Cody Cressey
Cody Cressey has been a guest on Collecting Keys, the real estate investing podcast hosted by Mike DeHaan, Dan Austin and Dylan Koch, 2 times.
The Danger of Scaling A Real Estate Business Too Quickly
Mike DeHaan and Dan Austin are joined by Spokane partner Cody Cressey to compare running a small, lean real estate operation against a large one. They discuss how overhead and thin margins can mean a $300K revenue month nets no more than a two-person team used to make, why subcontractors beat in-house crews for flexibility, and what to focus on in the current market.
Key takeaways
- Bigger revenue doesn't mean bigger take-home: a large operation doing $300K–$600K months at ~20% margins can net the same as a two-person team making $60K in a good month at 40–50% margins.
- Decide what you actually want from the business before scaling; the tradeoff for a team and time freedom is lower margins, but a team also gives stability (an acquisitions manager quitting mid-conference didn't disrupt a five-person team).
- Cody's prior company did about eight wholesales and four flips a month (~150 deals/year) with high overhead; his biggest line items after salaries were hard money payments and insurance, mostly driven by the flipping side.
- Use subcontractors rather than in-house crews so labor costs turn on and off with the market; dictate your own scope and pay (Cody offered a flat $3,000 for a week-long duplex turn) and stick to Home Depot/Lowe's stock finishes on first-time-buyer product.
How to Close More Deals & Master Disposition w/ Cody Cressey
Cody Cressey, who closed 49 deals in his first year cold calling from Sweden while working a full-time job, breaks down how he approaches seller conversations, offer presentation, long-term follow-up, and selling deals to cash buyers. He walks through the sales process he used at a company doing 130-150 deals a year, including the in-person appointment script, the handoff to a transaction coordinator, and the leave-behind folder. The conversation also covers building rehab knowledge so buyers take you seriously and two cash-for-keys war stories.
Key takeaways
- Build offers collaboratively with the seller using math they agree with: ARV minus selling costs, minus a rehab number you got them to confirm, minus your profit — so the only things left to argue about are the ARV and the rehab.
- Ask the seller what they think repairs will cost (e.g. a quoted $15,000 kitchen you can do for $7,500) and use their own numbers in the walkthrough.
- Leave room for error: Cody offers roughly 10-20k under his MAO and teaches a minimum ~$20k spread, since disagreements on ARV and rehab can eat a deal alive.
- Drop industry language with sellers — never say "following up," "KPIs" or "lock this up." Talk the way you'd talk to a friend. When you play up, the prospect plays down; when you play down, they help you.