How I Rebuilt My REI Business After Losing $650K
(And How I Lost That Much Money In The First Place)
For the first time ever, I'm sharing the whole story of how I lost over $650,000 in my real estate investing business:
- The "partner" who caused most of these losses
- The employees who stole from me
- The missing systems, processes, and checks and balances
- The catalyst that got me out of debt and helped me build seven figures in note equity
If sharing my mistakes saves you from making the same ones, it's worth it.
Save My Free Seat!Free · Live Q&A · Replay included for registrantsMost people only share the wins. I'll share those too, but the hole is the part that can actually save you money.
Live Training Details
The real numbers, the warning signs I ignored, and the systems that finally stopped the bleeding. Then David and I stay on to answer your questions.
It Looked Like I Was Winning. I Was Actually Losing $16K A House.
From the outside, everything looked great. Here's what was really going on.
- Spending $15K–$20K a month on marketing
- Wholesaling a ton of deals
- Raising private money
- 20 W-2 employees running our own crews
- Our entire "system" was a whiteboard and some texts
- My "partner" ran construction with no line-item budgets and no checks and balances
- Employees padded their time sheets, and they were getting approved
- The company card paid for family dinners and groceries, booked as "lunch for the crew"
- A framer called to tell me they'd framed three of my houses, ripped it all out, and redid it
- My bookkeeper told me, "You're not really making money"
About 40 houses. $650K lost. And the wholesale fees and loan money covered it up so well, I didn't see it until August 2024.
The Whole Story, Start To Finish
How I lost it, how I didn't see it, and exactly what we built to fix it.
How wholesale fees and loan money can make a bleeding business look profitable.
Where our own crews saved us thousands, and where they sank us.
So you catch them in your business before they cost you.
The systems, budgets, reporting, and accountability we built.
The PM bonus structure that keeps us under budget.
How we decide when to wholesale, flip, or keep a note.
And how fixing the back end made the marketing actually work.
Ask me or David anything.
The Hole, And The Way Out
Then I Hired Simple CFO
In August 2024 I had my come-to-Jesus meeting. I brought in Simple CFO, and the first job wasn't growth. It was stopping the bleeding.
Stopped The BleedingAUG '24
Real project management, line-item budgets, weekly reporting, and accountability.
Redesigned PM Pay
We changed how we pay our project manager: results, not hours.
A Real Process For Every Deal
No more gut calls. A clear way to decide whether to wholesale, flip, or keep a note.
Debt Paid OffFEB '26
Over $1 million in note equity built, and my cash flow goals hit.
About 18 months later, the debt was paid off, I'd built over $1 million in note equity, and I'd hit my cash flow goals.
I Was Never Going To Tell This Story
Honestly, I was never going to share this. I figured I'd take it to my grave.
But over the last few months, I've watched people I really respect in the real estate industry open up about their biggest losses and failures. It changed how I see all of this.
Then a mentor of mine asked me one question:
"Wouldn't you have wanted someone to warn you before you made those mistakes?"
That was it. If I can keep somebody else from making the mistakes I made, I have to share it.
Most people only share the wins. I'll share those too, like how we locked up 327 contracts over the last 2 years and how that profit helped dig us out of the hole. But the hole is a huge part of the story, and it's the part that can actually save you money.
My goal is simple: I want this to help you in your business.
– Caleb
Meet Your Hosts
I've been investing in real estate since 2016 and have bought 300+ properties. I own Favor Home Solutions and I'm a licensed general contractor.
I also founded Steel Marketing, where we've managed $20M+ in ad spend for 1,000+ businesses.
And I lost $650K. Then I rebuilt. This is the full story.
David founded Simple CFO, a financial team for real estate investors, and wrote Profit First for Real Estate Investing.
He's an active investor who has helped close 850+ deals across wholesale, owner finance, and rentals.
He's the one who helped me stop the bleeding.
If My Mistakes Save You From Making The Same Ones, It's Worth It
This one's for you if you're:
- Scaling your business
- Hiring
- Trusting people to run parts of your business
- Just not 100% sure you're making money
From $650K lost to $1M+ in note equity. I'm walking you through all of it.
Save Your Seat — It's Free
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