On this episode Doug Van Soest creator of podcast Spouses Flipping Houses joins Holly as they discuss how to be more successful in your real estate business. Doug and his wife, Andrea, got their start in real estate after reading “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” while they were engaged. This book helped to open their eyes to other possibilities in their life and real estate became a real possibility for them.

Both Holly and Doug got their start in real estate in August of 2008 and have not looked back since.  Doug began his career in a concession stand business, Kettle Corn to be exact. Doug got his start in real estate investing by listening to free real estate podcasts where he was advised to go to a REIA club. At his first REIA club he heard Bruce Norris speak. Norris advised those attending to get out that the sky was falling and Doug and his wife took the advice and started a two year process to get homes and started investing.

Doug started out flipping houses off the MLS, flipping about one house a month. In 2011 they decided to ramp up their business and started mailing directly to landlords to get more deal and started growing and introducing wholesaling into their business strategy.

Doug is based in Murrieta and does most of his business in the Inland Empire, San Bernardino and Riverside County areas. He has flipped and wholesaled a total of 300 properties in his real estate career. As of August 1, 2016 he has flipped and wholesaled 35 total properties.

Holly asks Doug what advice he would like to give to listeners, Doug advises that every deal is unique and that as a real estate investor you need to expect the unexpected. If you are going to take on a project that gets the city involved, or a home designated historical, you need to take into consideration the amount of time it will take to turn a property but don’t let time hold you back.

Doug also shares with Holly his most recent best deal. Best deals are when you get homes in a desirable area with good schools and working class people. Families want to live there and they will pay a premium to live in that area in a nice home. Because of the desirable location and low cost rehab on the home he was able to make 30k over their estimated sale cost.

In the beginning of their real estate career Doug and his wife were the only two on their team since then they have grown their team and have added more help as their business becomes more successful.

Doug reminds us that a single person can do the work to start out with but as you grow, you add people into your business and grow one person at a time if you begin to feel that you are too busy. You can look at your schedule and see what tasks you are doing that you can outsource to others so that you can lighten your load and direct that focus on tasks that require more of your attention. Holly also says that you need to learn to delegate to grow

Doug’s best advice for a brand new investor is that you need to take action, get some education but don’t get stuck in the idea that you need to learn more before you take your first step. Take smart action and just do it – look on craigslist and look for opportunities. Opportunities will come by way of your hard work.

Seasoned investors don’t always want to let go of the thing that they are doing but if you want to grow and be successful you need to let go and find people to do tasks for you that are taking up your time. You need to let go of certain aspects of the business and let other people help you so that you can grow your business. Time freed up in your life is a form of success in Doug’s eyes.

To continue to educate yourself and learn business building strategies you can listen to Doug and Andrea’s podcast, Spouses Flipping Houses, as well as checkout their website for more information. Doug can also be reached by email for any inquires that you may have.

Doug Van Soest

Spouses Flipping Houses

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