This week I am excited to introduce yet another guest blogger: Ola Dantis.

Ola is the the Founder and CEO at dwellynn.com, a multifamily investment syndication firm with a focus on acquisitions, repositioning, development, and management of affordable, yet quality, multi-family residential properties. Ola has successfully sourced deals of over 40 million dollars by working closely with sellers and with other apartment syndicators across the country. Though Ola has only lived in the U.S. for a few years, he has successfully completed rehab projects in excess of $1M.

Ola continues to exceed investors’ returns, building upon his success in the real estate investing world. He likes to post his progress and expertise via social media, blogs and podcasts. In fact, he has a stellar online presence with an Instagram community of 55,000 strong.

 

Opportunities, Not Obstacles

One thing I want to point out about Ola is that he just came to the U.S. a few years ago and he has accomplished an incredible amount. I often hear people say there aren’t enough opportunities here and that there are too many barriers to accomplish their goals. When I look at someone like Ola, who only sees opportunities and not the obstacles, I am truly inspired. And, I know you all will be too.

Being a successful entrepreneur means getting rejected, and Ola got comfortable with that very quickly. While many of us are too timid or procrastinating to pick up the phone and make that first call, Ola makes things happen. He puts his thoughts and goals into action.

Now, let me turn the reins over to Ola where he talks about How to Make Your First $100k Profit.

 

Never Waste An Opportunity to Ask

Life is full of interesting retrospective moments. One of these moments was when an investor once said, “When you see a ‘For Rent’ sign, call the number and ask the landlord if he/she is interested in selling their property.”

Expectedly, most landlords will say no. Or even sometimes, the landlord might wish he/she could show you their favourite finger over the phone. But that should never deter you.

There is an important lesson to be learnt here. As any investor (new or seasoned) can tell you, you can’t be timid or shy to pick up the phone and just call a number. That means not snapchatting them, or Insta-ing or FB Messenger-ing: just call.

Now, I know it’s not easy, and I bet you’re wondering:

  1. What am I going to say?
  2. What if the person doesn’t pick up?
  3. The landlord is not going to sell anyways…
  4. I don’t like bothering people.
  5. What if they shout at me?

Look, I’m right there with you because I had the same thoughts before I picked up the phone. These thoughts are NOT timid either. They are very strong and real elements that prevent us from getting to where we want to be in our lives and career.

Did you know that the human brain get hits with 11 million bits of information per second. And yet the brain can only process about 50 bits per second?

Why do I mention this to you?

Because a lot is happening in our brain without us even realizing the impact of the tsunami of activities and thoughts.

 

What to Ask A Landlord About Real Estate Opportunities

So, you may ask, “Ola, what do I do when negative thoughts hijack real estate space in my mind?” *no pun intended. OK, maybe a little intended.

Well, you foreclosure on those thoughts and get them out ASAP (I am writing this with a straight face by the way, seriously). You answer the questions and present them to your strong thoughts (yes, we are in a hostage negotiation with our brain).

  1. What are you going to say?
    • Hi there, I’m [INSERT YOUR NAME], and I was wondering if you’d consider selling your property?
  2. What if the person doesn’t pick up?
    • You leave a voice message and/or send a text with your WEBSITE url (this is very important to your branding and story). Essentially, you are telling the seller a lot about you and your brand before they even text you or call you back.
  3. The landlord is not going to sell anyways.
    • Ask your thoughts if he/she is a mind reader? For the most part, your mind will answer, “no, I’m not a mind reader!”
  4. I don’t like bothering people.
    • Ironically, some landlords do want to get rid of their property because of life circumstances (they are tired of managing the properties or an illness in their family), so you are actually helping and not a bother
  5. What if they shout at me?
    • They wouldn’t and if one does – use the red hang up button on your phone if they do. Life’s too short!

 

Taking A Chance on Real Estate Opportunities

Now that we have gotten that out of way, we as investors can tackle the real estate investing game.

In hindsight, this part of the game I clearly understand because that’s how I met my partner, Ryan who has been instrumental in the current deal we’re working on. I saw a “For Rent” sign on a building that I really liked, so what did I do? I called.

But of course, Ryan didn’t answer so I sent a text message. Now, when I send a text message I always ensure that I include the full URL of our site www.dwellynn.com. That way, the person can go to our site and see our content, Our Story, Podcasts, and 1HousePledge (community initiative).

The intention here is to informally introduce yourself to the seller. This way, by the time they’re replying, they know that you aren’t a joker in the real estate game, you are a real player! In my case, Ryan and I actually started texting back and forth, and we eventually met for lunch. As they say, the rest is history.

Since I like apartment buildings as an asset class, and Ryan likes flipping and other niche assets, we have combined forces to leverage one another’s strengths. We are on track to make a $100k profit on our first deal together.

 

 

Thank you so much for reading! And please do let me know what thoughts prevent you from taking the next step in your journey. To learn more about our projects, you can visit us at https://www.dwellynn.com/

Or, follow my journey on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat: @OlaDantis.

 

We thank Ola for his contribution to our blog this week. And as always, we are here if you are ready to talk about investment opportunities for your financial freedom journey.

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Guest Blogger: Ola Dantis on Real Estate Opportunities
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Many of us are too nervous to ask about buying a property. See this week's guest blogger Ola Dantis' advice on asking landlords about their property.
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