Month: July 2025

3 Steps to Volume Deal Making

1. Do 2 Deals Per Week
2. Make 6 Offers Per Week
3. Get 9 Counter Offers Per Week
   1. Review at least 50 deals per week
   2. Invest at least 40 hours in money making activity

These are the actions I’ve built my career on. Here’s how they work:

1. Do 2 Deals Per Week –If you make 2 deals in a single week, nothing else on the list really matters that week
2. Make 6 Offers Per Week – Consistently make 6 new offers each week. THIS IS THE MONEY MAKING ACTIVITY in volume deal making. This is also where most “wanna-be” investors fail. They tell themselves, “they won’t accept my offer anyway” and then DON’T make the offer. Do not fall into this trap-ALWAYS MAKE THE OFFER YOU’RE WILLING TO PERFORM ON.
3. Get 9 Counter Offers Per Week – Many make offers, but never follow up. If you’re offer is not accepted, follow up and find out what gets the deal done. Proactively following up often is a signal to the seller/broker that you are responsive & still interested-and an indicator of how responsive you’ll be during the contract cycle while closing your deal.
   1. Review at least 50 deals per week – If you haven’t made 2 deals or 6 offers in a week, nor gotten 9 counter offers on previous deals, you should have reviewed a minimum of 50 deals which you considered for an offer, but passed for some reason.
   2. Invest at least 40 hours in money making activity – Volume Deal Making REQUIRES effective investment of a significant amount of TIME. The actions above take most people 50+ hours per week-once you factor in the physical visiting of several properties each week.

No Interest in Doing a Volume of Deals?

No problem, just reduce those numbers. Maybe divide them by 2 or 3 and then do them consistently week after week. After a few weeks you will have deal flow-keep it up consistently-especially the MAKING OFFERS piece, and you will enjoy continuous deal flow for as long as you keep up the effort.

Diamond Equity does a High Volume (127 closed YTD, $26,362,997 total) of a Wide Variety of Deals. 

We buy, renovate, develop, & operate a wide variety of real estate throughout the U.S. There are more than 30 direct partners on the Diamond Equity team and about a dozen more JV operator partners running our deals. We are well funded and looking to buy more.

Here’s a few asset classes we consider:

• High Volume Residential SFR & MFR (259 last year)
• Industrial Single or Multi Tenant (5,000 sq. – 200K sq. ft+)
• Retail Strip or Shopping Center (10K sq. ft – 200K sq. ft+)
• Infill Commercial Development Sites (1/2 acre+, well located)
• Farmland (40 acres+)

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Tax Incentives: The Hidden Lever in Development

Most investors focus on buy price and rehab costs, but the real pros know to dig into local tax incentive programs. In Chicago, for example, developers who secure a 7B designation or build in a TIF district can see their property tax bills slashed for years. That’s not just a line item on a spreadsheet—it’s the difference between a project that cash flows and one that sits idle.

On our recent REI Diamonds Show podcast episode with Ben Salzberg and Bill Kanatas (listen to the full story), we broke down how they navigated Chicago’s high property taxes by locking in these incentives. The result? Their projects not only penciled out—they outperformed expectations. If you’re not exploring what’s available in your target market, you’re leaving money on the table.

Local Regulations: The Double-Edged Sword

Of course, for every incentive, there’s a hurdle. Zoning boards, permitting delays, and shifting local ordinances can stall a deal for months. I’ve learned (sometimes the hard way) that building trust with municipalities is just as important as building the project itself. Community engagement early in the entitlement process can mean the difference between a green light and a dead stop.

The BEST Development Advice I’ve received: before you buy, talk to people who’ve built in that town. Ideally, the Mayor, the code enforcement inspector and the city planner.

Find out what the real process looks like, not just what’s on paper. A property that looks like a steal might end up stealing from you!

Podcast Spotlight: Self Storage & the Power of Local Knowledge

For a deeper dive, check out my conversation with Ben & Bill on navigating the maze of regulations and incentives in self storage development. Their experience in Chicago is a masterclass in how to turn local challenges into competitive advantages. Listen to the episode now.

In this business, the edge goes to those who do their homework. Tax incentives and local rules aren’t just paperwork—they’re levers for profit, or pitfalls for the unwary. Stay sharp, ask the right questions, and always look for the angle others miss.

Let’s close a few deals together!!

We Bought a Farm this Week

Diamond Equity Investment is a MARKET MAKER. This is our role in the U.S. real estate market. In the same way that Citadel provides liquidity to the stock market, Diamond Equity provides liquidity to the real estate market.

While we buy quite a few houses (250+ per year), we often are presented odd & unique properties from sellers looking for liquidity- a quick cash sale. We’ve bought warehouses, land, even mobile homes with & without land. Provided sellers a quick exit strategy. It’s our job.

Many of our JV operating partners are highly asset class focused. One asset type, such as self storage, with an entire business built around optimizing those assets. Bring them a storage facility, in an area they like, and at fair pricing, then, and ONLY then, are the a buyer.

Contrast that with Diamond Equity. Bring us ANY property in ANY market and we will quote the price we are willing to pay. To be honest, there are a few properties which may have too little value or too many problems (think “old battery factory” where lead leaked into the ground for decades) which we would take a pass. However, even my partners are shocked at the wide variety of property we own, or have owned, and are willing to continue buying.

The farm we currently own is another example of an odd asset we chose to buy in order to provide the seller a quick exit strategy. I’d appreciate the opportunity to consider ANY unique properties you might come across-I ask only that you are the seller (or direct to seller, if a broker).

Here’s a few asset classes we consider:

• High Volume Residential SFR & MFR (259 last year)
• Industrial Single or Multi Tenant (5,000 sq. – 200K sq. ft+)
• Retail Strip or Shopping Center (20K sq. ft – 200K sq. ft+)
• Infill Commercial Development Sites (1/2 acre+, well located)
• Farmland (40 acres+)

“Everybody ’round me Rich, or Will Be”

Jay Z says this in “Nickels & Dimes”- a song about charity -vs- giving opportunity and also about going from broke (“scratchin’ for every nickel & dime”) to rich. I can relate to that. When I was broke, this line was like a divine message from God, a shift in my spirit- to not just get myself out of poverty, but find a way to help MANY others do the same. (Lyrics  / Song on YouTube)

Creating an opportunity larger than myself is how Diamond Equity went from just me flipping houses to more than 30 Deal Makers doing residential & commercial deals throughout the U.S. Now, I’ll talk about how we do the same with brokers.

First, YOU have to Bring the VALUE!!

In real estate investing,  REAL DEALS are like water in the desert. Hard to find & more valuable than rubies & gold. Imagine, needing a drink of water while stranded in the desert-you’d probably give ANYTHING for even a few ounces. A REAL DEAL is equally as valuable.

When I was broke, I declared, “NO ONE WOULD FIND & MAKE MORE DEALS THAN DIAMOND EQUITY.” We would be THE SOURCE for Fix & Flip deals-and we proceeded to do more than 1,800 since then. We are currently working on 183 at the moment, not including our commercial & industrial deals where JV partners are running point.

REAL DEALS are special, NOT a risky, thin margin flip, a listed handyman special that requires appreciation to make a profit, or a house “that works as a rental.”

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” -Jesus

You’d do anything to get THAT FIELD under contract and go to closing.  THAT is a REAL DEAL.

BE the SOURCE of the DEAL & YOU BRING the Value!!

Whether you are an agent, broker, or even an investor who hasn’t yet accumulated the wealth & momentum you expected when you got into the business, I can assure you that if you can BE the SOURCE of the DEAL (even better MANY deals!!) then bring those deals to other operators (like Diamond Equity), you can earn those big paydays that attracted us to get into the real estate business.

If you are already a consistent source of deals, but haven’t gotten you’re fair share yet, maybe these examples will help you structure your next deal for a bigger win on the backside.

How Residential Brokers Earn 25% Profit Share of a Deal

Residential REAL DEALS:

• Needs a Rehab, NOT suitable for an Owner Occupied Buyer
• Seller needs a Fast Closing (7-14 days)
• Can Buy well-below retail
• You’re Direct to Seller, or have inside information helping make the deal

Here’s How a Recent Deal Went: 

1. A broker made a direct introduction to a seller with a rough property and also needed a quick closing. The property was not listed and the seller did NOT want to list it. 
2. We bought the property & closed quickly, the completed repairs
3. Upon closing, the net profit was $38,000 on a $190,000 sale price.
4. The referring broker received $9,500 without any risk in the event we lost money on the deal. This deal took 90 days from start to finish. Broker simply made a warm intro.

How a Commercial Brokers Earn $300,000+ Profit Share on a $5M Deal

Commercial Brokers who have the potential to profit share on a deal are most-likely experienced in the asset class. They know the approx. price the deal should sell for and they know the market rent the property will produce. They also probably have construction contacts to assist with CapEx. Most importantly, they have a deal!

Commercial REAL DEALS:

• Below Market Rents. Ideally many month to month leases
• 30% vacancy or more.
• 100% occupancy where rents are half of market
• Selling willing to allow the buyer a fair shot at profit on the deal (Some sellers want to “win” and beat the other side so bad that they cannot make the deal work.  This is NOT a REAL DEAL)

If a deal like this were brought to me today and the broker was willing to assist in the deal for a profit share, here’s what that looks like:

• Broker double-ends their listing commission up front. Or, if seller is NOT willing to sign a listing agreement, receives a commission from my account.
• Broker KNOWS they can hit a certain NOI which is higher than my assumed NOI. If this higher NOI is hit, there will be a higher tier incentive profit share percentage than if they assist in hitting my assumed (safe) NOI expectation
• Broker profit share will be paid upon the exit of the deal and will be the listing side of the sale once the deal is stabilized.

For example, if a broker brought me a deal with details listed below, I’d hope they earn $297K for helping to run the deal. No capital at risk, no loans to sign. Just stellar execution during the stabilizing of the deal. Details:

• $2.5M purchase will pay the broker $125,000
• $5M sale price pays the broker either $100,000 or $200,000 commission, depending on the source of the buyer (coop commission -vs- double end)
• $1.8M Net profit (capex, carry, commissions $700K) at 4% profit share is $72,000. Plus the broker may have earned additional commissions for leasing, where applicable.
• $297,000 total proceeds to broker (assumes coop on exit)
• $397,000 total proceeds to broker (assumes lucky double end on exit)

Right now, my favorite asset class is small bay industrial or buildings which might have potential for conversions. If you have something like this, please email details.

Creating huge opportunities has been helpful throughout my career to build profitable, enjoyable, & sustainable partnerships. Looking forward to building many more!!