3 Steps to Volume Deal Making
- Do 2 Deals Per Week
- Make 6 Offers Per Week
- Get 9 Counter Offers Per Week
- Review at least 50 deals per week
- Invest at least 40 hours in money making activity
These are the actions I’ve built my career on. Here’s how they work:
- Do 2 Deals Per Week –If you make 2 deals in a single week, nothing else on the list really matters that week
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.Â
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+)
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!!