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SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 197: MAKING UP FOR THE LOST TIME WITH MATT THERIAULT
When you’ve lost everything and you’re trying to pick up the pieces and move forward with your life, where you begin? This was the real life dilemma faced by Matt Theriault who, overnight, went from a 7 figure salary to a $7 per hour grocery bagging job. In today’s podcast, Matt shares how real estate investing became the vehicle to not only turn his life around but to help him far exceed his previous success.
What You Will Learn
- What is “final frontier” where the average person has a legitimate shot at creating real wealth?
- How you can start real estate investing with absolutely no money
- What’s the main benefit between being a real estate investor over a real estate agent?
- What’s the difference between creating a pile of cash vs creating a stream of cash?
- How wholesaling and flipping can help you build a passive long-term cash flow machine
- A little known trick that will help you separate good potential property managers from bad
- Why managing property managers is easier than managing properties
About Our Guest
Matt Theriault
Matt Theriault is a Marine Corps “Desert Storm” Veteran who enjoyed 15 successful years in the music business as a record producer and label owner. When the digital download killed the record store, he found virtually everything that he had built become obsolete in a matter of months. The demise of his music business was swift and unforgiving to the point that Matt was forced to start life, personally and professionally, from square one at the age of 34. The transition from a 7-figure a year salary to $7 an hour bagging groceries was a humbling one to say the least.
More About Matt
- Matt Theriault is a US marine corps desert storm veteran and became a record producer and label owner for 15 successful years. But digital downloads killed his record business.
- At the age of 34, in just 6 months, Matt lost everything, including his marriage and ended up bagging groceries for $7 per hour.
- Matt realized that no one was going to save him and was committed to getting his life and his money back.
- Matt remembered what a friend had told him, “Look into real estate. It really is the final frontier, where the average person has a legitimate shot at creating real wealth.”
- That is where he started his journey to get the little push that he needed to get back on his feet.
- Found out he had an aunt who was a top real estate agent
- Matt got his license and started as a real estate agent.
- As a rookie, Matt did pretty well during his first year. During his four years with successful clients, he realized that he is sitting on the wrong side of the desk of this “final frontier in creating real wealth.”
- He wanted to represent himself and not other people in creating wealth.
- Matt made a shift from being a real estate agent to becoming a real estate investor.
- He first invested in educating himself on real estate investing.
- Matt’s first purchase was a single family home that he converted into a fourplex.
- Matt soon discovered how to wholesale properties but realized it was also too much like a full-time job
- After few more deals, and came up with a formula to build a rental property portfolio. He would wholesale six and hold one, wholesale five and hold one, wholesale four and hold one, until he had 100 rental properties. As per Robert Kiyosaki ‘s definition of escaping the rat race, Matt had “done it.” His passive income had exceed his monthly expenses.
- Then he retired… for 30 days
- He got referral fees for helping turn-key operators and decided to build his own
- Matt started building up his properties and teams in 12 different markets. Now he is a turn-key provider
15 Years Later
- He has real estate 12 markets – 12 cities – 12 teams
- Turnkey operations in multiple states
- 100 rental units – 100 notes (reduced from 300 and increase the quality mixed properties)
- Wealth fund for credit investors
- Buy & Sell finance land
- Tried multifamily but it did not work out well but may return
Biggest Mistake
- Not looking into why before going deeper
- Trying to get bigger rather than being better and more efficient.
- Trying something else that is not in your core competencies
- Hiring staff without doing your due diligence
Biggest Success
- Shifting his focus from creating piles of cash to creating streams of cash
- Most people will take $30,000 now instead of $300 a month indefinitely
- Understanding the value of cash flow
Approach to Property Management
- Choose the best market. The best market is where we have our best relationship, where we have our best team.
- You can have a horrible market and a great team and you’ll do great or you can have a great market and a horrible team and do terrible
- Perform your best due diligence on your property management and contractors.
- Start with referral.
- Do an interview (leave a few questions off the list). Call him back and leave a few questions on his answer machine and see how quick he gets back to you. A good test is to see how quickly he gets back a response.
- Have two different property managers in an area (they’ll compete against each other) to be good
- Evaluate your business and look into single point of failure and create redundancy on those areas (click on podcast).
- Diversify your team as much as you want to diversify your properties.
- Test your new property manager by starting to trust him with one property rather than giving him all the loads.
- Put system in place where you manage your property managers. Be involved. Passive income doesn’t mean not being involved.
Advice to Old Dawgs Considering Real Estate Investing
- There will be some hard work to get started.
- Focus on creating residual income to create a stream of cash not just creating a pile of cash.
- Start analyzing all the assets you have and calculate their annual return on investment.
- Sort the list from highest returns on investment (ROI) to lowest and start working from the bottom up, re-allocating that assets yielding the lowest generating into those on the top.
- Build a good team
- Stay passive – managing property managers is easier than managing properties
Where He Sees His Business in the Future
- Highest aspiration is growth, no end point.
- Evaluate today and be better than yesterday.
- Measure residual income and make it better next time.
- Focusing more on building it and passing it along to his son and the next generation.
Rap-It-Up
- Favorite real estate book: Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller
- Favorite business book: Slight Edge by Jeff Olson
- Most valuable web site for success (other than your own): “ListSource.com”
- Favorite app: Voxer
- Favorite quote: “You have to learn from the mistakes of others. You won’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”
- If you had to start all over, knowing what you know, and you only had $1,000, what would you do to launch your real estate investing business? Wouldn’t even need the $1,000. Matt would find properties and match them with buyers (wholesaling).
How to Reach MATT
This Episode Brought to You by HealthIQ.com
This episode of the “Old Dawg’s REI Podcast” is sponsored by Health IQ, an insurance company that helps health-conscious people like runners, cyclist, weightlifters and vegetarians get lower rates on their life insurance. To see if you qualify, get your free quote today at HealthIQ.com/OldDawg or mention the promo code OldDawg when you talk to a Health IQ agent.
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