Gabe Menescal started his real estate journey in 2019 by knocking on pre-foreclosure doors. In 2022, he acquired properties that produced over $4 MM in profit for Yellowbird Home Buyers. Gabe recently branched out on his own and has a team of 5 people who are making a major impact in the Jacksonville market.
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All right, everyone. Welcome to the Real Estate Game Changer Show. I'm your host, Mike McKay, based in the Jacksonville, Florida market for anyone else who's in Jacksonville or thinking about getting in the Jacksonville market, feel free to reach out to me. We are still constantly buying deals in Jacksonville. Each and every week we do this show with people who are changing the game of real estate all over the country. This week on the show we have a local friend of mine in the Jacksonville market, Gabe Meniscal. So Gabe, welcome to the show.
Gabe: 0:27Appreciate you having me. Thanks so much. I'm excited to.
Mike2: 0:30Well, let's kick it off. So how did you get started in the real estate business?
Gabe: 0:34How I got started. I actually came across just wholesaling on some Facebook ad long time ago. This was like right out of college. And then I clicked it paid 500 bucks for some course, and I was like, this is it. This is what I'm doing. And then. A couple months go by or finished the chorus and I was like, wait a minute. I need to do something now. I can't just indulgence information and not do anything about it. So, long story short, I went to a couple of networking events just trying to get my feet wet in it. And I remember obtaining a divorce list, trying to call a bunch of people, like straight cold calls on my cell phone. I didn't have any, so I was, tried to go as cheap as possible, so I was just hand dialing everything. I paid 80 bucks for this list and I thought it was the most expensive thing on planet Earth. And I was like, I gotta make something work. So I got like one deal under contract, didn't know what I was doing. Completely fell through. This was in Tampa when I was in Tampa. And then, Jacksonville, I ended up coming some networking events in Jacksonville. Got hooked up with Kyle and Pat and Steve and pretty much was like, Hey, I don't know what I'm doing. I wanna do this and I'll pretty much do it for free. I just need find a way to pay my bills, but we'll do it. So Pat was just like, all right, well here's a pre foreclosure list. So they handed me a list and I was cold calling again and I actually ended up getting one under contract within a few. So then they were able to see that I was kind of serious about it. And what I was doing was I was still in Tampa, but I was coming on the weekends sometimes. So I would come door, knock these pre foreclosure houses on the weekends here in Jacksonville, and then call'em during the week when I was in Tampa. Cause I didn't know anything about real estate. So, the story kind of wrote itself after that, I got hooked up with them and they showed me the ropes kind of with everything and I just, Knocking on a bunch of doors and obviously they were super busy doing their own thing, and weren't always there, but they were there to help. But it was just kind of rubber meets the road. Feed Oh, was fed to the wolves for sure, but I learned so much. And I did that for a long time. I want to say it was nine to 12 months, just straight knocking on doors, trying to get people to sell. People that are in pre foreclosure specifically. That's all I focused. And then after that started getting a couple deals under my belt, and then started going on some marketing appointments. Started having some of my own stuff come in and start building that foundation. It got a lot easier after that, but yeah that's how I got started knocking on a bunch of damn doors.
Mike2: 2:46Cool. And for the people who don't know, like Pats who aren't in Jacksonville, Ray, maybe they don't know Pat, Steven, Kyle, R So what were they kind of doing at the time when you joined
Gabe: 2:54Yeah. So what they were doing, it was Kyle bidding on just the foreclosure auctions. So I would try to get to those houses before I went to auction. People that were late on their mortgage payments, and then. Pat had some of his own marketing that he was doing going out, and then Steve as well was more of a silent partner in the whole operation, but he was there. And that was kind of, I noticed where I was at, it was like, it was a massive opportunity here. And I just decided to roll with the punches.
Mike2: 3:18And when you were knocking on those doors initially, for those pre foreclosures, what was your strategy when they opened that door?
Gabe: 3:24The first couple months, I didn't really have one. And I remember them telling me, just gauge interest and then don't worry about the rest. And I remember when I finally would get interest, I'm like, Well now what? And I was completely vomiting and then it was slash slowly started refining the skills. But really the value add that I was trying to tell them was, Hey, you know, your house is scheduled for an auction in a couple weeks, and the value add that we give is, Hey, we can give you time in the house. Get you set up in a nice place and we can help you transition to something new. We'll pay off your delinquent loan payments, get your peace of mind, and you have equity in the home. So yeah, cuz what happens is if they don't figure it out before that auction date, they get evicted typically whoever buys it, they'll evict typically within the first week or two. So that was kind of the value proposition that I would come up to them with. And it was a relentless type of follow up. Meaning you might talk to yourself via text message, calls a good seven to eight times before you get a response from these people. And it was calling relatives, reaching out on Facebook. I'm talking about everything. You're knocking on neighbor's doors. So I was doing everything I could just to figure out what was the situation with that specific property.
Mike2: 4:29Gotcha. Cool. So then from there you said you started going on marketing appointments. What do you mean by that?
Gabe: 4:34Yeah, so, Yellowbird, who I was with at the time, they had their own kind of marketing operation as well. And they started sending me on some of the appointments, the overflow appointments, my first week on appointments. There was seven that week and I had locked up five under contract. So it was like the first week of doing it, going on these, you know, motivated seller ones. I, I hit the ground running, but this is after a year and a half of being around everyone that's doing it right. It's just a different type of sale cuz they're not in pre, pre foreclosure situation. So yeah, Cru crushed it the first week, got on this high and then I was like, man, I didn't get five this week. I got three. I'm pissed, and just kept crushing it and then the every month kept going on different marketing appointments and it went, obviously it went very well.
Mike2: 5:18Yeah. And How many deals close last year?
Gabe: 5:20I think it was a little over 85. It was like 87 or 89 or something like that. Yeah. It was like a couple before December. You know, it goes, oh, we're gonna wait till the new year to close on it and all that stuff.
Mike2: 5:31So, I mean, that's a lot of volume for one person to do. So, what did you change from when you started, you know, just knocking on doors to that point in terms of like sales or anything else in order to like be able to do that many deals in a year.
Gabe: 5:46I wanna say a lot of it was relationship based deals as well. It was a mix of the grind stuff, the outbound going, knocking on doors, cold calling, some of that. It was some of the marketing deals already. Also had some texting on the side that I would do. So it was a good mix of that, but mainly I would attribute it to the relationships that I've built. It was really hard for me in the beginning to bring myself to go to networking events and, you know, meet people. But the minute I started doing that, I didn't see the results until probably about a year afterwards. The networking is a type of thing that doesn't have a direct ROI right away.You're not gonna go to a networking event and stumble upon a deal and the minute you get there and you guys are gonna be best friends, You're gonna make 40,$50,000, which just doesn't work that way. So I would say definitely this last year was a lot more focused on relationships, helping other people. And it comes back tenfold.
Mike2: 6:36Yeah. So when you say relationships, is that like wholesalers, agents? I mean, who are you building these relationships with? Who are bringing you deal?
Gabe: 6:43Both honestly. Also holding the PPOD sessions helped a lot as well. But a lot of it was, I would say 50 50. 50% wholesaler. 50% agents.
Mike2: 6:51And what was your value add generally to people who were like, why did they bring you the deal versus, the million other investors in Jacksonville?
Gabe: 7:00Yep. So I mean, being where I was at with Yellowbird, their value add is, you know, we're the people that can close quick in a matter of a day if he need us to, or the more creative stuff, if a tenant's gonna occupy it after closing, stuff like that. Not that traditional investor that takes out hard money, whatever it might be. They can't get as creative as Yellowbird can. So that was the value prop. It's like, Hey, all your funky deals, bring'em to me. We'll make something work. Or we'll close it quick. And honestly, we just told'em, it's like it'll be the easiest real estate transaction you've had. We do a lot of things on handshake basis, and we've say, done well because we do what we say, what we're gonna do. We'd say We're gonna close on it, we'll close on it. So, that's worked out pretty well.
Mike2: 7:38And talk about for people who aren't in Jacksonville, that Peapod group you put together and what that is.
Gabe: 7:43Yeah. So Peapod stands for progress or, progress through accountability, execution and accountability. And what it is, it's a 12 week wholesaling bootcamp. We teach people the very basics of just wholesaling real estate, and it's completely free I don't charge anything, but all I ask is it's extreme accountability and I teach'em, how to get the texting set up, a lot of outbound stuff. I teach'em door knocking, the whole nine yards. So the only thing is if you don't hit your numbers, you're out. So just for you to have an idea, we started with around 28 people were interested. We obviously don't pick everyone. We do a personality testing on them. And we stumbled. 12. So 12 joined, 12 said they were doing it, and then we ended up with around four people on the first one. Second one we ended up with about five. So people drop like flies and it's funny, it's always around the six week mark where people drop out. really strange. Always around six weeks is what I noticed. And people that have stuck through the end of the class, they'll tell you like, yeah, right around week six, it's like people start dropping like flies. It's the weirdest thing. But you know, people want to pay 50,$60,000 for fortune builders classes or all these mentorships, and it's like you have something that's free. The only catches any deals you do during that 12 week time period. It just comes through us. We'll teach you everything, show you how the flips go, and you'll get paid on it. So it's very simple. I don't overcomplicate it, but it's worked out super well and it's cool to see people thrive after that and doing what they're doing now.
Mike2: 9:11Yeah, and a lot of those people end up being, you know, from my understanding, like relationships that you hang onto after and you end up selling you deals, wholesaling you deals later, or JV deals with you.
Gabe: 9:21All the time, and they're always asking, they're like, Hey, what did you think about this? Or Can you gimme a number on this, property? Or How would you handle this? We're heavy into the sales piece of it too. We teach'EM sales in the class, and we do a lot of live lead calling. So they come in with leads. I was like, Hey, we're gonna call them together. Every time. Every single. Yeah. So we'll have an informational session, and then we'll have our live lead calls. Live lead rounds. Everyone goes around in the whole room and you call one person, you didn't answer the next person. So, people learn a lot that way. More hands on.
Mike2: 9:48Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome, man. And let's talk a little bit about that. Like obviously you have a very good sales process and sales skills to close 85. Or whatever it is, 80 something deals in a calendar year. So what is your sales process like?
Gabe: 10:03the process, I mean, I just try to establish the, obviously the basic framework. And I think just setting proper expectations from the jump is the number one thing, on setting expectations on how the encounter will go. But my process is just to talk as little as possible. Gather as much information as possible and then consult them down whatever route I think would best be fit for them. I mean, you see it all the time. People try to shove can be what they need. Why don't you try listening for a second first? So I take it from more of a consultative point of view. Some people are very aggressive and just it works out for them that way. Other people are a little too passive on some stuff. But I like to say I'm a good mix of both. But yeah, it's just more being more consultative than anything.
Mike2: 10:42Yeah, A and you kind of have a unique model. Because you guys also will list stuff. You'll do different things. So talk a little bit about how that approach might be a little different to someone who's only coming in with only a cash option.
Gabe: 10:56Yep. So I mean, what I say, right, it's, going back to that framework, we go, okay, condition, timeline, and then price. And obviously you'll find out, uncover their motivation. But if I can get. Four things right there. I'll know how to kind of guide'em down whichever route. And what that conversation looks like is like, hey we offer a variety of different routes when it comes to selling a house or services. When it comes to selling a house, it's not a one size fits all thing. Everyone's situation's a little different, right? So depending on the condition of the house, right? If it's more turnkey, they've done a lot of work. And they don't want to deal with showings. We can be like, well, look, we can consolidate some showings. What matters is who you work with. The agent matters, all that type of stuff. So, it really, like I said, it just depends but we try to be consultant. We say, we can list the house for you as well. And I tell them when I first walk through the door, Hey, look, if your goal is to net the absolute most money for this house It's gonna be listing this property on the market. Letting us list it for you on the market. If your goal is to have the easiest real estate transaction you've ever had it's gonna be going kind of that cash route, but to be upfront and honest, you leave a little bit of money on the table and they're like, they always wanna know, well, how much money. You'll get some sellers that are like, well I don't want to give it away, but I also want the most for it. It's like something like that, people are like, I don't wanna show it, but I want the most for it. I don't wanna show the property, but I want the most money for the property. It's like, then it's your job to kind of educate them on the selling process and walk em through it. Hey, look, if you listed for this is what you walk away. Right. If you were to do the repairs yourself, this is what it looks like. And really just coaching'em up on the whole thing.
Mike2: 12:29Yeah. So how do you handle that? That person what's next when they say, Hey, I don't want to do a lot of showings, but I also want the most amount of money for it, and I don't want to do any repairs. What's your approach next from that point? Because everyone wants the perfect scenario.
Gabe: 12:42That's what I say. I was like, you have price, convenience, and your timeline. You can only pick two out of the three. Don't, you can't pick all three. So talk to me, what are you looking to do? Usually I can kind of gauge, I say you have to pick two. I'll literally sometimes even draw out a triangle, time, price, convenience, and say, look, pick two of these, and then we can figure out what's what. You can't have all three. Because if they pick, price and convenience, we know that we can probably shop around their offers or their house to a few other hedge funds, stuff like that. See if they're able to pay a little bit higher of a price, because you can't pick time. You told me, Hey, I have time. I'm not pressed on time so I can gauge that way.
Mike2: 13:18Got it. So that's like a kind of unique service that you offer. Which is where you'll shop it out to some other investors off market. So what are like the different routes that you have? Options? You have, obviously there's cash.
Gabe: 13:29Yeah. There's our guaranteed cash offer that we do, it's us. we're gonna close on it. It's our cash offer. Kind of have an off market agreement route. So what that is you commit to us for around two weeks, and that's where we'll shop your house around to to several different traditional buyers, and also hedge funds and then we'll say, Hey, look, all we do is we charge a 6% convenience fee for putting this transaction. So 6% on a house. I mean, it's a pretty decent size commission check. And honestly, it's bigger than some people's assignment fee, average assignment fee sometimes. So why not take that? Right. And then we offer the full listing route.
Mike2: 13:59Got it. How often do people pick option number two?
Gabe: 14:02A lot. Because it's a no risk to them. It's a win. Best case scenario, they get the number that they're looking for worst case scenario, they're just right back to where they started today, is what I tell them. It's two weeks. You say you're not pressed on time, so why not? And it's worked out very well.
Mike2: 14:16Interesting. Even recently with all the hedge funds that have kind of pulled back, you're still having good success
Gabe: 14:21yep. We do. They're still funds that are buying and recently they've came in, A lot better than before, but we've worked with Open Door and stuff like that in the past. But that's also why I throw in like conventional buyers too.
Mike2: 14:32So let's talk about some of the cash transactions that you do. Cause I know you've done like a lot of those, and those are usually kind of the distressed seller. Let's say you kind of figure out that might be the best route for them based on the questions you've asked. What are you doing next in that sales process?
Gabe: 14:47I'm trying to get them to touch on their pain point a little bit, obviously. And what I do when I go back to setting expectations, At the initial introductory phase, I try to develop some sort of scarcity to it. Cuz I don't wanna be a commodity, I don't wanna be shopped thrown. I know there's multiple people that do what we do. So when I talk to'em, I'm say, yeah, have you been aware with what's, you know, what? Tell me about the neighborhood. Has houses been selling? I try to get them to talk about current real estate conditions and market trends and everything like. And then I kind of play into, I'm like, yeah, it's up and down. Like we're getting crushed on some stuff. And sometimes I'll probably make an offer and it might change the next day. I just never know what's gonna happen. Things are crazy. And it's not directed towards them because you're not even talking about price. You're just putting that out there and saying, Hey, look, like prices might change tomorrow. Like, I don't even know that the market's crazy. So when you do go to negotiate and talk about price with them and it's gonna put a little bit of a push on them to get them to make some sort of decision. Not just be like, oh, I have to think about it. Or, oh, I got seven other people coming after you. It's like I said in the beginning that's fine. You have to think about it. Like I said in the beginning, it's up in the air. And it could change. I'm not saying it will, but feel free to gimme a call or something like that. Another thing that's worked out very well is when I say I was teaching it today in sales training, this is a situation where they say they have a lot of investors coming through. Another thing that we typically say is, Hey, look, We're all paying the same. We're all around the same. We pay our contractors the same. We're all shooting for the same margins. You can get a bunch of offers in here. We're all gonna be around the same price and anybody can be at anybody buy a couple thousand bucks. Is there a number that kind of gets it done for you? Because once you put it in their head, it's like, wait, yeah, they all do the same thing. They all probably shoot to make the same amount of money. They've all probably pay the same, their contractors the same. They're gonna pay the same in repairs, right? So it's like what matters is who you wanna work. So if prices are all the same, what's gonna happen? What can we do differently?
Mike2: 16:31Right. Yeah, no that makes a lot of sense. What other tactics are you using on your sales appointments to really get people to give you that decision because it is oftentimes a big thing where a lot of people just keep telling you they wanna think about it and that's time kills all deals. How do you avoid that?
Gabe: 16:47In the beginning with setting expectations. I also ask, if everything works out, like when were you looking to make some sort of decision by, and then they typically say, well, today, tomorrow, or they say like, oh, I'm not signing anything. It's like, okay. Right then and there. I know. I'm not gonna give a price. My best offer is gonna depend on when you can make a decision to move forward, right? Because if I give you a number today it means nothing if you can't move forward, because that number can change.
Mike2: 17:10Interesting. Okay, so you're all, you're saying that right up in the beginning, right?
Gabe: 17:13Yep. If they're not willing to decision, I'm not gonna give'em my, I was like, okay, that's fine. We'll walk through it. I mean, I'll say, look, I can give you a number today and that's fine, but just know my highest, my best number is gonna depend on when you can move forward.
Mike2: 17:25yeah.
Gabe: 17:25Yep.
Mike2: 17:26Interesting. And you ever get people who kind of push a lot at that point just saying they're trying to get a bunch of offers and they compare em all, and how do you handle that?
Gabe: 17:34Exactly like what I've done in the past is just like, okay, well, I can get you even more investors and get even more people in here for you if that's what you want. Why not put it on the market at that point? And I just try to also educate them a little bit on the process. As far as earnest money deposit inspection period. I'll say, Hey this is how you weed out who's serious and who's not. I understand you wanna do that, if that's okay, if you wanna go down that route. But here are two things I'd look out for, just to cover your side. All you should do is as a homeowner, you can ask for more earnest money deposit to make sure they're serious buyers and their inspection period, that'll tell you how serious they are. If they have a five or 10 day inspection period, you'll know right away they can back out within that time period and get their earnest money back. So when you tell them that, obviously it depends on the seller, the sophistication of the seller. Not everyone's able to walk through that. Most people are though. And if you educate on that, you Now, I've had a bunch of people like, oh, wow. I said, okay. we go over the office. I was like, look for on this. And I showed'em through. I was like I'd put$10,000 down to show you I am serious about buying this house. I'm not sure what the other person put down. What did they put? And they're like, I think they only put down like a hundred or thousands. Like, I was like, oh. That's it. Like, I guess that'll show you how serious they are. Or what's their inspection period? What's their due diligence period? Cause that can allow them to back out. So just educating them on the process. Because if someone is serious about buying that house, they'll go in there with a zero or one day inspection period and put 10 or$20,000 now to show them that they're serious. So that's a good way to educate the seller. And also, you are looked at now as the expert. they, whenever I come at it from that point of view, it's worked out very well. And they all say, Hey, no matter what, gimme a ring before you make a decision. Just cause like I told you in the beginning, the best numbers gonna depend on when you wanna move forward,
Mike2: 19:13Yeah, that's an interesting way to put it. Cause it almost kind of gives you the last look at the deal, regardless. Because they don't think that's your final number. They may think, oh, well, lemme give him a call because, you know, he did say that it could change, so let me at least call him before I move forward with someone else. That's really good strategy.
Gabe: 19:28Yeah, it's worked out too. That one's worked out very well.
Mike2: 19:31Yeah. And then what's your position on when do you decide to actually go out on the appointment versus saying, eh, this isn't really someone who is worth my time or my team's time.
Gabe: 19:43Yeah. So what I would say is right now with the model we have now, it depends on your model and what you're doing. Timeline tells all, so if you can get a timeline out of them, I think if they wanna sell within the next two months, you should go out there no matter what. Make a good impression. Know that not all people are gonna sign that first encounter. That's just the reality of it. It's a lot in the follow up, but if you can go out there and make a great impression, get them to like you and stay in contact with them, they're gonna go with you. And the good way to go about it is, Hey, I'm gonna be back in the area around this time. Have you thought about what I've presented to you? And just the process in general, just in that follow up. But what I always say is, our model right now is if somebody's interested in selling and they wanna sell within the next six months, we're getting out there. And we're making sure they're serious. We're asking if they're working with a realtor, we vet them, have those other questions. But we're getting out there to make a good impression.
Mike2: 20:30Yeah, you're asking those questions on the phone or you're asking'em when you meet them the first time
Gabe: 20:34On the phone.
Mike2: 20:35What kind of questions are you asking? Just to make sure, Hey, I really should make the drive out to this appointment.
Gabe: 20:40Yeah. I always ask Hey just how soon were you looking to possibly make a move? And it's like, oh, I don't know, within the next few months. We get that all the time. And I always want a number out of them, and I say, Okay. And is that in six months, two years from now, what does that actually look like? What's the date? Let's talk about this. And I get them to, okay. Well, I mean, probably March. I was like, okay, and then I repeated back to them. So what you're saying is you want to move by March? At the end of March, or it's already March 3rd But it's like, okay, you wanna move at the end of March then Were you looking to get the process started at the end of March or were you looking to get this wrapped up by the end of March? Because if that's the case, we have to do something right now. I always get the answer I'm looking for with my questions cuz I'll wrap around and ask different questions.
Mike2: 21:23So really for you, as long as they're serious about selling, they don't like already have a realtor, for example, and it's within six months, you're like, I'm going out there. That's something we've always debated with. Cause I'm like, it is a lot of like driving around and a lot of potentially dealing with people who might not be serious. But on the other hand, the advantage does go to the person who's like, who are you gonna call? Who are you gonna answer his follow up call? The guy who we met, or like the guy who was on the phone met in person.
Gabe: 21:46And it goes a long way just being out there in person. Think about it, the more you shoot, the more you're gonna score. If more you're gonna be out there in front of people, you're bound to do something.
Mike2: 21:55Yeah.
Gabe: 21:56It's just getting in front of people.
Mike2: 21:58What other tactics do you have to, let's say you, you meet with these people and you know, they're just not ready yet. Maybe they're a couple months out. Do you do anything else besides just follow up calls to ensure that they remember you and to call you when that time comes?
Gabe: 22:11Yeah. What I'll typically do is if I know it's a sweet deal. They like the price. It's a great price. They're just not ready for whatever reason. What I'll do is I'll follow back around and I'll in person, if I know I have an appointment in that area, I'll stop by. It's like, Hey, I just wanna stop by again. I was just in the area checking on our project. How are you guys doing? Just figure I'd stop by obviously. I wanna make sure I have some, I'm not gonna drive 40 minutes in the opposite direction just to check up on them, but I'll try to consolidate it if I have an appointment out in the area or whatever it is. Because on the crm, I have my hot post appointment follow up. So I'll know everything at tasks. Hey, how are these people doing? I gotta find some time this week to go out there besides the calls, cuz that's how you do make a differe.
Mike2: 22:50And you're just, are you telling them you're coming out or you're just knocking on the door like, Hey, I was just down the street type
Gabe: 22:55Yeah, I'm just knocking on the door.
Mike2: 22:57Cool. Yeah. I don't think many people are doing that, man. I know. I'm not doing that. That's a great tip.
Gabe: 23:01It's worked out well. Very well. You just have to be a little more aware of it, cuz I mean, you just go on appointments all day and you forget about your follow ups. But if you're like, that was a banger of a deal, I'm gonna make sure that they're at the forefront of my mind and I'm at the forefront of theirs.
Mike2: 23:15Yeah. What else are you doing to make sure that they remember to call you back when the time is right.
Gabe: 23:20Besides follow up calls showing up there there's not a whole lot that I'm doing above and beyond this is probably something we need to get back to doing, but we used to have what's called handwritten, that thing worked out so well. It worked out so well. We will send one of those. It's like the little things that matter. It's cheesy, but it's true. How are you differentiating yourself from other people that are following up just like you.
Mike2: 23:41And then I guess you guys are obviously kind of a unique approach where you do multiple things, right? If you were just doing cash transactions, or maybe you just didn't have the listing arm. You didn't have the agent arm, maybe you didn't cash transactions and maybe novations or maybe some seller finance, but no listing. Would you change any of that process there? As far as like, when you would go out to an appointment.
Gabe: 24:03I would same exact rules. Because at the end of the day, it's human psychology. It's humans that you're dealing with. Doesn't matter what service you're providing, people are triggered by the same things, make decisions based off the same thing. It's all human psychology.
Mike2: 24:16Yeah. Cool. And let's talk about the move that you've made, so I'll just let you talk about it, tell everyone about the recent move that you've made.
Gabe: 24:23Yeah, so I recently ventured out started my own thing. It's called Sky Lux. Sky Lux Real Estate. I got a badass team of me and five others. And we're doing the same exact thing I was doing before. So Yellowbird where I was before they stopped their direct to seller operation. And I think it was perfect opportunity to gain some market share, and continue doing what I was doing because it worked and I took things that work and, how do I make it better? I took things that didn't work and changed that up a bit. So I learned a lot. And right now it's exciting. Our first month, we started February 6th, first day in office, but we had really, it was like February 2nd, third, but we've got seven deals for the month of February. That was done. It was a ton. Like I said, I have a bunch of killers in here. Justin, Enrique, David, boy, Joel, a lot of it was everyone bringing stuff together, some marketing stuff. It was awesome to see the diversity in the pipeline and see what happens if you put a bunch of people in a room that are all after the same thing, a lot of powerful shit can happen.
Mike2: 25:21Yeah. And what are the makeup of those deals? The types of deals that those are
Gabe: 25:24So it was one was a listing. Two came from some wholesalers that we work with and other two were JVs and then other foreclosure one and another marketing one. So it's pretty diverse. But right now we're in startup mode still, obviously we're just trying to get some transactions through the building, make back the startup costs, and then some, which we've. So it's exciting for sure.
Mike2: 25:45but the majority of those sound like cash transactions, whether you're buying'em from a wholesaler
Gabe: 25:49all of'em. Except for one. Yeah.
Mike2: 25:51Yeah. Interesting. And you've kind of taken, I think what'll be interesting too is because you have this different approach where you offer these different things. Not that you're the only person in the country who does it, but not that many people in Jacksonville do this actually. Where they do the listings and the investment side. Your marketing's a little different than everyone else. Do you wanna talk about that?
Gabe: 26:09Yeah, so the biggest thing for me I've picked it up. I was always very self-aware, and I still do this with everything. When I'm walking down the street or I'm driving, if a certain thing catches my attention, I don't just go, oh, that's cool. I go, why did that catch my attention? Or why? Why did I just buy this product that this Instagram ad, right, or something that popped up? Why was it so good? Did it make me laugh? Did it make me mad? Was how did it make me feel and why did I do that? So I like to think of things in a marketing perspective and realize, okay, what's going to grab people's attention? One, two, how do you differentiate yourself versus everyone else that's sending the same thing? I wanna buy your house quick cash clothes in two weeks. It's the same exact thing. So how do I come at it from a point where I'm gonna be able to educate a seller and also talk to them? Another quick thing we do is don't give up equity for convenience. Know your options. Some sellers might not know what equity is, or, don't give up the money in your house for convenience or whatever it might be. We'll try a few different split tests on some marketing. But that approach has worked out well. My goal is just to get sellers to go, oh, that's different. Let me give them a call. I'm not trying to get them to sell me their house on the first phone call. Just trying to get them to go, oh, well that's different. Okay, let me give em a call. That's interesting. What is the difference? I wanna pose a question that's gonna get them to ask me, what are my options? What do you mean? Because if I can get them on the phone and educate them on the different routes of selling a house, depending on what their situation is, I know will win.
Mike2: 27:36Yeah. Has that dramatically increased your re response rates to your market?
Gabe: 27:41Yes, a hundred percent. Because now it's not like those people that respond a retail price, just using texting campaigns, for example. Those people that respond just a full retail value or over retail value, most people would just be like that's not a cash deal. Or, oh, that's, they want too much. My goal is, okay, let's talk about it. How do we get you there? What's your time? How can we actually help the person on the other side? Right? So that's, it's funny cause I used to hear that a lot. It's like, help people and you make, and I just wanna make money. Truthfully, that was how I was in the beginning. I was like, I just wanna make money. And now I got to that point where it's like, okay, wait, we can actually help people. We just need to make sure our systems and operations is in place to handle the magnitude that comes with that, the volume that comes with that. So it's definitely gotten a way better response rate because now I hop on that phone with that person that wants over retail, and I educate them a little bit, Hey, look, I'll send you an RPR report, which is a property seller's report. It'll show them comps in the area. I'll send them educational emails, right, with what's going on. And then they're like, okay, now this guy is the point of con, he's the expert. So whether we take a commission on selling their house or we go down their cash route or whatever other route we can make money off of it. So that's kind of the approach we have.
Mike2: 28:51Yeah. It's interesting you position yourself more as that kind of trusted expert or advisor as opposed to being like, oh, these are the cash guys. Like I don't wanna sell my cash.
Gabe: 29:01Yes. Right. Because you have two people on both sides. You have the people that, oh, I don't wanna sell my house for cash, because they don't know about the process. And then you have your people on the cash side that needs to list their house, but I don't wanna list it. So if you can find that medium in between and be that person to kind of aid them in the right direction, it's pretty powerful for sure.
Mike2: 29:21What have you done in terms of what forms of marketing have you tried that on so far, and which ones have been successful for you?
Gabe: 29:28So right now it's texting and social media ads that have grown out. And then probably by the end of this month, if not middle of next month, we'll get some postcards out to more distressed properties, like a small postcard campaign. Then also out, we'll hire out a cold call center as well. So it's gonna be four lines in the water.
Mike2: 29:44Cool. And then talk about the you know, you said you bought, I think two of the deals this month were bought from wholesalers, right? what have you guys done on that side to build out that pipeline?
Gabe: 29:54Yeah. And you're saying as far as like what we do when we acquire it and how we dispo it?
Mike2: 29:58No. How'd you get those deals to come in the door?
Gabe: 30:01I mean, I've had relationships with people in the past before, but really where I see a lot of people go wrong, when you see it on the Facebook group, a lot people post deals and even not just sellers, people in the space need to be educated too. So one thing I always did well, it might have taken me a little more time, but I ran comps and I would tell them, Hey look, this is what it's gonna construction numbers, these are how we run numbers, and this is the number we need to be at. Your investors are gonna be typically around, Or I say, Hey look, this is not gonna be a typical flip investment number. These are probably people you should call. And I connect them with people that'll pay a higher price than I can if it's the 1% rule guys that will buy it for a rental, the buy and hold guys. If I know they're gonna be higher, I'm not gonna try and beat the guy down. If we're way off. I'm just like, Hey look, can I provide value to you? In that way and I'll put'em with in touch with people that were closing that deal. So now I'm looked at as the expert. I think that's something I did pretty well. I always gave people good constructive criticism and good feedback on the deals they would send me that weren't deals. Because what are most people doing? What are most investors doing? They're going, that's not a deal. Numbers don't work, appreci. Right. It's like, don't even respond sometimes, but if you can get that guy that's just starting out and just failing his way forward, you go, Hey man, it's awesome. But look, these are the comps that I pulled, and these are the reason why. This is how much money I think needs to go into it. And this is how we run our numbers, and that's why we have to be at this price. So let me know if you need some help. I'll be happy to help you out. Feel free to gimme a call, like just call me out from that point of view, and it's worked out very well.
Mike2: 31:28Yeah. Being a resource for them, so then they, the next time they may, thank you first. That's half the battle a lot of times. Get the deal first.
Gabe: 31:34Yep. And just being front of mind's a big piece of it too. I think also like what you're doing with the podcast and just being front of mind going, I see you every networking event. Who's the first person I think of, right? It's Mike, so it's a form of marketing. It's just being front of mind all the time. It's awesome.
Mike2: 31:49Cool man. What are your goals? Talk about your goals for this year and how people can help.
Gabe: 31:52Whew. We're trying to do, right now, consistently do 10 transactions a month for six months straight. And then the bigger picture is hopefully, we'll dive into some more, development as the years come. But what I'm trying to do is systemize the operation we have now, really grow our presence and get people to start to realize, okay, these guys are serious. And they're not just investors. They're here to help the marketplace and make a difference within the marketplace. That's kind of my goal is to become a household name at some points. Like yeah, these are the guys that can help you out whichever route it is. And I think we're at a good spot right now cuz we come from such a cash heavy background. And I see a lot of people trying to do what we do, but they come from the retail side of. And trying to do the cash side of it. And they offer too. Yeah. It's a lot harder I think cuz they offer prices too high. They don't know their construction costs, they don't know what actually goes into it and the different nuances within the business, the investment side of the business. I think just having that investment foundation first has helped me a lot. And then obviously the retail side, I don't claim that I know everything but it. Fairly simple for the most part, but having the resources around me to do that, I think it puts us in a good position.
Mike2: 32:58and how do you look at I know a lot of people's fear of taking on some. And stuff like that. And actually even one of mine, right, is that, I mean, I used to be an agent in New York City and there's a lot of brain damage that comes with retail transactions. Just small questions that come up, all that kind of stuff. How are you ensuring that stuff doesn't distract you from your mission while you're still doing the best job that you can for this
Gabe: 33:21So the biggest piece of it is I set an expectation ahead of time with sellers. I go, Hey, look this is what this listing round's gonna look After they sign the listing, I say, Hey, this is what this is gonna look like. Pictures are gonna go up on this date. We're gonna have somebody come out. And then there's gonna be showing scheduled for this time. This is what this whole process looks like. And then we have our, inspection to be done appraisals, and there may or may not be repair requests that come up right. So what is your level of communication that you prefer? Is it a weekly basis? Is it a biweekly basis? What does that look like? Do you want me talking to you every single day? And just based on that response and how I get it, I'll know ahead of time. And my team kind of takes over. We have our operations side of things that take over and nurture that client. Very much so. The only time I'm having conversations with them is to talk about a repair request, negotiation or anything. Negotiation. Everything else, my demands. I don't mind taking a five minute phone call and then just going to my team and say, Hey, this is what she needs. Send an email. This. It's very, pretty much streamlined to where there's no friction for me.
Mike2: 34:21So let's say like all those, showing requests and all that stuff that comes in, that all goes to your transaction coordinator and they handle all of that
Gabe: 34:29Yep, it goes to me, and then forwards straight over to the transaction coordinator. So he's scheduling, he's confirming, he's telling the sellers, Hey, there's these people coming this time, all this stuff, cause if we didn't ever talk to them and they're like, well, my agent never calls me. is the house selling? I don't know. But if we can have someone that's just there, how's everything going? Good. Great. Awesome. I'd rather someone overcommunicate than under. Always right. I'd rather be like, dude, it's enough. I just, you call me two hours and go, I get it. I'd rather somebody tell me that, it's like, dude, you didn't even call me. You didn't even tell me what was going on. So much more better to overcommunicate for sure.
Mike2: 35:01Yeah. And then as far as your listings are you only focusing on listings within certain price points?
Gabe: 35:05Not right now. Because like I said, if we can squeeze, four or five grand outta something it's still a win for me. Like right now we have one, the price point's 1 73., it's not a huge commission, but we're able to help the seller and it's also like okay, we got this property sold. He has a girlfriend that also wants to sell a property. So it's a lot of people focus our very short term. It's what is this? What's this worth value wise, upfront, but what about in the long run? What's it gonna turn into? So that's kind of the approach.
Mike2: 35:32Cool. And then I think you mentioned when you and I were talking the other day that you're looking to pick up a certain number of rental properties this year.
Gabe: 35:39Yeah. It's definitely on my mind. I have to write out exactly how much I would want, and I'm still not sold on it quite yet, I don't have a specific number in mind. I think right now, like I said it's word startup mode and let's get some transactions through here for sure, for the first couple months. And then I'll reassess, look at the books and see. What's the best way to go about it? And I think at some point, I think within the next maybe six to eight months, we'll start to pick up a few. For sure.
Mike2: 36:05Cool. Let's talk a little bit about, cuz you the sales manager at Yellowbird and obviously you're the sales manager of your own team now, and that's a thing that people, including myself, struggle with a lot is sales management. So what is your advice when it comes to managing salespeople in real estate?
Gabe: 36:23Ooh. Whenever you talk to them and you're going to ask for something to be done, always tell them why and how it'll make them Money always related back to money because salespeople are very money driven and just say, look, I need you to do this. Or like, you gotta start doing this because what happens if you don't do this? So in a way of what happens if you don't do that, then you'll lose out money. Your pipeline's gonna diminish. You're gonna lose out on deals cuz you're gonna stumble out and then you're not gonna hit that six figure goal that you have for yourself this year. So that was tough. People are very different. That took me a little bit to kind of, manage properly and I don't even, truthfully, I'll sit here and say I don't think I learned absolutely every it was still a learning process, but I would say that's the number one tip talk in terms of what drives them. And also another tip, not that you asked for them to give it to you anyway. Know what drives people, whether they're fear-based or reward based. Some people, when you do sales competitions and stuff like that, some people are like, oh, I'm above that. I don't need that. I don't care about winning. I care about myself. Whereas, like some other people might be, shit, my back's against the wall. If I don't get, make some shit happen. I need to make this, I need to do something so that person's gonna maybe react a little differently versus the other person. So it's just kind of figuring out whether they're fear-based or reward-based type of people.
Mike2: 37:38And then kind of shaping your coaching to that.
Gabe: 37:40Yeah. Kind of catering to and the way the framework, the way you talk to them, when you go back to consequences of why, what happens when you don't do it. That's how you want to implement those things. Cause when I talk to one person, it might be, Hey look, if you don't do this that dude's gonna beat you out and you know you're not gonna get that incentive. Or if it's like, Hey, if you don't do that one thing it your ass might be on the line, you might get fired or you're not gonna hit your goal. Stuff like that. So, it's just figuring out what drives people and figuring out their why and kind of going bother like that way.
Mike2: 38:11Cool. And then in terms of like sales training, are you guys running with sales training?
Gabe: 38:15Right now, since, have three guys now, and we're gonna start doing it starting next week, is just quick. 15, 20 minute role plays right after our morning huddles for the first two weeks. Just to get'em in that repetition. But after that, after a while, it's just once a week sales training, we do role plays, go over a recording line, like recorded calls, and we open it up, constructive criticism, like what they did well, what they didn't do well, and whoever is the role playing or whoever it is that's on the spotlight, we'll always let them go first and criticize themselves first before everyone else going, because you know, right away it's like, ah, sh I should have done this. I could have done this, and then opening it up for everyone else. But yeah, that's how we do that.
Mike2: 38:53And one thing that I think is interesting and like a discussion that I think we had like a week or two ago when I saw you was, that because of the way that you came into real estate, like knocking on those doors, trying to hammer those free foreclosure deals, you kind of learned this skill that I've like how to hunt for a deal. And in a time when it's tough, like that's an important skill. So do you wanna just maybe just talk a little bit more about hunting for deals as opposed to letting them come to you?
Gabe: 39:20Well, I mean they always say, right, you always want to be on offense. Especially at a time like this. I'm glad that I went through that because I see it now. A lot of people came into the space like maybe mid 2020, when things took off. They saw the market taking off. Like I'm jumping in. Not that I got in way before it's 2019, but I did start the hard way, but you can't take that away from somebody. Somebody that's going out there hunting for deals, knocking on doors, cold calling, doing those types Of things. Cause what happens is, in a time like this, right when the tide sinks out, a lot of people are like, oh, no one's calling into my marketing. I'm spending 10 grand, 20 grand a month on marketing. And it's not working out for me. They're not answering my postcards, like my margins are unin thin. And they don't know what to do. Whereas what happens when shit hits the fan, the first thing I says, that's fine, I'll just go knock on some doors. I know that if I knock on a certain amount of doors, talk to a certain amount of people, cause I know my numbers, I know that I can get a deal. Cause what happens is, I saw this online the other day, but it's like, look on the mls, right? Look at how many pendings or how many closings there were. There's transactions happening every single day. how do you get in those transactions? Right? And that's just on market stuff. There's a bunch of off-market transactions happening. There's deals in every market. Yeah, the spreads may be bigger or smaller, but just depending on where you're at, it's just about your output that you're putting out, right? If your output's, just sending out postcards, what you receive in return is gonna be very minimal, especially in these times. So I'm glad I went through that very.
Mike2: 40:44So what are you doing currently in terms of that, like for yourself, like that active activity or prospecting activity?
Gabe: 40:50Yep. So, it's kind of teaching the pre foreclosure, still doing that. We just locked one up. Justin locked one up here earlier this week, that we assigned out. It was a pre foreclosure. He is going to auction next week. Went out there and knocked on the door. Guy called him Sunday and it's a deal. It was a really good deal. it's instilling that culture of like, Hey, we're here to win and we're going after it. Cause we're all killers. We're not the guys that come into the office and wait for the phone to ring. We're going out there, how do we make shit happen today? And just instilling that culture within everyone here is what I'm doing to make sure everyone's kind of doing it together, as well.
Mike2: 41:24So how do you go about instilling that in your culture?
Gabe: 41:27It's a lot of its meetings, accountability we sit there, you have numbers and it's like, Hey, look, you guys know what we're trying to do. We're trying to be the best there is. And you should think of yourself as the best person in Jacksonville, the best acquisitions guy, the best real estate agent, because if you don't believe that, no one else will. I'm not gonna believe in you if you don't believe that. There is a fine line of you. Being, being cocky about it and telling people I'm the best. You don't have to do that. But within yourself, you should know that you are the best at what you do, right? And if you adopt that type of mentality, I think everything else just kind of aligns
Mike2: 41:59Yeah, I think that's a really good point actually. Like your mindset and your belief. People can smell it the second you walk in the door so. Let's talk about that for a minute. What things have you done to either for yourself or for your team to help? Like just increase that mindset or sense of belief that you guys are the best?
Gabe: 42:17Yeah. One, I think I said it the other day but it's how do you change where you're at? It's who you surround yourself with. The work you put out, show your output with the work you put out, and then also your habits too. I think if you have good habits, you're doing the work, you surround yourself with good people, then you can't really fail. Those are the three main things. So I'm very vocal about it. When we sit there in meetings, I'm like, great, awesome. And I'm hyped when they come in with contracts and. Great. And it's awesome to see everyone excited. It's like, oh, you beat that person out. That's fucking great. What did you learn? Or something went wrong? The first thing I ask is like, it's okay. What'd you learn? Cool. So you learned something great. So what are you gonna do differently next time? I don't go, oh, what the fuck? You should have let this person know. It's just what a shitty attitude too. What's done? I'm very good at what's done is done. Move on to the next thing. How do we problem. What's happened and what can we control? And if we can't control that, let's move on to it, move on to the next thing, and that's it. So being very vocal in meetings with, in interactions like, fuck yeah. High fiving each other. It's just creating that winning culture. For sure.
Mike2: 43:18Cool. And then you said you have numbers that everyone's supposed to hit every week. Like what are those that you're looking for people to hit?
Gabe: 43:24I was gonna say, so with that, right now we're in like testing phase. People are filling out their schedules. It's still the very much, the beginning phases of everything. But I'll tell you what, we are tracking the actual numbers we're hashing out next week. But it's gonna be calls made, doors knocked deals, execut. So if we can track those kind of three things, it'll be good. Cuz now everyone has to sit in a meeting and go, yeah, I did do that, or No, I didn't do that. So it's that major accountability I was telling you about.
Mike2: 43:49Cool, man. Well we're getting to the end here, but I always like to have two questions at the end. First one's kind of fun. and the first one, I'm sure you've seen many, but what is the craziest or most uncomfortable situation that you've ever experienced with a seller?
Gabe: 44:04Ooh. I have so many of those crazy stories. I've been on over almost 500 appointments. It's insane. But One of the stories I'll tell you is I was out in Middleburg and there was this property I was going to auction, so she was in pre foreclosure, and I went to go doorn, knock it, and I was like, all right. And it had a kind of a guard gate in the front and it said it had a sheriff's sign, like, no trespassing. It was like a gate and then you could just walk around the gate. So I was like, okay, cool. So I walk around the gate, go up to the door, and I'm knocking on the door and the house looks beautiful on the outside. It's like a nice big house. It was actually GreenCo Springs. It wasn't Middleburg. So then I read like a little note on the side of the door, and it says, this house is protected by, and I was looking, I was trying to read, I couldn't read the handwriting all messed up. And it said Smith and Wesson. As soon as I read that, Off of the corner of my eye, I see an a little old lady, probably in her 60, 65, maybe. Maybe a little older than that, I don't know. But she had her gun cocked, said, get the fuck outta my property. Starts cursing at me. Gun pointed right at my head. I'm like, whoa, So I've had a gun pulled on me before. And she had it like right there and I was just like, holy. I shit myself. For sure. So then I started like walking off. I literally was like hands up, walked off the property. I was like, I'm so sorry. I was like, I don't know what's going on. What's crazy is I was able to talk her down, calm her down, she put the gun down, put it back in her little old lady purse, and we ended up doing a. We didn't get the payoff in time because it was like a couple days before and it is, it was just so much title issues and everything like that, but that was definitely a crazy story, like having a gun and she cocked it like right there, cocked it back, and I was like, Jesus Christ. Yeah, that was definitely one of my wild ones. I talked to her two and a half hours. And she showed me the house. It was flooded. It was going through some stuff. She didn't get insurance money into bunch of things wrong with it. It was actually really sad. Unfortunately we weren't able to help her, but it was cool to calm her down. But it was definitely crazy. This lady had a gun pointed on me and now she's signing a contract with me.
Mike2: 45:58That is crazy. well, the second question I always like to ask is, If you could go back in time when you were looking for that first deal, knowing everything that you know today, if you could go back and tell yourself one thing, what would you tell yourself?
Gabe: 46:12Be more aggressive. I think I was trying to please too many people in the beginning, like sellers, right? And I was just oh, whenever you're ready, like make decision, right? And not positioning myself as an expert or saying like, no, I've done this several times before, even though I didn't what I wish I would've done. And I've seen people that haven't done it say that and do well, and I'm like, man, I should have done that. But just being a little more aggressive when it comes to asking for the deal. A lot of people are presenting the offer. A lot of people when they go to close, they get really like, soft, right? Or like are a little scared. And I was a little bit like, well, you know, I'm gonna make a lot of money off your house. that was, in my mind, it was like my own mind stopping myself. And in my mind it was crazy to think that they would even take, a certain price point from me. I should have been more aggressive. So that's kind of my piece of advice is just be aggressive and if you fail, who cares? That's part of it. It's all part of it.
Mike2: 47:02Yeah, that actually brings up one last question. Is that's always a big thing, is when people go to present their offer, let's say a cash situation. You obviously don't start with your top offer, of course, but how are you going about presenting that offer without having them shut down and, people saying they're offended and all that. how are you delivering that and handling that negotiation?
Gabe: 47:22Yeah. It's a tough question because there's so many different nuances that can happen prior to presenting an offer, but generally speaking, for the most part, and this is assuming I haven't gotten a price out of them right first, and it's just for whatever reason I have to present an offer first. I don't just. Hey, the house is worth 300. I don't just go, Hey, we have to be at 2 0 5. Our, my offer's 2 0 5. I say, look I know what we've discussed today is proper just going for around two 90 or so, the house is gonna need 40, 50 grand. So, after we factor that in, factor closing costs, I'm probably gonna be around 200. And then I'm quiet just to see how they react. And this depends on were they gonna actually make a decision today, right? If they weren't, I say around, I would say around 200. So that's typically how I first present it and see how they react.
Mike2: 48:09Got it. And then, How do you take it from that point? Let's say they're like, no, 2, 2 0 5 s too low. I want two 50, something like
Gabe: 48:16Yeah. What I say, it's like, well, I mean two 50, you can a hundred percent get that. why don't we go ahead and list that for you? Then you're just gonna have to do the repairs. Right. And I walk'em through the office, so I push'em towards it. I was like, look, two 50. I was like, you can a hundred percent get that, listing it, right? Just, and I run the numbers through them. I pull out my calculator. It's like, look, I mean, even after everything's factored in, Closing costs, realtors, and I educate them a little bit on it. I walk em through it. You're actually gonna be less than two 50 if you do it yourself.
Mike2: 48:44Yeah.
Gabe: 48:44Yeah. So it's just like getting back to them and educating them on it.
Mike2: 48:48Cool, man. Well, if people wanna reach out to you with questions or if they have any deals they wanna send your way, how can they go about doing that?
Gabe: 48:56absolutely. I can be reached at my email. It's gabe sky lux.com. Or if you guys wanna follow me on Instagram, it's meniscal, G M E N E S C A L G. I post my lifestyle. I post some real estate stuff. It's a good mix of a lot of things. So you get authentic me, not some guru, and also not just some crazy person that's parties all the time. So I like to have fun. You get to see all parts of it,
Mike2: 49:19Cool man. Well awesome.
Gabe: 49:20Yeah,
Mike2: 49:21a lot for being on the show, man. It was
Gabe: 49:22absolutely. Thanks for having me, Micah. I appreciate it.
Mike2: 49:25For sure.
