We are bringing yet another great episode from a successful real estate agent and investor- Mr. Mark Ferguson. If you are following him on social media, you’ll know quite a bit of his story, as he’s been documenting his journey on Real Estate, sharing his wins as well as his losses. He is the founder of InvestFourMore, which is routinely listed as a top real estate blog, and he’s got a pretty big following on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, so you’ll know people love and can relate to his journey. After you listen to this episode, I know you’ll be inspired by it too!
Mark grew up surrounded by real estate. His dad has been a broker for 20 years before he entered the industry. He remembered sleeping under his dad’s desk when he was three while his dad worked tirelessly in the office. So he knew how tough real estate can be. That may be the reason why he decided early on that he did not want to do anything with real estate. He wanted to create his path. Another thing that’s keeping him away from the business is him being a quiet, introverted kid. He won’t talk to anybody! However, after college, he was not able to find an appealing enough job so he joined his dad’s real estate business part-time. He also married to a Realtor before he became one. Learn his life’s fun process of becoming an agent, flipper, and investor!
In this episode, we will learn about the ins and outs of real estate in different areas- rental properties, commercial properties, foreclosure business, cold calling banks, how much to put on equities, flipping, starting your own brokerage, systems, and even how to become an influencer, and much more! We also tackled where the market is going with the pandemic we are currently facing and how should we prepare. There is a lot of knowledge to unfold throughout this episode, so be sure to have this on repeat or take a lot of notes and be ready to take action!
Here’s What You Missed
- Is a market crash coming? How should we prepare?
- How do you get a good deal?
- How much should we put on equity?
- When starting, should we do it ourselves, or have partner?
- How to gain traction and succeed in social media?
How To Build Your Financial Freedom?
Knowledge Nuggets
[4:39] When you have something that’s really difficult for you to do like that, it feels so good when you actually do it. Just the more you do it, the more you put yourself out there, the easier it gets.
[6:50] I think the majority of real estate agents don’t even own a house, let alone invest. Like they don’t even own their own house, which is crazy to me.
[9:28] I always tell people, don’t try to time markets. You don’t know when a crash is coming. So my advice is: make sure the numbers work, you get a good deal. If you’re buying rentals, they cashflow and buy on those fundamentals and things will work out. Whether prices go up or down.
[11:54] It takes work. It takes time. But getting a good deal is a key, I think, to almost any real estate investment.
[12:51] On equity rule of thumb: It depends, like how much rehab it needs versus how long it will take to get it rented. I would say at least 20% in all of my properties, if not closer to 30 on some of the ones that need more work. But again, I also am looking at cashflow too, what kind of deal you get, but are you actually making every month or money every month?
[17:36] There’s no one best strategy or best property. It’s about you, your goals, your location, and what works out best for your situation.
[21:50] If you’re financially able to you have the knowledge. I think you should try and do it yourself. Now, if you don’t have the resources, money nor credit, you maybe are lacking in knowledge, then I think by all means it’s good to have a partner. You really have to do your due diligence though, and do a lot of upfront work. And it’s clear on who does what and have it all in writing.
[22:18] You have to know what a good deal is first. And then once you understand the market, know what a good deal is. I always tell people to start with the MLS first find a young hungry agent who has time to look for properties for you. So there are so many good ways to find deals and it can be overwhelming, but just start with one first
[24:32] DocuSign being able to sign contracts on the go. Then really having staff to help me. So I’m not doing it all is probably the biggest tool I have
[28:10] I think where I have been successful where others maybe aren’t is I just overloaded the content. It just takes a lot of content and effort to really gain traction. But then once you get to that tipping point, and people see you’re here to stay, then it can really explode and snowball from there.
[33:28] On what he wished he did the first time: I wish I would have either, flipped them every two years because if you buy a house and live in it for two years and then sell it, usually the capital gains tax is gone. Or bought a house lived in, in a year and turned it into a rental and then went and bought another one, or maybe even house hacked where I bought multifamily and lived in one unit and rented out the rest.
[36:27] The people who are most successful, aren’t the smartest. They don’t have the most talent. They’re the people who take the most action. Anybody can be successful and don’t let people who aren’t living like you want to live tell you can’t do it or you shouldn’t do it.
Important Reads and Links
Mark Ferguson Website: https://investfourmore.com/
Mark Ferguson YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOTPdegeURsMXpwWgnAx_Ow
Mark Ferguson Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/investfourmore/
Mark Ferguson TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@investfourmore/
Mark Ferguson Twitter: https://twitter.com/investfourmoree
Recommended Books:
Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Listen my Podcast.