Brian Pate of Destiny Homebuyers was homeless at 19, sleeping in his car and working multiple jobs just to get by. Today, he’s wholesaling at scale and flipping homes with resale prices up to $2 million across multiple markets. In this episode, Brian shares how his first $100k wholesale deal changed his trajectory, how he built a team to handle day-to-day operations, and why he chose to move into high-end flips despite the added risk. He also breaks down key lessons from costly mistakes, bad contractors, and what it actually takes to scale a real estate business.

KEY TALKING POINTS:

0:00 - Intro

1:05 - An Overview Of Brian Pate's Business

3:21 - His First Deal

7:25 - His Next Deal After Making $100K

11:36 - Getting Deals From Brokers & Using DealMachine

14:15 - Why He Decided To Partner Up

15:39 - Lessons He Learned & His Buy Box

20:09 - His Wholesaling Team & Bad Flips

23:53 - Contracts With GCs

26:15 - His Biggest Lessons From CG

29:31 - Egyptian Cold Callers & Investing Out Of State

32:58 - Where He Found His Contractors

34:15 - Being Homeless At 19

40:53 - Books He’s Reading & Who He’s Learned From

44:13 - Closing Thoughts

45:04 - Outro

LINKS:

Instagram: Brian Pate

https://www.instagram.com/paradigmpate/

Links: Brian Pate

linktr.ee/brianpate

Instagram: David Lecko

https://www.instagram.com/dlecko

Website: DealMachine

https://www.dealmachine.com/pod

Instagram: Ryan Haywood

https://www.instagram.com/heritage_home_investments

Website: Heritage Home Investments

https://www.heritagehomeinvestments.com/

Rick Howell breaks down how he consistently flips 50+ houses per year without a bloated team. He walks through his lean operating model, how he monetizes leads that don’t fit his flip criteria, and the mindset shift that allowed him to raise private money and scale without sacrificing lifestyle. Rick also shares how his 4-person team focuses on systems, inbound marketing, and asset ownership instead of chasing volume for ego.

KEY TALKING POINTS:

0:00 - Rick Howell’s Business Model & How He Got Started

4:30 - Learning About Private Money

6:18 - How You Can Start Raising Private Money

10:26 - How Running A Lean Team Can Make Your Lifestyle Better

15:02 - Outro

LINKS:

Instagram: Rick Howell

https://www.instagram.com/rickhowellrei/

Links: Rick Howell

https://solo.to/rickhowell

Instagram: David Lecko

https://www.instagram.com/dlecko

Website: DealMachine

https://www.dealmachine.com/pod

Instagram: Ryan Haywood

https://www.instagram.com/heritage_home_investments

Website: Heritage Home Investments

https://www.heritagehomeinvestments.com/

Luis Mota breaks down how he and his partner consistently close 100+ wholesale deals per year in California’s Central Valley — and why wholesaling is only the starting point. In this conversation, Luis walks through his exact lead sources, average assignment fees, how they cherry-pick rentals, and how that steady deal flow funds much bigger plays, including $80M commercial developments like gas stations, truck stops, and Starbucks. He also shares how he hires acquisitions talent, raises millions without pitching investors, and thinks about scaling from single-family deals to large commercial assets.

KEY TALKING POINTS:

0:00 - Intro

1:12 - An Overview Of Luis Mota’s Business

3:09 - How He Decides Which Properties To Keep

5:24 - Senate Bill 9 & The Numbers In His Market

8:01 - How He Decides Which Lists To Market To

8:49 - Their Team & Hiring/Training The Acquisitions Role

11:54 - His Goals With Real Estate

13:16 - DealMachine Quick Tip

14:08 - How He Got Into Gas Stations And Truck Stops

17:56 - Building A Dutch Bros

19:35 - How To Do What Luis Is Doing

21:04 - Closing Advice & How To Get In Touch

23:00 - Outro

LINKS:

Instagram: Luis Mota

https://www.instagram.com/c21realluis/

Website: Home Helpers Group

https://www.homehelpersgroup.com/

Instagram: David Lecko

https://www.instagram.com/dlecko

Website: DealMachine

https://www.dealmachine.com/pod

Instagram: Ryan Haywood

https://www.instagram.com/heritage_home_investments

Website: Heritage Home Investments

https://www.heritagehomeinvestments.com/

Nicholas Pina and Ashley Abbott break down how Ashley has built 68 rental properties using creative financing instead of traditional bank loans. They walk through real subject-to deals, principal-only seconds, seller financing, and deal-by-deal partnerships that turn “too tight” deals into real cash flow. This conversation gets specific on how these structures work, when to use them, and why creative financing has become their primary strategy for scaling rentals.

KEY TALKING POINTS:

0:00 - Intro

0:36 - Nick Pina and Ashley Abbott’s Recent Deals

4:06 - Why They’re Partnered On These Deals

5:36 - Where They Found Their Latest Deal

12:10 - How Their Partnership Works

13:14 - DealMachine Quick Tip

18:12 - Their Community & What They Teach

23:15 - Filters They Use

26:00 - Nick’s Portfolio

28:58 - How Much Wholesaling They Do & DealMachine Tips

34:01 - How To Get In Touch With Nick And Ashley

36:40 - Outro

LINKS:

Instagram: Nicholas Pina

https://www.instagram.com/nickbestflippinglife/

Instagram: Ashley Abbott

https://www.instagram.com/ashbuyshomes/

Instagram: David Lecko

https://www.instagram.com/dlecko

Website: DealMachine

https://www.dealmachine.com/pod

Instagram: Ryan Haywood

https://www.instagram.com/heritage_home_investments

Website: Heritage Home Investments

https://www.heritagehomeinvestments.com/

JR Reed breaks down how he consistently closes 100+ deals per year in Houston by using wholesaling to fund his business while building long-term wealth through buy-and-hold. He explains why rentals shouldn’t pay your bills early on, why he avoids constant price drops, how messy title deals became his biggest profit driver, and what changed after a tough market forced him to tighten operations. JR also shares how his team is structured, why integrity matters more than squeezing every deal, and what “playing the long game” in wholesaling actually looks like.

KEY TALKING POINTS:

0:00 - Intro

1:28 - JR Reed’s Business

4:38 - How He Got Started In Wholesaling

8:11 - His First Deal

11:28 - Doing Foreclosure Deals

13:44 - Working With Older Folks

16:45 - How His Business Has Evolved

22:27 - DealMachine Quick Tip

25:34 - Why His Revenue Increased By $1M This Year

27:58 - What His Team Looks Like & Books He’s Reading

32:04 - How To Get In Touch With JR

32:31 - Closing Advice

35:55 - The Data He’s Looking For

37:34 - Outro

LINKS:

Instagram: JR Reed

https://www.instagram.com/onlyfollowjr

Links: JR Reed

linktr.ee/J.R.Reed

Instagram: David Lecko

https://www.instagram.com/dlecko

Website: DealMachine

https://www.dealmachine.com/pod

Instagram: Ryan Haywood

https://www.instagram.com/heritage_home_investments

Website: Heritage Home Investments

https://www.heritagehomeinvestments.com/

Most investors say direct mail “doesn’t work”—but top investors know that’s not true. In this episode, we break down the five exact steps top investors use to win with direct mail, from building the right lists and sending mail that actually stands out, to answering calls live, staying consistent long enough to see results, and following up until deals close. This is the same framework that’s been tied to over $100 million in profits and equity from direct mail campaigns across multiple markets.

KEY TALKING POINTS:

0:00 - The Lead Engine That’s Generated $100M+

0:19 - Step 1: Lists

3:31 - Step 2: Be Creative

7:34 - Step 3: Answer The Phone LIVE

8:53 - Step 4: Consistency Is Key

12:34 - Step 5: Follow Up

14:54 - Outro

LINKS:

Instagram: Justin Dossey

https://www.instagram.com/justinmdossey/

Website: Ballpoint Marketing

https://www.ballpointmarketing.com/

Instagram: David Lecko

https://www.instagram.com/dlecko

Website: DealMachine

https://www.dealmachine.com/pod

Instagram: Ryan Haywood

https://www.instagram.com/heritage_home_investments

Website: Heritage Home Investments

https://www.heritagehomeinvestments.com/

In this episode, David and Ryan sit down with Robinson Bautista, a one-man wholesaler pulling 2–3 deals per month at $40K+ each—all while closing 90% of his deals through text message alone. Robinson breaks down how he finds sellers, why SMS is the only marketing channel he uses, and the simple system that lets him run a tiny operation while still landing massive spreads. If you want a leaner, higher-profit wholesaling model, this is the blueprint.

KEY TALKING POINTS:

0:00 - Intro

0:34 - Robinson Bautista’s Business & His First Deal

2:27 - What He Did Next

6:17 - Working As An Acquisitions Manager

8:57 - Tough Deals That Didn’t Work Out

10:50 - Transitioning To Work For Himself

12:56 - Using DealMachine’s Data

17:18 - Feedback For DealMachine & Our Comps

20:27 - Where To Find Robinson

21:07 - Outro

LINKS:

Instagram: Robinson Bautista

https://www.instagram.com/robinson.bautistaa/

Website: Robinson Bautista

https://sellrobhouses.com/

Instagram: David Lecko

https://www.instagram.com/dlecko

Website: DealMachine

https://www.dealmachine.com/pod

Instagram: Ryan Haywood

https://www.instagram.com/heritage_home_investments

Website: Heritage Home Investments

https://www.heritagehomeinvestments.com/

Michael Dente went from small land deals to a full-scale single-family operation with more than 100 closings. In this episode, he breaks down why land was the perfect entry point, what pushed him to pivot, how novations now make up most of his business, and how PPC and cold callers keep his cost per deal surprisingly low. He also shares how he discovered a company was stealing his PPC leads, how he rebuilt his systems, and how he now uses DealMachine data to target 80,000+ optimized records each month.

KEY TALKING POINTS:

0:00 - Intro

0:35 - How Michael Dente Got Started In Real Estate

2:40 - Infill Lots vs. Larger Tracts & Finding Buyers

6:32 - How Investing Changed His Life After Being An Agent

9:03 - What He Did After Land Flipping

11:08 - How He’s Generating Leads Now & Moving To SFH

14:27 - How He Picked His Markets

16:39 - How Many Deals He’s Done & Novation Deals

20:29 - What His Team Looks Like

21:59 - His Biggest Challenge & Hiring VAs

28:12 - His Feedback For DealMachine

32:50 - Closing Thoughts

33:20 - Outro

LINKS:

Instagram: Michael Dente

https://www.instagram.com/only1_michaeldente/

Website: Michael Dente

https://michaeldente.exprealty.com

Instagram: David Lecko

https://www.instagram.com/dlecko

Website: DealMachine

https://www.dealmachine.com/pod

Instagram: Ryan Haywood

https://www.instagram.com/heritage_home_investments

Website: Heritage Home Investments

https://www.heritagehomeinvestments.com/