers, and following up. Those base hits may not seem flashy, but they stack up and keep the revenue flowing.I also talk about the danger of scaling too fast. Without simple systems in place, complexity kills momentum and creates confusion. Keep things clear, consistent, and simple until they run without you. That is when you can add bigger deals or new strategies.Stay focused, protect your momentum, and do not let distractions steal your success.What’s Inside:—Focus vs. shiny object syndrome—Fastest path to cash explained—Quick nickels vs. slow dimes—Why simple systems scale best

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the fastest way to make money in real estate is to sell buyers what they already want instead of trying to convince them to take what you’ve got. That’s the foundation of reverse wholesaling, and once I learned it years ago, everything changed for me.Here’s the truth: most wholesalers are running around chasing deals and then scrambling to find someone to buy them. That’s backwards. If you know your buyers, know the areas they’re buying in, and know their criteria, then your deals are practically pre-sold. You’ll close faster, you’ll negotiate stronger with sellers, you’ll lower your risk, and you’ll build long-term relationships with repeat buyers who trust you.In this episode, I walk you through a recent land deal where we had it under contract for $215K, sold it for $260K, and generated a $45K profit just by using this exact strategy. And here’s the kicker…we didn’t even have to list it. We just called the realtors who had recently sold land in that same area, offered them a generous commission, and within a few phone calls we had a buyer lined up. This isn’t theory; this is exactly how we’re doing deals right now.What’s Inside:—Reasons why finding buyers first makes wholesaling easier and more profitable—How to work with realtors to bring you buyers instead of just listing your properties—The three different ways we close wholesale deals: assignment, double close, or taking it down—How to create repeat buyers who come back for more deals regardless of your assignment fee

I want to show you some of the best AI tools I’ve been using to flip land. These tools are making me money, saving me time, and helping me do deals faster than ever. None of this is theory. These are things I use in my own business every day.One of my favorites is FreedomSoft’s ZipFinder. It lets me drill down into counties and zip codes so I can quickly find the best areas to target. Instead of guessing where to send offers, I can get super specific and focus only on the hot spots. That one tool alone has saved me thousands of wasted mailers.Another big one is Land Portal. This site does slope analysis, floodplain checks, and pulls comps in less than a minute. Normally you’d have to jump into five different places to get all that info. With Land Portal, it’s right there in one report. I can’t tell you how much time that’s saved me when I’m evaluating deals.I also talk about other tools I use and a simple browser extension that helps me comp land in seconds. It’s so quick that I can analyze a property, make a decision, and send an offer without slowing down. When you’re in this business, speed matters. The faster you can evaluate and make an offer, the more deals you’ll lock up.AI isn’t replacing what we do. It’s just giving us leverage. It’s like having a virtual team working in the background so you can focus on talking to sellers, making offers, and closing deals. That’s where the money is.If you want to flip land and make money faster, these tools will give you an edge. They’ve changed the way I work, and I think they’ll do the same for you.What’s Inside:—How I use FreedomSoft’s ZipFinder to target the right markets—Why Land Portal makes deal evaluation faster and more accurate—A quick comping tool that lets me analyze land in seconds—How other AI tools help cut out busy work so I can focus on making offers

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed trying to figure out what a piece of land is really worth, I get it. I used to spend hours digging through listings, comparing sold prices, calculating averages, and second-guessing my numbers. Then I built a tool that lets me comp land in under 60 seconds, and it has completely changed the way I make offers.In this episode, I walk you through my exact process for finding accurate comps quickly, so you can make solid offers without relying too much on pricing algorithms. I share why those tools can be helpful but will only get you about 50 to 75 percent of the way there. You still need to do your own research. We’ll go step-by-step using free resources like Zillow, plus my new Chrome extension that scrapes and calculates comps in seconds.We’ll cover how to avoid overpaying, make conservative offers that still get accepted, and position your properties to sell faster than the competition. I also show you how to negotiate with sellers, follow up for more deals, and use active and sold comps to make confident decisions. By the end, you’ll see how easy it is to turn this into a repeatable process that works anywhere.What’s Inside:—Why pricing tools alone are not enough for accurate land comps—Step-by-step method to comp properties using Zillow and my free Chrome extension—How to decide your offer price using active and sold comps—Negotiation tips and follow-up strategies to close more deals

If you’re doing land deals or even thinking about getting into the land game, you’ve got to hear this one. I brought Ron Apke onto the podcast. He’s one of the co-founders of Land Portal and also a seasoned land investor doing big deals himself. What he and his team have built is absolutely nuts. I’ve been using Land Portal every single day in my own business and coaching, and it’s quickly become my go-to tool for market selection, property filtering, comps, and building highly targeted seller lists.We walked through how Land Portal helps you find the hottest counties for land flips, break down data like days on market, price per acre, absorption rates, and even slope and wetlands, all with just a few clicks. You can go from a 3,500 property list down to 300 laser-targeted parcels with road access, no wetlands, no flood zones, and at least 50 percent buildable acreage. It’s a game changer for people with limited marketing budgets who don’t want to waste time and money chasing junk leads.The AI features they’ve added are wild. Land Portal analyzes satellite imagery to determine whether a property is truly vacant, what kind of structure (if any) is on it, and whether it has access. We even looked at detailed comp reports, soil analysis, and slope data, all automated. I honestly believe this is the best tool on the market right now for land investors. If you’re serious about scaling your business, this is what you need in your toolbox.What’s Inside:—How to filter out landlocked, unbuildable, or junk properties before spending a dime on marketing—Using AI to find the most profitable land in the hottest counties—Why buildability and slope analysis matter more than price alone—The secret to saving thousands on direct mail by targeting only the best sellers