The Deal I Almost Skipped

I came dangerously close to passing on a real estate deal that turned into one of the best opportunities in my portfolio, and it wasn’t because the market was wrong. It was because my mindset was. I’m Travis Wells, and I walk you through a mobile home park investing story where the property had city sewer, city water, and over 100 spots in a location with real demand, but it kept expiring on the market because the pricing didn’t match the current income. 

You’ll hear how I used a lease option to control the deal while I worked the value-add plan, why infrastructure and utility problems slowed my expansion, and how that pressure pushed me toward fear and scarcity thinking. Then the whole thing flips when I bring in the right partner. He sees what I missed: buying near land value can limit downside, and depreciation strategy can create real flexibility while you execute infill and improvements. 

I also share the simple math that made me commit, including how added capital can translate into meaningful monthly revenue, plus the hard rules I live by: take emotions out, ask “how do I lose?”, and always do what you say you’ll do with sellers, investors, and partners. If you’re trying to raise capital, scale a portfolio, or get serious about value-add real estate, this is the kind of real-world story that can save you from walking away too early. Subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review if it helps you think bigger with smarter risk.

Transcript

The Deal I Nearly Passed On

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Today I want to talk to you about a deal that I almost didn't buy, and it could have really impacted everything, right? My portfolio and stuff, and ended up being a banger, is gonna keep becoming a banger deal. And I almost didn't buy it. All right, and I want to walk you through my logic, my headspace at the time, kind of where we're at now, all that stuff.

Why The Park Still Made Sense

SPEAKER_00 0:24

But this deal at City Sewer, City Water has um over a hundred spots, which is already unique to find, you know, in a city. Um, like there's a bus stop nearby. There's a grocery, big grocery store nearby. Like all the stuff checked out, but the owners had it on market several times. It expired several times. They wanted too much for what it was as is. All right. I think they wanted like 2 million bucks, went down to 1.8, and then I ended up getting them at a lease option at 1.6, which still didn't make sense for what they were bringing in at the time, but I did a lease option because I said, well, look, um, I can break even every month while I try to add units. All right, and if I can get it to be worth 1.6 at a 10 cap, I'll go ahead and uh execute my option and buy it.

Infrastructure Problems And A Reset

SPEAKER_00 1:31

Right? So that was my logic. And I get through this lease option to the extension period after a year, and I hadn't made a ton of headway on expansion because there was just a lot of problems with infrastructure, utilities, city, everything. Like just so many problems. I went back to them and I'm like, man, I gotta be like at a million bucks. Like, because I was like scared to do it because of that, right? And I'm just being real with you. And I knew how much potential there was, but I was like, man, I'm gonna need a lot of capital to do what I really need to do here. And instead of my head going to abundance and being like, hey, let's just get a lot of capital and make this thing happen, right? Because like it's a five, six million dollar park when I get a lot of capital and inject it and make it what it could be. Fix all the problems, but it takes a lot of capital. And I was scared of the money at the time, right? For whatever reason. And I remember when my option came up, I told them I was like, I'm not gonna buy this thing. I don't think I'm gonna pull the trigger. And they're like, Well, we'll drop, you know, to I think like 1.2. And I was like, damn, like this is such an amazing opportunity, right? So I'm like, all right, let's do it. And I and I hadn't signed the extension paperwork

Bringing In The Right Partner

SPEAKER_00 3:00

yet. And I was like, you know what? I'm gonna reach out to some people I know with big pockets and see if they want in on this opportunity because I can like with this huge discount, they're giving me my like ability to do infill and value add, like I should really, I should really pursue this. So I go and pitch, I know a family that's got boo coups of money. Like, I think they're worth I think they're worth like 50 million or something, probably plus, you know, more than that, maybe. Anyways, I pitched them and they were like, nah, we're not interested. We don't know the space, whatever. We trust you, we like you, you know, whatever, but we just we're out. And then I'm like, man, I've got a buddy that has, you know, been talking about this. Let me talk to him. And I told him straight up, I was like, hey, like, this is where it's at. I usually buy it at a 10 cap where it's at, but it's like a little under that right now. But I mean, I can 5x this thing. And he's like, done. And he had a different lens than me. He started talking about, hey, the depreciation we could pass off to the investors on this is nuts, Travis, with the value add that you can do and the potential, and we're buying it at land value only. Like, this is a no-brainer. And this dude's like a mentor of mine, business partner now, friend, and really gave me the perspective and insight and experience to look through that lens, confidence, really. Like money wasn't even on his mind, it was the opportunities, not opportunity, opportunities. So many opportunities, and it gave me a different lens because I've never looked at um prior to that. I'd never looked at a a pro a part that way. It's like, damn, we can pass off uh over six figures of depreciation to our investors, right? And that would allow us not to have uh mortgage payment while we're doing the infill for a couple years. I didn't I didn't even realize those opportunities existed, right? And I almost passed on this deal.

Depreciation Strategy And Value-Add Math

SPEAKER_00 5:09

And like fast forward, it's like um, you know, I we spend $100,000. For every $100,000 we spend, it brings in another $4,000 a month in revenue, which is insane, right? And if you haven't done anything with those kind of numbers, it could be scary. It's like, where am I gonna get the hundred thousand dollars and each time I want to do this, and there's all these spots. And I just urge you, well, if you're experienced, I urge you not to think that way.

Abundance Thinking With Risk Checks

SPEAKER_00 5:44

And I know that it might sound like faux pas to be like abundance mindset, but it's real. If you're inexperienced, I think you don't, I think you should just know there's possibilities, but you should partner with somebody that has been through those possibilities and has that mindset so you can work towards it. It's hard to have that mindset if you haven't been there, if you don't have like a mentor or somebody by your side to show you those strategies that are possible. And that's why I pick the partners that I do. They complete me and my operation, right? I don't just pick them for just money. It's like, and this is the deal that I almost passed on, right? I was so close. I even told the dude that I partner with, right? And I was like, I I might pass. He's like, dude, this that would be insane. And and now where I'm at in the project down the road, I'm like, that would have been horrible. That would have been so stupid for me to do, right? And even early on, you know, I I just took on some partners that, you know, um, just because like they were certain experts at something and I was scared of it, right? Like all I'm doing is is just kind of urging you not to think out of fear, lack, or scarcity. So anytime that you come across a deal that you think could be good, right? Don't think out of like fear, scarcity, or lack. All right. Ask yourself like, am I do I have an abundant mindset? No, not rose-colored glasses, no, not like, oh, this could shoot to the moon and be awesome, but like really, like, is this a good opportunity? Like, put money aside. Is this a good opportunity? Could this set my me up for the future? And if so, what would it take to get that opportunity, to make that flourish? And how can I lose, right? That's an abundant mindset, too, if you look at it through those lenses. Because you do need to manage risk first. And it's like, how do I lose? All right, if I buy it as land value, can I lose? Not really, right? Like if I buy this thing land value, can I lose? No. Okay, that's out of the equation. Now, how badass could this be if I actually bucked up, found the resources that I need to make this thing flourish? Badass. It could be great. That's something that you race to the finish line with. All right, and all the experiences alone that you're gonna learn through that process, you're not gonna learn in a book. Right? The infrastructure, the water lines, the moving the homes, the like, yeah, you can read them, the dealing with the city, the water, the meters, utility, the rents, the rent to own, the agreements, all the stuff, right? Like you gotta go through it to learn it, to really understand it, to be a master at your craft. And guess what? After you go through that, like several times, you're gonna be so credible and have such a track

Do What You Say You’ll Do

SPEAKER_00 9:01

record. Now, here's what I do want to mention is always do what you say you're gonna do. Like when we took down that deal, I think they were like, hey, can you bring in 10 units in a year or something like that? I'm like, hell yeah. And and I remember they're like, no, can you do that? I'm like, yeah, right? And I felt confident in that. So always do what you say you're gonna do. Pay the people what you say you're gonna pay them, if they're investors, uh equity partners, whatever. Always do what you say you're gonna do. Not by embellishing, but if you know you can do it, go out there and do it. And if you want it, go out there and get it. No rose cluttered glasses, all right? Remember that. Just facts, take emotions out. And if it's money you're worried about, don't be worried about that. So many people have money out there. There's so many millionaires, all right? You wouldn't believe how much money's out there if you find the good deal. I know a lot of people say find the buyers first. I say find the deal, and then find the real people that are operating with money. Thanks for hopping on today. My name's Travis Wells. This is the Property Profits Podcast. Appreciate the hell out of y'all being here, listening. Share this with a friend. It would mean the freaking world, I promise. Our views and downloads are starting to slightly go up, so I know you're doing that. I don't run any paid ads. I'm giving this information away for free. And it's just from my experiences, right? I'm not a lawyer, I'm none of that stuff. This isn't like legal advice. This is from my true experiences, not from a book from me actually doing the thing. If you'd like to get a hold of me on Facebook, you can DM me. Travis Wells is my profile. Instagram, Travis Clay Wells. We have a YouTube page. Go give that some love too. Uh still trying to get that sucker to trend up a little bit. But just as long as I can reach the right people, I'm not even worried about the numbers, right? Maybe you're a younger me, or maybe you're an older me, or whatever. And these experiences can help you. Fantastic. Until next time, have a good one.