Real Estate Investor Shares How He Went From Wholesaling To Flipping Houses In Houston

Curtis Armstrong (00:00) Well, it really got real for me when ⁓

basically I didn’t make any income for almost a year in real estate just

because ⁓ I stopped marketing, stopped cold calling, got comfortable,

felt like I knew it all and then I had to reinvent myself. I had to slow

down, had to go back to get some more education, higher level of

education as well. So I started investing into myself a little bit more

in education and knowledge.

Joseph Crooms (01:57) Hey everyone, welcome to Investor Fuel Real Estate

Pros Podcast. ⁓ I’m your host, Joseph Crooms. Today I’m joined by

someone I’ve been looking forward to chatting with. His name is Curtis

Armstrong, who’s been making some serious moves in the industry. Very

stickler about ⁓ keeping himself focused. I’ll let him talk more about

that. Curtis, glad you’re here.

Curtis Armstrong (02:22) Yeah, thank you, Joseph, for having me. I

appreciate you.

Joseph Crooms (02:25) Thank you, man. I think our listeners are going to

take something away from how you’re approaching business. you told me

that you are a real estate ⁓ investor. is that the right term to use for

you?

Curtis Armstrong (02:37) Absolutely. So investor. ⁓ started off

wholesaling. I’m an agent as well, licensed agent in North Carolina. ⁓

started my first flip about a year and a half ago. So just investor in

general.

Joseph Crooms (02:49) Okay. And so let’s dive into this. So first of

all, for people who may not be familiar with your world, give us the

short version. What’s your main focus these days?

Curtis Armstrong (02:59) So my main focus is finding distressed

properties, off market properties, for a discount and basically making

sure that I can either disposition these properties either by finding an

investor that ⁓ buy it for a higher price or myself closing on it myself

and fixing it up and also just flipping it or rent renting it out.

Joseph Crooms (03:18) And what markets are you operating in? You you

mentioned that you have a license in ⁓ North Carolina, I believe, and

that you also said that you are but you live in Texas, so has your

market expanded?

Curtis Armstrong (03:31) So on market switch, ⁓ so I sold and bought

over 30 properties for as wholesale deals within the past three years,

primarily only in North Carolina. ⁓ I just switched over to Houston,

Texas. I moved out here about two and a half years ago. And for the

first year and a half, I was just kind of confused with the market. So

it took me about a year and a half to get on my feet out here, and now

I’m just primarily focusing on Houston. So right now, that’s my primary

market right now.

Joseph Crooms (03:58) So it sounds like you have like a total of like

almost four years of actual work. Is that correct?

Curtis Armstrong (04:04) Absolutely, yes sir. It’s just twenty twenty

two.

Joseph Crooms (04:06) All

right, and those sturdy properties, how do they translate into revenue

for you?

Curtis Armstrong (04:12) So it’s different. you starting off at

wholesaling, you’re not getting a ⁓ big chunk of the pie when you’re

starting off just because you’re finding deals that ⁓ probably just low

in income. So therefore you’re making four thousand dollars, making

eight thousand dollars some deals, some deals you’re making fifteen

thousand and it varies. So the lowest I made on one particular deal was

thirty five hundred dollars, the most I made was forty two thousand.

Joseph Crooms (04:37) And what would you say your monthly ⁓ revenue or

volume of of income ⁓ that you have now on a monthly basis?

Curtis Armstrong (04:47) I would say on average, I would say typically

each deal is around eight thousand dollars on average right now.

Joseph Crooms (04:53) And how does that translate to, you know, is how

long have you been operating at that level?

Curtis Armstrong (05:45) Well it’s up and it’s up and downs because when

you first starting off and you’re in the market, as I was in North

Carolina, very familiar with the market, you switch your markets and it

takes time to pick the business back up. So as of right now, it’s just ⁓

picking everything back up from basically a new market. But when I was

back in North Carolina, ⁓ it was a six figure income a year.

Joseph Crooms (06:06) Okay, okay. ⁓ so ⁓ th you know, you call that that

that’s not easy, especially in this climate. What’s been the key to

keeping your machine running smoothly?

Curtis Armstrong (06:17) Well the key is just basically just being

disciplined and knowing exactly whenever, you know, you closing a thirty

thousand dollar deal, knowing that you have to get back on the phone and

stay consistent. And that was a part of my learning process, my first

three years. I would close the deal and then all of a sudden I take a

month off and then start back. It’s just inconsistent. So I feel like

just dedication and being more consistent.

Joseph Crooms (06:41) So what have you learned from ⁓ from your North

Carolina ⁓ real estate and now that you flip to ⁓ Texas, what have you

learned?

Curtis Armstrong (06:56) So I learned that ⁓ in North Carolina it’s a

lot of gatekeepers, meaning that a lot of information is not displayed,

the proper information is not correctly ⁓ presented. Even in meetings, I

was going to boardrooms, going to meetings, but still was lost for some

reason. And once I came to Texas about two and a half, three years ago,

my learning curve shaped and ⁓ just started getting more knowledgeable.

⁓ circles started changing and then all of a sudden now it’s just more

say so a full scope of business at this point.

Joseph Crooms (07:26) And and in what way has it changed, can you be

more specific?

Curtis Armstrong (07:30) Absolutely, because primarily in North

Carolina, I was focusing just on wholesaling, basically just finding a

distressed property or a property for a discount. And I was assigning it

to a cash buyer. And every deal I’ve done in North Carolina, it was

primarily just making a quick cash. But since I’ve been out here in

Houston, I picked up the more of a flipping knowledge. So instead of

wholesaling it and getting rid of it so quickly, knowing exactly how to

calculate construction risk, market risk.

And knowing exactly risk to award and the time value of money as well.

So some deals it’s good to wholesale and some deals it’s good to flip.

Joseph Crooms (08:07) Mm-hmm. So ⁓ say in the last six months, how has

that affected your revenue?

Curtis Armstrong (08:16) So ⁓ at instantly, it hasn’t affected it

instantly. But therefore as far as like knowledge wise, the past six

months, just been getting that experience, getting more familiar with

the market, walking houses, getting more familiar with the contractors’

numbers and lining everything up within the business, my lenders, my

appraisers, making sure everything is aligned. So once I find a deal, we

can be ready to close within the next two weeks.

Joseph Crooms (08:41) And you talked about your the your your your

vendors and your idiot do you consider these people part of your team?

Curtis Armstrong (08:50) Absolutely. So they are part of my team. The

reason why is because without them, the deal won’t be able to get close.

⁓ I need my contractor to make sure the bid is correct. I make sure need

the inspector to make sure everything is ⁓ accurate when it comes down

to inspecting a home. The appraiser have to make sure the numbers are

right, agent have to make sure that ⁓ whatever we can think we can sell

it for on the back end, we can get that number, days on market. It’s a

lot of different factors with the team that ⁓ makes up the business at

this point.

Joseph Crooms (09:19) And how many deals have you closed since you’ve

been in Texas?

Curtis Armstrong (09:23) Since I’m in Texas, I’ve closed four deals.

Joseph Crooms (09:26) four deals. And ⁓ and how many of those deals from

⁓ North Carolina are still paying you?

Curtis Armstrong (09:34) ⁓ one.

Joseph Crooms (09:35) one. So you see about five deals. How much is this

has that translated into ⁓ into value? How much would you say that

you’re making on a monthly basis? Night right now. Team is in place. And

and matter of fact, who’s on your team?

Curtis Armstrong (09:50) When you say who’s on my team, you ask what’s

your question? You ask two different questions then. Yeah, yeah.

Joseph Crooms (09:54) Yeah,

I’m asking ⁓ let me back up. Who’s on your team? You got ⁓ property

managers properly?

Curtis Armstrong (10:34) so you when you ask food on my team, so it’s

different because I’m in Houston primarily now. So my team back in North

Carolina is more dissolved for for the most part, right? I’m talking

about.

Joseph Crooms (10:45) I’m talking about in your new team.

Curtis Armstrong (10:50) Right. Okay. I my new team it it involves my

hard money lender, my private money lender, my agent, my contractor, my

appraiser, my inspector, my architecture, my structural engineer, and

also my title company as well for the most part. But I believe and I

have a mentor as well, so

Joseph Crooms (11:10) ⁓ you know, ⁓ that’s not easy, especially in this

climate and then we we spoke about what’s running your business smooth.

So now ⁓ I know that’s the moment when things just got real. When did

things get really real for you n now in Texas?

Curtis Armstrong (11:28) Well, it really got real for me when ⁓

basically I didn’t make any income for almost a year in real estate just

because ⁓ I stopped marketing, stopped cold calling, got comfortable,

felt like I knew it all and then I had to reinvent myself. I had to slow

down, had to go back to get some more education, higher level of

education as well. So I started investing into myself a little bit more

in education and knowledge.

So now that I’m on the phones in the past three months I’ve

locked up about three deals. ⁓ trying to flip them for a majority of the

part, but the numbers just didn’t work out just because of the rehab

costs ⁓ and a market risk as of right now. So just trying to find that

perfect deal right now that that makes sense to me far as number wise.

Joseph Crooms (12:16) Do you deal in residential and commercial?

Curtis Armstrong (12:20) So that’s a funny thing because same thing with

flipping. when I was wholesaling primarily for the first three years, I

was still going to flipping classes and I was still learning ⁓ along the

way. So now that I’m primarily flipping and part-time wholesaling for

the most part, then that’s how I’m same doing the same thing with

construct I mean commercial. I’m still dibbling and dabbling with

learning the information, but I’m not doing any transactions. I’m not

marketing, prospecting or doing anything with it.

Until I master ⁓ the flipping business, single family only.

Joseph Crooms (12:55) Okay. ⁓ so that’s the kind of stuff that people

don’t talk about enough. And honestly it’s what separates the folks who

just dabble from the ones who stay in the game long term. Let me ask you

this. What do you focus on solving or scaling next? What’s your next

real goal?

Curtis Armstrong (13:13) So my next real goal is to ⁓ basically try to

find and lock up one deal a month and close one deal a month right now.

⁓ my biggest year was thirteen deals in a year back in twenty twenty

three. ⁓ but at the end of the day, that’s when the market was very,

very hot. ⁓ but either way it goes, just putting in more time and

knowing that, you know, the three to four years I’ve been in the

business has just not been nothing but experience and knowledge. And I

can just learn off that and build off that. So right now, just

consistently marketing.

prospecting on a daily basis and trying my best just to lock up at least

one deal a month right now. And if I can just do one deal a month and

flip a few and wholesale to others, then I think I’d be a happy man in

twenty twenty seven.

Joseph Crooms (13:55) Okay? That’s big especially when you’ve already

got ⁓ the foundation down, that next move can either ⁓ compound things

or create chaos depending on how you play it. Now I know a lot of our

listeners are either early in their journey, ⁓ Curtis, or looking your

level up, and I think they’re gonna benefit from hearing this. When it

comes to building relationships and growing your network, what’s made

the biggest difference for you?

Curtis Armstrong (14:22) biggest difference for me is just always

bringing something to the table. I think a lot of people want

information, but they willing they’re not willing to give up anything. ⁓

you have to invest in yourself. a lot of information is not free. The

free information that’s on YouTube and that’s online, it probably won’t

put the pieces to the puzzle together for you. It is probably how you’re

more confused. So my way and my method was I actually ⁓ hired a mentor

in this business and ⁓ I still have an another mentor right now that’s

guiding me and

analyzing all my deals before I hop into any flips or anything in

Houston that’s been flipping for over twenty years in this market. So

just finding someone that with that valuable experience, but also

bringing something to the table.

Joseph Crooms (15:44) how is your philosophy developed as through all

your experience? What is your philosophy approaching business now?

Curtis Armstrong (15:51) Yeah, just gotta be a win win for everybody. So

for instance, if I can find a good deal, then that means the contractor

can win because he gets to feed his family that month or two. And then

he get to pa take care of his his staff as well. So they get to feed

their family. The lender, they’re winning because now they have a loan.

They charge an origination fees and points and interest. So now they’re

feeding their family. The appraiser is getting a good deal, the title

company is closing, so everybody’s winning.

But my thing is who who who starts the process of this winning it has to

be somebody. And that somebody can be you, just like it’s me. So if I

find a good deal, then I have to put the pieces to the puzzle together.

Joseph Crooms (16:36) For someone just starting out, what is your advice

to them?

Curtis Armstrong (16:40) So when starting out, I would just say a lot of

self-education, self-knowledge, finding a mentor, meaning by

self-knowledge, finding someone that you know that has experience doing

whatever you’re trying to do. No matter if it’s residential or

commercial, wholesale and flipping, ⁓ Airbnb, whatever you wanna do in

this business, and it’s a lot to do, but just focus on one thing.

Joseph Crooms (17:03) And that one thing would you say, ⁓ your niche is

w how would you just say, Hey, if you are you saying you find you you’re

good at something, w what are you elaborating on and saying when you

find

Curtis Armstrong (17:15) Yes, because initially I started off

wholesaling for three years. I didn’t flip any properties and then all

of a sudden I came across one good deal where I just wanted to flip, but

I didn’t know the business as well because I was just wholesaling. So I

basically paid cash for the house. It wasn’t the numbers seemed good on

paper, but when you really put the ROI and everything inside the deal,

it just probably don’t make as much sense.

Just because I didn’t have the proper knowledge to flipping, but if you

just wanna learn how to wholesale, if you just wanna learn how to flip,

if you just wanna be an agent, just do that for the next two to three to

four years and then you can always transition and dive and dabble into

other sectors of the business.

Joseph Crooms (17:59) Curtis, we’re coming to a close. I want you to

describe wholesale flipping or an agent. I want you to put it in your

own words. Wholesale.

Curtis Armstrong (18:07) Okay.

So wholesale is you finding a d you find a distressed property for

undermarket value and you’re selling it to an investor or a flipper that

can put the work into the property in order to produce an outcome for a

family to live in. So a wholesaler, you’re not doing the actual

construction part, you’re just finding the deal and letting a investor

or the flipper put the construction part into the deal.

Joseph Crooms (18:35) the flipper.

Curtis Armstrong (18:36) The flipper is the person that buys the deal

from the wholesaler or they buy it from an agent. ⁓ and they basically

actually have to do the construction part and get the loan and the

financing ⁓ line in order to make sure the numbers make sense so it can

profit from the deal and make sure the family have somewhere safe and

habitable to live. A real estate agent job is to make sure that they are

the ⁓ intermediate between the sellers and buyers.

Joseph Crooms (18:58) And a real estate agent.

Curtis Armstrong (19:06) Within the market, so they just make sure that

if a seller wants to sell, they represent the seller to make sure

they’re in their best interest. And also if a buyer wants to buy a

property, just making sure that everything’s in the best interest for

the buyer. And that’s just the way they separate it for us the agency.

Joseph Crooms (19:22) Wow, ⁓ that’s that’s huge, Curtis. Thank you so

much for sharing. Yeah. so you can’t face relationships in this place.

All right, before we wrap up, if someone wanted to reach out to you,

connect with you, maybe collaborate or learn more about what you’re

doing, what’s the best way to reach you?

Curtis Armstrong (19:25) You won’t.

You can reach me ⁓ you through Instagram. That’s the best way as of

right now, I would say. ⁓ or email address is Kurt the Real Estate

Slayer on Instagram. It’s K-U-R-T, period T-H-E, period, R-E-A-L,

period, T-H-E, the Slayer. Kurt the Real Estate Slayer. And ⁓ my my

email address is Armstrong with an S on the end. So A-R-M-S-T-R-O-N-G-S.

R-E-A-L-T-Y Realty. armstrongsrealty@gmail.com. And that’s the best way

to contact me right now. If you want to connect, have any questions? ⁓

if you need anything, just let me know.

Joseph Crooms (20:21) Won’t you run it one more time? Just for those

that would when you started giving they looking for a pen. So run it

back for them.

Curtis Armstrong (20:27) Okay, but the Instagram is Kurt K-U-R-T the

real estate slayer. Period T H E. Period R E A L. Period E S T A T E.

Period S L A Y E R. Kurt The Real Estate Slayer. And then the ⁓ email

address is Armstrong’s with a S on the N S on Armstrong, sorry, A-R-M-S.

T-R-O-N-G-S-R-E-A-L-T-Y at Gmail.com. Armstrong’s Realty.

Joseph Crooms (21:02) Perfect. Well listen, I appreciate your time, your

story, your philosophy that you are constantly developing, and your

perspective that you have now. We need more people in spaces who are

doing the right thing. Thanks again for being here, Curtis. ⁓ all for ⁓

for those of you tuning in, I know you got some value from what Curtis

was sharing with. Make sure you subscribe. We got more conversations

coming from operators just like Curtis Armstrong, who are out there

doing real businesses.

and also learning how how to expand his business and gaining that

knowledge. We’ll see you on the next episode of Investor Fuel Real

Estate Pros Podcast.