We were lucky to catch up with Ryan Hodzic recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ryan , thanks for joining us today. Is there a lesson you learned in school that’s stuck with you and has meaningfully impacted your journey?
I literally just wrote out pages of babble and rant geared towards bashing school, and then on my final sentence, I realized that no matter what, although overpriced and overrated school does have a place and purpose in society. Having an education shows that you’ve demonstrated that you are probably able to stay committed, follow instructions, overcome tasks, and work with others in a 70 percent success rate, lol. That being said, there’s a whole second half to life that does not get addressed by simply having a college degree, and we can chat about that later. Go read “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and then please reach out!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
From homeless to home seller. About me! I am 37 years old and have only technically been licensed to sell real estate for the past 6 months. I’ve spent the majority of my years hopping from odd jobs here and there, learning from many different trades and craftsmen. I struggled with sobriety up until the age of 31, which really kept me from holding down a job. It was alcohol above everything, which meant I was living life on my terms, which didn’t get me very far.
I had been attracted to the real estate lifestyle at a young age. A former boss of mine was a part-time coffee shop owner and full-time real estate appraiser. She explained to me how she would analyze what a property was worth, and those deciding factors always rang out as neat to me. In the SAME coffee shop, another friend of mine’s mother was a Realtor. She was always very well kept and looked like a story of success. Whether that is true or not, I doubt it. We all seem to look the part, lol. But what really sold me was watching a buddy of mine from high school go through the ranks and start selling mansions. He had success and camaraderie and got all of this by helping people through problems in literally their home life.
Back to sobriety – I had been sober now for 6 years and had been putting my jack-of-all-trades knowledge to good use as a Maintenance Technician at a local detox & recovery center here in Mesa. This is the same facility that I had graduated few years prior, locally funded and resting on the lower spectrum of pay. I was quickly learning that the 40+ hour work week, coupled with 24-7 on-call nights, weekends, and holidays was similar to the grind and work ethic needed to start my own business. Now, working with my hands was still enjoyable, but I knew deep inside that I could make myself a solid income and living, vs. merely living paycheck to paycheck. I don’t want to work for a company with a 401k and rely on retirement funds. I’ve always envisioned myself as a real estate investor, especially now-so in recovery, with the demand for QUALITY sober/transitional livings.
Without any knowledge of the real estate industry, I got my license & joined a team. Now, not to be ungrateful, but this team just creates droids. They are trained to cold call and look for buyers. They don’t condone circle prospecting and farming – they only want you hammering the phones within your Sphere of Influence, or cold-calling one of the 20,000 leads they’ve generated with PPC’s and Zillow/Realty.com. Now, as a new agent with no experience, this is great training! It’s getting me comfy on the phones, I’m learning to handle objections AND rejection, as well as getting familiarized with the buying and selling processes involved with contract writing and transaction coordinating – like I said, I don’t wish to sound ungrateful.. but I really just needed a place to hang my license while I learn to navigate the industry and understand about each avenue and what it has to offer. I’m really leaning into the idea of wholesaling/wholetailing properties to get my initial start-up funds on the up & up. I understand that communities exist, who are willing to offer private money loans, partnerships and mentoring, etc., but I’d like to keep the “Borrowing from Peter to pay Paul,” to a minimum. Buying folks
As time marches on, I’m going to use my skills in real estate and construction to flip, reno. and maintain long term buy & hold’s for maximum appreciation towards retirement. If I can acquire 10-20+ properties and rent them out to pay them off in the next 20 years, I feel that I’ll be well on my way to retiring without a 401k or any IRA’s. I missed that boat so now I’m building my own Ark. I’ve spent the first 35 years of my life dicking around. Here’s to spending another 35 in grind-mode, and maybe I can die with generational wealth, and positive reputation. My kids will say “That’s my f*cking DAD, the BEAST!”
How is this helping others!? Well, I have a license to sell, which straight up gives me the opportunity to help buyers and sellers to self-actualize and realize their dreams. Sometimes they simply don’t know who to turn to. I’m the guy that navigates them from A to Z with integrity and honesty to get them where they want to be, yet still feel that they got a great deal on a stress-free and seamless transaction. If anybody knows anything about buyer-seller transactions, Realtors get paid what their worth to get pulled in all directions, bothered at all hours of the day & night, and take on all the stressors of any given transaction; Simply put, we take all the punches behind the scenes so that you didn’t even know any punches were thrown.
Next, I’ve also learned the ability to wholesale properties – buy somebody out of a distressed property which most agents can’t, or won’t sell because their asking prices are upside down vs the amount of work the property will require to rehab. I’ve accumulated enough cash-buyer investors in my pocket to help me fund my first wholesale deal when I can eventually take on the investments myself. Yet again, the goal here is in helping the seller to find a solid place to go within their (typically) tighter budget, and to make sure that I only work with somebody who also walks away feeling utter relief in knowing that the headache now belongs to someone else! Lol.
The rest of real estate (without delving too far into commercial and multi-unit properties just yet,) are all just fantastic opportunities for me to get creative or learn something new. I can buy an outdated property, modernize it, sell it to a homeowner on the lower price-point of things, and get them into a handsomely renovated starter home while I also just made a few bucks to finance my dreams. Do you see where this goes yet!!? show others how to get where they want to be, while ultimately getting to where I want to be. When you show value to others and Karmic debt is built, the universe abides and karma will ultimately, and systemically be redistributed. So check your motives.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
401k’s and IRA’s will finance your retirement – Man, I was so one-track minded. Why pay into something that penalizes you for pulling it out when you want it? Why not keep your money illiquid in assets and liquidate what you need with no real penalty? Keep in mind, Land never depreciates.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Funding my business: This is still the step I’m working on. I’ve picked up a $22/hr maintenance gig to bring in consistent pay at 3 days per week, I’m showing homes for other agents, I’m even donating PLASMA! Just as important as making paychecks , you’re gonna need to get networking. I’m talking with investors, with lenders, partners and contractors who may be willing to let me pay them when a deal closes, as opposed to after the job is completed. I’m shopping around for deals! I’m also working with buyers and sellers. I just sent a buyer in for a mortgage application 6 hours before writing this. Bottom line – Get your bills paid. Stick to a budget, Grind and hustle your ass off in a safe and legal manner. Remember that TAXES are a thing, Be willing to take risks. Do not burn bridges, Talk to EVERYONE you meet. This won’t last forever. Remember. This is just going to fund the beginning of your retirement. YouTube University y’all!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.legacyrealestateteam.com/agents/ryan-hodzic/
- Instagram: ryan.hodzic
- Facebook: Ryan Hodzic, Realtor
- Linkedin: Ryan Hodzic
- Other: https://ryan.legacyrealestateteam.com
Image Credits
Excited first time Homebuyer: Todd R. – picture taken by Ryan Hodzic.
Business Card for LEGACY Real Estate Team: Design by Sydney Kleinman, Director of Marketing w/ Legacy Real Estate Team.