How He Bought 250+ Tax Sale Properties While Living in an RV

Rodrigo Avanzo (00:00)

this lot that i bought as i was talking to you earlier i bought a property a 10 acre lot in Kansas

for 70 grand and we just sold it for $350,000 this same lot. It’s on Zillow, if you want to take a look on Zillow you’re gonna see it. It’s all public, you don’t have to believe me. If you go to the county, if you see this property on the auction, you’re gonna see that I bought it for 70 grand and I sold it for 350. It’s all public, we all know everything, real estate is public.

information with a little, a quick research you can find out.

Scott Bursey (01:55)

Welcome back to the *Real Estate Pros* Podcast powered by Investor Fuel. I’m your host, Scott Bursey Glad you’re with us. And today we’re delighted to be joined by Rodrigo Avanzo, a true testament to the American dream. Originally from Brazil, Rodrigo has spent the last 21 years mastering the US market. And in the last two years, he’s completely pivoted his lifestyle by selling his house, buying an RV and

hitting the road to dominate the tax sale auction scene. With over two hundred and fifty properties acquired and a massive portfolio of flips. He’s going to share how he’s scaling his business while living on the move. Listeners, get ready to hear how he has found the opportunities that most people overlooked. And he’s going to show us how he does it on the move. Rodrigo, welcome to the show.

Rodrigo Avanzo (02:48)

Hi, thank you so much for having me here on your show. I’m more than excited to be here. And thanks for the invite.

Scott Bursey (02:55)

It is just awesome having you here, my friend. And to help our listeners get up to speed. Please give us the ninety second highlight reel of how your career ignited and where you’re pouring your fuel now.

Rodrigo Avanzo (03:08)

Alright, I have been doing this work for two years now, buying properties on auction. I sold my house, as you said, two years ago. I used to live in Florida. I bought an RV. It was our dream to travel the country and I just learned how to buy properties on auction. So we put these two things together and been traveling and also buying properties on auction, tax sale auctions and we’re doing very good.

Scott Bursey (03:32)

That is incredible, Rodrigo. Thank you for highlighting that journey for our listeners. It’s a powerful reminder of what’s possible when you’re truly committed to your path. Yes. And what really caught my attention about you was the way you’ve been able to maintain such a high velocity buying pace while at the same time navigating a lifestyle in an R V. Most people struggle to man manage, one flip.

while sitting at a desk, let alone hundreds while traveling.

Rodrigo Avanzo (04:04)

Yes.

Scott Bursey (04:05)

Let’s expand on that just a little bit. Looking back, what do you consider the biggest competitive advantage you gained from your background in Brazil that helped you dominate the US tax sale market?

Rodrigo Avanzo (04:17)

I used to be a salesman in Brazil and Brazil was going through a rough path and still going and it’s worse now. lot of people are moving out of Brazil and I had experience in sales and my dream was to work with buying houses, investing with real estate. So when I got here I started working for flippers and for investors and I started studying all the real estate markets.

And that’s when I found two years ago about the tax sale of tax deed auctions. I learned in two or three months. I did a class and I learned it. And I said, what? Let’s hit the road and let’s go and try this. So I think for me, the most important thing is that I am traveling and I am on the road. So I’m being able to go and see all the properties. I’m being able to be.

in Kansas today like I was in Kansas yesterday today I’m in Arkansas and I have an auction tomorrow I have an auction in two days and in a week I have an auction in Kansas so being able to travel with my family being able to be at home anywhere I want I think that’s the key for me and for most of the people because they always ask me how can you be in one place today and next week you are in another state because

I just put these things together and I travel with my family. don’t have to stay a week or two apart of my family, my kids and everything. So my kids are still little. They don’t have to go to school. But eventually I have to settle. But for right now, it’s working perfect for us because we can travel, we can be together. And our home is where we want. Our home is where we are right now. So that’s the key and that’s the…

I think for me is the most important key to buy properties and to find good opportunities, the best ones.

Scott Bursey (06:11)

When you first started bidding on properties from the road, what was the biggest hiccup or mistake you made that cost you time or capital?

Rodrigo Avanzo (07:08)

OK, only had, believe it or not, I only had two mistakes. I bought a mobile home in Kansas. And this mobile home, the outside, it looks beautiful. It looked fine. It wasn’t beautiful, but looks fine. needed some renovations. There was someone living on the mobile home. So I thought, if someone is living on a mobile home, so it’s livable, it’s

we can make money. The market value on that mobile home was around 80,000, 85,000. I said, what, if I pay five grand on this mobile home, if I spend 20 grand, I’ll make a good profit. So I bought this mobile home for $2,600. I my goodness, I hit the gold pot. I hit the gold. So three months later, because in Kansas, I only got the deed in three months. So three months later, I got the deed. I said, no, the property is mine now.

So let me go and talk to the person who’s living on it. And there was no one there. He was working. I found his phone number. called him, listen, I bought this property. I want the property. I need the property. I need to renovate the property. said, can you give me a month? said, yes, I can give you a month. I went to the city. told them, listen, city, I bought a house in the city. I bought a lot. And I bought this mobile home. And I’m going to start renovating the house. The house is another property that I bought on the same county.

And then I told them that I bought these three properties and they told me, listen, the mobile home, it’s a condemn for demolition. I said, what? Yeah, we just condemned this week. I said, come on, I just bought this property three months ago. I want a chance to take a look on the property and I want to have a chance to renovate and put it back on the market. And they said, listen, you don’t want to go there. You don’t want to see it because it’s terrible. I said, can I please at least have a chance to see it?

inside before we demo. He said, yeah, no worry about it. can go say, the guy just asked me for a month. And then after a month, I’ll get the property, and then I’ll take a look. He said, OK. So a week later, they called me listen, the guy just got arrested. So now it’s your chance. The guy who was living in a mobile home, was arrested. So I went there. was an abandoned dog. So I had to call the police. The cop came.

and took out the dog and said, can you just help me get inside the house? I don’t know if someone inside the mobile home or not. said, yes, I’ll go with you. So we went inside. when I went inside, it was sad because someone were living on that situation with three dogs. And it was full of poop. was holes on the floor. It was stinky.

It was just a mattress in the middle of like half of the walls was full of trash. So you couldn’t even walk. a lot of holes on the floor. I told the city, listen, yes, unfortunately, it’s condemned and I have no idea. I had no idea. Yeah, I lost it. And they said, yeah, you have 30 days to demo. And the lot only worth six grand. So I started looking for companies to

demolition companies and the best price was $90,000 to clean the I said I’m not going to spend another $9,000 for a $5,000 lot. So what I’m going to do now?

So I start thinking, I start thinking and I got an idea. I called the city, believe it or not, this is something that a lot of people are learning from me also, but I learned this and it worked beautiful. I called the city and I told them, listen, I don’t have money to demo this house. I’m not gonna demo. I don’t wanna get in trouble with my left foot with you guys because I have a house in the city. I’m renovating the house. So I want to donate this property to you guys.

do you want this property? And they say, we want this property but we are not giving you anything. So I don’t want any money, I just don’t want to lose more money because I already lost $2,600. I don’t want to lose another 90 grand on a $5,000 lot. And they say, okay, I want it. So I went to the appraisal of the county and I checked the appraisal and the property value on the appraisal was $26,000. So what I did, I made a donation letter.

with the $26,000 and I bring with me with the acquit quit claim deed I Transferred the property to the city and I asked them could you please sign this no nation letter and they said where did you find this amount this $26,000 no, it’s the appraisal that you guys say that property values said

he went to check the appraisal and it was $26,000. He signed the letter. I called my account and said, listen, I just donated a property for $26,000. So do what you got to do and write off on the taxes. So even though when you think you can lose money with auctions, you still have some.

exits that you can do it and can donate the property you can donate to a church nonprofit organization and you can write off on your taxes so even though I lost it I didn’t lose it.

Scott Bursey (12:34)

What a turnaround. That is just amazing, Rodrigo. Yeah. And wondering, with over two hundred and fifty properties under your belt, where do you see the biggest untapped opportunity for investors looking to enter the tax sales space right now?

Rodrigo Avanzo (12:50)

Okay, I started buying lots, a lot of lots. I bought in one auction, I bought 93 lots in Arkansas. 93 in one city. And it wasn’t a mistake because a year before I bought 21 lots and I sold 16 of the 21s. I started buying these lots in Arkansas. bought the first…

21 lots I bought online in Arkansas and I invested $10,000 in 21 lots. I sold it out of the 21s, I sold it 18 and I made a profit of $60,000. That’s where I said, what, this works and I believe in this. So I’m going to start going, I’m going to start showing what I do and try to bring partners because 100 grand.

It’s not enough for you to start a business. It’s going to take you five to ten years to make a lot of money, to make money on tech sale, on properties. So I had to go to the internet, to the Instagram, and I started showing everything that I do, and people started…

following me you can check on my Instagram we have 150,000 followers right now and I started doing making content on Instagram back in March last year I had 200 followers on Instagram so in a year and a half I went from 200 followers to 150,000 followers and 120 partners so now I we have money to go to the auctions and buy it but we are not the thing one thing that I learned is a lot

You can make money with lots, but it takes a lot of time to sell it, especially when you buy in Arkansas, Kansas. If you buy in Florida, close to Orlando, close to the beach, it’s another thing, but it’s too expensive, the lots in there. But I learned that I don’t want to buy lots anymore. Now I want to…

go to the next step. I’m buying houses now. So we bought like in the last six months, we bought six houses. And we are flipping three already. And we’re waiting for the other three to get the deeds. So after that, I want to go build houses, new construction. Then I want to do commercial. I want to buy metal buildings. I want to do commercial buildings. So my goal is to go to new constructions and

But I gotta go step by step. I’m still new in this process. I’m still new on tax deeds. I’m only two years on real estate. So I think I’m doing good, but I’m going step by step. It’s not that simple. So when you go to a real estate, some people in internet sells something that it’s very easy to do it. You can be rich in a year or two, and it’s not true.

It’s something that a lot of people sell on the internet. can be rich in a year or two. That’s not true. You can start your business and if you have investors, if you have money, then that’s something that you can do. possible. But like me, I didn’t have a lot of money. I started with 100 grand. So I bought my first house and the 21 lots. So I had to wait until I fixed the house. I sold the lots.

to start investing more, to keep doing that. If you have a million dollars, two million dollars, then it’s another story. You can buy properties and you can start flipping. It will be easier. it’s not that simple to, real estate business is not that simple like many people sell on the internet. But it’s still, I think, the most profitable market in the US, is the real estate.

Scott Bursey (16:12)

Thanks for laying that out for us, Rodrigo. And interested to learn, in a market that’s constantly shifting, what’s the biggest external factor that you’re most concerned about when it comes to your property acquisitions?

Rodrigo Avanzo (16:26)

external. The research, you gotta do a lot of research, alright, is the most important thing is, for me, the most important thing is you have to go and see the property, alright, and some people they don’t have the, again.

They don’t have a way to go to all the properties to visit because they live in Florida. They want to do an auction here in Arkansas. They only have two days. And sometimes some auctions like 700 properties going for auction. Some counties here in Arkansas, it’s 700 properties, 500 properties, 400 properties. Mostly it’s lots. But we have to go and visit all the properties. So I am…

always on the auctions, week before the auction, two weeks before the auctions. So most important thing is visit. The second most important thing for me, but it’s still level to the first one, it’s checking for all the liens, check the title of the property if he has any liens. Because some lots that you buy, you can buy a lot with a $10,000 lien, a demolition lien.

Seven years ago there was a house built on a lot and it got demolished. So the lien is still there because the city demolished the property but they put a lien on the property. So if you don’t do your own research, your good research, you can end up with a lot with a $10,000 lien on the property and the lot only worth…

three grand, four grand, five grand. You pay 200 bucks on the lot, $300, and you end up having a $10,000 bill to pay. research. Did research, all right? You gotta do your own research on every property that you want to buy. You don’t have to pay 300 bucks for a title company to do your own research on every property. It’s all public information. If you go to the county, if you sit on a computer,

everything is there all the information on the property on the deeds you just go type the owner the owner’s name on the computer of the county you find everything you find mortgages you find mechanical lins you find IRS lins this lot that i bought as i was talking to you earlier i bought a property a 10 acre lot in Kansas

for 70 grand and we just sold it for $350,000 this same lot. It’s on Zillow, if you want to take a look on Zillow you’re gonna see it. It’s all public, you don’t have to believe me. If you go to the county, if you see this property on the auction, you’re gonna see that I bought it for 70 grand and I sold it for 350. It’s all public, we all know everything, real estate is public.

information with a little, a quick research you can find out. So I bought this and it had more than $200,000 in IRS liens, federal liens. What most people don’t know is when you buy a property with federal liens, the IRS has 120 days to redeem the property. If they redeem the property, they give you back the money that you paid in the property.

and you got your money back, you don’t lose money. After 120 days, they lose the rights to redeem the property and the property is yours free of the liens. And the liens goes back to the owner. And this property had some liens, some federal liens. It went away after 120 days, that’s why we were able to sell it for 350. So, good research.

And you gotta do on your own. I don’t trust a title company to do research for me even if I’m paying for them. I rather go to the county, sit on the computer, type the owner’s name and find out if he has liens or not. But you gotta do it yourself. So a good research is it gets out of 90-90 % of the risks of buying a bad property and lose money.

Scott Bursey (20:05)

That is a great example right there of what doing your due diligence will work a deal for. That is just fantastic, Rodrigo. And let me ask you this, what does your professional network look like right now?

Rodrigo Avanzo (20:21)

My professional network, are talking about values, money.

Scott Bursey (20:25)

Your people, your circle that that you’re involved with as far as your operation goes. What is are you a part of any investment groups, peer groups, networking groups, anything of that variety?

Rodrigo Avanzo (20:38)

Yes, have on my network right now, I have 120 partners investing money with me. We get $10,000, some partners has $20,000, $100,000, $500,000. So we don’t have a minimum to come in and be partners with us. You can start with $10,000 and we go to a pot and we buy properties together. We buy a house with like five partners and then…

We get like $20,000 from each partner and we buy that property and we flip and then we give them the money back with the percentage of the profits. So we invested already probably around $2 million, $2.2 million in investments and we probably have around $8 million in properties right now. That’s our portfolio right now.

120, 125 partners, but I have a circle, I have a group with more than 500 people who is always there checking what I’m doing, I’m sending them opportunities, so every day there’s a new partner coming up, coming on and trying to invest with us.

Scott Bursey (21:47)

Thank you for giving us a peek into your circle and eager to ask if you had to start over today, Rodrigo, with only your RV and your current knowledge, but zero connections. What is the exact step by step process you’d use to secure your first a hundred K in profit from tax sale flips?

Rodrigo Avanzo (22:07)

I would go to the internet, I would start making content of what I do, that’s how it worked for me. I had a hundred grand to start, alright. I bought one in one lot and I bought a house for $45,000 and I had another $60,000 to renovate the house. So I was stuck because I didn’t have more money to buy more properties. I had to wait to fix the house, sell the house, sell the lots, make profit and start buying again.

So I said, what I’m going to do now? So that’s when my partner came. And he’s a market guy, most knowing guy in Brazil for marketing. And he said, you’ve got to go to Instagram. You’ve got to start showing what you do. In that way, investors, partners will come, and you’re going to have money to buy properties. So if I have a good advice, go to the Instagram or go TikTok.

Americans like TikTok, Brazilians like Instagram. Go to the TikTok, start showing what you do. Start showing your flippies, start showing your renovations, everything, how you buy. Show you on auction, buying properties on auction. If you check my Instagram, two, year ago, you’re gonna see videos of me buying properties on auction, doing live on Instagram. People were watching me going on auction, buying properties.

So go to the Instagram, go to the media, and start making content. That’s how I think you’re going to accelerate the process, going fast. That’s my advice.

Scott Bursey (23:34)

Thank you for giving our listeners such a clear blueprint. And for our listeners that want to keep this conversation moving, Rodrigo, stay in your lane or collaborate with you, what’s the best way for them to reach you?

Rodrigo Avanzo (23:46)

You can reach me by my Instagram, it’s Rodrigo Avanzo, @roavanzo, and you can…

shoot me a direct message and I can talk, can explain you everything, the operation. I teach also how to buy properties on auction. have my own course, my own develop that I did a class that I did it and I also teach every Monday night. teach and everything is for free. I don’t charge. You can go there on my platform and see my classes and see everything for free.

And some people ask me, why you teach for free? Why don’t you sell it? Why do you have it? I tell them, I want to teach. I want to help people do this business. But my goal is to have more partners. More partners, more money for us to invest, more properties. have more chance. We have to buy more properties. US is like $3,000, $144,000.

Counties in US. It’s more than 1,500,000 properties goes for auction every year in US It’s not it’s every year a million five hundred thousand properties goes for auction Even if I have five hundred partners a thousand partners We wouldn’t have all the money to buy every property that goes for auction in US. That’s why I teach people There’s no competition in this business. You can go to Arkansas. You can go to Kansas, California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida

new Mexico Utah and the via in by properties on auction everyday has an option to buy property everyday has an opportunity i don’t have the all the resources to go to do five or six Carli’s states right now i am only doing three states right now Kansas Arkansas Florida i want to go to Texas i want to go to put to Minnesota i want to go to many more states but i don’t have the resources yet

to that. don’t have a crew. That’s why I teach people how to do that. To be partners and work together and buy more properties. So that’s no competition in this business. So if you want to reach out to me, I only teach in Portuguese. My English is not that perfect, but I think I still can teach. And I want English classes also. I want American people to come to me, and I want to teach.

There is a saying that only 2 % of the Americans knows about tax sale in US. Only 2 % of the Americans knows about tax sale. Which is crazy. I wish more people would know about tax sale, properties, auctions and everything.

Scott Bursey (26:21)

Rodrigo, thank you for bringing the fuel today on the *Real Estate Pros* Podcast.

Rodrigo Avanzo (26:26)

Thank you, thank you for inviting me.

Scott Bursey (26:28)

It has been a pleasure. And to our listeners, we appreciate you. If you receive value from today’s episode, please subscribe. We’ll be filling your tanks with the lineup of elite guests, just like Rodrigo, who are accelerating and setting the pace for the rest of the industry. Until next time, keep your standards high and your vision clear. We’ll see you in the next episode, everyone.