Relationships are the Key to Longevity in Real Estate Investing With Adonis Lockett

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Value every relationship that you make in real estate. It’s not about how much money you make. Real estate investing is a numbers game in a people business. You need to pay people what they are worth. You never know when you might need them again. Join Tim Herriage as he talks to the Director of Operations at LNH Capital and myRE360, Adonis Lockett about valuing the relationships you created in real estate investing. Learn more about myRE360 and why you need to use it for real estate investing just how you use Uber for getting a ride. Discover the importance of face-to-face meetings so that you can build that relationship. Start going out and meeting new people today!

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Relationships Are The Key To Longevity In Real Estate Investing With Adonis Lockett

One of my favorite people is with me, Adonis Lockett. How are you?

Trying to make it, man.

I’ve known Adonis for a while now. He was one of the first people we reached out to get on the show. Why don’t you take a minute, introduce yourself, and tell people who you are and what you do?

I am the Principal of LNH Capital. I am the Director of Operations for myRE360. I own a real estate, brokerage mortgage, brokerage wholesale company, holding company, and property management company. I am everything real estate investing in 16 cities in 11 states.

I remember when I first met you, my partner at the time was like, “There’s this guy from LA I want you to meet.” You are not from LA. You are from New York. One of the things we do that I like to do is it’s called the bottom line up front. When I used to brief generals in the Marine Corps, I was in the intelligence analyst field.

One of the things they would always tell us was to say the most important thing up front because if we got a mortar attack or something, the general’s got to get up and leave the tent. You need them to know the most important thing. Imagine our readers are in their car, and we need to let them know the most important things that are happening now in real estate that they should be doing, thinking about, exploring, and not doing. I’m going to turn it over to you. Let’s bluff.

The number one most important thing in real estate is not the amount of money you earn, save or spend. The number one, most important thing is relationships. Relationships are the key to longevity in real estate investing. The real estate investing world is small. Everyone and every source of truth are one phone call away.

No matter what city or state you are in, you are going to meet someone who has done business with you. They are going to have 1 or 2 things to say about you, good or bad. The one thing that will sustain you in this business is relationships. No matter how much money you’ve made someone or personally, at some point, the resources in real estate investing is finite. The relationship is going to be the only thing that keeps you in business for a long time.

In real estate, the only thing that’s long-lasting is your name. Your name is everything. No matter how many times you change your company name, everything that you do, every relationship that you create, and every relationship that you destroy will be tied to you personally. Ten companies over, there is a name that’s a quarterback in those companies.

The relationships that you create and destroy will be the reason why your real estate business expands, scales to unmeasurable heights or be the reason why it stalls out and becomes stagnant. One thing I want everyone not to make the same mistake that I did was that a working relationship does not work out. That does not mean the relationship as a whole should be torpedoed. Transactions will come and go. Relationships can survive bad transactions if you know how to conduct yourself properly.

It is a numbers game in a people business. In myRE360, what do you do there?

MyRE360 is a void that exists in the real estate investing industry. Picture this, when you don’t have a car, and you need a ride up the road, what do you do? You call Uber. You call Lyft. When you need to get a house for the weekend, you go to Airbnb. When you need to find something online, you go to Google. When you need to insert some service, there are household names that you go to. If you need a painter that’s going to paint your living room, where do you go to find that painter? If you need a title company, if you need a gardener, name the one place that you go to find a title company, a painter, a gardener or a cabinet supply. Name one place that is the everything go-to place for real estate investing.

Many investors go to Facebook.

That’s my point. Facebook is not a real estate investing platform. Airbnb does one thing. Uber does one thing, offer transportation. MyRE360 is the void that exists in the real estate investing industry. One hub for everything real estate investing. Anything you want to learn in real estate investing, you come to 360. Any vendor you ever need, title company, insurance company, painter, carpet cleaners, and you need a cabinet supply, 360. Any vendor or deals you need, and if you are having a problem finding deals, come to 360. You need a project management system, and you come to 360. Anytime you think of real estate investing, you think 360.

Why was that important to you to create?

I have been in the business for several years. In year 7, I was 50 houses flipped. I’m five rental properties. In several years in the business, I found myself calling around, asking for a good GC, “I need a good insurance company. I need this. I need that. I left California and came back to Dallas. I don’t know who to call for deals.”

My thought was, “Why is there no one place that exists for those resources?” It’s ironic because the real estate investing industry is an industry that prides itself on your network is your net worth, yet we don’t have anything that connects our networks. Everyone’s individual net worth is walking around partition versus being interconnected and making a collective net worth of billions of dollars instead of hundreds of thousands of dollars individually walking around. That’s what we are building.

What is LNH Capital?

LNH Capital is a national direct private money lending company. I’ve got into wholesaling and flipping houses. The one thing I realized was that I was leaving a lot of money on the table by continuously referring business out to lenders. At one point, I referred one lender, probably $10 million. He didn’t send me a Starbucks gift card. I remember asking myself, “On my next deal, I asked him for a break on my points.” He was like, “No.” I’m like, “I made you $10 million. You don’t give me a gift. You don’t even say thank you in the form of a gift to a $10 gift card.” I’m watching how much money I’m paying him. I’m like, “I already own a brokerage, real estate or retail lending division. Why am I leaving that money on the table? I need that in-house.”

It sounds like, excuse my simplistic explanation of it, you’ve seen some voids in the market and tried to fill them. What got you into this?

I moved to Dallas with the position at Lockheed Martin as a Rocket Propulsion Test Engineer.

You are a rocket scientist.

Believe it or not, the rocket scientists get upset when I say that. “They tell me, “I clearly identify rocket propulsion, test engineer.” For all my rocket scientist friends, I promise. I’m sticking to my agreement with you.

I’m going to call you a rocket scientist but I do agree. It’s not rocket science because as long as you do right and you have a good network, this business can be pretty easy. What are some things you want to talk about now?

I want to talk about what I initially started off with, what destroying relationships have done for me, what nurturing relationships have done for me, and some of the things that got me to create my own company versus continuously working with others.

It’s going to get real. We are going to talk about destroying relationships and teach a class about how to not burn bridges. If you’ve just joined us, you should go back and catch the first part because some of this won’t make sense. We are going to talk about building bridges, finding bridges, and making sure we don’t burn bridges. I like to start off with a good story, Adonis. Talk about that bridge you burned that you shouldn’t have.

I originally started out brokering.

Are you brokering money or a house?

I started brokering money. I would find people who needed loans. This was when I wanted to start making money, connecting people to lenders, finding someone who needed money, connecting to a lender, and charging a fee. What ended up happening was I saw many voids that existed in the lending process. I had a difficult time expressing myself constructively. One of the biggest lenders in the nation at the time, I got on the phone with the analyst and yelled at him. I’m talking about, yelled at him like, “You don’t even know what you are talking about. You are a paper pusher. I’m in the field.” Went off on.

He called the next day and said, “We decided to pass on your loan.” I knew it was coming, whatever. Several years later, they rolled out a white label program. They said, “Everyone who’s a broker, we are going to allow you to do more business. We are going to be discounting our fees. You are going to start being able to operate in this private name. People won’t circumvent you.” IRS reached out and said, “Let’s connect you to the head of broker relations.” Guess who was the head of broker relations?

That analyst.

Even though I had $60 million of business, not only did he advocate against my company coming onboard, I tried to extend the other branch. I flew out to their headquarters, walked through the whole building, and met everyone. He wouldn’t meet with me. His position was, “You need to understand that there are consequences in the things you say and do, and you disrespected me. I lost sleep.”

I heard this through other people that worked for that company. I knew a lot of people in the company. He lost sleep about it. He considered quitting. He went through this whole period of doubting whether he had a future in that company because he didn’t want to deal with guys like me. That was several years ago. To this day, that lender, as big as they are, will not accept business from me at that level. They will take broker deals, not the white label.

The golden rule is to treat other people how you want to be treated. That’s not the you I know.

The golden rule is that the people who are going to stick it out will remember the things you said and did to him.

I always say that in youth coaching because I’m a big youth football coach, where I finished several years of it. I’m retired. I always said to the other coaches and the parents, “These kids are not going to remember which game they won. They are not going to remember who got the touchdown. They are going to remember how we made them feel exactly.” Did they have a good time playing sixth-grade football, or did they hate coach Tim?”

To this day, I’ve got some kids with blue check marks that are going to be in the league next year. Still call me coach. It’s one of the greatest joys of my life. One of the things you said and talked about this, please, at many companies I have been and some, we had like these little taglines, “We don’t work with a-holes.” I’m not saying that you were one but you said you were. It goes both ways, though. People do business with people they like, and they don’t do business with people that they don’t like. Talk about maybe some advice on how to win over vendors, strategic accounts, relationships, etc.

If at all possible, meet them. I will kid you not. I am from New York and coming to the south. I am rough around the edges. At least 75% of the people that I worked with while I was a brokering told me to my face that they did not like me until they met me. They met me at a conference. We had drinks. We high-fived. They were like, “I don’t understand. You in person are a completely different person than you on the phone and email.” The guys would tell me, “I couldn’t stand you. I will see your emails come in. I wouldn’t read it.” The moment I met them, and what I’ve learned is that the value of face-to-face, even if it’s for 10 to 15 minutes, will go a million miles further than hours of a phone conversation.

I said this to someone, “We’ve got to get our people out and meet as many people as possible now.” Specifically, even more now after COVID, I feel like there’s so much power in a handshake now.

Everyone has an agenda or something they are working towards via email. Everything from tone on the phone and email can be interpreted a certain way. When you meet someone, and you both have a laughing conversation about how you butted heads but you are both working towards the same thing or how. You are both on the opposite ends of it. There’s something about the camaraderie that comes at the end of it. Start at the end of a handshake that allows you to traverse even the most difficult relationships or dynamics. I’ve had it where there are people I’ve aggressively butted heads with for weeks and months. When I met them, it was like, “We are going to do this again.” It became a joke versus a tense situation.

You said, “Buy him a drink and go to a conference.” It reminds me of my oldest son. He’s a 6’2”, 230 college linebacker type. He works out 2 or 3 hours a day. He’s never had a drink. He turned 21 in February 2022. We didn’t want not to offer it but we didn’t want to offer it. He’s like, “No, I’m good.” One of the times I talked to him. I said, “You are going to have to get comfortable in business situations when other people drink.”

One of my tips is always, “It is because sometimes we go to these things and drink.” One of my things is I tell people to walk up to the bartender, ask for a rocks glass and say, “I’m going to come up and order whatever I order. I may say a 7 and 7 or whatever. Please put ginger ale in it. I’m going to tip you good.” Especially if you are around people, there are certain people, when meeting them, if you are not on your A-game, it can be a bad thing.

Especially if you are looking to earn their business or get closer with them from a professional or personal standpoint. To your point, the one thing I cannot stand is the table of half-drunk, high five’ers and the one person that takes everything seriously. I hate to say when it’s wrong because if he made the decision not to drink but it is more, they need to make sure they gel with the energy. That’s happening around them.

If you can’t, there’s going to be a segment of people at that event, at that conference, or at that place wherever you are that is going to be the same way. They are going to be a little bit more low-key. I tell people all the time, “You don’t have to be them. Find the people you gel with, and that’s where you will get the business.”

The funny thing is, even if that’s a minority in the room, those would be the people that only wanted to do business with you. You may miss the majority of the business but you get the exclusivity of the minority, which in turn can be as fruitful as getting a piece of the big pie.

100% of 10% is more than 10% of 80%. Talk about, Adonis, your evolution. I would like to know more about your story because I thought you were from LA until now. Why don’t you talk about what brought you from New York? You already said you were a rocket scientist and propulsion engineer. What brought you to Texas into LA? Let’s talk about your journey.

I moved to Texas with an engineering job at Lockheed. I sold my first house in 62 days and made more in 62 days than what I netted in a year as an engineer. Two weeks later, I put my two weeks notice in. I was out because it didn’t make sense. Four hours a week, I made more than what I was netting in 52 weeks. From there, I met someone that I was dating at the time who lived in LA, and she put me onto how the game worked.

I spent a couple of years, built a small little operation in Dallas, and moved to LA. I understood how real money operated because, at the time, I was doing $100,000 deals, except I moved to LA, everything starts at $500,000 or $600,000. I’m meeting people with millions of dollars, and I’ve never met these people before. The more I was around and immersed in it, the more I understood how they did and got it.

Finally, I built the operation in LA and said, “I need to bring this back to Dallas.” I brought it back to Dallas, kept LA my headquarters, and built the empire in Dallas with the LA mindset. That’s how I was able to move aggressively because I understood what these guys in LA did. The guys that have tens of millions of dollars in a bank account, I would go have lunch with them, buy them lunch. I would go meet them at places I saw that they were doing group things. Little by little, I absorbed it, came here, and then rocketed ship through it.

How did you know to do that? How did you know to gather that information, and what made you first realize the power of that network in this business?

No shade to Texans but Dallas, Texas, moves a lot slower than the Coast. Coming from New York to Texas was like going from a rocket ship and jumping on a turtle. It was a million miles to slow motion. It was the same thing in LA. I said, “If I’m doing what I’m doing in LA, I can make waves. If I’m doing this in Dallas, I can create a tsunami because I’m going to be moving ten times as fast with the same effort, and with curtail in relationships, creating relationships, I know I can do it.” I was doing my thing in LA but was killing it in Dallas because I was moving twice as fast as everyone else was moving.

We are going to have the money minute. During the money minute, what is that? It’s 60 seconds to give the best piece of advice you could possibly give someone if that’s the only piece of advice they can get in the next year. Adonis, this next part is my favorite part of the show. Imagine there’s this 22-year-old version of you that flipped that first house and is like, “I’m going to put in my two-week notice.”

Since then, you’ve learned and made a lot of good decisions. We’ve already covered some bad news. I’m going to give you 60 seconds and imagine young Adonis. This is the only 60 seconds of advice that he’s going to hear all month. Let’s pour into these young people out there. Let’s pour into the new investors. Best 60 seconds of advice you have. Go now.

Young Adonis, the number one mistake to not make is to value every relationship, even if you believe there is no value in that relationship. Pay people for what they are worth. Every penny that you save will cost you $1 and rework or heartache and agony. The relationships you create when you are young will be the relationships that allow you to propel and scale. The people that you pay for their value will make you money ten times over any dollar you ever save.

Pay people for what they are worth. Stop always trying to bottom out and get everyone at the cheapest dollar because what you will find is that while you are trying to maximize your dollars and minimize everyone else’s dollars, they are going to take it personally. Pay people what they are worth, make sure the relationships you create are long-lasting, and navigate them accordingly.

Here we go, rapid-fire. You quit after your first house. Was that a good decision?

I didn’t plan it properly. I should have planned for a better financial strategy. My ego led me to believe that, “If I did it once, I could do it again,” and I paid for it for five years.

How much longer should you have waited in your mind?

I should have planned, stock filed, and reserved for at least nine months. I should have waited for another easily 6 to 9 months and planned financially a little bit more properly.

A lot of people come on here and say they should have done it sooner. You are one of those like, “I did it way too fast.”

My ego led me to believe that, “If I did it once, I could do it again and could ball out day one.” It cost me five years of financial stability.

You talked earlier about people around you and about lifting yourself into a different scenario. One of my favorite podcast hosts, John Lee Dumas, ends every episode by saying, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with or have been hanging out with.” Talk about that. How do you put yourself around people that maybe you shouldn’t be around yet or not shouldn’t but you don’t qualify yet?

Offer service to them without trying to monetize whatever it is they are giving you. Offer to be an intern. I know a gentleman who was 42 years old. He went and interned for a guy he wanted to learn from and became a rock star three years later. He swallows his pride and ego, intern, and offers assistance or service to someone without asking for anything in return from them. What you will find is that they will appreciate that motivation, that enthusiasm, and start inviting you to places that you are years away from much sooner than you are probably greater even there. Lead with value and offer something with nothing in return for expectations.

Some people said, “Don’t tell me you want to be a sponge because sponges give nothing back.” Don’t talk about my coattails because I have not nobody riding or not even my kids.” What’s the most money you ever lost on a property?

On a single property, I probably lost maybe about $50,000.

What’s the most you ever made on a property?

It’s the one I just closed, my first multimillion-dollar deal. I made $975,000.

Did you do the financing for yourself?

I did.

What’s your biggest mistake in the business?

Burning relationships and burning bridges that will never be restored no matter how much I’ve grown and apologized. Burning relationships that to this day still come back and is around me that I messed up.

When you look back, what was the smartest thing you did that maybe you could have done sooner?

Make amends to relationships that I sell lead and admit that I was wrong.

Many entrepreneurs, type-A, come with ego. We all do a bunch of chess, thumping, and bragging. I tell everybody is like, “Whatever he said, divide by 2 and multiply 5.5.” Not you, but most of the other people. How does one get over their ego?

That’s a conscious decision. You got to decide to be okay, not being always right, and not always having the last word. That is probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do. That’s probably the most difficult thing any one person will ever have to do. Be okay being wrong. Be okay not having the last word, taking the back seat to someone else, and letting them shine.

Rare or medium-rare?

Medium rare.

Angels envy or whistle pig?

Whistle pig.

Old fashioned or new fashion?

Old fashioned. Big cube, only crust ice, old-fashioned, don’t even bring in my way.

Round or square?

Square.

Parting shots, parting thoughts, what do you get to help people out?

Put yourself in as many situations to meet people as humanly possible. Nurture every relationship. Pay people for what they are worth and be okay not being at the top of the charts on day one. Be okay. Being just okay.

How do people get in touch with you, and how do they do business with you?

They can find me on social media and Instagram @AdonisLockett. Facebook, @AdonisLockett. If they want to do business with me, the number one thing I will tell them is that be prepared to pave me for the quality service that I bring. If your goal is to get the best of me and give me the least amount of pay that’s associated with my service, I’m not the right guy to do business with. Take that away. I’m the perfect guy to do business with because every part of real estate investing I’m involved in, I have a hand in, I have team members that are in the trenches, and there’s an opportunity for us to do business with everybody.

MyRE360.com and LNHCapital.com. You are now in Dallas, back in LA. Did you move to the Virgin Islands? Where are you at?

Primarily in Dallas. I ping pong back and forth between LA, Dallas, and Palm Beach.

I appreciate you being on the show.

I appreciate you for having me.

Thank you for reading and for being here. Remember, your network is your net worth, and now you have been building both.

Important Links

• LNH Capital
• myRE360
• @AdonisLockett – Instagram
• @AdonisLockett – Facebook

The following podcast program is furnished by RCN Capital LLC. The information provided is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute any legal, tax, financial, investment or other professional advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed of any speaker are the speaker’s own opinion and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of RCN Capital LLC. No information contained in this episode should be construed as financial, investment or legal advice from RCN or any individual, author, host or guest. You should always consult a financial advisor before investing.

• Building Relationships
• Burning Bridges
• Face To Face Meetings
• LNH Capital
• myRE360
• real estate