Mike Bazadona and Steve Franco talk with real estate investor Eric Shudak, who shares his journey and insights in the fascinating realm of real estate.
We navigate through an array of intriguing topics - from the unique concept of an Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) house to the potential of a modular house. Eric even enlightens us on the possible transformation of a favorite building in Nanticoke into a hive of storage units. Delving deeper, we talk about the art of acquiring properties, market trends, and the importance of sound financial planning. Especially noteworthy is our exploration of the growing trend of booking travel nurses online and the potential pitfalls of investing in student housing.
In the final segment, we talk about the challenges and opportunities in the real estate industry. From renovating properties in areas like Nanticoke to dealing with pest control and fire regulations, we discuss it all. Listen as we explore Eric's plans for his storage facility and the potential of co-living, and wrap things up with a lively discussion about suspected haunted houses. Whether you're a seasoned real estate professional or a novice, this episode is bursting with insights and stories that are sure to keep you hooked. So buckle up and enjoy the ride!
Mike Bazadona and Steve Franco talk with real estate investor Eric Shudak, who shares his journey and insights in the fascinating realm of real estate.
We navigate through an array of intriguing topics - from the unique concept of an Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) house to the potential of a modular house. Eric even enlightens us on the possible transformation of a favorite building in Nanticoke into a hive of storage units. Delving deeper, we talk about the art of acquiring properties, market trends, and the importance of sound financial planning. Especially noteworthy is our exploration of the growing trend of booking travel nurses online and the potential pitfalls of investing in student housing.
In the final segment, we talk about the challenges and opportunities in the real estate industry. From renovating properties in areas like Nanticoke to dealing with pest control and fire regulations, we discuss it all. Listen as we explore Eric's plans for his storage facility and the potential of co-living, and wrap things up with a lively discussion about suspected haunted houses. Whether you're a seasoned real estate professional or a novice, this episode is bursting with insights and stories that are sure to keep you hooked. So buckle up and enjoy the ride!
Hey everybody, welcome to the Real Estate Community Network podcast. I'm Mike Bezzadonna. We're here with Steve Franco. Welcome to the RECN podcast. Today we have special guest Eric Shudak. He's been on our show before, but no, no, I've never been here.
Speaker 2:This is the first time in our office. First time in the office or the show.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, no, you're on our podcast. I could have sworn we did the podcast with you?
Speaker 2:No, I don't think so.
Speaker 3:We're gonna have to look that up. We did him.
Speaker 1:He's so busy.
Speaker 3:He doesn't know what he's doing.
Speaker 1:It was during COVID we talked on the.
Speaker 2:we did it over the internet.
Speaker 1:Oh, maybe that's why yeah we just we actually took that those first podcasts down. I was like a lot of them, we took them down and we did it.
Speaker 2:But yeah, well, welcome to the show Eric. Well, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:This is great he's gonna forget that he was on this show but this is great.
Speaker 3:We're just so forgettable he forgot us.
Speaker 1:This is crazy. He's a famous guy.
Speaker 2:So I'm really busy. I do have a lot of stuff going on.
Speaker 1:No, you're always a busy guy. I've known you for about how many years At least. How long have you been married?
Speaker 2:That's 20 or going on 21 years now. So, yeah, can you imagine that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so this is real quick story how he I used to own a bar and a nightclub and Eric came in one day and became the bouncer. The bouncer.
Speaker 2:He's a big guy. Before I even got hired as a bouncer, I helped evict one of your classy, established people.
Speaker 3:I don't know what you call it. You know if you're gonna kick out of his bar, you're a classy person. Yeah, now I'm stuck in real estate.
Speaker 2:I was gonna say tenants, but they're not tenants.
Speaker 1:They're not tenants, they're patrons. Patrons. I got that patron out of that bar for me, but they were probably bad tenants somewhere.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, oh yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1:We had some issues, but that was a good time. So I know, eric, a long long time before either one of us, we've been talking about real estate. Yeah Well, that's a long time ago.
Speaker 2:That is a long. That's penny TAP. I know Penny TAP, wow yeah, and that's how I met Jessica.
Speaker 3:Yeah, she peed last. Yeah, we're not going there.
Speaker 1:Nice woman she's the boss.
Speaker 2:Eric's throwing at the boss. Oh, that was me. I tapped on it. I was just gonna say I might be your. Call me right now. Is she listening in? Right now it's not live, but this is funny, All right, so Steve you remember a little bit of the last podcast, because he doesn't.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no clue, eric, right around the time you had the fun with Lily Lake and the whatever. So what have you been up to, kind of since then.
Speaker 2:All right, so the last podcast was I talking about.
Speaker 1:Lily Lake.
Speaker 2:We were doing the Airbnb.
Speaker 3:Yes, they just stripped you the courts and whatever you just lost, like it wasn't going good.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So what we end up doing was, after speaking to a couple different attorneys that were very this guy was out of Philadelphia and he's been following these cases all along the whole entire state. He basically looked at me and said don't even bother fighting it, sell the property, just move on. Don't even waste your time.
Speaker 2:And you're gonna waste a lot of not not time, even money you know you gotta pay me to go in the court and, you know, state your case and you know yada, yada, yada. But so I decided we sold the property. It did take up for crazy long time 14 months to sell, wow and but it did sell. It's all what I needed to get out of it. And now I have another property. I think I might even mention that I had 33 Lakeshore Drive, which is next to the Stone Cottage. Mike's taking pictures. Okay, all right, yeah, so that that property. You know we started developing that I actually went and spent a lot of money putting plans together to build an ICF house, so maybe I did talk about this.
Speaker 1:Did I talk about the ICF house? Yes, you was talking about the ICF. It was early planning. It's helping what ICF is.
Speaker 2:Insulated concrete form. So this house is basically built like a Lego block and you feel it will concrete. I mean it sounds pretty easy but the engineering behind it is pretty tough. You know, I've been. I have the spec book in my office and reviewed it with several different professionals and before COVID it was estimated it was going to cost about four to 500,000 to build this house. Now the price is about 900. It's just ridiculous and we just can't do it.
Speaker 1:And so we still have a modular on there. That's what we were talking about. I could put a castle at 900.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I know, and that's we were bouncing that idea around and that's, you know, the least. A lot is ready to go. Yes, you know, we have a septic there. We have the well already done and half of the house exists, which keeps our grandfathered location really close to the lake, and so we have to, you have to keep that foundation now. You don't have to. Okay, no, those has to be new footers and everything. So, yeah, we have it all planned out.
Speaker 2:It's already I have all the plans done just before the ICF house, which costs a lot, which is it does cost a lot.
Speaker 1:Yeah, obviously I don't think that's not going to go anywhere. It won't. It's not a number, Nope.
Speaker 3:Nope, it's like a little bunker is really, really, because if it's going to sell for, if it's going to take 900, a bill, that's not going to sell for that much so you're not going to and in the neighborhood where Wapalapin is.
Speaker 2:I love the neighborhood, but the neighbors, or something else to be desired?
Speaker 1:because they don't like you. They were jealous of you. Yeah, what happens? You had the nicest house there. I think that was gorgeous. Do you ever go there, or you just maybe?
Speaker 2:sort of my matterport. Yeah, it's not going to matterport. Yeah, beautiful stone cottage. Yeah it was definitely, it's definitely, one that sticks out in that neighborhood and famous.
Speaker 1:A lot of famous people went there.
Speaker 2:It's pretty, it's been in commercials yeah it was pretty neat, you know the local pride mobility uses it for their scooters because it was a ADA compliant. My wife's a physical therapist, so we kind of just thought ahead hey, if somebody needs to use this, let's make it. And it was already built that way. The back of the house was on one level, the ground level, and so you get both sides in, you could get through the basement and first ground right on the lake, right on the lake Beautiful, okay, and so is the other one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, those videos are still out there on the internet and you can check them out. They're pretty cool. Yeah, just look up what Lily Lake I think. So I know it's pride mobility scooters and they do a lot of their shoots. They did a lot of their shoots there. Yeah, yeah, that's cool.
Speaker 3:So what else?
Speaker 1:So what are you doing now? Oh, so now you actually have. You have that big building in Nanaco.
Speaker 2:Yeah, your favorite building. Yeah, my favorite building.
Speaker 1:It is your favorite building and you're looking to sell it or not sell it? You're not. You're up in the air.
Speaker 2:Well, we were under contract for about, I'd say, two or three months and I was working with a nonprofit that was going to use that big building as almost like a big birdhouse, and I thought it was pretty funny because it definitely matched the description of what they needed. And, you know, it just didn't work out for them and they had a drop out and so it went from pending to back to fore sale back into my lap, and so now I'm working trying to put 135 storage units inside that building. I had the floor plan already done. It looks great. It went to a company out of Georgia called Janice International, who does they basically retrofit these type of buildings to, you know, do the storage facility, and I showed them the plan for those units and they said this is perfect, it's easy to do.
Speaker 2:And you have the parking and yeah, that took a little while to get and now I do. I do have it. I was 2019. I was denied for that idea of putting. I think it was. I think at that point I had 110 designed 110 units, but I had bigger. I had bigger, 10 by 10 and 10 by 12s, and the idea and pushing for local lockers to be allowed this in an R3 zone in Nanocoke. They're going to be smaller closet stores, like the biggest one. There is going to be an 8 by 6, I believe, which is pretty. It's not that big. You know, I'm not expecting people to haul in trailers and big equipment. It's pretty much for people in the local area to have an extra closet space to keep Christmas decorations, you know, stuff for outdoor sports.
Speaker 3:Have you had one of the have? You had a real survey done to make sure there's enough demand for 135 of those like Bob Copper or Isaac Rosenthal and one of those guys.
Speaker 2:I spoke, if those are the guys that own some of the local ones, like the Plymouth one and this.
Speaker 3:No, these are like national. What they do is they consult for big buildouts? No, no.
Speaker 2:No, that's actually I'm going to. I guess I'm going to have to get their information before I leave here, because I need to talk to them like today.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean just because, if you're doing so many of a certain size, because a lot of times what like Tracty and or Tracty is good, Janice is good. There's also the one Miller out of Philadelphia, which is good that they're typically too Very expensive and I'm also a dealer for one of those. Like the little itty bitty they look like it itty bitty cargo.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they're like pods that go permanently installed, they're not supposed to go back and forth. Okay, and all of them have said Well, look, you know, we can design wherever you want. You toss you 135 of this, but you really should have some research done to make sure you have enough demand for 135. Otherwise, you're going to start taking out dividing walls in between and they'll become eight. It'll go from eight by six to eight by 12. Yeah, Because all of a sudden, oh crap, I don't need that, I need something else.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what is something like that run?
Speaker 3:I think and I haven't talked to these guys in a while because I haven't had a location recently but it was like they would do a desktop survey for well before. Covid was 500, I think it's like a thousand now and then they would. The second phase would be you bring them out, you pay, pay five or six grand. They'll fly out here, they'll look at all your competitors, they'll give you and this is what I mean that like my, my mentor, who's the 48th largest owner of square footage in the country, like you haul his five, he's 45, he hires him on every deal he does. Now he only does like 135 would be small for his scale. But you know, if you're doing a 20 or 30 unit, no, you're not, you're not into that that much. The other option if you're doing something like that would be just build it out floor by floor.
Speaker 3:Okay track the build out floor one and when I'm 80% full on floor one, I'll call you for floor two.
Speaker 2:That's exactly what they and Janice actually suggested. I do that first. So, yeah, and that's really and that's how I have the and that's what I actually in 2019. I went in front of zoning with this plan and that's how I was denied was for parking. I didn't have parking at the time, but now I do own the next lot over and it has a parking lot. It's not very big parking lot, but the grass lot. When I were about to rub out the grass a lot and redo the sidewalk and redo it, I could fit about 22 cars in there.
Speaker 1:That should be enough, so for 135 units the zoning says, would you say it was one spot, one for every 10.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I mean I plenty now. I think it would work, but then I don't know if there's some other catch. Example it's a wood frame building, mostly storage facilities. I see you know they're concrete buildings or steel. Is there something with fire regulation that I need to know?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you that would stop it.
Speaker 2:you know why I don't want to waste my time going, bringing the city and anacoke into the zoning, hearing and saying no, you can't do it, because they didn't even bar telling me they need a parking, and wasted my time last time in 2019.
Speaker 3:Bring your plans to the code officer. Bring your plans to the fire marshal, especially because anacoke does not have a code officer right now. Bring your plans to the fire marshal and also bring your plans. Also make sure a track to you or Janice will send you the plans. Take them to a state licensed architect is what most of the most, most of the code officers I've run into. They're like oh, I can't answer that. Get a design professional, which means a state stamp design professional.
Speaker 3:So, you take Janice's plans, you go to a local architect or engineer or whatever it's like here stick your sticker on that, which basically done. But yeah, I mean definitely what. What I was taught, what might, what my mentor taught us is, it's almost always permission, not forgiveness.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, oh yeah they see it, there you're we'll just beep that up before it starts. But because in any commercial building also somewhere out there and I don't know if nannico cares anymore, but the code I think wasn't like over 5,000 square feet commercial, you had to have sprinklers, whatever you were.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know, I already have planned like you know. I already had the two different sprinkler professionals walk through that building and give me quotes.
Speaker 3:Okay, so that went already into the budget.
Speaker 2:You know it's like I already have the idea. If this does get passed, it's definitely it's got to be done Very lucrative, it's a very good deal. It's to me I think it's perfect for nannico. I mean, even if you saw, did you see how they have the Bluetooth capability linked, the storage unit to everyone's phone?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah so.
Speaker 2:I think that's you have. You have to have your phone to get access to the building and to your storage and you know it tracks everything.
Speaker 3:It's actually funny, I know. I was just looking at a property in nannico to put up a storage unit, so now, okay, I think you've taken up most of the capacity.
Speaker 1:Do they have Wi-Fi in nannico? No, no, no, it's this, I'm just teasing.
Speaker 3:Now the other thing they have which is cool is some company out there. You get an onsite manager who's a hologram.
Speaker 1:And they have this. Oh really.
Speaker 3:You can do a screen or you can do a hologram. The hologram one looks cooler, but there's actually a live person somewhere in Zimbabwe or Pakistan or whatever they walk in and all of a sudden this picture appears on the screen. How can I help you?
Speaker 1:Wow, that's really cool.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that is cool, that is cool.
Speaker 3:Because usually in the hundreds, you're usually staffing for a manager and all those other BS. Yeah Well, this person can sell the boxes, she can sell the U-Hauls, she can sell the whatever.
Speaker 1:You know what, when I went to LA, at the airport, the same thing with Enterprise they're like, go to that TV screen over there. I'm like what are you talking about? I went up there and they're like hey, how are you? And they were live.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they were live. They saw you the whole day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're doing a video thing, and that was it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that makes sense. That was pretty cool, hold on.
Speaker 1:Let me text the guy to see if they have the car you want.
Speaker 3:We're working on one project which is a bunch of different like 20 units around a community and that's the plan we're going to put in those little people pop up on the screen thing. That's awesome.
Speaker 1:Because we didn't want to be totally unattended in it or whatever, yeah.
Speaker 3:And actually I get asked if we'll come down. There's a guy who does a lot of units, joe Capalco, and his facility. I think he just sold it up in Scranton Like it's got the automated lights, it's got the this, it's got the that and he's got it wired down to the end degree data control.
Speaker 1:U-haul was like that too. Yeah, when I rented a storage unit inside, I mean everything from the door to walking in to the lights If I open the gate without my password and I open my door, then alarm went off. Yep, it's crazy.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, just throw in the technology. Yeah, that's, that's so, Steve, you talk with Steve because, Steve knows a lot of people in that industry.
Speaker 2:Looks like we have a little meeting.
Speaker 1:I'm really excited, I feel like the whole podcast gonna be about storage units.
Speaker 3:Hey, but 135 units is great, that is great.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I mean it fits in the building. Nice, it was really easy to design, I mean it's. I got to get it approved, but I sent those plans to Janice, so they'll tell me what they think of it too.
Speaker 2:So I mean they initially sent me the for 2019's plans. Yeah, and I said well, if I'm gonna do this again, I'll beef it up a little bit, make it a little. I made some changes and they agree with the changes I made and it doesn't. Actually I'm not changing anything structural in the building. That's being retrofitted as is, and it I think it's, I think it'll work out great, yeah. Yeah, we'll talk about it later.
Speaker 3:That's a big project, and your home, your home re-bought company is getting bigger too, huh.
Speaker 2:Home mods ink. Yeah, that's, yeah, that one's a. That's a great company. I love that company as a start of that in 2008, and it's been with me ever since.
Speaker 1:Wow, it's been through a couple of disasters.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, it was the one behind the 52 tons of garbage coming off of East Main Street's property and Cleaning that block up. Or has some property in Escapac now? Oh yeah, nanocoque, it's been and right now it's involved. Hopefully soon. Well, actually I don't know because of the the problem with my immediate family we won't go any further details. But it wasn't involved with renovating a Victorian on Hanover Street and then using that for traveling nurses and getting into Airbnb sort of thing, because that worked out well at Lily Lake. Unfortunately the neighbors there didn't like it but we won't talk about they more. But I think in Having a traveling nurse lodge right across the street from the old Mercy Hospital now geisinger south, now it's another whatever you should be able to book that all the time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I got a guy to bought my. That's one of Steve's clients. Yeah bought my property in Scranton.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm, and that's what he's doing. Yeah, I speak to a lot of the property owners. I have no couple people. He just bought another on yeah, in Scranton.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and, and, and you know who's doing his work. Really.
Speaker 1:Yep. So anyway, I don't want to he's.
Speaker 3:You give it to Eric's company in my company.
Speaker 3:I don't know what I say, but that's yeah, the guy, the guy that bought the other one up on archer ball from us. He just called me. He's like so I need this done. What do you think of such and so on? I'm like well, give him a single task at a time and you're probably gonna survive. Yeah, but with with the traveling nurses. Obviously, as you know, that that's not short-term legal, that's medium-term legal. So usually you get the coat off. There's a lot more friendly. But Bill, what's his name? Bill Harris has never given me a problem on short terms or medium terms, especially where this house is located.
Speaker 2:It's my family's house. I live there partially more my group there it's. It's been restored, been through two floods and there are some really cool features of that house that you know Need some work to bring back to life, but not too much work.
Speaker 1:Do you feel like? Do you miss the house? He sold two houses down.
Speaker 2:No, no, not all. I fix that house up to 2019. It looked nice. Yeah, turn out nice.
Speaker 1:I'm just saying you could have rented. It was only had what? Three rooms, four rooms, three.
Speaker 2:Bedrooms. Yeah, it was a lot smaller than this. Yeah, this house has eight bedrooms and it's Queen Anne he wanted he wanted to get the one next door.
Speaker 1:That was pretty big and junky that had eight units.
Speaker 2:Yeah and it's pending for a crazy amount. I want to see a close for that amount, but we'll see. But that had eight units and for my entire life it's been filled with mold, so yeah it's just every time you go in it smells, but it's not outside, steve.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and and and On the market nowadays. I'm looking around because I'm I want to do some, some Roaminghouse type things and in my multi-bedroom type things, and honestly I'm just I'm, I'm sitting back because nothing's popping up at a price that makes it make sense. It's very hard to make it make, like you already own that, so you're fine yeah if somebody would buy that for you right now, it wouldn't make sense.
Speaker 1:I was talking to see about co-living. About that later. Yeah, co-living.
Speaker 3:Yeah, talking about that. Yeah, cuz that that seems to be big now too, and there is actually there's any of that by the, by the room, by the bedroom, co-living, that I was talking with it, with it, with a local broker, local realtor, we both know. And she's got it's like oh, I'm selling my portfolio for 1.6. I'm like what is it? She's like it's it's four doubles.
Speaker 1:Like 1.6.
Speaker 3:That she sent, that she sends in the spreadsheet. I'm like, okay, yeah, your spreadsheets worth 1.6. But I said the problem is you're all double. I said I said somebody else will touch it. I'm not touching it because the intrinsic value of the properties isn't it. Yeah, if the schools ever out, if the schools ever shut down or whatever You're done, if the schools ever say no, you must. All students must live in campus housing because they're all building.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's student housing. Student housing yeah you're done.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know you have 1.6 someone's going under. But if you're doing by the room, whether it's rooming house, whether it's whatever, whatever, whatever it, there's a lot of money there. Now one of my friends just told me last night he's like, stay away from assisted living or stay away from not assisted living. What's the specialized nursing? He's like the states are just totally going up up the tail on that one. That was, that was a dangerous one. But if it's, if it's if it's traveling nurses, if it's that kind of thing, yeah.
Speaker 2:I spoke to. Oh, what the heck is the online site now completely just went blank. Oh man, traveling nurses comm, let's just go with that. I was on the phone with them and I gave them the address of the property. We had a discussion about it and they said we would have you booked. Not stop as long as guy singer. We're still open. But how do you know that hospital is gonna stay open? I have no idea.
Speaker 2:Yeah it's been open for my whole entire life, but that could change tomorrow and it's that would be your luck.
Speaker 1:I don't know what's. That would suck. I wouldn't answer the phone then.
Speaker 3:And and that's the problem I'm actually looking at a five bedroom in Philadelphia and kind of a borderline section and they said the same thing to me They'll like we'll keep you booked, but they're like you are eight blocks away. So if Temple University Med Center does something different, you're all of a sudden outside the circle.
Speaker 1:So what? When you call one of these places, is traveling nurse, comm type of thing, they book it. So you hire them as a service, it's like it's like Airbnb for traveling nurses and they got a percentage.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they it's a fear of a sad, I forget which they said it's like 13 week rotation, so they sign a lease with you for 13 weeks and then they kind of pay out based on that. Okay, and it sounded, you do the math per bedroom. The average was a thousand, between a thousand and fifteen hundred dollars a month, I, and so I mean, do the math on that for one bedroom and you have an eight bedroom house across the street from the hospital. Yeah, that's great, it makes sense.
Speaker 1:All day. Yeah all day yeah.
Speaker 3:So I'll show you later why. There's a little distraction on the Real Estate Community Network Facebook page I have to get rid of. Oh, but anyway so.
Speaker 1:Hey, just while we're talking about that, join the Real Estate Community Network PA Facebook page and when you join, don't put up stupid stuff, please. It's only Real Estate only.
Speaker 3:Especially not.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's gone. Now it's all right.
Speaker 1:I can't delete that. You got to ban them the last time. I didn't. I just deleted on a panic.
Speaker 3:I'm going to sing right back up again and then it came back up three times.
Speaker 1:I'm like oh, I have to ban.
Speaker 3:Right yeah, and so I just deleted for now. I'll ban it later.
Speaker 1:Maybe we'll start. I don't want to look at all the posts. That's the problem. I know that's the flip side, but I think we might have to start doing that, but yeah, we'll figure out.
Speaker 3:Anyway, the real estate community network Facebook page is getting busy.
Speaker 1:That's good, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:You know that's something I got to do. I got to work on my Facebook. They know the social media stuff. That's just something I don't.
Speaker 1:I'm so busy doing other things, networking, networking, it's important, it is important.
Speaker 3:Let people see what you're doing. But then I saw what you were just having. You were just having a working.
Speaker 2:He's on Facebook all the time. Exactly, you get posts like that. How do you handle it? You took care of that pretty quick, but yeah.
Speaker 1:That's just making a big impact. Yeah, we check it and you know we see you get alerts.
Speaker 2:And I guess I got to hire a social media manager. That's what I got to do.
Speaker 1:We did a. We got a guy, andrew Son.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and we got. We've also got a software that I'm trying out that actually does automates all your posts. And so what you do is you spend a weekend, you load everything in Now your little daily updates, you stick them in live. But OK, and because my problem is like, I'll create it, I'll shoot it, I'll put it on Facebook and then I'll forget the other 14.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:All right, so yeah. So what else is going on Any other?
Speaker 1:Yeah, what's going on? I mean, is there any?
Speaker 3:state of the market, things you want to get into A state of the market things.
Speaker 2:No, I'm always, I'm just focused on acquisitions. I really am. I like I meet with a lot of buyers and buy a lot of properties cash, that's what we do. I mean, I explain. You know I have a license and you know I would like, if you want me to, I could list it, but you know you listen a lot, or you know, I have a really nice property, 154 acres, on Suskin Mountain.
Speaker 1:That's how you tell them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's the one thing I have listed right now. All the other people that I get leads from are pretty much no. I don't want to list a property, I've got to keep it quiet, I don't want the tenants of no, and so I work with those type of people and you know I do a analysis on the property and give them a fair cash price and they're happy to work with me yeah, you know, and close a lot of deals and get them done and move on.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah and honestly, I found the same thing. 85% of my business is off market. Either I buy it or I move to somebody else. So that's pretty much. You know. The listing is there if you want to make the bigger number. But most people don't want to do that anymore, they just want to make it happen fast.
Speaker 2:They're here at nightmares and I hear it. It's like as soon as it hits the market there's like 30 different people walking through the property and things get missing and it turns into a disaster they don't want to hear it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, people are scared of that, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I'd rather just work with you, eric, which is, give me a fair price and I don't work with a number. I show them all the comps and everything, and there's what we could do.
Speaker 1:When do you want to close?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's just got to be a win-win for everybody that's how you know it's not just win for me, it's got to be win for them also, and that's how me and Steve have worked yeah.
Speaker 2:It's always our goal is to walk away from the table. Everyone's happy.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 2:Everyone is happy.
Speaker 1:Everyone got what they wanted, and that's how I sometimes we don't walk away happy, but I rather them walk away happy because, yeah, I'll still be all right.
Speaker 2:Especially when it leads to you know repeat business. Yes, you know hey, I have a lot of friends, I have a lot of other apartments and things like that. Ok.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but then they never give them to us.
Speaker 3:But I've got one guy that I did on the brokerage side and he called me up. He's like I want to sell my. He's like over the next 18 months I want to sell my 40 units, my 20 buildings. He's like I don't want to hear about listing. He's like you tell me the number. I'll tell you my number. We meet in the middle, ok. Okay, you know he hasn't started those calls, so I hope they're coming in. But that'd be nice. You know, pick up 40 units in the next 18 months.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I just, I just like to hear those people when you say how much do you want for a double block with 200,000? Well, well, it makes sense if it's bringing in two grand each side. Yeah how much is your income? Oh, 700 piece like. Well, you know today's Ray, and I do the math behind it. I'm not going to make money if I buy for that price, and they just don't want to hear it.
Speaker 3:And I literally I had a three-unit under contract and Hanover and we agreed to 150, whatever. Fine, fine, fine and they dragged their feet and it was okay. It was like a little lower than my thing but it was okay. And they dragged their feet and I'm like they wouldn't let me in. Wouldn't let me in, I'm like watch, she's like. Well, I decided I want two and a quarter. I said, well, you aren't getting it from me.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I said and I'm under contract with you, so we're doing this, or you can list it with me, if you know. So we listed it, we sold it and somebody walked in. They offered 25% over. Actually, really, and I didn't want to say this, but I said, I said the buyer, I said to myself I'm like Some of this stuff is I've with a cash buyer.
Speaker 3:No, no, no. They were a finance buyer and they felt they'd done their numbers. And I'm I'm not their broker. I'm just gonna sit back and say okay, if you're happy with it and your bank is happy with it, I'm happy with it. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Everyone's happy. Everyone's happy when they leave the table. I'm happy.
Speaker 1:Moving the mic here. Yeah, I was just putting you back. Yeah, no, that's damn.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's crazy. I'd rather own the property, but I'll take the commission.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean it would be nice. You bought it for 150 and just sold it the next day for a little bit more.
Speaker 3:But yeah, so, so. So I mean, acquisitions are definitely now. How do you market for your fear off-markets? Well, that's something.
Speaker 2:I don't that with the team I'm part of now. They handle that. They keep me just busy. I just sit in my office and make phone calls and when I hear somebody in the right price range I say when could we meet? I want to see the property. I go meet them. You know we have properties all the way from Carbondale all the way to Nanticoke and you know I actually got some calls fresh, even off of the some of the listings. I have the house in Nescombex. A neighbor called me a couple days ago and said I have a double block. Come look at it. I want 150 for All right. Well, what's the what's your random start? Are going through the numbers. It doesn't make sense at 150, but you know I want to still show you're talking close.
Speaker 2:It's close so maybe you know meeting face-to-face we could make it or make a agreement.
Speaker 1:I think face-to-face is always good. Yeah, right, because the phone they could just nah. Yeah, okay, and hang up.
Speaker 3:It's always worth the trip if it's a multi, but if you could sit there and talk to them and, you know, show them your case.
Speaker 1:Hey, listen, this house is look, I look how much work I gotta put in yeah, you know yeah look what the rents are bringing in.
Speaker 2:You just saw the one. I saw Nanticoke this morning, oh my gosh. Yeah, I'm gonna tell you. Oh, I drive a Toyota and I stuck the key into the supporting beam and it went in like as if I was sticking in the key.
Speaker 3:Wow, it went straight into the world.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and this wood is. It didn't rain in a couple days here and that wood was soaking wet still. Oh, and this was part, and this was in the basement and it was a three unit.
Speaker 3:That's when you leave the basement. Very quickly, get me out of here, for it falls.
Speaker 2:I was with one of my partners and his. I wish I saw, I wish I had video of his Jaw-dropping when I stuck the key into the wood beam and they had the wood, I would have said run. He's like it's that soft. I'm like, yeah, that's what I'm trying to tell you, that this could be a bit of a trap here.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we're not here.
Speaker 2:We got to really really go over our repair budget. Looking at all this, this work here, yeah, I've done enough in Nanticoke. No, I know.
Speaker 1:I don't, we won't turn it down, but I'm just saying that a coke is not where I look for anymore.
Speaker 3:I mean, I still, I still like the town as a rental community, but it's gotta be the right, yes.
Speaker 1:Reynolds great, but for us to fix and flip or yeah no to wholesale, or I'm just tired of getting fleas.
Speaker 2:Everyone is. I mean like I told you my secret weapon is it's kind of off in the car. I look at a house. I see that I'll turn right around off works. It's gonna keep those fleas out of I will spray my legs down with off and they won't get up on you.
Speaker 1:You know I'm gonna try that.
Speaker 3:My jeans. I tried I tried raid on the last house I was in. It didn't work. Didn't do squad, you gotta you raid. I Put on one of those white painting suits and I just raided the whole thing.
Speaker 2:Well, you know maybe I'm maybe because I'm using this old-school stuff with the D in it still that one of the houses I did buy it's actually the neighbor to the building that I'm gonna do storage. He used to be an exterminator, this guy, for 35 years and when I bought the property, the basement was still filled with all the stuff. Yeah, and I had like a case of this and stuff from the 80s and you know. So I didn't even know. I had a call I'm good friends with a lot of the owner from Pest Rangers checking what's up man, but he came and he looked at everything I had and he's like Eric, this stuff is legal. You can't even have that, but what?
Speaker 3:do, I do.
Speaker 2:He's like I can't even. I don't, I know anyone. I can't tell you what to do.
Speaker 3:I can't throw it away. So now, that's what he said, though.
Speaker 2:He goes. But I'll tell you right now this is the absolute best stuff for roaches, this is the absolute best stuff for carpentry. And see, he went through and told me everything. It is well now. It's up at my. I have a hunting cabin, yeah. So it's all up in the store, shut up there, and if I have any problems I have plenty of stuff to take care.
Speaker 3:And I definitely want to tip on that new team you've got, because if there's a team that send passive, passive leads, I'm down for anything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, that's not passive. They're working with me. Yeah, I'm okay.
Speaker 3:I could have it active is, but I'm I'm actually upping my marketing budget like 30% this year, so I'm like alright, okay, very good yeah.
Speaker 2:I just I get that, I got to get marketing again.
Speaker 2:But you know I had so many other things going on the traveling nurses, and, yeah, I still have Lily Lake to deal with. And now the building, the storage facility that's. I thought it was sold. I really thought it was gonna go to the birds and I thought that would be pretty cool, nanocoque, but it didn't work out. And now it's. He's either gonna go to apartments you know you could fit about 11 apartments in that place and if you won't even make them, but you have enough parking for 11 11.
Speaker 3:He does 22 22 cross would be fine.
Speaker 2:Yeah, especially if you made a more handicapped accessible because you have two levels on ground level in that building, like literally you can walk In the ground level in the back and he's still on that house next to it. Yeah, yeah, I would just a lot.
Speaker 1:I would put a super in there.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah right. Yeah, you get in that house and you watch, you take care of his building right, that's the deal yeah perfect, you live for free.
Speaker 2:That's what you know, that that is a plan. It was a plan. But you know I have tenants in there now. But yeah, the bird, the bird people were gonna do that they wanted, they wanted to have the house to live in and then the building was for the birds, so is the people you know that's exactly, is it Linda?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, you know Linda, yeah, that's um, yeah, that's a shame it is.
Speaker 2:I think it would have worked out.
Speaker 3:I think it was what I I hope. I hope we somebody can find her something to live in or To do that rescue, because it's so sad to tell her eight her now 12 year old that what your dream was can't work anymore.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I have a little bit of work. I mean it's yeah, I think they'll figure it out. Maybe this building wasn't for them.
Speaker 1:Maybe it was too big. That's a big Eric. That's a big build 10,200 40 square foot. I think that's pretty big, yeah, I mean, yeah, that's a lot of birds.
Speaker 2:That is a lot of birds, so I don't want to want to clean that up either, and you know.
Speaker 1:You're not, you're selling it.
Speaker 2:They had. They had a group of people behind them. They really did. There was 11 people there the one night.
Speaker 1:No, I followed him on Facebook. I see them. They, you know, they care. Yeah you know, I wish I could do something for them.
Speaker 3:I don't, that's yeah you know, Well, no next anyway right, but you put a new roof on there, right?
Speaker 1:That's a metal roof.
Speaker 2:Yeah, metal roof LED lighting. You know it. Really, the building didn't need a lot, I mean.
Speaker 1:But you did spend money, though. I mean I wasn't cheap the room.
Speaker 2:No, no, I wasn't and the LED lights, those were paying they. They had to get done pretty much the year after I bought that building because it would take 10 to 15 minutes for the Yold lights and you cleaned everything out of there. Yeah, it's room sweat right now. It's unbelievable.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the workshop downstairs. Oh, that's all gone. Wow, you ever see it like that. Not clean oh.
Speaker 3:That what I thought. It was a mess. Yeah, your brother was down there work Well, you know my brother was down there working.
Speaker 1:It was a mess and you had all the stuff on the second floor. Yeah, oh yeah, it's clear.
Speaker 2:I was like whoa it was like this they could play soccer in here. No, you can, yeah. Yeah, now it's clear.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I give it's literally broom swapped. I mean it was crazy that floor that it shines up like a realer the same broom swept. I guess the lingo start to stick.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I had to learn the hard way what. And then I was in Plymouth. I.
Speaker 3:Remember, I was like Mike broom.
Speaker 1:Swept it's. You're still stuffed down here. I swept it. It looks good. The guy don't want to close the beat whatever 500 bucks and clean it real quick.
Speaker 2:That was funny yeah like maybe a bag of garb. I left a couple of my.
Speaker 1:I left two or three Air conditioners and some some tools and stuff, like you know I mean.
Speaker 2:But stuff that was okay to use, but he just yeah, yeah, they just said no, I don't want everything.
Speaker 3:I had one house, a multi, I sold up Miss Grand, and it was empty. We'd emptied the whole place, yeah. And then she got there. She's like there's dust on the floor and I'm like brooms leave dust. She's like, and she stopped the closing and she's like we're not closing and we need to give her like a thousand bucks to make her go away.
Speaker 2:Really.
Speaker 1:I just called. So many came and finished and I just had the place clean. I brought a cleaning company. They came and they took all everything. The garage was filled with stuff, yeah, but nope. When he called me and says we Mike, I said broom swept, yeah I swept it I cleaned the thing out.
Speaker 1:I spent a thousand dollars to clean it out to begin with, all this stuff. Yes, yes to one up on the hill there. Yeah, that was funny. He's like I got someone now I called him. Now it's gonna be about 500. Okay, I don't care, just I want to sell the house.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm not losing this.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it is what it is. Steve as a good realtor took.
Speaker 1:You know he already had someone on his way so and we closed. They sat there for like two hours and watched.
Speaker 2:Oh my, gosh, wow, no, I never you know I never had to deal that bad with any real.
Speaker 1:Some people are funny. Yeah, it's always the cheaper houses to knock it on wood though.
Speaker 3:Sure, they're out there, I will deal with them eventually, but we find them all well, it's, it's. It's kind of like the marketing. You know what, if you're the buyer, then no one's gonna argue. It's when it's when there's somebody else is the buyer and they come to say wait a second, you didn't do your job, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah but yeah all right, so yeah. I guess I don't want to wrap it up. Yeah, that was a good half hour talking.
Speaker 2:I think I caught up pretty much from those last podcast. I did that. I don't remember.
Speaker 1:It was just, it was during COVID and we did it anyway.
Speaker 2:Maybe that's stupid COVID brain, or what they call him COVID fog. Maybe that's what you had, covid fog then? Yeah, we just had a drink and eat.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, so that was good. Yeah, you talked about Lily, lily Lake, and you talked about the haunted house or the oh.
Speaker 2:That one that's. You know somebody bought that is renovating that in Nanocoke.
Speaker 3:Did they?
Speaker 2:yeah, it's on, it's on it. You check it out. The building next to it got painted gray. It was a brick building. It's gray. Now there's dumpsters on the street and the other place I saw that people like gutting it and throwing stuff in the dumpster from that haunted house. Yeah, no, and then, yeah, I was gonna stop and ask him some questions, but I just kept going yeah, I just pass they were working on that. Now They've been doing that for the last three months.
Speaker 2:Well all right, I'm gonna start a clean out, probably a night. It'll be done by tomorrow or not, maybe by Sunday. Hey, I, my clean out crew, we work fast. Yeah, I mean you throw five of us guys, you're out the door when you're talking demons on the third floor. Yeah, go chasing you throughout the first and second floor. From the other world and bringing it here, yeah that's it.
Speaker 1:That's what I'm like. Yeah, we just emptied this yesterday, eric. What's going on?
Speaker 2:Maybe that's why they're still working on it. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I don't. I don't like house. I get chilly feelings in some houses too, yeah, and it's not good, definitely not good. So that's interesting.
Speaker 2:The house I'm gonna be clean. I told you we'll get done quick. It was a house I grew up in. We'll see if Mary on the third floor should make an appearance. Oh no, she's a good, but she's a good ghost.
Speaker 3:Yeah, my third third building I ever bought and I Suspected there was something going on. It was we bought it broken down that I suspected there was something going on with it. And I'm there fixing a toilet after we got it all rented. It was all hot, sorority girls and whatever. And I'm up there fixing a toilet and they're talking about the ghost and I'm just listening. I'm like, so what do they do? And they start describing it. So we go on, I go. I worked at VA at the time. I went on the went to a shoot and this old woman I told the story what these girls were describing, as the woman calls in and she's like would you like to know who those people were?
Speaker 2:Oh.
Speaker 1:Every ghost, we had a description, for she had.
Speaker 3:She had a family name. This was Mary. Well, she was a young girl and then she was dying in the same you know old. Oh, that was my aunt. She was born there and did it like like nine different people in the building. She knew exactly they were.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that doesn't surprise me it really doesn't like. I've experienced stuff.
Speaker 3:Listen, if you got a haunted house, I'll buy it. Yeah, call me.
Speaker 2:I want to check it out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll just wait outside for you guys.
Speaker 3:We will not have a bidding war over a hundred. I'm sorry, I'm like go ghost, don't cost more, they cost less.
Speaker 1:I'll support you guys. I'm not gonna go in.
Speaker 2:You know there is one. Um, they're okay tea in Wilkesbury. Yeah, it's in a story. It's actually. I have a book and there's a story from the 70s and 80s how the owner of this property has had bad luck. I probably would pass on that house.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm trying to get in the street. It's not sure, and it's, it might be a grant or one of those. I'll have to look it. I'll get back down there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I believe some of these houses.
Speaker 2:I wouldn't buy that one.
Speaker 1:I believe some of the houses have bad luck and like yeah because my neighbors their house has been sold three times divorce. Every time they come in they get divorced, they move. Oh my god, this is crazy.
Speaker 3:I had one rental that we had a string of bad tenants and just just, you know, life's a life story, life story, life story. We did the whole sage and you know all that crap, no more problems.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:No more problems, I don't know. Yeah, oh no, I sage everything, I would do it, all right. So I guess this is wrap it up. Uh, eric, you any? If someone wants to get in touch with you, what do you do? Want me to put a number on?
Speaker 2:there for you Give me a call, shoot me a text, find me on facebook, message me. I mean, yeah, I just said something earlier that I don't follow social media that much. Yeah, but I do get all the messages. So tell me where they could find you on facebook then Uh, home mods ink h o m, e m o d s I n c and you look, search for that, you'll be able to find my company.
Speaker 1:Uh, and you'll give me a number and I'll put it on or an email. I'll put it on description, so everyone wants to reach out to him. Well, eric has been great Thank you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, perfect man, thank you.
Speaker 1:Hey everybody thank you for listening to the real estate community network podcast. I'm mike the steve. I'm special guest, eric. Thank you for listening and make sure you follow us on facebook. Real estate community network pa. Hey, talk to you soon, guys. Thank you.