Scaling from Scratch: Jonathan Chacon's Path to 340 Units & 12 Active Flips (No Money to Millions)

just guide us into how you got to owning 340 units. >> Let's put it this way. It's it's more about being a little crazy. You kind of got to be a little crazy. It was crazy, man. So, literally, I came to Houston for a party and I literally got a house under contract when I came. Like, I was just ballsy. I was like, I like this deal. Let's buy it. And I put it under contract, flew

back home, told my girlfriend, I'm like, hey, you know what? I'm going to go to Houston for a couple weeks. Bye. Literally, I did that. So then I flew out here, rented a truck, put it on my credit card cuz I didn't have a lot of money. And I would just like, dude, sometimes I would even stay in a truck cuz I didn't even have money. So it's like I had to do what I had to

do to get it done. And I would work on the properties myself. I would pick up people at the Home Depot. I would just figure things out just to get it going. You know, it was a very tough battle. But my mindset then was just go hard as hard as I can and do what my dad taught me to just outwork everybody. whenever you buying your first couple of units, did you have any fear? Did you

have any sort of anything that was holding you back from actually purchasing those properties? >> Today, I'm really happy to announce my podcast with Jonathan Chicone. He is an incredible entrepreneur, crazy, off the rails, but gets a lot done, and you're going to hear all about it. He came from California to Houston uh on a weekend trip, decided to buy one house here and he got all the way now to owning 340 units. Uh he's got

about seven flips, active flips that he's doing right now. So, how did he do that? Obviously, a lot of uh a lot of relentlessness. So, he talks about how he went on this journey and constantly pursues wholesalers, sellers. He's not scared to follow up, not scared to bug them. uh loosen that fear and overcoming lots of adversity in the process. Now, another thing that he mentioned is how he manages those seven flips at the time. I'm

really excited about this. I think a lot of people are going to get a lot of value here. He has a whiteboard and he's able to manage seven flips with a whiteboard and with a whole army of people. So, he's going to go into that. I'm really excited for everyone to hear this podcast. This guy is a wealth of knowledge. We went into the market, analyzing market, becoming a professional, truly becoming a professional when analyzing deals

and really scaling to the next level. So, I think everyone's going to hear a lot of really good information from this guy. I can't wait for you guys to listen to this podcast. Give me some feedback and like always like, follow, subscribe. Thank you so much. Welcome to the Pick Up the Phone podcast. I'm your host, Jose. I own a marketing agency with remote workers in a in Egypt. Uh we help small businesses uh support with

their marketing and sales departments. Today's guest is Jonathan Chicone. Uh Jonathan Chicone has been investing since uh 2017, right? He's got about 340 units that he owns right now uh with another 70 more under contract. Uh, another crazy thing about Jonathan Tone, he has 12 flips currently that he's flipping at the same time. So, welcome. Welcome, Tone. >> Thank you. Thank you for having me, brother. >> Yeah, absolutely. So, um, man, let's, uh, let's get started

real quick. Um, just for everyone that's listening out there, uh, can you tell us a little bit about you, who you are, your story, um, just guide us into how you got to owning 340 units? >> Well, let's put it this way. It's it's more about being a little crazy. Um we've we've discussed this many times, me and you. >> Yeah. >> Um that you kind of got to be a little crazy, you know, to get

to that point and take a lot of risk. >> So, um you know, I started back in California. My first property was a multif family was a 8 a unit and I just couldn't find any deals. So, I ended up going to Vegas and I bought a 10 unit in Vegas and then I couldn't find any more deals. So I ended up coming to Houston. >> Yeah. >> And then um that's when I met um our

friend Boris Sanchez and you know he helped me um he educated me and taught me on on how to buy um a lot of commercial real estate with no money out of pocket and that's when things just took off. You know it took off to the races and I started wholesaling and um and I was able to acquire in the last you know I think between 2021 and 2023 we acquired so much real estate. It was

just insane. We just exploded. >> Um but it's it last year was a very difficult year for us. We ended up >> um having to step back and reanalyze what we were doing and and you know realistically um we had to learn that owning a bunch of multifamily and buying it quick ends up being more of a massive job. So we had to stop buying really and just focus on the portfolio itself. And that's when we

started flipping again. Yeah. >> Um just to generate cash because we weren't making any money. We we were making a lot of our money that we were making during those couple years is going to be was through uh wholesaling commercial real estate and we were just getting a bunch of money just 50k 70k 100k 150k pops and it's just we just got spoiled and then it just stopped. >> Yeah. >> So we had to like >>

whoa >> take a second. >> Yeah. like step back and luckily I had a lot of real estate and I was able to sell properties and get money to keep myself afloat and um and refig things out in life. And that's when I just I'm like, "Hey, I flipped before. Let me just go back to flipping." And that's why we're at 12 flips right now. We're trying to stay um we usually close between one and two

deals per month and our profit margins are between 25 and 45,000 um per deal. >> Nice. Um but we're all about volume and that's what we're kind of um leaning towards. However, um yesterday I signed my first contract to um complete a wholesale transaction um on a multifamily property again. So things are things are getting better. Is >> that the motel you're talking about? >> Um no, this is a a 9 unit >> that I sold

to one of our friends and um you know, so things are starting to change. you know, owners are starting to realize that the market shifted. So, we're starting to be able to get um uh sellers to come down on the price for I can provide value to actual buyers, you know, and even for ourselves to keep. >> Right. Right. Love that, dude. >> So, yeah. >> So, is that like is that what you're seeing right now

where the sellers are start finally starting to kind of realize that the prices that you know maybe two, three years ago, four years ago, they're it's it's not that time frame anymore. >> No. And a lot of owners had to come to that realization. They wanted to sell at the the what the peak of the market was in 2022, 2023. Yeah. >> And they're not getting those prices anymore. You know, the appraisals are still high because

they're still like uh kind of like the >> the properties are still selling at those prices, but very few of them. So, they're still using the comps from them because >> property taxes, right? >> Exactly. And everything, the insurance and everything. So they're trying to think that the values were still high, but then they put out in the market and they get crickets. They don't get any offers. So now, you know, it's the perfect time for

us as investors to step in and just start buying up this real estate again. >> Yeah, I agree. Yeah, I completely agree. Uh, and I want to talk about like market cycles and and and understanding where the market is right now, understanding kind of your journey and and where you've been at with the different market cycles and what people that are listening to this podcast can do to benefit themselves and actually make a lot of money.

But before we talk about all that, Shaone, I'd like love to talk to you about your story, right? Let's let's talk real quick about uh your journey into real estate because a lot of people, you know, a lot of people listening to this podcast are maybe like new. they haven't done many very many deals. Uh and and so let's talk to them real quick. Sure. How how did you get started in real estate? What was like

your first deal uh that you bought? And and more importantly, what is it that piqu your curiosity to learning about real estate? >> So I grew up around my my dad. He owned um he owned a duplex and a triplex in California. >> And you know, I grew up just like fixing toilets with him. He would just take me with him, you know. Yeah. make me, you know, just paint house, paint the apartments when they people

would leave. And so I was just around that a lot. So I realized that, you know, I really enjoyed it and I really like being around the construction side and just, >> you know, just managing the assets, dealing with people and stuff like that. So that's what kind of got me to like say like, hey, I would love to 10x this, you know, I don't want to just own three unit three doors. I would love to

just explode this. And that's when, you know, luckily Houston, I grew up in California. In California that you cannot do what you do here in Houston, so we're able to buy properties here in Houston with no money down versus California, the equity doesn't make sense out there. So, you can't do that out there. It's non-existent. Versus here in in Houston, you could pick up doors at 40 a door and, you know, they're worth 70 a door,

you know, automatically right now. You can buy it right now. >> Mhm. I love that. I love it. So would you say like whenever you um were buying your first couple of units, did you have any fear? Did you have any sort of uh anything that was holding you back from actually purchasing those properties? >> So um I did not because like I said um I grew up around it. Yeah. >> So I knew that the

only thing that I needed was just energy and just time, you know. So my first property that I bought >> I bought it with my dad. We bought um an 8 unit out in California in Santa Ana, California. And um I had been negotiating with with that realtor for a while. It was on the market and um they had listed it for a million dollars and nobody was buying it. >> So then I would just constantly

just like text them be like, "Hey man, let me know. I'm ready." >> Like I'm ready to close but at this price >> and then they would be like, "No, we can't do it." And then it went under contract and then it fell out out of contract. And then when I seen it pop up back on the market, I immediately texted the realtor. I'm like, "Hey, we're ready. Let's get this done." >> And then finally the

the the realtor said, "Yeah, let's do it." Because the owner's in a 1031 exchange and has to sell. >> So then we had them in a corner and we were able to to get the price that I wanted on the project. >> And uh so that that was your your first couple of deals that you did out there. You were >> my first deal. That was my first deal. >> That was your first deal. Okay. >>

Were you just looking at this particular deal every day or how like how did that happen? So, I'm kind of like a like a freak with these things. Like, I'm like on top of deals all day long. Like, literally, I still do that today since like 6 a.m. >> Yeah. >> Till like before I got here. >> How do you keep track of everything? Because >> I just I just like follow up with everybody all the

time. >> I just call people all day, talk to people. I'm literally doing that all day, right? >> I That's how you find opportunities, just hustling, you know? >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But a lot of people don't really like realize how much followup it takes, right? A lot of people say, "Well, I sent him a text and they didn't reply." Oh, okay. Well, >> call them. >> Yeah. So, what happened? What happened next? Right. >> You

call them. >> Yeah. >> Follow up. >> Bug them. >> Yeah. The next day. The next day. And some people think, "Oh, maybe I'll just send him a text. I'll call him once." And then uh and then they say, "Oh, well, I tried it. It didn't work out. You know, they're not ready." >> Yes. Exactly. And you know what? I've lost deals like that because I didn't follow up. >> So have I. Yeah. >> Yeah. And

so I've learned to like keep track of those things through CRM and um just mental, you know, like just like, hey, yeah. Just remembering, oh, we we need we need to follow up with this person, with that person. Me and me and my girl do that. >> So, what we do is we usually try to do we have a board and in our office and we'll just be like, "Hey, like this guy is this close to

signing this contract." And I will be like, if she has the the relationship with the owner, I'll be like, "Call him." >> Yeah. >> Like right now. >> Hey, call him right now. And if he doesn't answer, I'm gonna call him. Yeah. And then if he doesn't answer to me, then we'll call him from a different number until we get this guy on the phone. And then I just like kind of like, "Hey, let's meet up."

Once I'm in front of him, it's a different game. Then I just I take contracts and I make them sign it. Like we don't leave until we sign that contract. >> You make them sign it. >> I don't make them. >> I know. >> But but um but it's something most of the time it happens. Yeah. Yeah. Of course. I mean, I think more importantly, like it kind of speaks to the mindset that you have, right?

Like you take it with you. You know you're going to get it done. So, you figure out what you have to say, what obstacles you have to overcome so you can actually make it happen. >> 100%. >> Right. Yeah. And I think that's where I think that's a mindset that people need to understand that you need to have in this field. Like you just need to be a shark and you need to just be consistent, persistent,

uh, and always follow up because if you don't, someone else is going to take it. >> Yeah. And I feel like when you have a buyer, I mean a seller that that's telling you like, "Hey, I'm ready to sell." >> And you have literally five days. >> Yeah. >> Close this guy. >> It's a window of opportunity. >> Close this guy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because he's ready. Yeah. >> So, you have to literally be a shark

with him. Like, "Hey, what's up, bro? What's going on? Hey, I just want to follow up. How's everything? How you doing today?" You know, what's how's the weather? You know, >> it's rainy out there. Let's talk. Let's go for a coffee. Like, >> yeah. Yeah. >> You know, he's like a girl, you know, like, "Hey, what's up? >> You got to be you got to be persistent." >> Yeah. You got to persistent until they fall, you

know, like, >> and the reality is a lot of people >> they give up. >> Yeah. It's as simple as that, man. Unfortunately, you know, most people probably I'd say most deals are lost because people give up in the follow-up. And it's as simple as that. If you were to just stay persistent, talk to the people, and get the property under contract, the money follows. It's not hard to buy a property if you get it at

a great price. like money will be thrown at you if you get a great deal at a great price. Right. >> Yes. And most of the time the real sellers they always the best sellers always give you numbers. Um and that's what we've we've realized like when you have a seller who's just like hey I'm ready to sell. And then you're like how much you want? >> Yeah. >> Then they give you a number. You're like

okay well let's give you that number. Let's go. >> Yeah. >> And then they're like what? And sometimes we'll get under contract at that price and then we'll renegotiate. A lot of us, you know, use that tactic, you know, we just be like, "Let's get under contract." And then we do an inspection, then we're like, "Oh, by the way, this is going to cost more than we thought. We need to fix this. We need to fix

this. Oh, so we need it at this price now." >> Yeah. Yeah. >> So, yeah, >> that's that's a great tactic also just to be able to secure the property more than anything. The seller gets committed to working with you, right? >> Exactly. >> So, that's a that's a great tactic for sure. >> Um, cool, man. So, you uh let's talk about how you when you moved to Houston, you know, because I remember when you I

met you when you just came to Houston and I remember you driving around a rinky dinky little [ __ ] what is it like a Ford little truck, dude? >> It was a uh I think it was a Chevy Colorado. >> It was a Chevy Colorado single cab. >> Yeah, >> single cab built in like 1940. >> No, >> it looked old. Yeah, that's all I'm saying. You know what I mean? Um, but it speaks volumes,

bro, to your journey. And you know, a lot of people see you now and they they say, "Oh [ __ ] Jonathan has 340 units. You know, he has 12 flips that he's doing right now. Like, you have all this cash you're working with and you're you're moving big amounts of of capital." But I met you when you were just like, you know, at Chevy Colorado and they say, "Oh, success happens overnight." No, it [ __

] doesn't. It's it's a big process. Uh, it takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of energy. But I really want to dive into uh your mindset back then, bro, because you were just relentless from the moment that I remember like we we uh we went for a bike ride. >> Mhm. >> It was uh it was a couple of us. We went mountain bike riding like in a a nice little uh park out

there in Westside Houston. >> And uh and you showed up, you did the bike ride, and then right after that, you were going to like a seller appointment. You were doing something else with the property, you know, like you were just going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. So talk talk about that journey. How was that for you going through that now looking back at it right now? >> So it was crazy man.

So literally I went So I this is how it happened. So I moved to Houston I came to Houston for a party. >> Yeah. >> And then I came out here for for a birthday party and I literally got a house under contract when I came here. Like I was just ballsy. I was like I like this deal. Let's buy it. And I put it under contract, flew back home, and I literally, you know, told my

girlfriend, I'm like, "Hey, you know what? >> Yes. >> I'm gonna go to Houston for a couple weeks." Bye. >> Literally, I did that. So, then I flew out here, rented a truck, put it on my credit card cuz I didn't have a lot of money. >> Yeah. >> And I would just like, dude, sometimes I would even stay in the truck cuz I didn't even have money. I remember. So, it's like I had to do

what I had to do to get it done. And I would work on the properties myself. I would pick up people at the Home Depot. I'll just figure things out just to get it going, you know. And um it was a it was a very tough battle, >> but my mindset then was just go hard as hard as I can and do what my dad taught me to just um outwork everybody, you know. >> Yeah. >>

So, I would outwork everybody. But then to shift that mindset to go from that to owning all these units, it was a just a different mindset. And I think who helped me the most was Boris. He's the one that helped me get that mindset, shift that mindset. It was so hard for me to leave going to Home Depot, picking up material, doing this, doing that. It was just so hard to let that go. But I had

to >> because you were you were conditioned for so long. >> Yeah. Exactly. So, it was very hard for me to let that go and I had to realize that I needed to step back and my real talent was actually negotiating, um, talking to people and actually getting deals under contract. So I had to learn how to step back and let other people do stuff for me. And it was very difficult for me. However, I still

deal with that right now today in in my career. I've last year we let go of one of our main employees and it was the worst mistake in our life because everything started going downhill. We had we still had the same amount of units that we have right now. We had 340 units last year. We let go of our staff >> and me and Kayn were doing everything >> and it was the worst decision I ever

made in my life. Yeah. >> Because I was just I couldn't make money. >> Overwhelmed. Yeah. >> I was overwhelmed because I was trying to manage properties, trying to go to seller uh appointments, trying to do marketing, trying to do everything on my own and I I was just trying to do leasing, which is the worst thing in the world that I can do with my time. So, I had to rehire all new staff, let them

do their thing, and then me focus on flipping on looking for opportunities, looking for deals and underwriting deals all day, which is what makes me money. >> Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I think the thing that people really need to learn from your journey is uh is your relentlessness, you know, like just the the mindset of always figuring it out, right? you came to Houston uh and you didn't like you just put the property under contract, bro.

Next thing you're you know, you're going out there, you're fixing it yourself and you're like, "Dude, I don't know what the [ __ ] I'm doing, but I'm going to figure it out." >> Right? And so that mindset is what people need to have and and just knowing that it doesn't matter what obstacle is in front of you. You can just go right through it if you just put the mindset of saying, "I'm going to figure

it out." >> Yeah. >> Right. Cuz you could have easily said, "Oh, I don't have any money, so uh what am I going to do?" But you're like, "Oh, I don't have any money. I'm going to sleep in my truck." And then tomorrow I'm going to go pick up people from Home Depot and I'm going to fix this house. You know what I mean? >> That sounds crazy, but it's true. >> It's But that's literally what

what happened, right? >> Yeah. That's literally what happened. >> Yeah. Yeah. And um I feel like a lot of people don't realize that um credit is such a big deal. >> Yeah. >> You um you have to take care of your credit. Your credit is your is your lifeline. So, um I have probably right now probably like5 or $600,000 in credit lines if I need it. Um and I've been situations last year was a perfect example.

I was in I got caught up um during certain things and I had to literally use those credit lines. >> Those small uh are those credit lines with small commercial banks or >> No, the credit line was credit cards. >> You have 5600K with just some credit cards. >> Yeah. Yeah. So, I went up to I think almost I almost owed 400,000 in credit cards last year. >> No [ __ ] >> It was insane. It

was scary because >> yeah, >> you know, when you're doing these big deals, I was doing this um 68 unit um uh >> conversion from multile to multif family. Yeah, >> it was uh it was a journey, man. And I um I was only lent cuz the market shifted in 2024 um 2023. I was able to get it under contract, buy the property, but the lender said, "Hey, I'm only gonna lend you $2 million." >> Yeah.

>> To buy the property, >> right? >> Because the banks were pulling back. That was when there was a banking crisis. And >> so they're only going to lend you $2 million. And And what were you buying it for? >> I bought the property for $2 million. >> Oh. So now >> no renovation money. >> You have to come out of pocket with your renovation money now. >> Yes. So then at that time I was making

money. So I was like, "Okay, cool. Let's get it. Let's get this closed." I just wanted to close it because um put it this way that deal I bought it for 2 million is worth 5 million. >> Yeah. No brainer. >> No brainer. Of course, why not? >> Right. But that's when you're making money. You're making 100K here, 70K here, 50K here, 40K here. You're like, [ __ ] it. I mean, you know, let's let's do

it, you know. So, I was started doing it. I started doing my thing and, you know, started um fixing the property, getting it going. And then um me like a like a very not so smart investor, you know, at that time, I'm being very real, we get cocky. You come to a point in your career sometimes that you get cocky and you get like you just start buying stuff >> cuz we were buying and just buying

and buying and buying >> and we were buying and holding and that was the biggest mistake I could do, >> right? >> Because I didn't have the the wholesaling stop. >> So now it's like, okay, >> so now you don't have liquidity. >> Now I don't have liquidity. So my liquidity was going just draining every month. >> Yeah. And not going back up. >> And not going back up. >> So I had to start using those

credit cards and I used them up and luckily I was able to refinance last year on that uh property >> and I was able to I think I got 800,000 out. I got a uh a wire from a cash out refinance on that property. I got 800 thou 800 I think it was 850,000 back. >> Paid off the credit cards. >> Yeah. And then I was able to pay off my um one of my lenders that

lent me money just to keep going. And I was like, "All right, cool." And I think I kept like 250,000 >> in liquidity. So I was like, "Okay, cool. >> I'm back to square one." >> Yeah. >> Now, what I'm going to do and that's when we realize that, hey, I have to do income producing activities. I cannot buy any more real estate to hold because they don't, you know, it's not making sense. I'm not cash

flowing. >> Yeah. Yeah. And that happened all last year. >> That happened all last year, man. And then I had to literally >> um just rebuild again, start flipping, and you know, get my feet back up. I was like, I have these 250,000 >> and then I had um I owned a >> I I owned a lot of real estate. So, I started selling off a few properties and I made like probably like three or 400,000

>> from selling some assets off. M. >> So then I put certain amount of money in the bank for my family and I'm like this money is not going back in here. >> We're going to we're going to live off of this money. I think I put like two years of life in one account and I said I'm never going to allow this to happen again. So now >> um we don't do that. >> Yeah. >>

We're not doing that anymore. >> Of course. >> And I think it's really important here to note like you know people look at you and they're like oh Jonathan Chona is successful as hell, right? Like this guy's making a crap ton of money. But even it doesn't matter what level you are at in business. There's always challenges that happen. >> Oh man. >> Right. There's always challenges whether it's monetary or you know dealing with people or

management or any sort of thing that are happening in business. There's always some sort of challenge that is is something that you need to overcome in business. So I I think that's something that's not talked about enough. Right. I'm really glad that you do and you you hold nothing back because you you make everything real, right? Like hey this is this is real life, bro. like it's not always sunshine and rainbows. It's it's it's difficult sometimes.

>> So, I think I posted this last week and on my Facebook. It's like I had to learn that success and the amount of money you make is based on the amount of problems you solve. So, I had to learn to create um to not when a problem comes to me to not panic. >> Yeah. >> So, just be like, "Okay, not a big deal. >> Let's solve the problem." >> Yeah. Instead of I used to

be like, "Oh my god, the world's ending." Like things are are going against me. The world's against me. Why is this happening to me? Complain and complain and complain. So now I'm like, "No, let's not complain. Let's figure it out." >> Yeah. >> How can we solve this? >> What do we have to do? >> What do we got to do? >> Yeah. >> Let's get it done. >> Who do we need to talk to? >>

Yeah. Let's let's figure this out and solve this problem. And I'm going to make money off of this if I solve this problem. Yeah. >> So the more problems I solve, the more money I'm going to make. And I see it when I'm flipping. Most people cannot handle the amount of um construction projects that I can. >> Yeah. >> So, they don't they're not organized enough to be able to um oversee six, seven projects at a

time, a couple of multif family commercial projects. >> And like you talked earlier, I'm about to close on another um big project and you know, >> 70 the 70. >> Yeah. 70 unit motel. Um we're going to be closing on it. So, we're just as you go in your career path, you have to learn from the mistakes that you did. You can't just like stop doing something. You have to like look back and say like, "Hey,

how can I become a better investor instead of just giving up? How can I be better for the next time that comes around? I have a second chance. I'm going to or this is probably my third chance. I been taken out almost three times already. But, um, if you can just find a way to solve problems within your company, you're going to succeed. If you just stop doing it, then you're gonna go under, you know. >>

Yeah. Yeah. I couldn't agree more. Uh I think you you hit on a very interesting point because a lot of people wouldn't even know where to start, how to manage even two renovations at a time. So, would you mind sharing a little bit about what it takes to manage seven rehabs at the same time? I >> have a board in my office and we have all the projects we have right now. >> Okay. >> Every day.

Mhm. >> I want to see something happen to that property. >> Okay. >> So, um, every day I'm calling every single guy. Somebody has to be on that project every day. >> Okay. >> So, essentially I have a list of a lot of people who I work with. >> Yeah. >> That do projects for me, >> right? >> So, I'll just manage them >> every day. I just call them, make sure that they're going to be

there. And that's what literally project management is. is just calling them and be like, "Hey, you're going to be there tomorrow. What time?" "8 a.m. Okay, I'll be there at 8:00 a.m. I'll see you at 8 a.m. Sometimes I don't go, but then I'll call them at 8 a.m. be like, "Hey, you're there?" "Oh, I'm about to get there." "Oh, yes." "Okay, cool. You're there. All right, cool. Sounds good. Then I'll go by later on." >>

Yeah. >> Um but that's probably the biggest >> the biggest thing in in project management is just calling people because you got to remember everybody's calling them. So, you have to be their priority in order to be their priority. You got to call them in the evening and in the morning. Call them like, quick text. Hey, man. I'll see you tomorrow morning. I'm going to be there. Let's let's chat. And then in the morning, like, hey,

what time you going to be there? >> Let's make sure that you're there. Okay, I'm going to be there. Okay, cool. Sounds good. I'll see you there later on. I I couldn't make it. I got busy. I'll be there though. >> But now I know they're working, right? >> So, there's somebody there working, always progressing my projects. If I don't have anybody there, then you have a problem. So, that's what happens with a lot of people.

They have uh they hire this contractor who they give money to and that guy gets that money and you know he'll be there a couple days and they think that they don't have to follow up with them and then you know a couple weeks go by and he's not even he hasn't done nothing. >> Yeah. >> So I learned that by getting >> burnt. >> So So now I follow up. So I'm like hey man >>

I've already gave you this much. you've done this much in the project. I need you to be there and get this stuff done in order for me to give you more money. Yeah. >> So, by the end of the week, what's our pro what's our plan? Right. >> Your plan is to do this and this. Okay, cool. So, I'll be here in the next few days to make sure you get it done and if you get

it done, I'll pay you the money. If you couldn't get finish it, then I'll be like, "Okay, well, I'm going to give you this much tomorrow. I'll come and finish it and I'll give you the rest of the money." >> Yeah. >> And then they they just they don't like it. But hey, that's how you got to do it. It's literally babysitting adults, unfortunately. But the construction industry is very ruthless and if you're not on top

of your game, they will eat you alive. >> Yeah. You give them an inch, they're going to take them out. >> They will. >> Yeah. That's uh I think that is extremely insightful. Chone. Uh a lot of people a lot of people wouldn't have even known that uh to begin with, but because you've already gone through the process and you've gotten burnt, right? You learned what not to do and now you know what to do to

be successful, right? is do you drive all your properties every single day? >> So, um so now I have an assistant. He's my assistant project manager and he drives them every day. >> He drives them. >> Okay. >> And then um he pushes like I tell him, >> excuse me. Um he needs to be ahead of the project. So >> um put it this way, we have >> right now I think we have um four or

five ongoing construction projects. Two that are almost done. So at the end, usually those two are always at the end of the project is the most difficult time. Yeah. But he'll be ahead of them. So he I go to the project >> at the beginning of the week and I'll be like, "Hey, what are we going to do this week?" They'll tell me what they're going to do and I'll be like, "What are you going to

do next week?" >> Yeah. >> So that way he has a week to get all the stuff they need >> for the following week. >> Yeah. and then he's ahead one week ahead because usually a lot of the times is a projects get delayed because they don't have the materials they don't have the resources to finish the project >> and >> so he's ahead in terms of getting the right materials for the >> Exactly. I'll give

you a perfect example recently we just started um wanting to do our own cabinets because we were paying a lot of money. >> Yeah. >> So we're not professionals at putting cabinets so we already went to the cabinet store three times. So because we don't know but we want to learn for we could cut you know it'll probably save us three or 4,000 per house. >> So you do 10 houses that's $40,000 that pays for my

project manager. >> Yeah. >> So um so I'm trying to we're trying to learn this but you know like a little piece of wood is missing or this is missing that's missing. So he needs to just be on top of that. Go pick up the material. Go do this. Go do that. Or they need uh uh one little thing that can delay the whole project. So we're sitting there waiting for this one little thing >> for

the project to progress and it's just holding up everything. >> So he's the one that >> is on top of that stuff >> to make sure the projects are progressing. >> Yeah. Yeah, man. That's extremely insightful, bro. You're you're sharing I feel like a lot of value right now to a lot of people in terms of project management and how to handle rehab. >> Uh I think a lot of people are going to listen to this

and they're going to find it super valuable and helpful. So I'm really really glad you're sharing all of this. Mhm. >> Thank you for sharing all everything by the way and not holding anything back. >> Um yeah, I mean is there anything else that you want to speak about all that? >> So yeah. So um I wanted to talk about wholesaling and how um we we we've talked about this um how the the market how the

market is changing. I feel like right now you have a lot of people who got taken out. >> Yeah. >> Like a lot of people left wholesaling and left. There's a lot of people that we that we probably used to see at events that were wholesaling maybe two, three years ago that we don't see wholesaling. Where where they at? Who knows? You know, they got taken out by the market. >> Exactly. So, you're going to have

a new wave of new people coming in and that new wave of people is going to bring new energy cuz I feel like wholesaling is all about how much energy, who has the most energy to go out there and just hustle, you know? Yeah. Um, so it comes down to that and um it I feel like right now um cold calling and texting and those things are starting to come back. Yeah. >> You know, the people

>> everybody thought it was dead. So now it's because everybody thinks it's dead. Now no one's doing it. So now it it's probably going to become >> uh um it's probably going to become resourceful now to actually do it. Mhm. >> And you know, that's when you know, you guys come in, your your company can come in and actually help people, you know, because we we stopped our cold callers, but now we're like, "Hey, >> we

should probably start doing this. We got a couple properties under contract last week that we probably would have not gotten under contract if we just didn't pick up the phone." >> Yeah. And they came from co calls. >> Yeah. And they came from coal calls. So, it's like just following back up like, "Hey, we had this lead in our CRM. Let me hit this guy back up. >> How you doing?" "Hey, yeah, I'm ready to sell.

Oh, let's get this under contract. >> Beautiful. Beautiful. >> So, you know, it comes down that comes, you know, from the pipeline from >> getting cold callers and having the cold callers build that um that data of >> maybe lukewarm sellers that you just got to continue to follow up. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And uh and we have about 20 co- callers right now. Yeah. We have about 20 coal callers. They're most of them are in

Egypt. We have some Venezuela Colombians. Uh but dude, they're making about a th000 to $3,000 per day each one. Uh in a month they're making about $50,000. And by the way, we follow all the laws, so everything's compliance with FTC. Uh we make sure we're not calling the do not call list or anything like that. But we uh we we make about that many that many cold calls and that's just one person. You know, 20 people

will be able to make a lot of a lot of cold calls, you know, like in 10 500. So about a million dollars every single month that we're we're doing. And this is not just in Houston now. We have clients in different markets. You know, we can do this nationwide. Uh but what's really interesting is that we have seen uh for for me, you know, just because we've perfected the uh we've perfected the script, we've perfected

uh the data pulling, everything. Our numbers have always been consistent. You know, it's always even like during the the downturn or anything. And really, it's all about just like putting more hours into a certain campaign and we'll get a [ __ ] ton more leads, you know. So, the way that we do it is we can scale back a campaign or if we're not hitting a goal for a certain campaign. All we need to do is

put an extra collar there and boom, before you know it, we're getting we're getting all the leads. As a matter of fact, I even just started a campaign in California and I was a little um I'm always confident in anything that I do, right? But I was like, man, I don't know how it's going to work, but you know, I'm going to take it and we're going to we're going to figure it out. And thank God,

bro, it's been working great. We've been generating two leads, two solid solid leads per day for this client in California. We're talking about like finding deals, you know, in Sacramento and all these different areas where typical prices are like a million, 3 million, something like that. And people are answering the phone, right? As long as you have a good coaller with good accent, with a good script, with good energy, we're going to be able to get

the leads, you know? So, >> I feel like those areas that have the higher price point, um, when the market starts shifting a little, I feel like they, a lot of the owners out there, they have so much equity. >> Yeah. >> That they don't care, >> right? >> You know, they don't care with giving a good deal to people because they have a million dollars in equity. >> Yeah. >> So, they'll take 800 grand, >>

right, >> instead of a million dollars. >> Yeah. So they're willing to be more flexible versus a lot of um what we were seeing here in Houston is that a lot of like the new data that's coming in is um they don't have equity. >> Right. >> So that becomes a problem. >> Right. Right. >> So you know you have a lot of these buyers who bought in 2022 2023 and they're like pretty much if they

go to sell it they got to bring money to the table. >> Yeah. I'm seeing that a lot right now bro. a lot of the leads that I'm going getting in right now and I see the leads that we're getting for the clients and uh there's a ton with no equity, you know, but that does provide an opportunity for, you know, buying all these properties subject to. >> Yes. So, I'm going to give you an example.

So, the 9 unit that I just wholesale, >> I found out that they bought it from somebody that I know. They bought the property for $535,000. >> Okay. >> And I they spent money on it. Yeah. And then I bought it for 385,000. >> You You bought it for 385? >> 385. >> They they lost money on the deal selling it to you. Yes. >> Did they have to come to the table with money? >> I

don't know who came to the money to the table, but when I went to patent title, they're like, "Somebody's losing a lot of money." >> Oh my. >> And I was like, "Wow." So, um, so yeah, it's happening right now as we speak, you know. So, there's a lot of opportunity out there right right now as we speak. Is there a reason that that person sold it for that much of a loss though? That's >> so

from my understanding he was just done. Um what a lot of people don't get is that multif family is a very unforgiving business. It is >> and you have to be like it's happened to us. We've had 97% occupancy for 6 months >> and then we'll get 15 people leave in one hit and then we have to file 10 evictions and all of a sudden our portfolio is at 85%. >> In one month. So, you have

to be very on top of things. And then there's a reason why that happens. You probably didn't pick up the phone for maintenance calls. You probably um you know, you didn't do something right and people just start leaving. >> Yeah. >> So, if you're not on top of stuff and you're not answering that phone from tenants, they will start leaving and the property will decline very quickly. So, your game it's it's you're running a business, you

know, you're not running people think that um multif family is very passive and it's not. It's very active and you have to be on it. If you don't have a professional property manager, your property will go downhill. And a lot of people thought that they could just like, I'm going to buy this little nine unit and you know, I'm going to manage it and have my 9 to5. >> Yeah. >> And you know, you have these

tenants calling you and bugging you about things and then they're not wanting to fix things or they're like or they have their life and they're they forget about it. the AC's out and these people are over there cooking in their house and you know they just leave. The people are like, "Man, f this." They just leave. Now you lost, you know, a tenant. Now you're going to have to fix the AC plus >> get it ready

again for rent and then you lose a month of rent because now you got to lease it out and then you got to find somebody to fix the property. So now you lost like four grand instead of sending somebody to get the AC fixed for 300 bucks. >> Yeah. >> So a lot of people don't It's happened to me. >> Yeah. >> So I know cuz I've done that. I've ignored people. I've ignored people and they

just leave >> and it doesn't work, you know. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> So, it can go on a decline very very quickly. >> Exactly. So, that's why I say like I feel like there's uh there's a there's a lot of owners like that right now in these situations. Um I just walked one today, a seven unit. Um >> do you think do you think it was mainly like new people that like just got into

the business about 2 three years ago? >> Uh you mentioned 2022 2023. It's like a bunch of like a wave of new people. They come in, they buy, they come in gunsling and they're like, "I'm going to be a real estate investor. It's going to be a passive income, blah, blah, blah." There's all these gurus talking about passive income and how easy it's going to be. There's talks of syndication, blah blah blah blah. >> And uh

and then they get their aspirant. >> Yeah. Or a lot of people make the mistake um they see one rental comp and they gravitate towards that rental comp and say like, "Hey, yeah, like >> Yeah. They'll be like, "Oh, my rent it's going to be 1,300 a month." and >> and they base their entire uh >> their NOI based off of that. They base it that my rental income is going to be 1300. >> What's an

NOI for everyone that's uh listening here? >> Net operating income um based off of those numbers. So then they go to the lender and the appraiser and they're like, "Hey, this is what my NOI is going to be." And the NOI is >> and that's not a performer, right? >> Yeah. It's not going to it's not going to be that because now >> um there's in Houston there's a 10% um vacancy I mean uh 90% occupancy.

So there's 10% um vacancy right now. So if you factor in right now, if you have a 10 unit, expect to have one to two vacant always. >> Always. >> Yeah. So >> you need to factor that into your performance >> into your performance. And a lot of people were being very aggressive and they weren't factoring that in and they were having an issue with that because now those two units that you have vacant >> and

then other repairs happening to the property and then property tax and insurance were going like crazy. So now you have uh you have negative negative negative cash flow for the a couple years >> and a lot of people can can sustain that. So they're just like >> take the property back. >> Take it. Yeah. >> Wow. >> So let's keep talking about the market, right? >> Uh right now, like you know, from the moment that you

started to where you're at now, what kind of market trends have you seen? What kind of market cycles have you seen in Houston? Because we're in Houston, Texas. That's what we can speak about, right? So let's talk real quick about some of the the the market cycles that you've seen. >> But in regards to what? So, you know, like in 20 you you came here what? 2017 2018. >> 2018. >> You were flipping a lot. You

were buying and holding. >> Uh, and that was a good time for buying and holding. Then then it was like a really good time for wholesaling. Yes. >> So, let's talk about all of those cycles. >> So, right now, what a lot of people don't get is that flipping in Houston right now is the same market as 2017 18. So, 2018 our inventory was probably 6 months, 7 months. It usually took about two to three months

to get a offer. >> Yeah. >> Back in the days >> 2017. Yeah. >> And then we hit the after the co where houses were lasting on the market 10 days, 5 days, two days, one day. >> So that was really good time. >> Everybody was everybody was spoiled on that. So now we're back to the two months, 3 months, four months the property will sit there. >> Yeah. >> However, what we're um so yeah, so

that's going back to the market trends right now. It's a good time to flip if you're a professional. If you have great prices in in material and everything, it's a great time to flip >> if you're a professional. >> If you're a professional, if you're not a professional, it's a bad time to flip. I feel like right now the the perfect timing is right now is to buy and hold again. >> Buy and hold. >> Mhm.

Because um tax and insurance is stabilized. Yeah. And then owners are starting to be more reasonable in pricing. So, it's a perfect storm to buy right now and hold it for a few years. and sell in, you know, five years, you're going to get some equity. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> But >> capture that equity >> and then also wholesaling. >> We're seeing that since the sellers are starting to be more flexible, then yes. However, the biggest

issue you're going to have right now is that there's not a lot of like actual >> buyers right now for wholesaling, >> right? So, you're either going to have to buy or sell for you to hold or you're going to have to like take a very low uh profit with wholesaling. So, your profit margins have diminished because of that reason. >> However, there's still people who are making a lot of money wholesaling though. >> Yeah. Yeah,

there is. >> There is. So, I I don't want to be the Debbie Downer and say that you can't wholesale, but you know, we're starting to get back into commercial wholesaling more than residential wholesaling. >> Why? Why commercial wholesaling? because we think I think we hit a bottom in commercial wholesale and commercial real estate. We're starting to see like people are starting to buy again. You know, last year was the perfect time to buy. Um >>

we bought I'll give you a perfect example. I bought a 34 unit last year. Um I literally paid 50 a door >> and the asis appraisal came in at 92 a door. >> Oh, >> asis. As is. So, literally the owner the owner brought I think they brought $500,000 to the closing table. >> I I can show you, you know, there's proof. >> Wow. >> So, but granted, it was a huge nonprofit organization >> that they

don't care. Their balance sheet is probably, you know, uh $500 million of real estate. So, that was like pennies to them, >> whatever. Yeah. >> Um so, that's a big difference between us and them, you know. Yeah. >> So to them that was like maybe 30k loss for us, you know. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. In retrospect. Yeah. >> In in retrospect. Exactly. >> Yeah. >> Cool. That's uh my mind is like spinning right now. That's a

it's a lot of information. >> Yes, it is. >> Yeah. And so, uh, a lot of people can really benefit though from actually starting in wholesaling. Right now, though, if if for the people that are new in the game, you know, they can go out there and start actually wholesaling. Maybe don't expect to be making, you know, 20, 30, 40, 50k assignments, but hey, maybe some consistent 5K or 10K assignments could really put you on the

map to actually start investing later on in the future >> or build a track record of um, and build momentum. I think that's what a lot of people don't get because starting is the hardest thing. It is. >> And getting the momentum because once you >> not only that but the skills. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And but bro, momentum is huge because I'll tell you this, when you completely stop something, your your your momentum just dies

out >> and now you're just like >> your mind's in another place versus when you just keep going at it. You get one deal, you get another deal, you get another deal, and all of a sudden your board starts looking sexy. And now you have like like us when we're doing 12 flips. It didn't start with 12 flips. It started with two flips and then it started with three flips and then it started we started building

momentum. We started selling them and we're like, "Okay, cool. We can build this theme up and start building this up. But now we're like, "Okay, cool. We're starting to see new more buyers come into the market. Let's start wholesaling. We wholesale. We whoailed. We just whoailed our first one. We didn't make a lot. We made 10K. We're going to make 10K." >> Yeah. >> So, okay, cool. 10K. I'll take that. >> Yeah. Whatever. >> That pays

the bills. >> Absolutely. Where do you see the market going for the rest of the year? this year. >> It really depends on Poppy Trump. >> Yeah. >> How crazy he gets, I feel. >> Yeah. >> Um let's hope that he stops this tariff situation, you know, and um Ray Dallio, you know, he's been on TV, you know, like saying if he continues this, we're going to go into a deep recession, >> right? >> Um however,

even if we go into a recession, people don't get that there's always going to be opportunity. >> Absolutely. So just because we're in a recession, stop looking at the TV and focus on you as an individual and focus on where you're going to take your company and your path. Because if you just sit there and watch news all day, you're just going to literally just screw yourself in the head versus you just getting up and hustling

every day. There's always a buyer. Even um during the last recession, 2008, there was transactions. Just because >> the market slowed down doesn't mean that transactions are happening. So, you got to just continue to do transactions. Even if you make three grand, four grand, 5 grand, 10 grand, anything. Just keep the momentum going, >> right? Yeah. I love that. What about next year? You do you see the same thing? >> We just don't know. I feel

like a lot of people are just like kind of like, "What what what's going on?" >> I feel the same way, you know, like I've spoken to a lot of investors and I've spoken to a lot of, you know, business owners and a lot of people are just kind of very cautious. you know, they're they're they don't want to make any like large moves because for the same reason do we got a new president. Uh before

it was like, oh, what president are we gonna have is going to be the kind of like direction of the country. But now that we have a new president, then it's like, oh, he's doing all these different uh >> foreign policy, you know, like policy that's affecting the the capital markets and so it's it's not going to be something that can be predictable, you know, because it's all based on his his decisions on what he's doing

with the country. Well, you have to realize something that um everything that he's doing is inflationary. However, he's a real estate man, too. >> Yeah. >> So, at the end of the day, he's going to benefit the rich. >> Yeah. >> You know, it's the reality of the world, right? >> He's going to I think my personal opinion is that he's doing the show to get rates lower. >> Yeah. >> Um so, he's like telling the

Fed like, "Hey, the world's ending. The the the market's crashing. >> You need to do an emergency rate cut." Right. >> And that's my opinion of the situation that he's trying to do. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Because if rates go down, what happens with real estate? Real estate goes up, >> right? >> So, that's my personal opinion. However, the tariffs is just a big old like, oh my god, it's becoming a problem because resource like for

contractors and for us who are in construction, you know, we get our cabinets from China, we get our baseboard from China, we get >> Have you seen prices go up? They have not said it, but they told us that if they do continue, the next batch of inventory that comes in is going to become, you know, obviously it's going to go up. >> Yeah. Wow. >> Because of the tariffs, right? >> So, that's when it's really

going to hit the fan. It hasn't hit the fan yet. >> Not yet. >> But we don't know. >> Yeah. We don't know. Who knows what's going to happen. It's going to be an interesting time for sure. >> It is. It is. It is. But when there's interesting time, there's also opportunity. >> So, you got to look at it from a positive standpoint, not from a negative standpoint. >> Yeah. And it costs no different or it

makes no different for you to make the decision to look at the opportunity and say or or the situation that we're in right now and say, "Hey, I'm either going to choose to look at this positively and I'm going to benefit from it or I'm going to look at this as negatively and I'm going to be a Debbie Downer and and think that the whole world is going to crash down on me, you know?" >> Yes,

I've been there. I've been in that situation where you just like let yourself go down a rabbit hole and you just like get stuck there like I'm not going to buy anymore, nothing. I'm not going to do anything. I'm just going to stay at home. And it's like, okay, like, you know, we're in real estate. We got to make money. We have to continue to transact. You just have to go with what the market tells you.

If the market is showing you, hey, it's time to wholesale, wholesale. If it's time to flip, flip. If it's time to do this, do this. There's always opportunity in real estate, and that's the reality. >> Yeah, I agree. I agree. Let's talk um let's talk about your Instagram handle. Uh uh htx one day closer, right? That's that's your Instagram handle. Okay. So when I uh when I initially met you, you were like you you're swinging this

term around. One day closer, one day closer. And you know, me and you at first uh at first we didn't like each other, right? So I'm like, man, this guy's full of [ __ ] >> Yeah, >> that's hilarious. >> Yeah. Um but once I think a couple of times I've witnessed it where we've had some deals and you did you came to the closing table and it was all cash and you [ __ ] closed

quick. So let's let's talk about that and how you got to the point where number one you were able to like figure out how to close on a property that fast and you know actually figure out the process that it takes to do that and then number two uh your branding and and how you branded yourself as a one day closer. Can we talk about that? >> So so yeah so a lot of the stuff that

we've done is um what I have how I've done it is just pretty much I'm looking I'm in this game to win. I'm not in this game to lose course. So, I give people offers and I always usually tell them like, "Hey, brother, >> this is my offer. >> If you sell it to somebody else, congratulations." You know, I want you to make more money. >> But if you don't have that offer and you need a

real buyer, I'm right here. So, I always tell people that. >> So, you know, like I'll I always, you know, I'm always lower than what they ask. >> Yeah. But they've been situations in the last I think the last few months that's how we've closed a lot of deals because hey Jonathan uh you know what I the buyer backed out. You want it? >> Yeah. Let's do this. Yeah. >> When do you need to close? Well,

we need to close Tuesday because the seller's going to back out. >> Yeah. >> Don't worry about it. We got you. >> No problem. >> Close on it. >> And that's how you're able to beat out a lot of buyers in Houston, you know. >> Yeah. Well, yeah, because you provide reliability, right? Exactly. And and and you're consistent with it, too. You know, it's not like you've just said it only one or two times. It's like

as long as I've known you, you've like been able to close deals very very quickly. Uh faster than probably 99% of people out there, you know. >> So, I think I I commend you for that. That's that's pretty amazing. Yeah. >> Yes. Yes. >> And how did you where did you get the idea to brand it? >> I don't know. I just like I just thought about it. I'm like, "Hey, I'll close in one day." Because

a lot of times, like on Facebook, >> Yeah. >> Everybody's like, "I want to buy the deal." >> Yeah. >> And everybody's just like, they, you know, I've posted deals on Facebook and what happens? Everybody in the mother is like, "I want to buy. I want to buy. I want to buy." And nobody really buys it. I've seen this. I see it all the time. It's the same people putting their name on there, their email, and

then they never take action. So, it's like, >> and and this is, you know what? I I'll be honest with you. This is how I learned this. So, when I first moved to Houston, the best deals that transacted in Houston were like literally eaten up by the professionals >> when you first moved to Houston. >> When I first moved to Houston. So, I would be like, "Okay." I would be like, "Okay, I know this deal. >>

The comp is this." >> Yeah. >> And I would be like, "Let me think about it." >> You? >> Yeah. Me. I would be like, "Let me think about it." tomorrow. I'll be like, I thought about it overnight and I'm like, I want to buy it. Text the guy, "Hey, I want to buy it." >> Sold. >> So then I'll be like, "Oh man." >> Then I would do it again. I would go to the showing,

do the thing, underwrite it, do everything, and then they'll be like, "So I'll be like, "What the f is going on?" Like, "Why can't I get a deal?" And I realized that in order to compete with these guys, these guys are professionals. They have things in order. They already know their comps. They already know their construction costs. They are professional. They have this by the they have it down >> down to a tea. >> Yeah. They

they're really good at what they do. So, I was like, in order for me to compete with these guys, I got to beat these f >> these guys, you know? Like, I got to beat these guys, you know? Like, >> I got to beat these guys. And the only way I'm going to do it is by just literally when the when the deal comes, I'm like there. Yeah. And I'm like a lot of people don't know

how to underwrite construction. So, I'm like, I already know. >> I go in. I'm like, okay, I'll take it. Yeah. >> No questions asked. >> Done. >> Let's go. >> Yeah. >> Then they're like, uh uh. >> And that freaks out a lot of people. >> It does. Like, let's go. I'll buy it. No problem. Let's go. Where do I send that EMD? Yeah. >> Then they're like, uh uh uh uh. Okay. Well, let's get it

done. >> And then I reclose on it and get it done and we list it a few months later. And then they're like, "Wow, okay. What happened? How did you do this?" And they're like, "Well, we just get it done. We're professionals, you know? >> We don't we we see this as a business. We're very professional about this." >> But it took you a while to get to that point, right? Like how long how long did

it take you to be to be a professional? so to speak. >> Um I think it takes it took me about um it took me about a year, bro. >> About a year of consistency. >> Yeah. Um yes, because you really have >> you did a lot of deals during that year. >> Um no, I probably did like six. I didn't do that many, but >> but it it had to come to the point where I'm

like, "Hey, like if I really want to make money and I really want to make this my business, I have to become a professional. I have to know my ARVs. I have to know my areas. I have to like know that there's another guy that wants the same deal as me, so I have to beat him to it. >> So, I'm going to literally So, when I first moved out here, I would literally drive all day

long in that crappy truck. >> Yeah. >> Literally, I would drive all day for hours, bro, and just understand markets. Go on. I didn't have access to the MLS, so I would just go on Zillow and read um I I forgot the name of it, but I would just go on there and just underwrite the deals, underwrite it, practice like I'm buying it and, you know, just practice and practice and practice and know my areas, write

down notes, and just study the markets until I [ __ ] realize that, you know what, I know what I'm doing. Let's get this done. >> Yeah. They say it takes 10,000 hours to be a master at anything, and it does. I think you spent way more than that. >> Yeah. Beyond that, >> you're not a you're not a master anymore. you're you're beyond that level for sure. >> Uh you can definitely be one of those

gurus that they you know you see online, but uh I'm really glad that you you stick to what you're doing and you you just stick to the business, man, and you stick to uh bringing value, making beautiful houses, and providing shelter for a lot of families out there. I mean, you have 340 units, so you're you're one of, >> you know, in the grand scheme of things is considered a small landlord, but for someone that's new,

you know, it's like that's that's a that's a decent size landlord for sure. So, uh I think you're providing a lot of value to a lot of people. Thank you, brother. >> Uh the next step for you is going to be what? Developments. >> Yes. Yes. Um so, um back to the market cycles. I feel like right now is a great time to flip. Um because there's not a lot of um investors out there flipping. >>

So, back in, you know, a couple years ago, >> you couldn't I couldn't do this what I'm doing right now. I couldn't flip because everybody was paying 85% for a deal. You know, the 75% deal was not ex there was some, but not as much volume as I'm doing right now. You would get like maybe two, three flips a year because you got lucky, but not 12 consistent flips always just getting deals all the time. I

got one under contract today and it was probably like a 75 76% deal and you know that's perfect. You're going to make money. >> You're not going to lose money. When you're doing 85% deals, it's a very >> it's very risky cuz one go thing goes wrong and you're losing money already. >> Absolutely. >> So, um so I feel like right now is a great time to flip. There's less um there's less buyers. there's less people

who are actually who I'm competing with. So, I'm able to get deals at that 75% 73% mark and it's perfect for me. Yeah. >> But it's going to come out. It's going to come to um an end. I feel like >> the market is going to adjust. There's going to start becoming u more buyers out there that are just going to say, "Hey, I'm willing to pay more for this guy. I'm >> with this new wave

that's coming in." >> Yeah. Exactly. With this new wave of investors who are going to come in and are going to be like, "Hey, this guy's making 30K. Well, I'm willing to take 15K. >> Yeah. >> You know, but they're risking, you know, a sewer lines backed up, sewer lines messed up, a collapse underground, and they could just lose money or, you know, or this newbie guy is like, "Hey, I've never made 10 grand in my

whole life. I'll take 10 grand and do all that work, right?" >> Well, more power to him. But when it gets to where me making 10 grand a deal, it's not going to make sense anymore. So, that's when right now what I'm doing is I'm um constantly looking for lots. uh bigger lots where I can replplot and actually um uh build multiple houses on the lot. Um I have one I have two right now >> and

I'm looking for more. I'm looking for bigger plots of land um and just like get them under contract um put some money down and just pay the payment on it until the market gets, you know, really hot again. >> Yeah. >> And then start developing it and building it, you know. Right. I think that it's it's a great time to start land baking because I feel like um land right now you could get it at 50%

of value if you know how to if you know how to get deals right. >> Yeah. If you know how to negotiate, you know how to market, you know, find find the leads, >> you need to have uh you need to have some cold callers for that. >> Yes, I do. I need to get them. >> Yeah. Let me know, bro. I'll help you out. >> Um cool, man. That's uh that's exciting. So, for anyone that's

watching, Jonathan Chicone, he's looking for uh houses. Uh you heard here from from him >> and land. >> And land. Yeah. >> And multi family. >> And multif family. And anything that is on real estate, this guy can buy. So, >> yes, I literally have >> You have warehouses. >> I do have a >> I have a warehouse. I have motel. >> I have multifamily. >> Yeah. >> So, a little bit of everything. >> A little

bit of everything, huh? You have the the industrial space. You have the multif family space, residential. So, >> I even have an RV park, too. >> You even have an RV park. There you go. So, >> uh for anyone that's watching, uh and you need a deal closed fast, uh would you say that the one day closer thing is mainly for residential? Probably. >> Yes, more than likely it is because um commercial is more complex. You

can't close it in one day. Um you have to underwrite it. And I usually I can't I can't handle that with a with private money. >> Yeah. Unless it's a multif family and it's a smaller multif family or unless it's like literally a steal that you know like I cannot resist. Well, even then you still have to get environmentals. Um the lenders require environmentals. They require appraisals for those. They're not going to let you just buy

it in one day. >> No, it doesn't exist. But a single family home is easy. >> Yeah, of course. So, if anyone has a deal, they need someone to close on it in one single day, uh hit up Jonathan Tone. will be able to buy that deal in one single day. >> Houston mostly. >> Houston. Houston surround areas. Yeah. Okay, cool. And then uh and then you're looking for land. You want to do some developments. So,

how big of parcels are we talking about here that you're looking to buy? >> Um we're looking to buy probably um we're not that big. So, maybe under a couple acres um for like three, four, five. >> Um just two two acres um in the city. If it's outside of the city, >> you can buy a lot more acres for, you know, cheaper prices. want to buy about less than two acres inside of the city. >>

Inside the city, outside of the city, you could do 10 15 acres. >> Yeah. >> Depends on location. >> Got to know where like what area you want to like start developing in. So, >> yeah. >> Yeah. So, in the city, two acres outside where where what's your goal with development? Do you want to start in the city or outside of the city? >> So, the lots that I have right now are in the city. >>

In the city. So, probably inside the city. >> Well, it doesn't really matter. Really doesn't matter as long as there's um >> equity. Not just equity, but I think there has to be um city utilities >> close to the property for we can access the utilities. >> Yeah. Cool. Okay. Cool. Well, uh man, I think we've covered a lot. Huh. >> We went all around the world. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. This was a this was a

great great episode. I really enjoyed this one, man. I think we covered a lot of ground. I think we uh we offered a lot of value in terms of where the market's at. you know, we we went into all of your experience and everything that you've done. Uh spoke about uh you know, how to manage people, how to manage seven rehabs at the same time. >> So, it was a jam-packed episode. So, I think a lot

of people are going to enjoy to to watch this. >> Uh how can people reach out to you if they have a deal to go? >> Yes. So, um you can reach me out on Instagram, on HTX1day Closer, and on Facebook. Um those are the two forms of reaching out to me. I usually look at the um the DMs that show like that somebody that first um DM me. >> Yeah. Like a requested. >> Yeah, exactly.

So, I look at them all the time because I have people who hit me up all the time and you know, you never know. They re we can do a deal together. We could partner. >> Who knows? You know, there's endless things that can happen. >> And on Facebook, they can find you by typing in just Jonathan Chome. >> Yes. Cool. Perfect. >> Cool. Well, is there anything else that you want to share? >> No, that's

it. >> That's pretty much it. Cool. Well, thank you for tuning in to uh pick up the phone podcast and uh we'll see you on the next one. All right. >> All right.