The Agent Podcast EP 89 Karly Worth - Know Your WORTH
[00:00:00] Karly Worth: I started talking to people on Facebook groups or something for like investors in the area. So I was like in a Connecticut investment group and people were like posting deals and they were like off market. I'm like, what the heck does that mean? So curious. Carly went and started Googling and found this like whole different.
[00:00:20] Karly Worth: And I started watching YouTube videos on wholesaling so that I could understand, you know, how these people are getting their numbers where investors have to buy as far as numbers go. And so the first two deals I did in my first six days were actually from wholesalers. And I went to my broker and I was like, Hey, like I did these off market deals.
[00:00:41] Karly Worth: And he's like, I have no clue what you're talking about. And I had this like, am I doing something I'm not supposed to be doing or am I just completely doing something different than nobody in this industry really does on a regular basis? And I was like, well, it worked for me. I've been licensed for six days and I just made whatever, like 12 grand or eight 12 or like 14 grand or something.
[00:01:05] Karly Worth: I was like, I would say that's a good week of work.
[00:01:39] Ray Sjolseth: Hello and welcome back to another episode of The Agent Podcast. Today I'm here with my friend Carly. Carly. Welcome to the.
[00:01:46] Karly Worth: Thanks for having me. Happy to be here.
[00:01:49] Ray Sjolseth: Me too. So Carly, why real estate?
[00:01:51] Karly Worth: Why real estate?
[00:01:53] Karly Worth: Well my friends had always kind of told me when I was, you know, 19, 20, between like 19 and 25, they were like, you should really do real estate.
[00:02:02] Karly Worth: And I was in the fitness industry since I was 18 actually. So the people skills kind of were always there. And then, as we all know, COVID hit almost three years ago. And the gym I was managing, actually, we had a shut down. We were, we were Yale based, so all of our, you know, students were gone. And I kept running my personal training business, but as far as like my salary job, that was no longer gonna be a thing.
[00:02:27] Karly Worth: So I kind of shifted. Really dug deep and figured, you know, like, what can I do? Like, where could I be happy? Where could I be successful? Like, where can I use the things that I'm good at, you know, to the max potential. And I was in Newport, Rhode Island and I swear it's like the whole world went silent.
[00:02:45] Karly Worth: It was the craziest thing ever. And this girl across the street was with all of her friends and she was like, I'm gonna do real estate. And I was like, Okay, well that's, I'll take that as a sign. So right when I got home from that vacation, I went in, I started my classes and then, you know, whatever, five months later was licensed and had my first two deals under contract and my first six days of being licensed.
[00:03:10] Karly Worth: So it worked out for me. And, you know, I kind of picked an investment route. So I'm not really traditional agent wise, but for me, I've had a lot of success with it and I. Super grateful that that's kind of the path that I went down.
[00:03:26] Ray Sjolseth: So let's talk about that, right? Two and a half years ago, your license, you get your first deals, and now fast forward to today, where's your business and what's happening?
[00:03:34] Karly Worth: Yeah, so my goal my first year, which I wasn't sure if I was gonna hit it going into it, cuz I only knew, you know, the residential side. Like, okay, I'm gonna work all the weekends and I'm gonna do open houses, I'm gonna run around with buyers. And at the time I think I was so desperate and I'm such a motivated person that I was willing to do whatever it took to get to where I wanted to be.
[00:03:56] Karly Worth: But my goal was six figures my first year, and I did hit that. And then last year I went way above that. But same thing, I just kept growing my business as far as investors go. And, you know, I do deals outta state. I, my first year I actually did a 36 unit in Texas while I was living in Connecticut.
[00:04:18] Karly Worth: So it just has brought me so many opportunities that I don't think doing traditional real estate would have. So to answer your question, I, what are we, six weeks into the new year? I think I've already closed seven deals and two pending, so it's been a good start to year three.
[00:04:38] Ray Sjolseth: So everybody listening is going, okay, how'd she do that?
[00:04:40] Ray Sjolseth: And then what is it like working with investors versus quote unquote buyers and sellers? So my question to you is, a, how did you get started with investors and B, if that's 80% plus of your business, how do you focus on growing that pipeline?
[00:04:57] Karly Worth: Yeah. So again, when I started, I. I knew nothing. I had the expectation this is, this is what agents do and that's the end of it.
[00:05:07] Karly Worth: So I had a friend in the class, actually he was an investor and he reached out to me when I got my license and was like, Hey, congrats on passing your license. You know, I'm just doing this class cuz I'm kind of bored during covid. And I figured I'd get M L F access, but he's like, I'm not really gonna use my license for anything.
[00:05:24] Karly Worth: So he's like, do you wanna help me find my next deal? And I was like, heck yeah. That's my first client, you know, within 12 hours of being licensed. So I'm like, for sure. And I had no clue where to start. So I was with Coldwell Banker and it was December, I think I signed December 9th, so it was, Heat of Covid, almost Christmas time.
[00:05:48] Karly Worth: No one was really in the office. I couldn't have any like hands on training or anything, so I just started watching YouTube videos every morning. I had a routine. I read the Miracle Morning book, change My Life, wake up at five 30, watch 30 minutes of YouTube, do my journaling, do my meditation, all that stuff.
[00:06:07] Karly Worth: I started talking to people on Facebook groups or something for like investors in the area. So I was like in a Connecticut investment group and people were like posting deals and they were like off market. I'm like, what the heck does that mean? So curious. Carly went and started Googling and found this like whole different.
[00:06:28] Karly Worth: And I started watching YouTube videos on wholesaling so that I could understand, you know, how these people are getting their numbers where investors have to buy as far as numbers go. And so the first two deals I did in my first six days were actually from wholesalers. And I went to my broker and I was like, Hey, like I did these off market deals.
[00:06:48] Karly Worth: And he's like, I have no clue what you're talking about. And I had this like, am I doing something I'm not supposed to be doing or am I just completely doing something different than nobody in this industry really does on a regular basis? And I was like, well, it worked for me. I've been licensed for six days and I just made whatever, like 12 grand or eight 12 or like 14 grand or something.
[00:07:13] Karly Worth: I was like, I would say that's a good week of work. So yeah, so I just kept teaching myself, like watching YouTube videos, like bigger podcast or Bigger Pockets podcast. I'm sorry. Who else did I watch a lot? Jerry Norton. There was someone, there was a female too, that I was watching. I can't remember her name, but I just wanted to understand the business and learn how to run numbers and even see if deals made sense before I even sent them to my buyers.
[00:07:41] Karly Worth: I just kept networking my butt off. That's what I've always been good at, is I'm such a networker. And I spent the first four to six months just talking to people even outta state. And then those people were like, Hey, I have this friend who buys, you know, apartment buildings in these areas if you ever get anything.
[00:08:01] Karly Worth: So it just kept. Continuously kept growing. And more people kept coming into like my Rolodex, and that's how I've been operating for the past little over two years. I think I'm at like 27 months.
[00:08:17] Ray Sjolseth: So let's talk about wholesaling, let's talk about how you source the deal and then who you sold the deal.
[00:08:24] Karly Worth: So I am very blessed that I don't have to do acquisitions. It is totally not my thing. I'm not a very salesy person. Which is why I was kind of like, why do y'all think I should go into real estate? I'm not salesy. They're like, you don't have to be salesy, Carly, people just like you, and they just gravitate to you and they trust you, like you don't have to sell anything.
[00:08:46] Karly Worth: So, as far as the investment side goes, I figured I could kind of do that by just having the numbers make sense. So I have wholesalers kind of, I guess you can say nationwide. Mm-hmm. Who are sending me deals back in Connecticut, whether they're virtual wholesaling or they have boots on the ground in Connecticut.
[00:09:08] Karly Worth: But I'm pretty much. The dispo. And I've had a couple people also reach out in the agent world who are starting their own acquisitions companies as well, who want me to be like their dispo manager. So thankfully I don't have to acquire the properties again, not my thing, but I'm very good at dis disposing because I'm very good at networking.
[00:09:31] Karly Worth: So if the numbers make sense, I literally have. Anywhere in the state of Connecticut. And then I started doing off market, single family dispo to hedge funds and institutional buyers. More in Texas, cuz the Dallas market is, you know, really hot for that.
[00:09:47] Ray Sjolseth: How are you building your buyer's list?
[00:09:49] Karly Worth: That's a really good question.
[00:09:51] Ray Sjolseth: I mean, you mentioned networking mentioned Facebook groups, but are you, are there specific things that you're doing that work for you? Right. Like I can go into a Facebook group and put, hey, you know, if you'd like to join my buyer's list, I have a source for off market properties.
[00:10:05] Ray Sjolseth: Right. Sign up below, right. And then have a Google form or whatever. But what are you doing?
[00:10:09] Karly Worth: So I do have a Google form. Okay. I do have a Google form just to get people's criteria. That way if something comes across my. And I'm not like, oh, this person, like, if, if one of my top people doesn't come to mind for that deal, then I'll go to my list and I'll say, okay, like, whose criteria does this fit?
[00:10:25] Karly Worth: But I would say most of them have been, most emails have been acquired through Facebook groups. I would say Facebook is probably like, My number one source Yeah. Of of buyers. Obviously you have to sift through all of the tire kickers and all of that. Like they're gonna be kind of scattered throughout.
[00:10:44] Karly Worth: But now, you know, I really have a solid foundation of, especially my, my investors in Connecticut. So I don't really have to do that so much anymore. But if I get, you know, a deal person. Because I do have sellers who come to me and they're like, Hey, Carly, can you, can you sell this off market? So I recently did that for one of my clients.
[00:11:05] Karly Worth: We closed on this deal early last year, and it, he had a bunch of other projects going on. He's like, I don't want this anymore. So I offloaded it to another one of my clients. So that's the other cool thing about the investment route is you can double, triple, close deals which is really cool. I would say most.
[00:11:25] Karly Worth: Over the past two years, most of them have been through Facebook. When I, you get into the larger multi-family commercial space, it's a very smaller group of people. So it's like, you know, one person and then that person will connect you to three of their friends and then those three people will connect you to more.
[00:11:44] Karly Worth: You know, it just kind of keeps going cuz it's such a small community. But as far as like single family, like as far as residential properties go, I would say Facebook was probably, you know, the number one lead source for me.
[00:11:59] Ray Sjolseth: What are you using to run numbers and prove out the deals? Are you using tools from bigger pockets? Stuff you found on the internet? Did you create your own?
[00:12:07] Karly Worth: I kind of glance at the deal if I know the area. And then I'll just pull comps really quick. I'll look at the photos that the wholesalers are sending me, and I'll kind of estimate what the rehab is gonna be versus the A R V and then kind of just use that 75%, 80% of the a r V rule.
[00:12:24] Karly Worth: So you know, something's a hundred thousand dollars and an investor needs to buy it at, let's call it 80%, just to make it simple. That's gonna be 80,000 minus the repair. So that's kind of how I get a quick number, if a deal even makes sense. And then if it does, then I'll dig deeper into it and like pull comps and send those out.
[00:12:44] Karly Worth: But for like buying holds, I tend to very briefly glance at you know, the 1% rent role. So if it does, if that doesn't even check out, then I don't even bother. But it's kind of hard to run numbers personally. Everyone has different criteria. Everyone wants to make something different on deals. Like I have some guys who, they're not gonna flip a house if they're not making at least 80 grand.
[00:13:09] Karly Worth: Then I have other people who are like, oh, I'll do a quick, you know, three week project to make 20. So it really depends on the person. Obviously the busier people are, the more money they're gonna want, so that most likely those deals aren't really gonna work for them like they would for somebody who's smaller and starting.
[00:13:25] Ray Sjolseth: Well, it's interesting cuz my experience has been that wholesalers, wholesalers specifically overestimate the A R V and weigh, underestimate estimate the rehab a hundred percent. So like there's this huge delta in between, that's total bs. And like I personally have went and put, you know, a thousand, 2000, $3,000 down on wholesale proper.
[00:13:47] Ray Sjolseth: And then got all my contractors to come, literally 12 guys show up, roof, plumbing, electrical, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I get the bill back and I'm like, dude, no way. This is never gonna work even, and it's over and above the estimate that I even came up with. Right. So, yep. Talking about wholesaling.
[00:14:04] Ray Sjolseth: Wholesaling is always interesting because, you know, if there's 10 deals, how many deals are actually gonna get done because the numbers actually make.
[00:14:12] Karly Worth: I would say it's probably like a fifth to be completely honest with you. Yeah, I would say probably about a fifth. Most of them, most of them don't check out a lot of wholesalers as you're saying, completely accurate.
[00:14:25] Karly Worth: Which is why it's interesting dispelling it from an agent perspective, because obviously I'm more realistic on numbers and a lot of my investors like, appreciate that. Cause they'll be like, what do you think this rehab is? And I'm. Hundred, 120 grand. He's like, that's exactly what I was thinking. Like these people have it at 50, like most of the time they're not realistic.
[00:14:45] Karly Worth: Like the numbers don't actually pan out. But every now and then, like now, now that I have my wholesalers that I constantly work with they're very receptive to me going back and being like, Hey, you know, the arv, I just did it the other day. I was like, Hey, this ARV is not, you know, two 10. It's more like one 70.
[00:15:05] Karly Worth: Because the two 10 that you're looking at was a three bedroom, not a two bedroom. So you have two comps here as a two bedroom that went for 1 72 and 1 75. So you're looking in that one 70 to 180 range. And they're pretty receptive to it. Like they'll go back and they'll try to renegotiate with the seller.
[00:15:22] Karly Worth: So I mean, I've had pretty. I've been pretty lucky as far as, you know, being able to make deals work that maybe sometimes they weren't supposed to work. And then obviously the people I work with directly, they're more realistic as investors than they know kind of how it goes.
[00:15:39] Ray Sjolseth: Okay. So let's segue to what are two to three things that you've learned over the last couple years specifically working with investors?
[00:15:50] Ray Sjolseth: That you think have helped make you a successful agent specializing in investments? Okay,
[00:15:58] Karly Worth: that's a good question. So year one, I literally almost quit like six months in. I had this client, he approached me. He had a GC who was also a female, so her and I were like, girl powwow ended up and he was the most unrealistic.
[00:16:16] Karly Worth: An unexperienced person. And, but he like was sitting there telling both of us like, oh, I've done this, I've done that. Like I can do this, I can do that. Like I'll do $3 million flips at a time. And we're like, oh, like this is great. Like we're gonna have like three, four flips like every six to eight weeks with this guy.
[00:16:34] Karly Worth: Like we're only gonna need him as a client. And I guess you could say I kind of, sort of put all my eggs in one basket and I regret doing that, but. The mental health aspect of this person was not worth any amount of money. So I did a few things. I did a few things with him. We bought a house that was a little over a million dollars, and a r v would've been like one seven.
[00:16:59] Karly Worth: It didn't need that much work, but it needed, you know, it needed something and the market was really hot. Long story short, didn't flip it the way that it should have been done. And I was like, you gotta do the sightings in the windows like we are in a freaking two to 4 million neighborhood. Like this has to happen.
[00:17:18] Karly Worth: And didn't happen. And it was just the most frustrating thing I've ever experienced. And it was so back and forth and up and down and, oh, okay, I'm gonna do it. No, no, no, I'm not gonna do it. Let's just offer a buyer credit. And it's like buyers who are buying. You know, a 1.7, 1.8 million house. Don't wanna do anything.
[00:17:38] Karly Worth: Yeah. They will pay you more to not have to do anything. So that one was super frustrating. It was like 5:00 AM text messages, like blowing up my phone, 11:00 PM calls, having, you know, he all bent outta shape and having anxiety. And then, It was just so much. It was so, so, so much to handle. And I was like, I can't do this.
[00:18:01] Karly Worth: Like, I'm literally either gonna end up in a mental hospital or like I'm outta real estate cause I refused to put up with this. So I ended up getting another phone and eventually I really got sick of it and I started. Pushing back and I started putting up those boundaries. Like, you are not going to get a response from me after the hour of 7:00 PM or before eight 30 in the morning.
[00:18:27] Karly Worth: So if you contact me, you're not getting a response. And then it was like, Hey, you know, you do whatever you have to do, but this is my expertise and this is what I'm suggesting you do. And if you don't wanna do it, then that's on you. Like I don't have. And he was like, you should, you should force me to do it.
[00:18:44] Karly Worth: I've been telling you to do it. I don't have your wallet. Like if you wanna gimme your wallet, go I'll, I'll gladly do it cuz this needs to happen. So it was just super toxic. So I think number one would be be very selective with who you work with. And luckily I'm at a point now where I don't have to deal with that.
[00:19:04] Karly Worth: I don't have to deal with people who drive me crazy or gimme anxiety or don't respect my time. So I would say that was less than number one, probably from a mental health aspect. Number two. Number two would probably be work with people who are experienced and who know what they're doing. Because what one person thinks is a good deal, another person can think.
[00:19:29] Karly Worth: A garbage deal depending on where their numbers are, depending on, you know, if they're gonna be all cash or if they have to use hard money or financing. So I would say work with people who are very decisive, know what they want and are committal and they, if the numbers don't pan out, okay, move on onto the next, no, like back and forth nonsense.
[00:19:51] Karly Worth: I would say those are probably like the two biggest. Lessons I've learned from working with investors.
[00:19:57] Ray Sjolseth: So with that being said, how do you vet people? What's your criteria for vetting people to determine if they're gonna be a good fit for you to work with or not?
[00:20:05] Karly Worth: So I kinda give everybody initially, like the benefit of the doubt.
[00:20:10] Karly Worth: But I always do ask for proof of funds, like before I send someone to a showing or sometimes even before, if it's like an important deal that needs. Have a ca agreement signed. I will always ask for proof of funds first because if you don't have the funds to do it, then well, let's not waste our time.
[00:20:28] Karly Worth: And then I have a hard money lender who I use pretty much on everything. All my clients love him, so you know, I try to push them onto him because if he's lending to them and he gives them the approval, then I know the deal's gonna get done and it's gonna. And it'll be seamless. So that, those are kind of like the two things that I do when working with someone new.
[00:20:47] Karly Worth: Obviously, when I know them, the process is like super seamless. Like I had closed a deal actually while I was in Cancun with one of my clients. Same day we closed, we went under contract on another property. And my investor who was selling it, he's like, is he like legit? I'm like, yeah, I just closed a deal with him like three hours ago.
[00:21:07] Karly Worth: Like, he's legit. Don't worry. Like we're not gonna have any issues. So I like being in that position where like I'm confident in who I'm bringing to the table. That way my reputation also isn't being jeopardized.
[00:21:20] Ray Sjolseth: Yeah, that makes total sense. What are you focusing on for the next couple years for your.
[00:21:25] Karly Worth: That is a laundry list. I have a lot going on. So obviously I'm gonna keep doing, you know, my real estate. I have a team now back in Connecticut. So if I do have a listing, I'll have a co-broke on it. If I need, you know, if I have clients there, like I'm working with one client now, I connected her with one of my other agents.
[00:21:46] Karly Worth: And so he'll just open up doors, show properties, and then I'll handle all the important things. So like, I tend on, I intend in keeping that all flowing and going. I'm actually gonna get my mortgage broker license [00:22:00] just strictly for referrals. One of my clients here owns a mortgage company and he's like, you should just get it.
[00:22:05] Karly Worth: And you know, you know so many people, you talk to so many people so you could just do referrals. So I think I'm gonna do that. That's my next step. And then I've gone back and forth about getting my license in Texas. I'm not too sure. Because mostly what I do, I don't need my license for, and a lot of my clients don't want anything on market anyway, so I've kind of gone back and forth with doing that.
[00:22:30] Karly Worth: But focus more commercial. And then I also maybe like six months ago, started lending my money privately. So I just signed my second loan for a flip on Tuesday. Congrats. So thank you. Thank you. It's nice when just getting this passive income and you're like, oh, my car is paid, my rent is paid.
[00:22:53] Karly Worth: This is a great month. So I'm gonna keep doing those. Gonna get into a syndication as well this year. Awesome. Once a good one comes my way, I just have too much going on. For myself to manage them. So I figure going into a syndication with one of my friends who, you know, I trust and Yep. They're gonna all manage the project.
[00:23:14] Karly Worth: That'll be good. Yeah, so I'm kind of, everything I'm doing is real estate related, but I'm definitely have my hands on a lot of different pots.
[00:23:22] Ray Sjolseth: I love it. I think it's cool that you were able to find a, a niche and focus on that. Mm-hmm. And that's created a foundation and then that foundation is helping you branch out into different areas of that same niche, all investment based, both for yourself and for other people. It's cool.
[00:23:39] Karly Worth: Yep, a hundred percent. And you know, I get referrals on like hard money lending and private money lending as well. So my goal is to kind of create. Seven to nine streams of income inside of real estate that just go hand in hand.
[00:23:54] Ray Sjolseth: So what is one thing that you are really proud of over that you've been able to do, create, build, accomplish over your three year career so far?
[00:24:05] Karly Worth: That's a good one. Okay. Lemme think. I would say, Probably remaining true to myself and my core values and kind of gaining the perspective that money really is not everything. When I first got into real estate, I was like so focused on being successful, which you have to be in order to be successful in this industry.
[00:24:29] Karly Worth: But it got to a point where it was kind of unhealthy. I was struggling mentally, like my anxiety was through the. I was miserable. I was not fun to be around. I didn't have time for the people and the things that actually mattered in life. By the end of the day, I was working, you know, 14 hour days. I felt like I really didn't have a life.
[00:24:48] Karly Worth: So I'm like, what is the point of making all this money if I. I can't even enjoy it. Like I'm miserable. I can't enjoy anything. I can't go to dinner with my friends. I can't go travel, I can't do any of these things because I'm so focused and so addicted to the grind. And I was like, there has to be like a balance here.
[00:25:06] Karly Worth: So I really, really tried to find some sort of balance. And, you know, all last year I pretty much traveled the world last year and I had a better year than I did working. 65, 70 hours a week. You know, I was working probably on my real estate business cause I also own a personal training company. So my personal training business is like 20 hours a week.
[00:25:30] Karly Worth: So I was probably doing 30 hours a week in real estate and I had a way better year than the year before and I was doing it from other countries. So I think that's probably the biggest thing that I'm most proud about, is really staying true to what matters to me in life. You know, the happiness and freedom and flexibility and really finding a way to incorporate that in my life and make sure that I'm living, you know, a happy, fulfilled life as well.
[00:26:00] Ray Sjolseth: So why do you think you were able to do more with less?
[00:26:04] Karly Worth: Well, you know, the four hour work week is a good start. I actually put on my auto response, so I have an auto reply on my cell phone. If I'm in a meeting or if it's after hours, people will get a reply that says, you know, you've reached me either after business hours or I'm in a meeting, I'll get back to you and I can.
[00:26:23] Karly Worth: So I think it was putting up boundaries and making people be more intentional with the time that they had with me. Instead of, You know, shooting the shit and yada yada. Like, I think, I think people realize, oh, okay, like she's really busy. Like I have to be intentional with my time. But I also think a lot of it has to do with like that law of attraction, like the positive energy, like energy flows.
[00:26:47] Karly Worth: And you know, when you're happy and you're living, you're quote unquote best life, like, more positive things are just gonna keep coming to you. So I think that was probably a main, our main thing. Like I was in a better place mentally. My energy was better. I was attracting better energy and more opportunities.
[00:27:04] Ray Sjolseth: It's amazing. I love it. That's great. I'm a strong believer in that. Yeah, me too. We can definitely talk for hours about that. We will. A hundred percent. Where can people find you if they are looking for an off-market property or want some advice or looking to grow?
[00:27:21] Karly Worth: I am on Instagram, Facebook. And LinkedIn. My LinkedIn is Carly Worth, so k a r l y w o r t h, and then my LinkedIn, or my, I'm sorry, my Instagram and my Facebook are r e, like real estate with Carly. So those are both of my handles on those websites. You can also email me at ari with carly gmail.com.
[00:27:46] Ray Sjolseth: Guys, if you're listening, listen to this again.
[00:27:50] Ray Sjolseth: Think about what niche you're serving. I'll drop all Carly's links where you guys can grab them and check out what she's doing and connect with her. Carly, this has been amazing. Thank you.
[00:28:00] Karly Worth: Thank you so much for having me.
