Lokal Keys and Contracts

Lokal Keys and Contracts with Calum Bressiagton

• Gabriel

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Lokal Keys & Contracts dives into the real, unfiltered world of real estate investing, featuring Calum Bressiagton of RE/MAX Realty. Starting his investing journey at just 16 years old, Calum made bold moves across the country—before ever stepping foot in Cleveland.

What made him bet on a market he had never seen? And how did that risk turn into real opportunity?

In this podcast, Calum breaks down his journey from young investor to active realtor and deal-maker, sharing insights on:

Finding opportunity where others don’t
Navigating out-of-state investments
Building a real estate portfolio from the ground up
Lessons learned along the way (the wins and the mistakes)

If you’re into real estate, investing, or just love hearing how people take unconventional paths to success—this is one you don’t want to miss.


SPEAKER_04

What's up everybody? This is Gabriel Newberry, and I am here for another episode of Local Keys and Contracts. Thank you guys so much for joining. And today we have Callum. He is a real estate connoisseur. He has his own rental portfolio. At the same time, too, he's a crazy traveler. I mean, he's been to so many different countries. And by the way, he also has his real estate license. And he's only 19 years old, guys. We're going to be breaking all of it down. I can't wait to go into it. Callum, thank you so much for being on the show, man. Yeah, of course. Thanks so much for having me. Yeah. I'm excited to dig into it. I'm excited too, man. So what? So tell me, okay, how do you end up amassing a portfolio of how many? 13? I'm around 10 doors right now. 10 doors. Yeah. That's wild, brother. Okay, so 10 doors. So how do you end up amassing a portfolio of 10 doors?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I mean, it all started when I was super young. I was like when COVID hit, like right during COVID, I was started, I was like 14, 14 to 15. And I was uh pretty much digging into every side hustle I possibly could. Uh I I tried anything you could think of. Um and a lot of them, you know, kind of fizzled out here. Some of them worked, some of them worked a bit. Uh but then I stumbled across real estate. I'm like, what is this? So uh I dug in, did research, and I talked to probably six different realtors in different markets before I was like, okay, yeah, Cleveland. There's there's something special about it where it's undervalued, but it's not a place that I wouldn't want to live in. Because that was the number one thing for me is if I'm gonna start somewhere, I'm gonna go all in. And if worse comes to worse, I'm gonna have to go there. I'm gonna have to go there eventually. So there's some places that come to mind for me that I'm like, okay, I wouldn't invest there because I don't want to go there.

SPEAKER_04

Uh what made you kind of curate slowly towards Cleveland?

SPEAKER_00

I don't mean to throw you off the process. Yeah, I mean, uh statistics were a big one too. I mean, when you look at Cleveland, it's just ridiculous. Yeah. Like the you can't find anything like it. I mean, especially if you plug in on Zillow for an entire the entire US, you can find some of the cheapest properties here, and there's still, you know, they're still cash flowing, there's still, you're not getting all the problems with it. Of course, there's setbacks and there's, you know, areas and uh all that stuff, but yeah, I slowly like migrated towards the idea of Cleveland, and I got in contact with a real estate agent here, and before I ever even stepped foot in it, I bought my first rental here. Uh how old were you when you got your first? I was 16.

SPEAKER_04

That's wild. So before even turning 18, the man bought a property. Do you understand? That's almost like TikTok level famous. Like it's just unheard of, man. So okay, so you ended up getting your first property over at 16. I mean, honestly, what did your what did your family think when you ended up making that decision?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, honestly, you don't have to pour in, but no, for sure. I mean, yeah, especially uh, so I mean, for people who don't know, I grew up in California.

SPEAKER_04

Uh I'm I'm Canadian, I we we came to California, and uh I mean uh you so you ended up moving over to um to Cleveland after going over from California? I mean you tell me, my friend, so when you switched over to Cleveland, I mean, how how did you even compartmentalize? Okay, I'm going to take down a property. Did you strictly do it by the numbers? Did you end up just curating it? Did you have help and support from from someone, a mentor or something? Or did you just go, all right, me and AI and the world, and we're just going straight at it. You know?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Yeah, the big thing, I mean, back to uh, you know, what my family thought about it, it was like uh kind of why Cleveland? I kept getting that question from Cal people like we were in California and they were saying that too! Yeah, like they're like, why Cleveland? What what made you what made you pick that? And so I kind of had to explain it, but at that time I didn't really know. Like I wasn't really sure on on why. Um, and so I mean the numbers really made sense for me, especially in uh like in California, where you know, in my community, in my city, it just didn't make sense to invest. Like, if you're investing, you're pouring all this money into a property to maybe break even. And it's just and you're gonna have all these problems and uh rent laws and rent controls, and it's just it's just really rough to be a landlord there. So I put a few offers in on properties back in in Stockton, and uh and they both of them thankfully now they did not get accepted. But um yeah, so I I found Cleveland. I I bought that first property, hadn't hadn't even came here until probably five or six months later, uh, had a property manager, um, and yeah, I I stepped foot in Cleveland and I was like, you know, okay, this is this this has potential. We can we can work with this. And were you just randomly shopping markets?

SPEAKER_04

I mean, was this kind of like a midnight thrill type of thing for you where you were just looking through and you were like, where can I end up cash flowing better? Or was it more so like somebody ended up egging you on towards there? Like how did that end up coming about?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I mean, for me it was just all the research. I was so research heavy like focused that uh that the numbers didn't really make sense anywhere else, but I had like three or four markets in mind, and I was like, okay, if I I connected with realtors there, I was like, if I find opportunities, I'm gonna jump on it, I can always sell it later, doesn't matter. You know, I had a job at home, uh, I was working really hard, and uh I was like, yeah, we can do this, and so uh yeah, Cleveland was kind of the first to like jump out at me, you know, like I had these different markets in mind, and then Cleveland just kind of kept appearing, and I was like, Okay, I think this is the one. Yeah, I and then yeah, I moved really fast on it, and I had a realtor send me a few deals, and I'm like, okay, let's buy this one.

SPEAKER_04

How long did it take you to get the first?

SPEAKER_00

Like, it did it. Like from a few, and you were like, okay. Yeah, uh, from when I was in contact with the realtor, it probably probably two weeks and we put an offer in.

SPEAKER_04

So do you understand how stressed out sometimes buyers can be? Was it was it that's going back to your family?

SPEAKER_02

I mean, what was your pain? What was going through your family's mind? I mean, not only are you buying a property, but okay, you're buying a property in a totally different state. I'm assuming they they've been there or no. Alright.

SPEAKER_05

Well, you know how did you work that through?

SPEAKER_04

And then at the same time, too. I mean, with with all the different side hustles, I mean, this was these were funds that you ended up working hard for. Now, when you got from point A to B, how'd you decide to just take that plunge?

SPEAKER_00

So it might be an unhealthy standpoint, but my standpoint is because I'm young, I can take more risk. There you go. Because a lot of people start in their early to late 20s, like really, you know, deciding what they want to do. So I don't really feel the pressure of having to have everything figured out right away. And so I'm like, if this doesn't, you know, if this doesn't work out, I can always restart and I can always go back. But if this does, then it's gonna be exponential. You know, it's not gonna be something that's like you put it in the SP 500, and you know, by the time you're 60, you're you're good to retire. I'm like, no, this is something that I'm going to take a lot of risk on. I don't know if it's gonna work out, but my standpoint on it was what's the worst that can happen?

SPEAKER_04

You know what's funny is is the fact that a good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow. It's one thing where you can have a lot of inherent risk up front, and it can feel daunting and it's it's complicated, but taking the first step is really everything in the end. Because some of the most successful people ended up hitting the ground and then just rebuilt from that.

SPEAKER_00

Yep.

SPEAKER_04

I had one real estate guy where he said he went through three bankruptcies and still he landed on his feet and he ended up deciding to end up going into teaching. He's still jumping into flips and partner flips because all he took was his experiences. Yeah. And brother, you started so so early, so talk me through that. So now you ended up blowing up at after 16 and you ended up getting to 10 doors. Yeah. So that's a really big climb. That means that you've you've been buying for three straight years, back to back. How did you end up amassing that many properties, that many doors? Is it any particular strategy that you can share, especially with some of the newer investors?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Uh yeah, my uh second property was a really uh really cheap place that had a tenant in it. Uh traditional, I mean, I put like $8,000 down on it. And uh cash flows like crazy, and the tenant's been in there for the whole time. And uh do you mind if I ask how much are you getting in rent? Yeah, that one I'm only getting $8.50. But mortgage payment is like four something. That's it. So it's it's just it sits there, you know. It's not, it's definitely my cheapest one, but I I love it. I'm like, you know, it's awesome. But um, yeah, I kind of moved after those two, I kind of moved into a different strategy of sort of like a burr, uh, with another one in Cleveland that I bought. Um, I bought hard money on because they're like, I I found a really good deal, someone wanted to sell, and I got them at a good price. But traditional lenders were like, that's not right. There's got to be something wrong with the place. So they wouldn't qualify me. They're also looking at a 17-year-old. So there's definitely a lot more underwriting that goes into it, and a lot more uh when when I don't even have a credit score yet, you know? People have to determine if this guy's credit worthy, but there's no credit score.

SPEAKER_02

So it's I'm surprised you got through the hurdles with that, man. Oh, it was hard, man. It was so hard.

SPEAKER_00

But but yeah, so that one I moved into with uh a standpoint on okay, I'm gonna you know put a little work into it and I'll refinance it later. So the same thing I put like I think I was all in that like 10,000. And uh I was overleveraged because I initially had uh like stocks, and so I I had I had a stock portfolio, so I took margin out against the stock portfolio to put down on the house. So technically I was way overleveraged. Like if you if you get a realtor on the phone, if you get a mentor, they're like you don't do that. They're like you're you know, if something goes wrong with this place, you're done. Uh but again, I was young, I was like, whatever.

SPEAKER_04

Uh you had the California vibe too. You just like, you know, go with the flow. Well, that's phenomenal, man. So one of the biggest things, okay, so you went straight in, it seems like you went with absolutely no qualms, and you came out the other side. Yeah. With that, I'm sure you have worse stories. Oh man. Oh yeah. Yeah. So talk to me, talk to me a little bit. So what are we gonna get into fun in a minute, but what are some of the learning lessons throughout a lot of this, especially over the past the past four years of your investment journey? I mean, what were some of the pitfalls that you found? Because yes, you ended up taking that leap and you ended up taking that stride, and you ended up deciding to go for it. But one of the biggest things, I'm sure, you ended up taking your licks, you always do. Yeah. So, what were some of those big pitfalls, and do you mind just kind of going into some of the lessons you learned?

SPEAKER_00

For sure. Uh I mean the biggest challenge to get over was of course my age. I mean, no one took me seriously. Uh they're like, who is this kid? You like uh, especially not having a reputation in Cleveland, uh, really made people, made it easy for people to one, take advantage of me and two uh you know just not take me seriously in general. So, I mean, initially finding good people here was so hard for me. Like finding contractors, property managers. I've had property managers full-on steal my money because they didn't have like because because I was underage, their contract is not legally valid, and so they they went all, they did all that stuff, stole the security deposits, you know, wouldn't do all that. I mean, contractors have way overcharged me when I needed something done immediately, and they were the only one I could call, and they knew that. So uh they've overcharged me. Um, I mean, the biggest thing was the people part of it. It's like I paid a lot for the people that I that I have now, like the team of contractors and uh you know, my electrician, plumber, uh, HVAC, like I've paid a lot to get those connections, but um, you know, I'm glad that I have them now. And I going back, I don't think I could have really done it very differently. Uh just because I mean it was hard to break into, I mean, it's hard to break into a new market anyway.

SPEAKER_03

It has.

SPEAKER_00

Especially when you don't know the areas, you don't know people. Uh, but I mean it just emphasizes uh connections. Like when you find a good company or you find a good uh realtor or property manager, it really emphasizes that because uh, you know, one person can connect you with a whole uh system of people that really can help you excel and help you uh one save money and two succeed because uh especially when you're starting out, that's one of the hardest things to come up with is money. You know, people are scrambling for, oh, can I get you know 90% of it uh financed or can I get 100% of it financed? Like, well, no, this is you're still your first deal. You're young, you don't have a reputation with us. Uh so yeah, I really think the people part of it was the biggest kind of uh I wouldn't say big pitfall in general, but uh it was hard. Very hard.

SPEAKER_04

And then with that, it's funny that you say that because that is one of the biggest reasons why I think um honestly having a good mentor or having a good contractor, having a good realtor, to be quite honest, is is a really positive thing because you need to get embedded into a network and into an ecosystem, especially when you end up starting out from another state. Because when you jump over from another state, you just immediately have to fine-tune your team because your network becomes your net worth very quickly, especially within this entire industry. And within this industry, you know as well as I do, there are a lot of sharks. You've experienced it, you just expressed it. So it's like whenever you're dealing with situations like that, I know it's it's complicated, man. It's complicated. And talk through too. So what what are some of the some of the different lessons that you've learned through that and fine-tuning your team and fine-tuning those people? I mean, how did you end up how do you end up effectively um analyzing now to be able to counter that?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, you know? Yeah, one of my biggest uh things now is just because they have a license number and they're professional does not mean that they're legit. Just because they have an LLC, you're like, oh yeah. Yeah, just because they're set up right does not mean that uh they're reputable or you know, anything like that. Because I really experienced that. I was like, oh, well, you know, licensed contractor, you know, licensed realtor, property manager, like they gotta be legit. They're behind a good company, you know, they have that that company name with them, and it's gotta be good. And uh that's the biggest thing is not vetting the people is definitely one lesson that I know now. And uh, you know, it's it's hard to vet people because uh, especially professionals, when you call them and they're like, what can I do for you? And you're like, well, and then you're naming out like all these things, asking them questions, they're like, Who do you think you are? You know, like there's a lot of people like sharks with a a bit of an ego sometimes. Oh yeah, and uh yeah, and when you start asking them questions to try to see if they're reputable, I mean it just shows their character.

SPEAKER_04

Absolutely, yeah, absolutely, and that's that's another thing too, where ego, um especially for this business, can be complicated because you you know when you're starting out, you just have so many questions, you're trying to figure it all out, you're trying to break it all down, you're trying not to also you know seem like you're naive, but you're also trying to get any sense of perspective. So whenever you're doing that, it's it's hard and it's you're vulnerable. And unfortunately, sometimes um people prey on that vulnerability, but sometimes you also find people that will last a lifetime. Yeah, and I can't tell you how many times people have uh have saved me from bad deals, how many times people have have helped, and genuinely they became my network, and that's that's the same thing to the agent part where it's like then you share that with people that are coming in because when they show you that vulnerability, you're like, okay, this is my network, maybe it's not for you personality-wise, but you have the option, you don't have to worry. Same for you, like now, and quick plug, he's an agent now, too. So now, my friend, I mean, you're able to curate, you have um you took your licks, and now you've come out the other side. What's one of the major things now as an agent? The agent component, now you can offer that. Yeah, what are some of the biggest things that you would say to new investors that are coming in and coming from that of state, maybe from California, you know?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I mean the biggest thing is uh, you know, at least for me, I have all of my contacts, my uh my experience with them, and you know, everything I've done. I I'm a spreadsheets guy, so I have everything in spreadsheets. I was like, yeah, I have everything in spreadsheets, and um, but yeah, when a new investor comes in, I definitely want them to know that number one, there's risk, and they have to be they have to be willing to take that risk because a lot of people, especially if you know them and they try to invest, and if they invest wrong or they choose to do something that's uh you know not gonna work, then it you want them to or you want them to know that there is risk to it, because not everyone succeeds in real estate. Actually, it's a high percentage of people that don't, uh, unfortunately, because it's it kind of weeds out the uh you know the people that that aren't willing to take the risk. It's pretty risky at the start. But uh yeah, number one, I mean, know the risk. Number two, know the reward. Because there's gotta be something you're striving towards. There's gotta be, for me, there's gotta be uh a pull to work as hard as I do. There's gotta be a pull to be like, okay, well, one day I'm gonna be the There, one day I'm gonna be able to do that, and that's what I'm working towards. And uh in that same category is creating goals because at least for me, I have I have my my famous whiteboard that I have to have all of my goals on. Yep, I see you. I saw that when I walked in, I was like, he's a real one, he's got a whiteboard multiple, man.

SPEAKER_04

Because I'll tell you, if it's not written down, it goes right off of the line. Exactly. So I know exactly what you mean. And within that, I mean, so processes-wise, yeah. So you said you're very spreadsheets oriented and very whiteboard-oriented, so still a lot of old school analog with a little mixed-in, um mixed-in technology. So, what do you end up doing when you're breaking down a deal? Is it more so you run it through your spreadsheets, you run it through your systems? And then with regards to the goals, so when you're compartmentalizing, do you end up breaking down set like almost okay, this is priority one, two, three, four, break it down that way. Do you know what I mean? Like per deal, like deal one, two, three, four? Well, no, but more so like when you have a deal in front of you, yeah, and you're analyzing through your spreadsheets, okay, then do you end up within your goals? Do you have within when you're looking at the deal, okay, this is priority one, two, three, four, I make your X number of deals by the end of the year, and I you know?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah, definitely. I mean, I think uh I have short-term goals and long-term goals. There you go. Uh, just because, you know, if I'm like, okay, I'm gonna get to 100 doors by the time I'm 30, like, okay, yeah, but what are actionable steps to that? I was like, I could have that goal written on the wall, but I need to have a game plan on how to get there. Yeah. So uh my main thing uh is definitely running through systems. I am a little bit old school, but I do have I incorporate AI into everything. Like uh instead of writing things down in notebooks now, like just scribbling all my thoughts, you know, you just pull up AI and I nerd out on AI for hours just talking and running deals and uh talking through what type of AI do you use? Oh let's nerd out, man. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Um I mean the big the the one I've found best for talking is definitely ChatGPT. Because for me, uh like I tried Claude, I've tried other ones, but Claude doesn't have a memory, so it's like you know, it doesn't really know all the deals that I'm doing, it doesn't really know uh the background behind it all. Uh but yeah, Chat GPT, Gemini is a good talking one. Uh and then you have the systems one, like perplexities more for like systems and uh that kind of stuff. But I'm definitely still old school in the way that I do some of this stuff. Like I like to do all my own bookkeeping, all my own taxes. Like, I love that stuff. The numbers is is where I'm at. I love it. So uh God bless you. Yeah, I delegated that as soon as I had an opportunity. So I probably will at some point, but at least right now I'm like, okay, this is this is cool. Uh but yeah, when I run a deal through, I mean that's another thing I ask investors is what's your goal out of this deal? Because some people are like, I want to get cash flow, and that's their only priority. Yeah, and there's deals that'll work with that, but you're gonna be, you know, you're not gonna have a ton of equity, maybe not in a growth market. Uh well, in Cleveland, you kind of have to be in a growth market because we're in Cleveland. But uh yeah, I mean it's it's really goals for me. I'm thinking long term, so I don't really care about cash flow. I'm like, that's low on them.

SPEAKER_04

And that's curious because that's usually the play for Cleveland in general. So I'm surprised that you say that because honestly, if that wasn't the reason for the draw, was it primarily just the fact that you were like, okay, this is a this is a lower ticket buy-in, so it's less inherent risk jumping in, and it you when you landed on it, you were like, okay, that's where the dart landed, let's rock and roll.

SPEAKER_00

No. Uh I saw potential. That was my big thing. Long-term potential in Cleveland is more than anywhere I could I can find. Like, I mean, even since I bought my first property, I uh I just got it reappraised for 40% higher in two years. So I'm like, how how what market can you find that in? You really can.

SPEAKER_04

You really like it's crazy, man, too. It's like it's so weird because it's in other markets, people are saying the downturn is is significant. And when I look, yes, there is an inventory shortage, but that's a massive advantage for us, because especially the earlier you buy in, the more you can leverage the equity play. Because regardless, you're going to appreciate at a 4% rate, typically. But every once in a while you have a certain market where there's so big of a shortage that I mean your appreciation is sometimes 10%, 20% over the course of two or three years. I mean, there were some markets like look at Lakewood, man.

SPEAKER_00

Lakewood's still going up. Still.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. And then there's there's even spots Cleveland Heights. Yep. Cleveland Heights.

SPEAKER_00

I could talk about Cleveland Heights.

SPEAKER_04

Oh my god. Yep, I know he does.

SPEAKER_05

He loves that market. So that's why I picked it.

SPEAKER_04

So Cleveland Heights is one of the biggest ones. I I've seen massive growth. I used to live right off of um right off Mayfield, off of Glenmont.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

And I was telling you, it was crazy because right after COVID, out of nowhere, there started to be more and more gentrification, started pushing out from Little Italy, and then also coming through Mayfield. And I just remember all of those streets used to be kind of rundown duplexes, a lot of them. And then it started to come up. Yeah. And now the values are going like through the roof out of nowhere. I'm seeing like above twos, I'm seeing all the way up to the threes on some of them. Yeah. And they keep climbing. So yeah, it is. And going to the Cleveland Heights market. I mean, so what ended up drawing you over towards that market in particular? And then what type of markets do you really feel like work for your strategy since you're seeing more so appreciation-wise versus cash flow?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Yeah, I mean, Cleveland Heights, I was originally in Cleveland. I came to, I got an Airbnb in Cleveland, and then the second time I came, I was like, oh, let me get an Airbnb, and I found one in Cleveland Heights. So I'm like, okay, this is cool. Uh never, never even stepped foot there. And I got there, and driving through Shaker Heights to get to Cleveland Heights, I was like, yeah, this is awesome. I was like, number one, the charm of it is like it's unmatched. Like coming from uh California where all the builds are like like my my town was the town I grew up in was founded in the 80s. So I'm like, you have all new builds, you know, there's there's nothing there's nothing with charm anymore. And so I got there and I was in love. I was like, oh my gosh, and uh so yeah, I mean that was a big big play for me, is like I would totally want to live here, and I can invest here, and there's potential here. I think it might be a little controversial, but I think it's actually better for investors, which is uh, you know, it tends to scare a lot of investors away. They're like, why would I want to put 125% in escrow?

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Um but my big thing is that weeds out the people that don't or aren't totally invested in the city, right? Because I'm all in Cleveland. It's it's it's oh my gosh, the council people love you.

SPEAKER_05

Make sure to clip that and we'll send that over to you. But no, no, no, continue, sorry.

SPEAKER_00

No, yeah, I mean, it's just uh when when you put that money into it, it sucks, of course. You're like, why would I have to give up more money? Yeah, but um it it really keeps everything in good such good shape. Like you're the only houses that you see there that are really run down now are the places that haven't been sold in 20, 30 years. The people are you know, they've lived in there forever and they're not point of cell compliant, but they don't have to be until they sell. So that's the ones I mean we're getting to like pretty much the end of it where it's like almost like most of them in Cleveland Heights, the houses and duplexes are are getting compliant. And uh, you know, I would have never thought that I would agree with the city on that, but uh here I am. And well now you're like okay, property value going up.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, exactly. Keep going.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and I mean you get you get the the problem with certain pockets, it's actually where I love it, but another problem with with pockets for uh like short term, if you're if you're looking at flips, it scares investors off because certain parts of Cleveland Heights are close to like I live pretty close to East Cleveland, I'm in the East Cleveland zip code. So you're getting the comps when you're appraising it, when you're selling it, when you're buying it, you're getting the comps from East Cleveland. No matter how much that you tell the appraiser, that's not the same city, and it it is completely different. It's a crazy wealth divide that shouldn't be there, but that's a whole nother conversation. Yeah. Uh I mean, when you're seeing that, investors are like, okay, why would I want to go in there? It's like, well, you've got to think long term to be in that market and this the city, because yeah, it's not gonna be a year or two, and East Cleveland's gonna be all done, and you know, everything's gonna shoot up in value by 300% because now you're uh everything's renovated. But when you really dig into it, I mean, five or ten years, you're gonna see. I mean, I'm I'm a firm believer is I can't guarantee it, but I can I can almost be certain that the property values are just gonna go insane. Because, like you said, the like near Severance, near like Cedar Lee, like you're seeing like three bedrooms sell for like two hundreds. I'm like, how? Because you drive five minutes down and you can get a three-bedroom, like in good shape for like 100 to 120. Yeah. And I'm like, that's a big gap. When you're in the same city, you're pretty much on the same, like, the streets aren't that different. You just have to be neighboring somewhere.

SPEAKER_04

That's well, that's the wild, that's the wild situation with Cleveland that interests people, and also is a danger zone. Because it's just that that fluctuation within the the amounts, especially for flippers. Oh yeah. You know what I mean? Because it's like they just see dollar signs when they see a property for like a hundred or so, or and even when you end up going under a hundred in certain certain plot uh certain places. So whenever you find those deals, it's complicated because then it becomes very hyper-local. You know as well as I do. Now you're seeing that disparity within those numbers. And even though a long-term play, an appreciation play, it's absolutely brilliant, cash flow play as well. Because cash flow likes just it cash flows like no other. Now, the other thing though, too, is it's very complicated on a short-term game because you have to be very, very specific in your location, in your neighborhood. It could sometimes get complicated because whenever you have that old school charm, you're also dealing with sometimes older builds. Let's get into that a little bit. Because I want to understand. So you're coming from a place where 1980s builds, I'm assuming there were no basements? Nope. Okay, dude. So when you walk through a Cleveland Heights basement, and anybody else who's used to the market, you know when you walk into there, I mean, that looks like an old school seller from one of the horror movies that you see. You know, like when you go into there, I mean, how did you end up just compartmentalizing all of it and really walking through? Because I think that's one of the biggest fear factors for people coming in. How do we deal with these basements?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. I mean, it's you know, I I used to think it was actually first it was like this is weird, and then right after, it was like, okay, this is actually really cool. Because I'm a I'm a history nerd when it comes to like houses at least. And so I was walking like Shaker Heights houses, and they have like the printed out boiler instructions still there from like the 20s. I'm like, this is so cool. Uh but uh yeah, I mean it was it's definitely something to navigate when especially uh you know being able to see like if you have water intrusion or you know, Boeing and how to fix that.

SPEAKER_04

Like initially, can you speak a little bit on that with regards to Boeing water intrusion?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah. I mean, uh water intrusion, usually you get a little bit from the bottom, you know, like some moisture, but uh, I mean it's different than you know, if you route your gutters wrong, then you're getting water in your basement, and then that's chipping away at you know, if you have a cinder block basement that's coming through there, chipping away at that because those are old, they can't withstand water flow. Like there's a lot of things that can go wrong within that, and then I mean you also have uh you know deterioration. If if there's like some old mortar, the mortar could just decide to give out, or it could be, you know, if it's if there's wind coming through. Like I've I've had uh in my basement, uh in the place I live in now, is like I didn't realize it, but I was like, it's so cold down here, and I turned around and you could just see straight outside, and I was like, There's not even a door on my basement, and I was like, this is great. So uh yeah, I mean dealing with stuff like that was definitely like really weird to me. And uh especially when you're digging into even more like the cast iron uh pipes and you know freezing pipes. I've never this is this is crazy, but I had never seen it snow until I was 17. Because I'm from California. I was like, I never I never even knew, I didn't even begin to know how hard the winter is on properties. Like, it's crazy, it's really crazy. Uh so yeah, it was definitely interesting to navigate coming into a whole different world, pretty much. I was like, what is this? So uh yeah, but uh navigating basements is basements are actually really cool because they really uh they're kind of like a uh I mean it it's essentially the foundation of the house, right? So you're if if it's in good shape, then you know you're good. Not not totally good, but uh it's a good tell on how the house is, like in condition wise, right? I mean if you go down there and people try you can tell people try to cover stuff up sometimes, or uh how can you tell? Well, it depends. Some people can do a good job at it, but most of the time, especially when uh people try to see a little bit of parging in the event, they're like, oh, we painted it, you know, it looks good. When water is actively coming through and then they paint it, and then the bubbles start happening. That's like, come on, guys. Yep, yeah. They're like, well, let's address the issue first and then paint over it. So uh yeah, you could definitely tell that way. Or it's important to know, like sometimes they have jacks, like uh for the for the foundation, for some of the joists, and uh you know, you kind of should dig into like why is that there? Uh what happened here, you know, because there could I um I had a house over in Cleveland Heights that I tore the floor up to put new flooring down, and the subfloor was just gone where the fridge was, and uh it was like completely rotted out. You stepped on it and it like went down. So then I cut the cut the joy or cut the subfloor out, then the joist was moldy and like cracked straight in the middle.

unknown

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00

So I'm like, okay, how do you deal with this? But and then I go in the base of it and I noticed they have a jack under it. So they saw it because the they had it was finished and the drywall came down right there. But that's something that's something I didn't know how to do dil due diligence on. So uh yeah, I mean it's definitely a whole different world out here than compared to California. I mean, I grew up in a house that was built in like 2007, so that's just the way to live there, I guess. But yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Well, thank God. I I mean, and it one of the biggest things too is with foundation issues, like you know as well as I do, there's certain ones that are really, really bad. Then there's settlement cracks and stuff like that. That's more so like not so bad. And it seems like you've you've gotten a decent handle on all of it. And I mean, um, now you're a pro. So when you when you walk down there, man, what are some of the first things you really look at? And you make sure, like you walking into a basement for a potential rental, what are some of the go no-go type of things? You you went into some of the joists and some some of the stuff for water intrusion, but what's the first thing you're looking at?

SPEAKER_00

I mean, first thing is cracks, immediately it's it's cracks and bowing. Uh sometimes you can look at a wall and you could even if you're not at the right angle, you can totally see a bowing. That's obviously terrible, but if you do, like sometimes I'll put a level on it, if you can't really tell, and it'll be off just a little bit, but you know, it's something to watch out for. I'm not saying, you know, you could have 50 years before it even starts showing anything, but uh the biggest thing is knowing your properties in and out. I'm a firm believer on, you know, even if it's if it's a rental, you should know, you should know what's happening with your place.

SPEAKER_03

You should know uh biggest recommendation, like get an inspection. Yes. Go ahead, figure it out. Okay.

SPEAKER_00

I did do I did do uh one house, my it was my second house. It was that cheap one I was talking about. Uh it was just a guy put it on for sale by owner. I called him, I lowballed him, he was like, Okay, so uh that's how I got it so cheap. He was in Belgium, he was an out-of-state investor in Belgium, and uh and I was like, Oh, we don't need to do an inspection, it's fine. So didn't do an inspection, closed on it really fast. Thank God it was totally fine. There's some little minor things wrong with it, but like the basement's in great shape, and I didn't walk it till like a year, year and a half later because there were tenants in it, and so you closed though, you were like, Alright, great. I was like, here's the money to put the rent in. Do not recommend that. So I could all the less no, but uh yeah, definitely do not recommend that. Um even if there's a house that sometimes, I mean, in rare cases, I don't do inspections if I have walked the property a million times, there's no tenants in it. I I can see the bones of the property, like if I can actively see the joists in the basement, uh, you know, part of the parts of the subfloor, if I can see uh, you know, some of the plumbing fixtures, if there's excesses. I I mean, I do like I initially did a lot of renovations myself, so I kind of got to learn what to look for. And for inspectors, I mean, I was finding that properties that I really walked, like I spent a long time looking at and making sure doing my due diligence. I was like, the inspector came up with less than I came up with at some points, and I was like, okay, well, I probably didn't need that, but it was good anyway. Uh but yeah, certain properties, it's very rare that I don't get an inspection, even if I know the whole thing. Uh, one or two properties I haven't got an inspection on. But uh one was because I was naive, and then the second one is when I'm closing on soon that I know the whole thing. I've been in contract for like five or six months now. It there's a bank-owned, you know, the whole story behind that deal. But uh I've walked it a million times. I've had people out there to give me quotes. I'm like, I know it in and out, and I'm I won't need inspection, but always 99% of the time I always recommend an inspection. Because you can see stuff, but you can't see everything. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

So and speaking of stories, let's dig in, man. Well, I I know this guy the way we met was at a coffee shop, and I swear we were talking for probably a straight hour. Oh, at least just back and forth on life stories.

SPEAKER_01

Like, let's talk through, man. Okay, so Craziest story. I know you have rattle properties, so I'm sure you can rail them off. Yeah. Craziest stories.

SPEAKER_04

And then at the same time, too, talk me through some of the um some of the fun stories. Okay.

SPEAKER_00

Alright. Um let's see. Probably. I don't know the craziest. I don't know. Does anything ring a bell to I have so many, but uh your pipe bursting. Yeah, that was a good one. Yeah, so I was definitely uh as you know, I didn't know, you know, pipes burst. So I was like, oh, it gets pretty cold here. Uh you know. Uh but I didn't know all the things where if you leave it on a bit, you know, the water will, you know, less chance of freezing and all that stuff. And because it's most of the pipes are in the basement, I didn't know about that either. Uh so yeah, I had I have a uh property that I I buried a uh a bit ago uh in Cleveland, and um I was traveling, I was in Iceland at a hostel, so it's very like very open. There's everyone's there, you know. It's the middle of the night, and of course uh I get a get a call from this guy, and I manage a lot of my own properties because they're they're easy to manage for me, especially when I'm here. And uh this guy calls me, he's on like full ringer for some reason, I don't know why, but the ringer was like really loud, uh, pretty much woke everyone up and um called me pretty much like screaming at me because the waters were the because the pipes burst. And I'm like, well, I didn't really know what to do. I was like, okay. I was like, well, first thing you do is go turn the water off, like go turn it off. And he's like, How do I do that? Like, what do you mean? There's the water main in the basement. Like, can you turn the water main off in the basement? Then I can get someone out there as fast as I can. He's like, What's that? And I'm like, the the the water main, like where the water comes from the street. I was like, it's in the basement, and he's like, he's like, no, we don't have one of those. I was like, I was like, what do you mean you don't have one of those? I was like, I sure hope you have one of those because I pay for the bill. Uh and so yeah, I tried to walk him through. I was sitting there in a hostel with everyone really mad at me because I woke them up. Uh pretty much walking this guy through how to turn it off, and he still couldn't do it. I I I sent him a picture of what a Cleveland water, like I literally the exact picture of what it looks like, how to turn it. I I I told him, like, because I know the house, I was like, go down the stairs to the basement. I'm like, okay, you're looking towards the furnace, right? I was like, look above you. There's that copper pipe, that's the water pipe. Follow it, and then follow it straight down, and right in front of you should be the water main. There's a little thing on it, and you just turn it. I love how he was like, no, this doesn't exist anymore. Yeah. It's not like he was like, oh, that's a thing. It's like, no, we don't have one. Uh so I had to send a guy out, and pretty much, like, uh, it was pretty late. I don't know what time it was, it was earlier here, but uh I called, I called my like one of the main contractors I use, and I was like, yo, this guy, he the pipes, the pipes burst, and he can't figure out how to do the water main. He's like, he can't figure out what? And I'm like, I know, bro. I was like, can you just I'll just pay you to go send someone out there? Can you just get one of your guys and go turn it off? And he's like, Are you serious? I'm like, yeah, I'm very serious. So uh, but that's one of the things I'm so thankful for the connections I've made because otherwise I don't know what I would have done. You know, like the basement's flooding in the middle of the night.

SPEAKER_04

Who you gonna call?

SPEAKER_02

Well, how bad was it, man?

SPEAKER_04

When you when he got there, I mean, was it a gusher? Like it was it was at the point where it was, you know.

SPEAKER_00

It was going. I I got someone out there within, I mean, I think it was 30 minutes to 45 minutes, so it wasn't really bad. Yeah, it wasn't too bad. I mean, there's probably a few inches of water, but it was like that was that week where it was like minus something, minus four or something. Oh my god. And I was like, you gotta be kidding me on the one day, and the heat went out, so they couldn't order the part. But I gave him space heaters, I told him, like, you know, I was like, we have you have AI, bro. That's the one thing. That's the one thing. I'm like, tenants, when when they like sign the lease, I need to do like a thing, like, here's a subscription to Chat GPT, like ask it questions, please. But uh this is my assistant. Yeah, yeah, please refer to the QA. Yeah, so that's an interesting story, man. I mean, I have another uh another tenant that uh, you know, always responds to me when I ask. So I'm like, I'm like, hey, uh, you rent slate, like what's going on? Uh and I try to be, you know, try to be the most reasonable landlord I can. I mean, I'm probably too nice sometimes, and that's bitten me a few few times. But um, you know, I I try to be nice, I understand the situation. You know, people go through it, and I understand that. But uh, you know, so I reach out to her and she didn't respond. And I was like, hmm, that's a little weird. Called her, didn't respond. Uh then a few days later, texted me at 2 a.m. Sorry, my lens my my rent's late, just posted bail, I'll have it soon.

SPEAKER_02

You can't make these.

SPEAKER_00

No, you really can't.

SPEAKER_05

So a similar situation happened.

SPEAKER_04

I don't understand. Sometimes, like, okay, life happens sometimes, right? But there's sometimes where you end up with a scenario, okay, got two people in, right? Mm-hmm. All right, couple. Beautiful Kodak, literally, they have three kids, a new baby just came in, and it was a whole nice situation. They're lovy dovey, they're hugging. Okay, sign a lease, we got the papers, great, they're on a two-year plan. Beautiful. Beautiful. All right, always recommend two-year leases. I don't know if you end up doing that. You usually do your term or two-year?

SPEAKER_00

I do I do options, so usually I do uh if you want a month-to-month, it's gonna be a crazy increase. And then 12 months and 18 months.

SPEAKER_04

Nice, man. Always recommend. Um, 18 months, especially, actually, that's great. Because sometimes if you end up having a structure where you land back over to like spring or something, that's that's beautiful. Because then you're not shooting yourself in the foot.

SPEAKER_00

No.

SPEAKER_04

Um, yeah. Anyway, so we get this couple, and then when they walk through, they sign the two-year lease, they're inside for only about a week. Okay. And they ended up doing prorated rent. So, out of nowhere, a week later, we get a call. The call goes a little bit like this, okay.

SPEAKER_02

So she's like, I don't know if I want to keep this rental because I'm not gonna lie. Apparently, her her fiance.

SPEAKER_04

God forbid, actually, it was a domestic abuse situation. So she said the guy hit her. He's in jail.

SPEAKER_05

So I don't, he's gonna have to figure out this rat. Because let me tell you what, I'm gonna be gone, and I don't even, I don't care. She's like, I'm taking everything.

SPEAKER_02

I'm on the phone with her, and I'm like, I don't really know. I'm so sorry.

SPEAKER_00

Like, I don't get some situations where you're like, what do I say?

SPEAKER_02

Well, what are you supposed to?

SPEAKER_05

Like, okay, I mean, I is he able to pay bill? Is he gonna come back?

unknown

Like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_05

Because she's like, he's gonna have to deal with this itself. And so anyway, she ends up going.

SPEAKER_04

She um she's like, Yeah, so I'm gonna have to figure something out. And I said, Yeah, yeah, like you're on a lease just the same as him, so you gotta figure this out. So they hang up. Alright, two weeks later. Oh my gosh, you know what? That was just a whole situation where I don't know what happened because realistically speaking, we are the most together we've ever been.

SPEAKER_02

Like what?

SPEAKER_05

So apparently disappeared. I don't think so. I think it's still a continued situation. We'll see.

SPEAKER_04

But realistically speaking, along that whole ride within a month, yeah, it was just a roller coaster of emotion, which God forbid. Like, I pray to God. I'm like, please, if anything, tell us. God forbid.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, you know, but it's stuff like that where you just get these calls out of nowhere, and you're like, what is going on?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah. I mean, another one is I don't know if you've experienced it with duplexes when people call you when they have a problem with the other person. Like they don't, like, two people don't get along, and they call the landlord. Like, what am I supposed to do? Come and like make you guys hug it out?

SPEAKER_04

Like, I haven't had that yet, but I'm terrified of seriously.

SPEAKER_00

It's scary, bro. I'm like, well, it's not it's more frustrating than anything because you know, you get people in there, and no matter how nice they are, no matter how you know they initially get along. But some people just you know aren't mature enough to go talk to someone about if they have a problem with them, they want to call someone. And right, I get it sometimes, but I'm like, at some point, if you have a problem with someone, we have to have healthy communication here. You gotta go talk to them. I'm like, I'm not gonna be your therapist, you know? Like, I don't wanna I don't really want to deal with that. Uh and I don't think landlords should. I mean, uh, but yeah, that's definitely a hard one, is like duplex, especially parking. Duplexes in Cleveland Heights always have one driveway that goes into two parking spots. So it's like a two-car garage or a split driveway, but it's one driveway going into it. So it's always like his dad's here and he parked and I can't get out for work, I gotta leave. Uh but yeah, I mean I've had I've had people, you know, I mean, being in real estate, you have people calling you screaming at you all the time.

SPEAKER_01

So it's just part of the game. Really is really sometimes that's that's the main reason why you have coffee, man.

SPEAKER_00

You make sure you get up earlier than I'm ready, whatever you need. Yeah, I found the best the best work for me gets done before people get up and after they're done working, because like after 5 p.m., I am like that's from 5 p.m. on is when I get my most work done. Like 5 to 9 p.m. is like my prime work time. And same with like if I get up early, well, between like maybe 5 30 and 8 is like the prime work time because one, no one, especially if you manage properties, it's like people are gonna call you all the time. And uh, you know, you get interrupted with emails, calls, texts, and uh I mean that's some people don't like it. I mean, sometimes I complain about it, but like I'm living my dream life. This is what I what I grew up to do.

SPEAKER_04

I'm like, this is I was about to say, you also kick in a little bit of pleasure with that, man. Okay, so 19 countries have been what you traveled to. You just said that you were dealing with a tenant experience in Iceland.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_05

Which that was probably stressful, but at least you're in Iceland while you're doing it. So you're rocking with class, you know.

SPEAKER_00

Very true.

SPEAKER_04

I mean, how many so talk me through? I mean, how many countries have you traveled to?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I'm I'm at 19 right now, so it's it's been it's been amazing. I'm so blessed to be able to travel. Um but my my big goal was when I graduated high school to to go travel Europe for a bit. Yeah, uh, it didn't happen right after I graduate high school. I actually went to a ministry school in Canada and then I came down to Cleveland uh because I bought a duplex here that it needed renovation, so I just put my head down and renovated it, and uh, you know, that took a while.

SPEAKER_04

Okay, buy some, then sort out.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I mean the big my big trip was in October. I left for a little over two months. Uh I started started in the Netherlands and you know, kind of hit all the countries on the way down to Africa. Uh kind of went to East Europe and then down to Africa. But uh yeah, I mean structuring trips is is a little hard sometimes with with real estate, but uh it always seems to as everything's fine until you leave.

SPEAKER_02

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Always. I'm like every single every single time I'm somewhere, something happens, or if I'm about to leave for somewhere, then contracts get delayed, you know, closings get pushed out, uh tenants, you know, fall through for like moving in, or someone wants to move out of a place, like it's it's always something that's like you know, in the back of your mind when you're on a trip, you know, it might be there, but uh yeah, I think my it was really good that I went out and traveled for two months, and there was a lot of stuff that you know, I was managing a whole renovation from there on a different house I do. I it was like my first one where I was like, okay, I'm not there, I'm gonna manage the whole thing. I have connections now, I'm gonna manage it from here. And it was a lot of nights, you know, that I was up at one one or two in the morning in like the Netherlands answering calls and and trying to get people to go here and go there because it's a different time here. But uh I couldn't be more grateful for where I've been and I'm excited to go more places, but uh I'm kind of you know, I kind of slowed down on traveling uh because I'm an agent now, so I want to be a little more present. Uh you know, I do go, I get I get really bored sometimes, and if I get bored, then I hop in my car and I drive somewhere. That's my thing. Like I told you a couple of Talk through a story.

SPEAKER_01

Talk through that story.

SPEAKER_00

That's hilarious. Yeah, uh man, I got back from my big trip in the end of November, went home to California for Christmas, and it was January, and I was like, I didn't Europe trip, my two-month trip. Yeah. Uh and then I got I got back and it was January. Everything was you know, everything was fine with rentals, and I didn't literally had no work to do, everything was done, and uh wasn't an agent, wasn't thinking about getting my license yet. Uh I did do all my stuff to get it in California, but then I realized I didn't want to go back. Uh but um yeah, so it it turned out that uh it was like 7:30, 8 at night, and I'm sitting in driving right now. Where could I go? Like, you know where I haven't been? I haven't been to Montreal. And I'm like, I I look it up and I'm like, ooh, that's far. But uh Canada has these little, they're called en routes, and they have uh they're like rest stops, but they're nice rest stops. They're like they have cameras there and that you could sleep in your car. And so I was like, alright, why don't I just go? So I just grabbed a few things and I just drove. I drove, I got like right past Toronto, a little north of Toronto, at like I think it was 3 30 in the morning, slept till like six, then got to Montreal the next day. And then I I you know explored Montreal. It was freezing because it was January, there's so much snow, uh, and it was like ridiculous temperature. But anyways, uh then I drove down the east side and I went down to Vermont, New Hampshire. But when I crossed the border, uh the the people were like were like, so you went to Montreal for a day. I was like, Yeah. They're like, well, why did you go? I was like, oh, I just wanted to see Montreal, I live in Ohio. And she's like, she's like, no, what's the real reason you went there? People don't just drive there for a day trip. And I was like, no, I legit went for a day. Like, what do you want me to say? And then she's like, Do you have anything to declare? I was like, I mean, a half a pizza is in the backseat, but I don't have anything with me. And uh you were a smuggler. Yeah, they tore apart my entire car. I was like, man, uh yeah, so that that was interesting, but I I live for those those moments, like the spontaneous. If you ask some people that know me, I'm I'm a very spontaneous person.

SPEAKER_02

I'm just like You have to be! You bought your first place at 16 out of nowhere, you were on the other side, you bought another coast. Yeah, no experience.

SPEAKER_04

I mean, I I tip my head to you, brother. I mean, that's absolutely amazing that you ended up having the gall to do it, but also the follow-through with going all the way step by step, plus you're living a life, business plus equal amount of pleasure. You were still able to end up having these crazy experiences that realistically speaking, real estate just can give you that opportunity to be able to just I'm gonna pack up, go, drive really quick to Montreal. Yeah, take a look, I'll do all my business from my phone.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, that's like I mean it's at least we're in the same time zone. I know, right?

SPEAKER_05

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's very uh I mean, I couldn't imagine doing anything else. Like real estate is just it's something that uh you know it gives more freedom than most professions, I mean, yeah, and just being able, my favorite thing about it is this is some people's least favorite thing about it, is but you get paid on the performance you do, not on the hours you work. And I'm like, yeah, that's where I want to be because if I want to work, you know, 50-60 hours this week, get a ton of stuff done, you know, I can make money, and then I can just take the whole next week off.

SPEAKER_04

Well, it's it's going back to the goal setting. Yeah, and let's look let's touch a little bit about that because I just want to drive that point home because I'm very familiar with that system because I use that approach too. So, with regards to goal setting, yeah, do you do it on a daily basis? Because you mentioned short terms and long terms, however, do you end up and do you um structure your day with checklists and things like that just to kind of keep yourself in line, or is it more so, okay, I just have a general outline, I'm gonna roll.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I kind of have uh it's it's like a a necessity list of every day I have to do these things before I go to bed. Yeah. So uh whether it's you know, um I used to do it in my head and then I'd forget about stuff. So, you know, whiteboards, great, love whiteboards. And uh, you know, second was just like write it down on your phone, write it down on a piece of paper, put it in your pocket. Like that's that's how I do it, is I'm like, I get so distracted and so scatterbrained so easily because I have so many like ideas and so many like things going through my mind that I'm like like basically what's next? Like, what am I gonna do now? What am I gonna do now? Like sitting still for me is really hard. Like a day of doing nothing is like drives me nuts. I can't I can't do it. So uh yeah, I mean definitely a daily, a daily, not necessarily like the full structure, but like I need to get these things done is uh is definitely helpful for me like on a daily basis, and I saw a lot of progress once I started doing that. Uh and a lot more uh you know, when you go to bed, you're like satisfied with what you did in the day. Because if I you know do only a few things in a day or I I just go and do some little work that that's not like really meaningful, like it's about what did I do today? Like that, you know, I always think about that before I go to bed. It's like what did I do today?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, uh yeah. I always set it up like a morning routine of I have to do my it's almost like OCD at this point. Yeah, like I I literally I have to sit down and I have this usually a yellow page sheet and I'll take it out and I'll write down the to-dos. And then I set priorities. So I'll do like okay, priority ones, priorities, priority twos, priority threes. Yeah, the priority ones have to get done within the first first half of any availability. Yeah. And then priority twos are okay, they need, they're important, but not necessarily top end. Yeah. And then there's priority threes. If I get them done, perfect, if not, then it's it's okay, they can end up moving over. And there'll be priority ones the next day.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

So it's like I'll I'll literally structure it that way day after day, and what I've found is it's like living with that intentionality helps so much. With regards to structure and so much for you not to end up barreling through. Because sometimes when you wake up, sometimes and you have nothing set on the agenda, all hell breaks loose for me. I'm scattered. So I'm like, okay, I think I'm gonna get a coffee.

SPEAKER_05

Like I I I don't know. Yeah. Maybe I'm gonna go to church.

SPEAKER_02

I maybe I'm gonna go to the lake. I I don't know. I don't know. I have to do something productive. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

So yeah, I think that's that's perfect, man. Having general outline. And then at the same time, too, do you end up doing vision boarding? You were mentioning goal setting and stuff like that. And then do you write it down? You said on a whiteboard, do you write it down and you kind of just do like mantras or something every day? Is there like a daily routine type of thing or a thing that you really set for these goals that you that you put up?

SPEAKER_00

I mean, at the at the end of the day, I'm I'm going towards like one goal. No. I mean, my main goal is is I want real estate to fund uh spreading the gospel to unreached nations. Like that's my that's my ultimate goal. Is like I want to be uh you know, I want to be able to to fund uh missionaries, to fund uh people to just go out, people that are willing to just go out and go to these places, go to unreached places. I mean, that's my ultimate goal to to fund people and to do it myself. Uh but to have real estate behind me to do that, it's kind of like I wake up every morning and I'm like, that's where I'm going, that's what I'm doing, uh, and I just have to work to get there.

SPEAKER_04

Let's let's touch a little bit more about that. So, overall, on the missionary end, elaborate. So, with regards to it, with spreading the gospel for you, um, and it's it's funny, we're right right around Easter time too. So, talk a little bit more with um thoughts on that. Is it more of a philanthropy end? Is it more so like you want to end up structuring mission trips? What's the main thoughts behind it? Because that's unique.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah, I mean, definitely. I God's always given me some sort of uh you know, kind of willingness to go anywhere. Like I'll I'll literally go anywhere, I'll do anything. And uh it's hard to find people like that. It's hard to find people that are willing to give up everything to go and do something, like even if it's anything, it's really hard for people to get to that point. And um, I mean, I just have seen the firsthand effects of like bringing the gospel to people that have never heard it before is like one of the you know, it's like we live for that. Like that's that's I mean, I don't know how familiar you are with the Bible, but that's what that's what God's mission for us is is to make disciples, to go to the nations and make disciples. And it's not uh, you know, I don't I don't want to I don't want to have you know a thousand doors and and be this rich guy in a mansion with his ten cars, like that's not my goal. It would be nice to have a a big house somewhere, and that it doesn't have to be extravagant, but I want to live a comfortable life, but I the ultimate goal is is that and that's I mean it's all all we live for, and if we uh you know, if God's given me the ability to put my skills into practice, uh, and to he's given me that drive to to put me, you know, uh in front of uh of people to share the gospel with, but just to fund those people. Like I've had I've had mentors in mission fields say, like, basically say, like, oh, you own place, you're trying to do it through real estate. They're like, just sell everything and go. Like, God's got you. I'm like, but who's gonna be behind those people? Like, if God's given me the talents and the drive to do uh to do it and and to be able to make money, I'm like, I can pour that back into the kingdom work and and yeah, so I mean that's my that's my ultimate goal.

SPEAKER_04

God be with you. I mean, one of one of the biggest things overall is you never know. Everybody's journey is completely different.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

And the reality is yours is is really unique, and you're taking root now. I mean, striving for something like that is is really admirable. And overall, too, I think being able to convey that, even on the agency side, yeah, is going to be huge. Yeah. Because over time, you're going to be able to slowly nurture, who knows, maybe an entire community, help them with with getting um finding financial freedom.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Which overall, that's still a beautiful thing in and of itself. Oh yeah. And then being able to end up coupling that with what you were saying, where maybe you end up taking that over and and going and preaching the gospel out of country or out of state. Who knows? I mean, sky's the limit. And you're gonna have a whole slew of different experiences that you're going to be able to speak to on all of it. So I wish you nothing, nothing but the best, brother, with all of that. God be with you. Genuinely, I'm praying for you. Um anyone religious, please pray. Pray for me too, please, God. Please. But one of the one of the other things, too, and uh I see your mic is flashing red. That means that it's probably starting to die. So one of the one of the biggest things I do want to touch on too is your agency end. So talk to me. So you're over with RE-MAX, you want to curate that closer towards towards mission work, and you want to curate it more towards investor. What's your thought with that?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so I mean, the big thing is is helping investors uh uh not make the mistakes that that new investors usually make, right? And so uh that's that's a a big goal, but yeah, I mean I I try to live out, you know, my my faith in in whatever I do, uh but sometimes it's restricted in the work field. But uh, I mean, essentially people will be able to tell. I mean, it's I I don't do anything to hide it, and uh yeah, so I mean my big thing with being an agent is to help investors. Uh I love helping young investors too. Like that's my like, you know, people come to me and they're like, but like how did you like how do people take you seriously? I'm like, well, you just gotta prove to them that you can do it, you know? Like people will take you seriously if you have results to back your your words up. So uh yeah, essentially that's what I want to do. I I mean helping uh you know first-time home buyers too. Like that's I'm kind of just being an agent in general is is you know, I've always wanted to be since I was really young, so I kind of be an agent. So uh teaching that for you.

SPEAKER_06

We're at left, we're at left.

SPEAKER_04

Okay, okay. There you go. We probably already looped in. That was perfect.

SPEAKER_00

Okay. Is mine still on? Yeah, mine's still. When's green? Is that different than blue?

SPEAKER_04

No, that's good. That's good. You see a new one on there? It should show up with the bone.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, can you hear me? Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_04

And then we'll just put that on.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, I'm gonna go. It's gonna be a perfect room. Look, this is the reality. We were going deep too. That's why I was like, I don't want to cut this mic.

SPEAKER_00

I saw you link it on it. I was like, darn it.

SPEAKER_05

Because I saw it flashing red, I'm like, I don't want to cut it. I was like, oh, like, do I say something, but then you guys like kept going? Like there's like no.

SPEAKER_00

It's just like something, just like throw a mic to me, and I just like catch it.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, man. I mean, I um one of the one of the biggest things too with the agency side, especially since you're saying like young investors, it cracks me up because all I think of is somebody who did you see a 12-year-old homebuyer?

SPEAKER_05

So apparently he was like a crypto kid.

SPEAKER_04

He ended up having like 300,000 or something like that. Like some drop shippers are making money and they don't know where to put it, so they end up going and buying. I thought it was hilarious.

SPEAKER_02

That's all of it. He was like, Yeah, you know, like apparently my family's only just put in real estate. I was like, I guess that means I gotta buy a house. Like, I don't know, I'm trying to figure out to diversify my portfolio. I'm like, they're 12. Dude.

SPEAKER_01

I was playing Pokemon, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Like, really, you know, and I think that's absolutely amazing. So I especially to develop that niche too, and niche it down to you actually have a structured system and process that you developed for your own personal business. I think that is absolutely phenomenal because you can relate. Yeah. Which, once again, that is very important for people that are coming in because they're vulnerable. So being able to relate, being able to convey all those stories and being able to kind of show look, I understand your fears, I've been where you're at, and we can end up working together to be able to break things down, yeah, is huge. And with all that, my friend, one last thing you didn't mention. What company are you with?

SPEAKER_03

Remax Crossroads.

SPEAKER_04

Remax Crossroads. Yeah, we didn't steal them, guys, but uh we definitely are trying. No, no, no. But genuinely, brother, um your thought on your perspective on mission work, your outlook on life, and honestly, your outlook towards real estate is so unique. And I can't thank you enough genuinely for being on the episode, and I can't thank you enough seriously for being able to spread the message genuinely. Like whatever um whatever you have next in store, I want you to tell the world and also just take a quick minute. What's what's coming up for Calum?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, what's the big thing? Yeah, the big thing is just uh kind of diving into being an agent first and uh figuring that all out. Um but I mean my big my big goal in mission-wise is uh I'm trying to help um like underdeveloped and unreached countries. Uh a lot of lot you see in in North Africa, that's that's kind of where my heart is. And um a lot of times you see uh either new believers or uh you know long-term missionaries that are there uh see a lot of persecution. I mean, no one can know what you believe in because you're in a country that's controlled. It's the religion's controlled, and uh you can't really break out of that. So you can't get employment, uh, especially if you're a foreigner that comes in, you can't get employment, you can't get uh any anything in that sense. You know, the government kind of shuts you down and doesn't want you to share the gospel. Um and then local believers, they they can't even let anyone know that they believe because they can be put in jail, they can be uh prosecuted for it. So it's really uh that's kind of where my heart is, is is yeah, we can go spread the gospel to these nations. Yeah, we can go and uh, you know, like Jesus can really change their life, but at the end of the day, you we're we're called to do discipling, right? We're not called to go out and say, hey, this is the good news. Uh, you know, Jesus died for you, and then they're like, okay, what's next? And you're like, okay, well, I gotta go back to the US. You know, like that's not that's not really uh what we're called to do. So my big thing is I'm trying to help uh you know local missionaries along with believers to start a business where they're at and uh kind of empower that, whether it's funding, mentorship, dealing with connections like across the countries, trying to connect them to each other, and uh basically make a business there that is not competing with the the local businesses, so you're not taking away from the economy, but you're building it up and empowering the people there to one have the success in their own business, like that's a really big thing, right? Like that's that's some people strive for that their whole life. And for for people to have that purpose, along with along with like uh discipleship, and if there's you know uh well-seasoned believers around them, that's you know, when people thrive, and when people uh you know, I mean community is the number one thing. It's the number one uh thing that helps people and and believers thrive. So uh yeah, I'm trying to you know partner with some organizations like uh in North Africa and uh trying to get the the resources and the and the funds out there to to empower that and to get them to a place where uh you know where where they're they're thriving.

SPEAKER_04

So that's excellent. And genuinely, guys, um definitely if you have any do you have any websites or anything like that that we can direct towards?

SPEAKER_00

I mean you can always follow me on Instagram. I don't have a lot of uh the the mission side is is kind of on the down low. It's not uh not posted and all that, but my investor journey and all that is posted on Instagram and Facebook.

SPEAKER_04

So guys track all of his socials and everything genuinely. If you have more questions, you can DM him directly and then at the same time too reach out to me. We'll be able to get you guys in touch, especially if you're interested within the missionary position. It seems like that would be um that would be huge, especially for um for if you just want to help with philanthropy or if you want to end up um helping to develop that whole structure with Callum or at whatever capacity you'd like to be involved at the same time too. Please, please, please send us your deals. Let us know at any point because if I'm not buying it, Callum's gonna buy it. Especially if it's in Cleveland Heights. Guys, thank you so much for watching. This has been Local Keys and Contracts with Callum. Definitely track his journey. Callum, thank you so much for being on, brother.

SPEAKER_00

Of course, I really appreciate you having me, and it was a great time. I'll be with you, man. Awesome. Thank you so much.