Creative Real Estate Deals and the Power of Networking
In this episode, I have the opportunity to interview fellow 7 Figure Flipping member, Sheri Duignan. Sheri has been involved in real estate investing since 2004, beginning with the rental of her own home when she was called to move across the company for her job. Over the next few years, having experienced both the highs and lows of real estate, she decided to self-educate through reading and attending seminars and then launched her own business. In order to do this, she resigned her District Vice President position after 18 years with this company but is now happily wholesaling and flipping houses full-time.
After the almost accidental start in real estate by renting her own home in Atlanta, Sheri talks about the transition from her corporate job into real estate investing. She purchased her next two rentals in North Carolina because she went to school and also had family in the area. She talked about looking for investor-friendly agents to find these properties and how once she found one, he ended up managing her properties for him and built a business out of it.
Because Sheri started out as a buy-and-hold investor, I asked her what made her transition into other aspects of investing. When her Atlanta home came vacant after the same tenants for 10 years, she and her husband camped out in the house while they nearly completely rehabbed it to rent again. Sheri really enjoyed the process and ended up taking some classes that convinced her she should be flipping and wholesaling houses in addition to her rental properties.
I asked Sheri to share some of the difficulties she has had in her time investing. She talked about how when she first started investing full-time after leaving her corporate job, she was very frustrated and wondered if she had made a big mistake because she was doing so much work and spending a ton on advertising with very little return. Just when she was ready to give up, she ended up closing on two deals, which completely changed her mindset and restored her confidence.
Because she shared these struggles with us, I asked Sheri what is working best for her now with lead generation. She said she is still successful with direct mail, but she is finding networking to be very effective. Sheri joined Business Networking International which is a referral company that incentivizes its members to refer to one another in the group. She explained the current deal she is working on that she obtained through this network, and went into detail describing the numbers and the creative financing she was able to utilize. Sheri also explained that her goal was to finance more rentals with the profits she is making from flipping houses to increase her passive income.
Here is just another example of an incredibly generous business person who is willing to lay it all out honestly in an effort to help other investors, so don’t miss this fantastic episode with Sheri Duignan!
Notable Quotes:
“Real estate is really my passion and what makes me excited. There are so many facets to it.”
- Sheri Duignan
“I was tired of corporate politics and wanted to work for myself.”
- Sheri Duignan
“You just have to be patient and have some grit.”
- Sheri Duignan
“Thank God for my husband… he was such a great cheerleader and kept telling me to ‘Go, Go, Go!’”
- Sheri Duignan
“You can’t let one property define you.”
- Sheri Duignan
“Where I am really finding more success with lead generation is through networking.”
- Sheri Duignan
“Relationships and networking take more time and energy, but in the long run, the return on the investment is astronomical.”
- Mike Simmons
“If you are an entrepreneur, it can’t be ‘I can’t’... it has to be ‘How can I?’”
- Mike Simmons
“You can go one of two ways when life gets tough - you can quit or you can buckle down and work harder.”
- Mike Simmons
“Don’t be bashful about what you are doing. Talk about it.”
- Mike Simmons
“My advice to new investors - Just get started.”
- Sheri Duignan
“Joining 7 Figure Flipping is probably the best thing I have done, out of everything I have done.”
- Sheri Duignan
“I resisted masterminds and coaching for years because I was being pig headed and thought I could just figure it out.”
- Mike Simmons
“I love your ‘I will figure this out and win’ attitude!”
- Mike Simmons
Links:
Business Network International
Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months
