Episode 420 Jeremy Bourgeois Veteran Entrepreneur’s Real Estate Journey Transcript

This transcript is from episode 420 with guest Jeremy Bourgeois.

Scott DeLuzio: [00:00:00] Thanks for tuning in to the Drive On Podcast where we are focused on giving hope and strength to the entire military community. Whether you’re a veteran, active duty, guard, reserve, or a family member, this podcast will share inspirational stories and resources that are useful to you. I’m your host, Scott DeLuzio, and now let’s get on with the show.

Hey everyone. Welcome back to Drive On. I’m your host, Scott DeLuzio. And today my guest is Jeremy Bourgeois. Jeremy is a Marine Corps veteran and an experienced real estate investor, as well as the founder of Scout. Peak, a company specializing in buying homes for cash in Utah. Uh, he’s dedicated to empowering homeowners to make informed decisions and ensuring a smooth and half soul free home selling process.

Uh, and today we’ll discuss his journey, his work in real estate and how veterans can benefit from his expertise. [00:01:00] So before we get into all of that, uh, Jeremy, welcome to the show. Really glad to have you here.

Jeremy Bourgeois: Thanks, Scott. I appreciate you having me on.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, absolutely. So, um, let, I guess let’s take it back a bit. Uh, can you start by telling us a little bit about your background, kind of what led you, uh, you know, into the military and, uh, you know, kind of how you got out and, and eventually got to what you’re doing now with, uh, real estate.

Jeremy Bourgeois: Yeah, absolutely. So, um, ever since I was a kid, you know, I wanted to get into the military. Um, I was, I was thinking about joining the army, but kind of made a last second decision and, um, ended up going into the Marines instead. Um, so that, that was basically how I got there. It was just always, always what I wanted to do.

And, um, you know, just going, going through that whole experience. Um, I was nearing the end of my contract and, um, I knew I was, I was planning on getting out. So I was thinking, well, what’s, what’s [00:02:00] next, you know, and I wanted to find something that, that was going to be exciting for me. You know, that was as exciting for me as joining, uh, the Marine Corps was.

And, um, real estate was that thing. You know, I had some friends who were, who were getting into it too. Like we were all, um, pretty excited about it and not just real estate, but entrepreneurship in general. Um, and just going out and kind of. You know, creating our own future and taking all that into our hands instead of leaving it up to someone else.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, I, I, that’s one of the things to me, I think that’s the best about. Being an entrepreneur is that, yeah, sure. It’s a little bit scary because it is all in your hands. And if you screw up, you’ll, that’s screwing yourself up. And, uh, you know, your business, if you have employees and, and things like that, like that might be screwing them up too, but, um, you know, all the, uh, the control is in your hands and you, you can dictate.[00:03:00]

How successful you are, uh, by the amount of effort that you put in, the amount of, uh, energy that you bring to the table, all that kind of stuff. Um, you. You really get to, to do that. And there’s, you know, we’re talking real estate right now. Cause that happens to be the path that you took, but there’s, there’s a whole world out there as far as being an entrepreneur goes, um, that you could do just about anything, um, and, and be an entrepreneur, um, you know, And, and that’s, uh, that I think is, is probably a whole separate episode, a whole separate subject that we can go down that rabbit hole.

Um, as far as veterans getting out of the military and, you know, what do I do when I’m now a veteran and not no longer a service member? Um, and so we can go down that rabbit hole probably in a, in a separate episode. But, um, specifically you chose real estate. Um, and, you know, that, that is a. It could be a tough market, uh, to, to be in.

I suppose it [00:04:00] also depends on, you know, economic conditions and, and things like that, but, uh, what, what was it that drew you to real estate? I know you said he had a couple of people that you knew who were already in it, but was there, there’s something about it that kind of drew you to it?

Jeremy Bourgeois: Yeah, well I liked, I liked that it’s, um, you know, I could still be an entrepreneur and I could, I could go and I can basically do my own thing in it. But there’s a proven track record behind real estate that goes back thousands of years. Um, it’s just always been, you know, one of the most, um, you know, I mean, obviously in the short term, sometimes it’s not very stable, but over the long term, real estate’s always, you know, very, very stable and it’s a great way to build wealth.

So I looked at that as a way to Be able to, you know, retire early. Not that I see myself sitting on beach, you know, when I’m like 40 years old, but that I could have freedom of time to be able to pick and choose what [00:05:00] I want to do, what projects I want to work on, what I don’t really feel like working on, um, and just have that, that freedom.

And I think real estate definitely offers. Offers that, um, to people who stick with it for a while and just kind of roll with the punches enough until they, they learn a little bit more of the industry.

Scott DeLuzio: Now, did you, did you? Start getting involved in real estate before getting out of the military. Or was this something that you, you did like pretty much right as you were getting out, how did that happen?

Jeremy Bourgeois: Yeah. So it was about a year before my contract was up. Um, I went back home, I was on, I was on leave and, um, I met up with one of my friends who, uh, he was getting, he was just starting to get into it himself. Like he was just, Starting to learn about it and he was really excited about it. And I kind of fed off that and, um, that, that really kickstarted me.

So for me, it was, it was literally like a light switch from going from [00:06:00] having no idea what I was going to do, you know, a year from now to being like, this is what I’m going to do, this is what I’m going to stick with. And, um, I just committed to that, and and because of that, and just committed to that, but also committed to, you know, personal personal growth and personal development, um, and made a lot of positive changes in my life there.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. And one of the things that you mentioned earlier that, uh, I think will really resonate with other veterans is that there’s a proven track record. There’s. There’s maybe, uh, I don’t want to say there’s a step by step process like every single, uh, you know, real estate transaction. If you follow this, it’s a hundred percent time it’s going to be successful because that’s, that’s probably not exactly true.

Um, but there is, uh, There is a track record. There’s been people who’ve done this before, right? So there’s, there are some processes, [00:07:00] there are some procedures that you can follow, I would imagine, that allow you to sort of hit the ground running as opposed to like, if you’re starting a business, um, Yeah, a manufacturing business or something, you know, for example, where you’re creating something from the ground up, nobody else has created this particular product that you’ve invented.

You’ve got to figure all that stuff out, all the procedures, all the policies, all the, everything that goes into that business. You’ve got to figure all of that stuff out. Um, but there are some. Things that you can kind of do, and the reason why I’m bringing that up is because in the military, there’s a long history of Procedures like this is how this is done.

And everybody does it the same way. Uh, every, everybody, you know, knows how to, um, you know, as an infantryman, you know, that would, which is what I was like [00:08:00] the battle drills that we go through, um, whether you’re in one unit or another, there might be minor, minor variations to, you know, how things are done. For the most part, you can, you can just like take somebody and plop them into another unit and they they’ll be able to catch on and figure out what’s going on pretty easily. Um, because those procedures are already in place. And as you were saying that, you know, there’s a proven track record. I’m like, okay, well, this, this might be something that really clicks with, uh, you know, other veterans because it’s like, all right, well, we, we do have kind of a bit of a roadmap that we can follow, right?

Jeremy Bourgeois: Yeah. Absolutely. And I mean, it’s not it’s not easy. You know, it’s it’s So I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea that, you know, you just jump in and it’s like, Oh, a bunch of people have done this and it’s, it’s easy. It takes a little while, but if you stick with it, if you just stick with it and, you know, really, really commit to doing that, then you’ll [00:09:00] absolutely come out, you know, very far ahead of a lot of, a lot of people who don’t do that.

For sure.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. And I, uh, my wife used to be a real estate agent. Um, she had some health issues and decided that wasn’t the, the route she wanted to go anymore. She decided that that wasn’t for her anymore. But, um, you know, one of the things that she noticed was that. There was a lot of people who, who came into real estate, probably thinking along the lines of what you just said, like, Oh, I’ll, I’ll just start doing this and I’ll, I’ll sell, you know, all these homes and I’ll make tons of money and this is, this is going to be great.

And you know, while it sounds great, you know, reality is that you’re not going to, you’re not going to be selling. You know, millions of dollars of homes right off the bat, necessarily. Like it’s going to take some time to build up a network and you know, there’s, but there’s, again, there’s, there’s ways that you can do this in order to, uh, You know, uh, [00:10:00] maybe accelerate this process so that, that you’re not just sitting there waiting for people to come knock on your door and say, Hey, can you sell me a house?

Well, like that, that’s not how reality is with any of this, right? Um, there’s, there’s a lot of work that goes into it. Um, but, but she noticed that a lot of people would start being a real estate agent and within the first year or so, they, They were dropping out, um, like they maybe, maybe two years and then they were dropping out.

They wouldn’t continue. Um, but like, to your point, it is hard. Um, and if you’re willing to put it in the work, then you know, you’ll, you’ll, you may have, have some success there. Um, but if you’re, If you’re just waiting for people to come start knocking on your door and just sell me a house. Well, that’s, that’s not how it works and that’s not going to happen.

So, um, you know, I want to give that a little bit of a warning beforehand, because if everyone’s sitting there thinking like, Oh, this is going to be a piece of cake. Well, that’s not quite the case, right? It takes [00:11:00] a lot of work.

Jeremy Bourgeois: Exactly.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. Um, you know, for, for folks who are, you know, interested in getting into this, this field, um, you know, you, your, uh, your company, uh, Scout Peak, um, you know, you, you have ways of helping homeowners, uh, you know, sell their properties rather quickly.

Um, you know, kind of smooth hassle free process. Um, you And I got to imagine that’s a, uh, selling point, you know, that, that you have versus maybe some of the competition that’s out there. Um, you know, how, how do you see like that differentiation, um, you know, helping you in, in this whole, uh, you know, the whole real estate market?

Jeremy Bourgeois: Yeah, well, you know, that’s, that’s one of our offers that we have there. That’s one of our biggest ones is that we can just go and we can, we can buy a house or land, you know, without, without realtor fees, without closing costs, we can [00:12:00] close quickly, um, as is. So if it’s, if it needs a lot of work, you know, we’re just going to do that ourselves, not really, um, make the seller have to worry about that.

Now there’s a lot of companies who do that, but you know, one of the things that I’ve done, you know, in my company over the years. In the past, um, has been just adding to that skill set to where we don’t just offer that, um, we do listings as well. We also do, um, seller financed purchases. Um, we do a bunch of different things, so we’re, we’re able to, to move and pivot.

With the needs of the seller. So, uh, because everyone’s going to be in a completely different situation and we’d like to just be able to work with, with someone’s situation, because it’s not really a one size fits all, everyone’s always in a different situation.

Scott DeLuzio: Exactly. Uh, and, and you mentioned, you know, some houses are going to be in better condition than others. Some houses are going to need some work before you can [00:13:00] turn around and sell them. Uh, and so. I gotta imagine there’s, there’s a process there to, okay, well, let’s evaluate this house and see, um, you know, how, how much work really needs to be done and what, what’s that cost going to look like?

Because once a new, uh, purchase at home from somebody, Um, you know, they’re, they’re happy because they don’t have to do that work. Uh, and, and they don’t have to deal with the hassle of all the negotiations and all that kind of stuff with, with a, uh, seller. Um, so they get their money, they move on, they go live their life and they’re happy.

Um, then I’m thinking now on the business side, you know, I’ve, I’ve had businesses before, and so now I’m thinking, you know, the way probably you’re thinking business wise, um, where does this, where does this money have to get invested in order to To turn around and make a profit on this house. Um, and cause you know, ultimately you’re going to sell the home and the way any business works, if you’re going to buy something and then, [00:14:00] you know, in order to sell it, you can want to make more money.

That’s just basic math. So you’re gonna, you’re gonna have to, uh, You know, limit the amount that you put into it. Um, but also not do, uh, you know, a shoddy job either where people are like, well, I’m not going to buy any homes from this guy because it’s awful. You know, so you’ve got to find a nice balance somewhere in between where you’re, you know, you’re, you’re fixing up things that need fixing up, but, um, you know, not, not putting in like the, the necessarily, but.

Top tier of things in, unless that’s the type of house that it is, you know, if you’re, you’re selling a multimillion dollar house, well, you don’t want to be putting in, uh, you know, bargain, uh, you know, fixtures and things like that, because it’s just not going to look right in a, in a house like that. So you kind of have to balance that out.

Um, is there a process in place that you have for kind of evaluating those things or like, how does that all work?

Jeremy Bourgeois: yeah. So it all just starts with, you know, our initial connection with the seller. Um, and we’ll basically just, [00:15:00] I’ll have a call with them and we’ll just try to dig a little bit deeper and see, well, A, you know, what the condition of the house is, um, that obviously plays a big factor, you know, if it’s in, if the house is in great condition, nine out of 10 times or more.

Um, they’re better, better off just listing their house on the market. And I will just tell people that straight up, um, because that’s just the best solution for them. That’s how they’re going to get the most money. They’re going to be selling to a retail buyer instead of an investor. Um, now if it needs more, more repairs, a lot of work, they need to sell rather quickly, something like that.

That’s where we can come in and actually buy the house from them. Um, because we’re, we’re able to, to make something off of it. You know, we’re. We’re not going to be, um, buying a house where we’re just going to, you know, lose money because say if we buy a house at 200, 000 and then we go and resell it at 200, 000, well, we’re going to be paying two different sides of closing costs because we do pay for the [00:16:00] seller’s closing costs.

We’re going to be paying for the real estate commissions and all that stuff. Even if we’re not doing any work to the house, we’re still losing money. So we To make sure that it’s going to be, the offer is the correct fit for the seller. Um, but then once we actually purchase the house, we’ll go and we’ll evaluate the neighborhood around it.

Um, like you’re saying, you know, if it’s, if it’s a big beautiful house in a multi million dollar area, Um, that’s something where we’re going to, we’re going to adjust the finish package, um, to be more suited to that, that neighborhood. And to be honest, I don’t really do a lot of those projects that are, are big multi million dollar, uh, projects.

I prefer to wholesale those to other investors. Um, we do more of the stuff that is, is your standard, um, you know, like starter homes or, or just more affordable homes because there’s a lot more people that need it. affordable housing than there are people who are looking for [00:17:00] those multi million dollar houses.

Scott DeLuzio: Sure. Sure. Yeah, that does make sense too, because, um, uh, you, you could end up buying one of those multimillion dollar houses and end up sitting on it for a much longer time period than you were maybe initially anticipating, um, just because there might. Not be somebody who’s in the market for a house like that at that point.

But, um, you’re right. Like a starter home or, um, you know, something a little bit on the more affordable side, uh, there’s going to, going to be more people, uh, looking for those types of homes, um, you know, kids coming right out of college, you know, starting a family, that type of thing, like they may be looking in that type of market, um, you know, to, to have one of those more affordable homes, um, where they’re going to be a lot less likely.

To be looking for a multi million dollar home at that point in their life. Right. Um, so, um, so I’m, I guess I’m talking about all [00:18:00] these things, right? All the, the different. Variables that you have to consider when getting into real estate. Uh, and I’m sure there there’s other things too, that we haven’t even talked about yet.

Um, you know, we, we kind of are just scratching the surface, but, um, the reason why I’m bringing these things up is because, um, there are veterans out there who, just like you, who are seeing the end date approaching for their, their contract in the military. And they’re like, man, I don’t know what I’m going to do.

When I get out of here, when I’m, when I’m done, I don’t know what is next. Um, and you know, real estate is, you know, obviously a legitimate option that they can consider. And, you know, I want to help encourage people who think that it’s a right fit to, yeah, pursue it and check it out. Um, and I don’t like, I don’t want to use the word discourage, but I also want to, you know, maybe. I guess, yeah, sure. Discourage people who [00:19:00] are thinking that it’s just going to be a quick and easy. Um, you know, I’m just going to, yeah, fine. I’ll get my real estate license. I’m going to go, you know, uh, buy and sell some, some of these houses and I’m going to make a bunch of money real quick. Um, like it’s not.

Like that. And so I, that’s why I want to, I kind of wanted to have this conversation and talk about, you know, thinking about the, the, the ways that you can, um, set yourself apart from the competition. And, and I know in a way that that kind of is. Increase in competition on your end. So that’s not the best thing in the world, but you know, there’s people all around the country who are doing, uh, you know, stuff like this.

It’s not necessarily just in the area that you’re in, but, um, you know, this is just, you know, a good option here. Um, and you know, are there other things that people should consider as they are, um, thinking about getting into real estate?

Jeremy Bourgeois: yeah, um, and actually kind of, kind of to your point on like competition, um, that’s one [00:20:00] of those things that has taken me, me a while to, to understand that, you know, I’m not really, um, I’m not really trying to be out here competing against other people. Um. I’m just trying to provide a lot of value and the more value you’ll be able to provide, the more people you’ll be able to work with.

There are so many real estate transactions in so many houses in the US. Um, there’s, there’s enough to go around for people who are going to put in the work. You don’t have to worry about competition. You know, if you’re going to go out there and just, and just do the work. Then you’re going to be completely fine.

Um, and you know, honestly, I don’t really, so I try to just pay attention more to like, to me, what I’m doing on a, on the day to day basis, um, what, what my business is doing. Um, so we’re, we’re kind of focusing on, on a, you know, just ourselves, what our, our marketing approach is and all that. Um, but also, um, you know, there’s right now.

Um, the real estate [00:21:00] market is a lot tougher of a place to be in than it was, say, in 2020 to 2022. And that’s because interest rates are higher. Um, there’s a lot of people who are, who are exiting the real estate space, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You know, if, if you’re looking at it in the longterm, then if you’re, if you’re getting into it now, um, you’re getting into a space, you know, With less people looking at all of these, all of these deals.

Um, and you can, you can really work on the foundation for those first couple of years, cause to be honest, it does take, take some time to, to be able to build a solid foundation. There’s just a lot, a lot of stuff to learn. Um, not, not just in like the contract side or the marketing side, but also in the renovations and, you know, construction side of things, um, There’s just a lot, a lot of stuff to learn.

So, um, yeah, I would say just as long as you’re, you’re getting out there and you’re putting in the [00:22:00] effort and learning a little bit every day, you will get to the point where you’re, you’re making, making some pretty solid money and, um, you can build a really, really good future for yourself that way.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, yeah, and you brought up a good point, uh, about, like, just continuing to learn about the, the market and the industry and everything, um, and learning, uh, like you said about on the renovation side of things too, because you may not, um, you may not have, uh, All of that information, uh, you know, through just going to a real estate class, like as far as, you know, do you need certain permits to, you know, uh, repair that, the deck that might be falling apart in the backyard or something like, like the types of things that you might need.

And it’s going to vary from, you know, one place to another, um, on what type of permitting and, and, you know, Rules and regulations are involved. Like how far away from a property line can a swimming pool be or something, you know, like you [00:23:00] may not even think about that. You’re, you’re like, Oh yeah, I’m going to go throw a swimming pool in the backyard.

Well, that might not be a great idea in certain circumstances. So, um, you know, there’s, there’s things that you have to learn about and. You know, there’s a lot to learn about. And so, um, you know, my, my thought is, as you were talking is like, you kind of have to just take this like one step at a time, don’t just dive in.

I’m going to do everything all at once because, you know, that’s going to be like drinking from a fire hose. Like you’re not going to get it all. You’re going to miss something. Um, you know, unless you have partners that are going in. you know, who are, you know, experts in like the renovation side of things.

And you’re, you know, an expert on the, the transaction, the real estate transaction side of things. And, and you have people who are going in together and you guys are working together, then, you know, maybe there’s. Some merits into going, going all in on, on all that altogether, but, um, you know, still, I think, [00:24:00] um, and steady will, will win the race, you know, as long as you’re consistently putting in the effort, um, day after day, you’re gonna, you’re gonna come out.

Okay. Um, but if, but if you’re just going all in, you’re gonna, I think you’ll probably end up getting burnt out, uh, at, at some point, if, if you just, you know, Biting off too, too much, uh, in the, in the very early stages. And you’re, you’re not going to want to keep doing that because it’s just going to be a pace that you’re, you’re going to feel like you, you just can’t keep up, like you’re, you’re treading water, but you’re not really making any progress.

So I, I, I feel like the slow and steady, uh, method would, would eventually get a better, uh, outcome for you, right? Is that kind of what you would, you would suggest?

Jeremy Bourgeois: Yeah, I think so. And specifically related to, you know, money and capital, you know, like I think, uh, in my year, kind of like I was saying, you know, when I was just studying and learning [00:25:00] for that first year before I really jumped in, I was also saving up money, but I didn’t go blow it all as soon as I, you know, I didn’t, I didn’t go like, Say, like, I’m spending 30, 000 on marketing tomorrow because the reality is if you go and do that, you know, if you say you’ve saved up some money to invest in, um, in your real estate company and you want to go, uh, buy a house, um, you’re not going to know everything.

And if you invest it immediately, say you invest all of your money into one deal, it’s really easy to lose all of that money. And then some. Um, so I think it is important to absolutely take some time to learn the process. Um, that’s why, also why I kind of started with, um, a little, little less, less risky stuff.

Like I used, um, my FHA loan, you know, as soon as I, as soon as I got out. Um, and I also, uh, I also started wholesaling, which [00:26:00] is much more, Low entry than just buying a house for cash or buying it with hard money where you’re having to spend a lot of money up front. So there’s, there’s some great ways to get into real estate without having to, to spend a ton, a ton of money.

And you can learn, you know, as you go through those first couple of steps, and that will set you up to when you actually do have, have the money to invest in, and you can really go in with more confidence into the next deals.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, you had mentioned wholesaling earlier, uh, in the episode two and you just, you brought it up again and I, I meant to ask you earlier, um, for the listeners who might not be familiar with what you’re, you’re referring to there. Like, I, I know, uh, like I’m familiar with Holmes whole, Wholesaling in like a, uh, you know, physical products, uh, type of thing where, where, you know, a wholesaler sells it to a store and the store sells it to the consumer type of thing.

Uh, what, [00:27:00] what are you referring to in regards to real estate? How does that work?

Jeremy Bourgeois: Yeah, so it’s actually very similar to the process that you described. If you want to break it down to a very simple term, I’m, I’m, I’m finding the house that needs a lot of work and I’m basically, um, I’m giving that house to an investor, um, and the investor is going to fix it up so that it’s ready for the market.

And they’re going to go ahead and sell it. And I make my money on the front end by giving that, that house to them at a discount, essentially. So that’s basically what wholesaling is. You’re, it’s a marketing business, a marketing and sales business where you’re getting in front of, um, you know, homeowners, um, people who are looking.

To sell their properties, typically houses that are wholesale, um, are properties that, that need some work that aren’t really going to sell that well on the open market. Um, you know, they’ll need some repairs. They won’t qualify for, for financing. So you’ll need a [00:28:00] cash buyer to come in and purchase that house.

So that’s where we come in is that. We can say, okay, we can guarantee you this price for the house. So say I find a house that, um, I can, um, the seller wants to sell it for 100, 000. And I say, okay, and then I go and I find, uh, one of my buyers who will buy that house for 120, 000. Now, what I’ll do is I will assign my contract to purchase the house to the buyer and the buyer will pay me an assignment fee of say, 20, 000.

To make up that difference.

Scott DeLuzio: Okay. That makes sense. Um, and, and, um, thank you for explaining that because, uh, there might be some folks out there who maybe didn’t even realize that that was something that can be done, um, and. You know, they, that might open up new avenues for people to, to get into, uh, real estate, like you said. And, and it’s a little bit less risky than, than some of [00:29:00] the other, uh, or less capital intensive, maybe, um, you know, that way.

Um, and, and it you know, it’s. Might be a little bit safer to get into things that way. Um,

Jeremy Bourgeois: Mm hmm.

Scott DeLuzio: so thinking kind of on the other side here now, we were talking a lot about the business side of things here, but I know a lot of military families, they move very frequently and sometimes they’ll, they’ll rent a home, you know, in, in an area because I know they’re only going to be there for a couple of years and they don’t have to go the whole hassle of buying and selling a house and all that kind of stuff.

And so, you know, that, that makes sense too. Um, but sometimes they do. Purchase a home and, um, you know, thinking that they’re going to be there for several years and, um, then something happens. They gotta, they gotta move unexpectedly for some reason. Um, is that where someone like you could come in and, and, you know, buy the house quickly so that way they, they’re kind of, okay, I don’t have to worry about the home anymore [00:30:00] and we can move on and, and we got our money and we can move on.

And, and if so, um, you know, what? What are some of the things that people should look out for, um, you know, as far as, um, you know, selling of their home and, and what, what is it that they should look for in a company that might, might be providing that type of service so that they don’t get, you know, screwed over in the transaction.

Jeremy Bourgeois: Yeah, I mean, as far as things to look out for, for, you know, home buying companies, obviously it’s a huge decision. Um, so I would just say, you know, work with people who have integrity and who are going to be just, just shoot you straight, you know? Um, like if, If, uh, there’s a lot of companies, especially in the wholesaling world, um, who will just go and, uh, they’ll pretty much lowball everyone, um, and, and, you know, just try to, you know, twist people’s arm.

I’ve seen some kind of messed up stuff out there, um, that can get The real estate investing space, a [00:31:00] bad rap. Um, so you, you know, there’s probably, unfortunately there’s a lot of those people out there, but if you can find, find good ones, you can find people who are, are trustworthy, um, who are more concerned, I guess, about, um, their, uh, you know, just, just providing a service and providing some value rather than lining their pockets, um, because that’s the way real estate isn’t.

It can be a transactional business, and a lot of times it is for people who are, um, who are looking to make a quick buck, but, um, you should look more for the people who are a little bit more focused on the relationship, I think, um, and making sure that you as the, as the seller are taken care of, that you’re getting a fair shake for it, and that you’re, you’re taking a look at, at all of your options, not just the business.

Oh, here’s my cash offer. But you want to see like, okay, well, here’s what I can also list the house for. Um, so you can, and you can get the pros and cons of each approach. So just [00:32:00] having someone who’s, who’s not going to withhold information like that. Um, and just be a straight shooter is, is probably the thing I’d look for.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. And I would think that maybe a homeowner might want to also, uh, get some sort of evaluation done, uh, you know, of their home to say, okay, these are the repairs that you need to have done in order to be able to list that home. Um, you know, so that, uh, You know, someone who’s buying it will be able to get financing for it because, you know, homes that, that’s falling apart and disrepair, all that kind of stuff that the, uh, banks just aren’t going to provide the loans for those types of homes.

So this is what it’s going to cost. And then you can kind of weigh that against, you know, what’s the cash price going to be, um, you know, cause it’s, it’s going to be lower, uh, than. Then maybe selling it on the open market. Um, that, that just is, again, we were talking about that before on the business side of things, that’s just kind of how that works.

Um, [00:33:00] but if you do the math and you know, how much time and effort and money are you going to have to put into pairing your house on your own versus, um, you know, just, you know, Being done with it in a cash deal like that, where it’s just a smooth hassle free process. Um, and you can just focus on packing up your home and moving your stuff.

To wherever it is that you’re off to, um, you know, that, that might be the better option. Um, you know, if it’s pros and cons there, if you, if the cost is similar, uh, you know, to do it all yourself and do all the repairs and maybe you get to sell it on the open market. Um, you know, cause that’s not a guarantee either.

Um, or you can kind of go with a more sure thing where, yeah, sure. It’s a little bit lower, uh, uh, amount of money that you’re going to end up getting, but. It’s a sure thing. It’s going to be a done deal. And, um, you don’t have to worry about investing all the money in those repairs. And, uh, you know, I, [00:34:00] I’m not big on watching these kinds of shows.

My wife used to be, um, you know, with all those home repair shows and the renovations and all those kinds of things where they start doing, you know, the remodeling the kitchen and then all of a sudden, Hey, we found mold or something. And now we’ve got to rip out. You know, half your, your, uh, your house just to, you know, kind of get rid of all the mold and it’s going to cost 50, 000 more than it was we were anticipating.

It’s like, well, shit, there goes my budget, you know? Um, and so, you know, you don’t, you won’t end up running into those types of issues going with, with something like that. And it, I guess, you know, it’s all, you know, You know, uh, maybe a gamble, you know, you, you could, could do that route and maybe things will be fine, but you could also, you know, run into major issues too.

And nobody wants that, especially in a, uh, stressful time when you’re trying to move, you know, you’re, you’re looking for a new house in a new area that maybe you’re unfamiliar with and you’re, you’re going, uh, you know, kind of crazy with all that stuff. Um, sometimes it’s just easier knowing that you have the peace of mind, uh, [00:35:00] that, you know, Okay, this transaction is done.

I don’t have to think about this anymore. I just got to pack up and move and that’s that’s that. So, you know, that was another reason why I wanted you on the show is to talk about that a little bit, uh, on the, the, uh, you know, selling and, uh, you know, the selling side of things to kind of get rid of that house.

If you need to move quickly, you know,

Jeremy Bourgeois: Yeah, yeah. It’s a big time saver. You know, that’s, that’s one of the biggest things. It’s like, to renovate a house, I mean, that can take, that can take six months if you’re, if you’re on top of it. I mean, depending on the renovations. If you’re on top of it, it can take six months, you know, if not, it can take years.

You know, I’ve seen, I’ve seen sellers who, you know, they want to fix up their house and everything like that. And I’ll talk to them a year later and they’re still, you know, still working on the first couple of steps. So yeah, it’s a big, big time saver for sure.

Scott DeLuzio: Well, and people oftentimes forget they’re like, Oh, well, [00:36:00] this list doesn’t seem that bad. There’s only, you know, these, these six or seven things on the list that need to be renovated and repaired. You know, whatever needs to be done, but they’re forgetting the fact that they work full time jobs too. And they, their full time job is not renovating their house.

And so now they have to have somebody else come and do the renovations for them. Even if they’re perfectly capable, if they’re able to do all of the renovations themselves, um, You know, at that point, somebody else is coming in and doing it. And then you have to find time. Okay. How do I, you know, let the person in?

Do I give them a key to my house? Do I, you know, how do I, how do I let them in to do these repairs and renovations, um, you know, when I’m at work, uh, and that, that could be, you know, a, uh, uh, a huge, uh, unforeseen, uh, hurdle that you have to get over. And.

Jeremy Bourgeois: Yep.

Scott DeLuzio: know, just, just think about all of those things and just how much [00:37:00] more, uh, convenient it would be if you didn’t have to worry about any of that stuff, right?

Jeremy Bourgeois: Yeah, yeah, exactly. If you’ve got a big, big list of stuff to take care of, it’s, it’s going to take some time, especially if you live there, you’re going to have to, I know, cause I’ve done a live and flip myself and it sucks. Let me tell you that it sucks. And, uh, you got to rearrange, you know, you got to move all your stuff to this room, you know, so that you can work on that room, then you move it all back to this.

It’s just not, not a fun time. So,

Scott DeLuzio: There was a time, uh, probably 15 years ago or so, not, maybe not quite, but my, yeah, about 15 years ago, my, my parents were, uh, uh, Redoing, they weren’t moving or anything. They just wanted to remodel their kitchen and they were doing, doing that type of work, but they’re still living in the house while the kitchen was being remodeled.

And there’s all sorts of problems that, that started arising with the contractor that they hired to come out and do the repairs where they weren’t paying the. [00:38:00] Subcontractors who are coming up, but the people who are doing the tile and the, you know, the plumbing and the everything else, uh, they, they weren’t paying those people.

And so those people stopped showing up and their kitchen was all torn apart. The, you know, they didn’t, they didn’t have like a kitchen counter. The kitchen counter was plywood for, for a few months, like, because like nothing, uh, was being done. And. It was just such a nightmare that their kitchen was a mess at the end of it.

They were just like, just put stuff back in. We don’t care. Uh, like we just want this over with and you know, it didn’t, I don’t think it ended up being exactly what they wanted. Uh, you know, not what they were envisioning anyways for the end result. And it just became just a huge hassle, uh, that they didn’t ultimately, they didn’t want.

Yes. They wanted to re redo their kitchen. Um, but. They didn’t want the whole hassle of, you know, dealing with the payment [00:39:00] issues with the subcontractors and all these other things like that wasn’t something that they had envisioned. They just envisioned someone’s going to come in and within a couple of weeks, my kitchen’s going to look completely different.

It’s going to look nice and it’s going to be the way I want it. Well, that didn’t end up being the case. And like you said, it took way longer for that whole renovation to get, get done. And, um, You know, if they were in the middle of trying to sell their house, like they had to be someplace else, uh, at a certain point, uh, they, they would have missed that deadline.

They, they would not be able to do it. And, um, their house ended up being worse off for it and they would have gotten a lot less money for it if, if they, uh, left it the way that it was, you know. So, so lots of interesting things to think about there, both on the, uh, the business side, um, of things where this is, you know, a pretty good option for folks who are leaving the military and looking to start a new career.

Um, [00:40:00] there, there are people out there who have, you know, like, like Jeremy here has made a success of doing this type of work, um, and, you know, You know, that can kind of serve as a roadmap. Like this is, this is what you need to do to kind of get started and get into this. But also on the selling side, you know, if you’re a military family looking to move quickly, that might be an option is going with a company like Jeremy’s that, that will buy your home for cash. And they take care of renovations and all that kind of stuff that might need to be done. Um, you know, so, so these are some good options. So I think the reason why I wanted to have you on the show is to kind of touch on those, those options. Uh, I know I had sent you a list of other questions to talk about.

I don’t, I don’t think we touched on all those questions, but that’s okay. I think we, uh, provided some value to the listeners here. Uh, anyways, you know, with the, the type of stuff that, um, you know, veterans or soon to be, uh, veterans [00:41:00] and, uh, you know, service members and their families when they’re, they’re moving, uh, that they, they might be looking for when it comes to real estate.

So this is, uh, for me, anyways, I think this was educational, um, you know, really opened my eyes to some of the options that are out there in the, uh, real estate industry. And, and, you know, in the, the, the, Selling, selling your home, uh, side of the, the transaction. Um, you know, there’s a lot of things to consider.

So I do appreciate you taking the time to come on, uh, for the listeners who maybe want to find out more information about you and the type of work that you guys do, where, where can people go to find more about, uh, Scout Peak and your work?

Jeremy Bourgeois: Yeah. So, I mean, we’re, we’re online at scout peak. com. Um, but I mean, honestly for, for people who just have questions about real estate, I mean, I’m, I’m, I don’t withhold information. I’m, I’m always just happy to help. So if you want to give me a call or text at 435 [00:42:00] 236 0689, that’s probably the best way to reach me.

Scott DeLuzio: Excellent. Excellent. And, uh, I’ll have links to all of this in the show notes as well. So that, uh, folks who want to get in touch, even if it’s just, they have questions or they are looking to, uh, you know, sell their home in, in your area, uh, that, that might be something that they can do to get in touch with you.

Um, and so, Definitely check out those show notes for that information. Um, uh, but before we wrap up this episode, I always like to end the episode with a little bit of humor. And anytime I have another veteran on the show, I like to do a segment that I call Is It Service Connected? Um, and it’s kind of a America’s Funniest Home Videos, uh, Style, uh, type of thing where we watch a video of someone doing something stupid.

Um, and then we get to kind of laugh at them and, and everything because, well, they, they’re doing something stupid and, and that’s kind of, I think what veterans and, and military folks do best is we laugh at each other and, and, you know, it’s [00:43:00] all in good fun. Um, so I’m going to share my screen with you real quick here.

Uh, so you can, See what I’m looking at here. Um, and for the audio only listeners who are, uh, listening to this episode, obviously you cannot see what we’re talking about here. I’ll try to describe it as best as I can, but your best bet, if you want to check this out is go on YouTube or X, uh, where the full video, uh, from this episode will be, and you can watch it there, uh, as we go.

So right now it looks like we got a couple of tanks. Uh, one is off on the right hand side and the other one, we’re kind of looking down the, like the big gun, the main barrel of, of the tank, uh, from kind of like, uh, the shooter’s perspective, I suppose, like, you know, kind of on top of the tank, looking down that, um, you know, out towards where it would be shooting and it looks like some really rundown building, uh, in the area.

So, um, let’s see what happens. So. Okay. So the [00:44:00] tank, the tank shoots, uh, the big gun and it blows open a hatch on another tank that was right next to it. And he’s using the barrel of the tank to close all the hatches that he blew open when he shot, when he shot his gun. Uh, that was. What’s that?

Jeremy Bourgeois: Better than getting out.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, I mean, I would, you know, I don’t know where this is.

Like, I don’t know specifically if this is like in a training area or if this is actually being used in a combat area. Um, I don’t know if it’s in a combat area. I don’t know. Really want to get out of the tank. If I’m behind the armor of a tank, if I, and I, I can, I can use the, uh, the barrel there to knock those hatches back closed.

Uh, yeah, I’m going to do that. Um, I don’t know my, I wasn’t in any tanks, uh, when, when I was in the military, so I don’t really know much about. [00:45:00] What was blown open there in that video. But, um, I would imagine that those things have some sort of latches that should have been snapped shut or something, you know, so that, that kind of thing doesn’t happen, right. Um,

Jeremy Bourgeois: Some good ingenuity right there.

Scott DeLuzio: yeah. And you know, if they don’t, they. Probably should, um, this may be inspiration for them to, uh, figure out a way to latch those things shut, or at least not shoot so damn close to each other. So that doesn’t happen again. Um, anyways, uh, Jeremy, thank you again for taking the time to come on the show and sharing, uh, your experiences and.

What folks should be looking for when it comes to a real estate transaction or, or getting into real estate, uh, you know, as, as a career option for themselves. Um, you know, you discussed how, uh, you know, entrepreneurship is, you know, kind of. Freeing and liberating, but it’s also a lot of [00:46:00] work. So, um, you know, these are just things that you have to kind of balance and, uh, kind of pay attention to.

And, and I think it, uh, ultimately at the end of the day for everybody, um, doing your research and figuring out, um, you know, what option is the best for you is, is really what you should, should be, uh, you know, considering here. So, uh, thank you again, Jeremy, for taking the time to come on. I do appreciate your time.

Jeremy Bourgeois: Yeah. Thanks for having me, Scott. Appreciate it.

Scott DeLuzio: Thanks for listening to the Drive On Podcast. If you want to support the show, please check out Scott’s book, Surviving Son on Amazon. All of the sales from that book go directly back into this podcast and work to help veterans in need. You can also follow the Drive On Podcast on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and wherever you listen to podcasts.