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SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 173: GROWING A SUCCESSFUL REAL ESTATE BUSINESS THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS
Some people say real estate is all about “location, location, location” but, according to successful real estate investor Melodee Lucido, it’s not the location that’s key but, more importantly, it’s all about relationships. In this episode, Melodee shares her key to success through developing, growing and nurturing strong, lifetime relationships.
What You Will Learn
- Two key things Melodee does to help people she works with to feel inspired and empowered
- Why relationships were more difficult to establish in California
- Melodee’s favorite way to locate off-market properties
- Where you can go to find free real estate investing advise
- What is her key communication tool
- When can you afford to take higher risks?
- How she was able to wholesale an 80-unit apartment deal
About Our Guest
Melodee Lucido
Melodee Lucido has been wholesaling virtually (from California) since January 2011 in Memphis and DFW. Virtual wholesaling wasn’t popular back then but it was a game she wanted to play. Melodee was able to quit her job high-end hair and skin salons in Ventura County after almost 9 months into her new business and has never looked back. Currently, she wholesales, rehabs and holds rental properties, as well as doing lease options in a few markets nationally. She also devotes time to helping others who are interested in learning the business.
Melodee believes her success in this business has come from her ability to connect with people. She is passionate about relating to people and in bringing value to them in any way she can. She wants two things to happen when she connects with people: 1) That they feel “seen and heard” and 2) That she makes herself memorable to them. She consciously seeks to inspire and empower people.
More About Melodee
- She was the oldest of 6 kids in her family
- Remembers driving in a car with her family at 11, she saw a shack in the middle of a field and thought, “wouldn’t it be cool to fix that shack up so that someone could live in it”
- In her 20s, married, wanted to start wholesaling, husband said no and others tried to discourage her
- Finally, in 2003, divorced, she bought a book (by Bill Bronchick) and started looking at pre-foreclosures. She did some deals in California but people were talking about the market as it was heading toward a downturn and she decided to direct her eyes on more conventional small businesses
- January, 2011, at age 59, life had changed due to illness and decided to do look at real estate again, but more from the marketing standpoint
- Made the decision to commit to real estate
- Started marketing on CraigsList to find houses
- Took 6 months
- At 9 months, she was able to quit her full-time job to do real estate exclusively
- Her dream was to see 5 or 6 location hubs in the U.S. where she would be doing business “virtually”
- She heard about a guy named Chris Chico who taught virtual wholesaling
- Jumped in, even though she didn’t know what she was doing
- Found a few deals in Dallas/Fort Worth area
- Sought out help on BiggerPockets.com and other places to make sure she was doing things right
- Always thought that wholesalers were crooks but found out how wholesaling can actually help people
- In her first few deals, she saw how she was actually able to help out families and be of service by buying the houses they did not want
- Some wholesalers from Memphis contacted her and said they had 21 properties, wanted to rehab, fix them up but didn’t know how to find the investors to buy the properties
- August, 2011, partnered with them and did 6 deals in the first month and she made $9,000 – she was hooked
- Since then, have done lease options, mostly wholesaling and expanded to Phoenix, Memphis and Kansas City
- Today, mostly focused on lease options
Expanding Her Network
- Has continued to meet and network with people who have brought her a steady flow of deals in different parts of the country on a JV basis
- Connected with a guy in Texas, John Jackson, who helped her because she had no money to pay for programs or coaching – became a mentor- send her business
The Curse of the Shiny Object Syndrome
- Today, there are too many real estate investing strategies, programs, methodologies
- You need to stay focused on one thing and become good at it before learning something else
Started in California
- Established beauty industry businesses in Ventura
- Did not do much real estate business in California – most people were difficult to partner with
- Got involved with local REI group
- Moved to Arizona, started marketing to Memphis and Kansas City
- Made a lot of wholesaler friends who helped teach her
- Most recently, moved to Memphis
- She still helps people from California who have made many mistakes
- Most people pay too much for their turn-key properties and fixer-uppers
In Memphis
- Has established great relationships
- Loves “driving for dollars.” Always finds 3-4 properties every time she drives around
- Knows the area very well now
The Importance of Relationships
- Her success comes directly as a result of her relationships
- The young man who was her first contact in 2011, in Memphis, is still a friend whom she does business with on a regular basis. He’s in Florida now
- She really values people
- She approaches people more from a consultant, “girl next door,” “let’s be friends” type of positioning – because that’s really is where she’s at
- Many people are “all about the money” but she is “all about the people” – and the money follows
- She just helps people get what they want
- She has a couple of coaching programs and is grateful for them
- She does a lot of coaching for free and sometimes, when they do a deal, they split the profit
- She loves helping people – sellers, buyers, other people in the business
- She doesn’t see competition – it’s all about cooperation, collaboration and contribution
- Likes to be like a Barbara Walters or Oprah type
- She sees how many people have become more isolated with social media and have lost the art of true interpersonal communication
- Her joy comes from seeing everyone smile
Biggest Mistake
- Underestimating her abilities – Not realizing how much she had to bring/contribute to others
- Two big lessons learned:
- Choose carefully who you JV with
- Has lost tens of thousands of dollars through bad JV partners
- Realize it is a business
- Approach each deal with wisdom and your eyes on the end-goal
- Take time to get to know the people you work with on JV deals
- She’s very selective on who she works with
- Choose carefully who you JV with
Biggest Success
- Being able to pick up the phone constantly to call people out of the blue
- Seller
- Wholesalers
- Property Managers
- Real estate agent
- Rehabbers
- Calling people who may potentially be a good contact or help fit a “piece of the puzzle” together
- Constantly expanding her network
- Didn’t even do social media until June 2017
- Always looking how she can help others
- Regularly goes to BiggerPockets, Facebook groups, forums to answer questions and makes contacts
Advice for Old Dawgs
- She’s a higher risk taker but feels it’s OK if you can manage the risks
- For her rentals, she loves buying low-end houses and getting up to 30-60% cash-on-cash returns
- Research and know your market
- Her business model
- buy homes for $8-10,000
- Put $5,000 into it
- Get a good property manager
- Her advice:
- Find out what your comfort zone it
- If you have a self-directed IRA or 401K
- You can buy 5 of the low-end houses, compared to one in one of the “better areas” where you might get a 10% return
- Get passive income coming in
- She is set for the rest of her life financially and is building a legacy for her adult children
Lease Options
- A few she keeps for cash flow
- Gets $1,550 a month on one deal
- Good for people who have little or no equity in a home
Wholesaling Apartments
- Mid 2013, really wanted to do multifamily
- Bought a program
- Put properties out there on BiggerPockets, Craigslist (great lead source)
- Had a guy call her who said, “I have 80 units and don’t have time to sell…”
- Took a few months to find the right buyer but it was a good deal
Rap-It-Up
- Favorite real estate book: Buying Real Estate Without Cash or Credit by Peter Conte and David Finkle
- Favorite business book: The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann
- Most valuable web site for success (other than your own): Facebook
- Favorite app: Vumber
- Favorite quote: “Why sometimes I believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” – Lewis Carrol
- 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? Find out where buyers are buying. Drive for dollars. Call people to see if I could help people.
How to Reach Melodee
- Email: melodeelucido@gmail.com
- Cell phone: 805-320-7559
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