Frank Iglesias

Real estate entrepreneur doing business in multiple states. Full time investor and real estate coach, cyclist and musician. Podcast host

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

A wholesaler sent me a deal with a $200,000 ARV.
Nothing on that street has sold over $121,000.
Help me out. What am I missing?

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

3 questions I ask before any flip gets a yes:
1. How many months until the money comes back?
2. Worst case profit divided by worst case months...what is that number?
3. Will the buyer here pay for the rehab we do?

Bonus question: Big rehabs are fine and all but is it worth the effort?

Two and a half weeks of work once made us about $35,000. Fast beats fancy more often than not. The sure thing beats the big project more often than not.

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

Seller Won’t List? Turn Their No Into an Off-Market Deal

Stop arguing with sellers who refuse to list. They're telling you price isn't their main driver. Become the professional who listens, understands their *real* needs, and solves their problem.

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

Your finger's over the call button on your phone. Your heart's in your throat. So you text instead.

A text can't hear the tone in a seller's voice.

The house is 20% of this business. People are the other 80%, and almost every course teaches the 20%.

I was the introvert in the IT back room. Learn how to do people.

Call one person this week you've only ever texted. Five minutes.

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

Two days of hurricane rain flooded the crawl space of a house of mine. It wasn't in a flood zone, so nothing on the deal sheet said water. Flood insurance would have cost about $350. The damage was $30,000. A good deal doesn't happen on the spreadsheet.

It's the costs the seller never lists. Now I look at how close the nearest water is, flood zone or not, and I add my deductible to the budget as a line item. Mine is $2,500.

Near water? Consider flood insurance. It may be the cheapest and best decision you make on the deal.

What's your biggest lesson for pricing in what you can't see?

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

I crossed off 7 of the top 10 rental markets in the Southeast in about a minute. 7 good markets. Zero desire to ever visit. I used to believe I'd do a deal anywhere the numbers worked. Not anymore. You pay for that belief in brain space every week.

15 goals boiled down to two: I want my time to count, and I want to be part of experiences I enjoy. The right deals are in places you'd drive to anyway, where you know the streets and the people.

Pull up the last five deals people sent you. How many of those places would you visit with no deal to look at?

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

We bought a house $125,000 under list and still lost six figures. The price made me feel safe, and a great price can't save a project when you trust the wrong vision for it. That one hurt. I chose what it means, though, and that choice is the best part of the story.

A two story cottage. The upstairs clashed with everything downstairs. An architect said a remodel would be too much, so we tore it down and built a modern home over a million dollars. It sold for over a million and we lost money. At the open houses, the room split about 50/50. We fired the general contractor and I became the builder almost by accident. And I had no one to say Frank, slow down.

I could call it a huge loss. I don't. It's the reason I look at every deal's downside first, and it made me a better investor than any deal that went smooth.

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

I rarely find a great deal. I create them. From 2009 to 2014 they were in my inbox when I woke up. Now I look at 100 properties, find about 25 real opportunities, and negotiate them into 1 to 4 deals. Negotiation is a small slice of the timeline but decides almost all the profit.

So I start where I tell every realtor to start: what problem are we solving? Where there's a problem to solve, we're the right buyer.

Negotiate well. Solve problems. Create deals.

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

No name, no seriousness. I get 50 to 100 wholesaler emails a day, and that's my first filter. Then I ask for a five minute call and 50 pictures. If someone won't talk for five minutes, why would I trust five pages of numbers?

Some of my favorite relationships started with a wholesaler who sent pictures and comps without being asked. That's someone studying their craft, and I take their deals more seriously immediately.

If you send deals, send what your buyer needs to say yes. Make it easy for them. It raises your odds every time.

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

Pass on 10 deals this month and it costs you a few hours. Say yes to the wrong one and it can cost $30,000, nine months and a lot of sleep. A no isn't proof you're not cut out for this. It's proof your number works. Avoided losses count as returns. Keep looking.

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

The 65% rule can protect a deal.

It was never built to measure the life that deal helps you build.

A formula doesn't know the family you want to serve or the person in your community you're finally in a position to help.

Who do you hope your success ends up blessing?

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

Seventeen-plus years chasing freedom and profit taught me the greatest return may never show up in a bank statement.

The family that feels the difference.

The person who starts believing they can do this too.

Profit funds the dream. People are the reason for it.

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

"Everyone was just pitching me."

I've heard that from almost every new investor I've met running meetups for seven years.

They aren't afraid of the work. They're afraid of trusting the wrong person.

AI fills an information gap. It can't feel your pain when a deal goes sideways.

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

Most People Don't Want a Coach...Until...

Human nature makes us believe we know better. We often try things our own way, changing advice before truly listening.

Getting a coach saves immense trouble and time, but only if we seek them before learning through experience.

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

I've been $30,000 over budget on a project. More than once.

It isn't a dead deal, it's a math problem with a timeline.

Pull the real number from the actual invoices. Find what's driving it. Split wants from needs.

A blown budget doesn't get to decide how the story ends.

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

The 'What If' Question Of Flipping Houses

Don't just underwrite the best-case scenario for house flipping or renting. Ask, 'If the best doesn't happen, do I still win?'
Scrutinize deals for realistic outcomes, not just wishful thinking.

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

My most successful deal this year was the one I walked away from.

Inspection gave us pause, nothing that screamed disaster on paper. We walked anyway.

My agent said it changed how she saw me as an investor.

Walking away stops feeling like losing once you've done it enough times.

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

Make Decisions That Serve Your Vision

Is the deal, coach, or partner truly aligned with your mission? Alignment isn't just important; it trumps all. Make decisions that propel you forward, not fight against progress. Embrace alignment for maximum progress.

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

Five questions protect my excitement instead of killing it.

Does the deal still work if repairs cost more or the timeline slips?
What would make me walk, named before I get attached?
Does it fit my actual life, not just my spreadsheet?

Scrutiny protects the excitement.

[Frank Iglesias @FrankInvestsREI]

Skill isn't a strategy.

Being good at something and it being the right thing you should be doing are two different tests.

Sadly, I only answered one of them for too long.

Write down the outcome you actually want in twelve months. Test your strategy against that number, not your resume. Make sure it aligns.