Mick Unplugged - Rich Younglord | Bridging Music and Real Estate: Insights from Rich Younglord

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

Welcome to Mick Unplugged! In this episode, host Mick Hunt is joined by the legendary music producer turned successful real estate entrepreneur, Rich Younglord. From his beginnings in the Bronx, idolizing icons like Molly Mall and Rza, to working with hip-hop legends such as Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J, and Beyonce, Rich shares captivating stories from his prolific music career. He opens up about his transition into real estate, driven by a chance encounter and inspired by the wisdom of industry moguls like Clarence Avant. Rich discusses the seamless melding of music business acumen with real estate, helping people navigate financial difficulties and secure their futures. We'll hear about his unique approach to referrals, the significance of mentorship, and the profound experiences that shaped his career. Rich’s candid reflections on balancing personal and professional commitments, while emphasizing community support, make this episode a must-listen. Join us as we dive into Rich Younglord’s inspiring journey of leveraging powerful networks, giving back to the community, and leaving a lasting impact across two distinct industries. Takeaways: ·       Working with LL Cool J taught Rich the importance of collaboration and direction. ·       The emotional connection to music production is akin to the joy of parenthood for           Rich. ·       Rich found success in real estate by helping those in financial distress,                          leveraging his music industry connections.                ·       Referrals are a powerful tool in business. Sound Bites: ·       “The importance of adaptability in both music and real estate is a recurring                      theme in Rich's career.” ·       “Helping others, especially seniors, can create meaningful connections.” ·       “Success is not just about individual achievement, but about uplifting others.”  Connect and Discover LinkedIn:           linkedin.com/in/richardyounglord Instagram:        Instagram.com/richyounglord Tik Tok:            @richardyounglord Record Label:  Bad Boy Records Records:           Real G’s Die Hard                           Represent                           End with a KissSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I tell salespeople that all the time. Referrals are the shortest sales cycle you'll ever have. Referrals are real. So always treat people good. Always do the best thing in a situation. Your why might be your kids, but your because is the reason that your kids are your why. And so my because is to always fulfill promises, because I never want to let someone down, right? Like when people depend on you, you never want to let them down. So I think my because is to balance the books. One of the things I love about music producers is this right here, Rich, you

get to work with people that have crazy, cool egos. So what was it like working with Biggie and LL and Beyonce and DMX and all those folks? Well, I'll say this, you know, Toya's B.I.G. didn't listen to anybody. He knew what he was doing and he did it. What's one of the projects you're most proud of? I can't give you one record, but one thing I'm super proud of is growing up. Welcome to MICK UNPLUGGED, where we ignite potential and fuel purpose. Get ready for raw insights, bold moves, and game-changing conversations.

Buckle up, here's Mick. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged. And today's guest is a Grammy nominated producer whose music journey began at 16 years old, shaping what we know of hip hop and R&B with legends like The Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J, Beyoncé, DMX, and so many more. But now he's a successful entrepreneur, he's a legend, and mogul in the real estate game. I want y'all to give it up for my man, Rich Young Lord.

Rich, how you doing today, brother? Hey, what's up, man? How you feeling? Hey, I am trying to live in your shoes, man. I am trying to live in your shoes. Man, so, you know, all those accolades, man, working with so many of the who's who in the hip hop and R&B game, starting at 16, man, like, when did you know

that was gonna be a thing and a part of your journey? Man, I didn't know it was gonna be a part of my journey. You know, when growing up, I remember going to a party, I was probably about 13. My mom had this party and I have a cousin. He went to Harvard Law School and he came back to the party with this girl that he was dating from the law school.

She was up to that point the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. So in my mind, I was like, I got to go to Harvard Law School. That was my plan. And then when I went to high school, I met this girl and I was trying to get her phone number. I was walking her to the bus and after she left, this guy was watching me. He came up to me and said, hey man, is that your girlfriend? I was like, yeah, wishful thinking.

He said, man, you have great taste. He said, are you into music? I was like, yeah, sure. He gave me his card. He said he owned the studio around the corner and I was welcome to come by whenever I want. And I took him up on his offer. And he was a legitimate player in the music business.

He was a great troutman. He had a partner named Tony Doe Factory was also like a prominent producer at the time. And Tony was producing Heavy Bees, Blue Funk album, and Mary J. Blige's remix of the 411 album. And I got to sit in those sessions and then I got the bug. Then it was all about music from then. So it was really right timing.

There you go. Yeah. There you go. So one of the things I love about music producers is this right here, Rich. You get to work with people that have crazy, cool egos. And you, as the producer, have to tell them what to do, right? And sometimes you have to tell them, nah, that ain't it. So what was it like working with Biggie and LL and Beyonce and DMX and all those folks

like at 16 and then them having to listen to you, right? Behind the glass, as we like to say. Well, I'll say this, you know, Toya's B.I.G. didn't listen to anybody. He knew what he was doing and he did it. You know, you just kind of sat and watched with him, especially when I was around him. But LL Cool J, there's a reason why he's been able to stay consistent and be successful is because he encourages direction. He wants to hear your point of view.

He wants to hear what you're thinking to help him. And I think that's what allowed him to have success in so many different decades, is he welcomes that production. And I really appreciated that with him. And he actually taught me so many skills that allowed me to not only produce other great people, but deal with people in life, period. Man, I'm so thankful for my time with him.

And it was, oh man, it was just such a great experience. And then another really cool thing is early on, I got to meet Babyface and I got to sit in a bunch of his sessions when he did his New York sessions for the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack. I got to sit in his sessions and watch how he communicated with the artists. So you see like somebody like Diddy, who was always screaming on people, yelling at people. Babyface is very quiet. He's very cool, but don't let that fool you because the power is still the power. So he'll be calm and he'll whip you. You wouldn't even know you whip, but he didn't raise his voice, but he got the message across and I loved it. And I think that I kind of went that direction.

So let's talk about those two, the lessons and mentorship you got from LL and Babyface. Because LL said something recently, and I totally agree. He probably is the most important person to hip hop or in hip hop. And I would say Babyface is probably the most important person to R&B. So what are a couple of things that you learned from both LL and FACE? All right. So let's start with LL. So we were working on some songs and this one song we wanted KC and JoJo to sing the

hook on. They were hottest fish grease at this time. And they came in the studio and I couldn't give them direction. They would not take direction from me. You know, I would say, hey, I want it done this way. And they wanted to do it a whole different way. And they came in intoxicated,

the total like worst scenario that you can imagine. And LL could see that I was drowning, you know what I'm saying? So he put me to the side, he's like, look, I'm going to show you how to deal with situations like this. He's like, so he was like, sometimes you got to let people express themselves, hear them out, give them a little bit of what they want and have them give you a little bit of what you want and go back and forth until you get everything that you want and then scrap what they want. Once I had that blueprint, it allowed me to do that. Not only with just them, but anybody else who was really stuck in their opinions. A lot of times rappers welcomed direction, artists period

because they don't want to be in there alone. And a lot of times as focused as they are, as successful as they are, these guys have some insecurity sometimes. So they want to be assured. So you got to create that atmosphere where they can totally give you the best that they can. And I learned all of that from LL Cool J. Now, Babyface, which was real cool, and you're right, he is one of the most just influential R&B writers, producers that ever existed. And I got to meet many of them. But what was real cool with him is just his focus and his ability to get what he wanted. And how I met him was in 1995, I was kind of supervising a Faith Evans session at this place called the Hit Factory. And this was a big studio, you know, so at any given time you have a whole bunch of people working

through. At that point, you could knock on the doors and meet people. He came into the faith session just to say hello. I didn't know him, but he's baby face. I'm bugging out and I'm like, hey, I can't think of nuts. I'm like, do you teach? He's like, teach. I just got to start the conversation. I asked him if I could take him to lunch and he was like, you know what? Sure. He said, meet me at the studio at noon. I was there and he didn't come in until about four, but I was still there waiting because I knew he had to come in. Sometimes, I'm sure he meets a

gazillion people. So when he came in, he was surprised, but he allowed me to sit in the sessions and I got to witness him produce, Marry J. Blige's, I'm Not Gonna Cry, Let It Flow with Tony Braxton, the song he did for Faith, I don't remember the title, but a bunch of phenomenal great sessions. And what I got to see is, and I copied this whole formula from then on as far as the way he ran things, but he would do all the backgrounds and then what he would do is he would let the singer, their interpretation about three times, the whole song. Then he would break down certain things that he wanted

and do about another five takes of what he wanted. Then he would comp the vocals to get each line the way he wanted. And that was the first time I saw that. I was like, oh my gosh, that's so cool. Because we at Bad Boy didn't do stuff like that. And it was great. It was great.

So I kind of got to understand, first you need to do all the background vocals to have it there. Do that on a whole separate day so when they come in and do the leads, it's just fresh for them. And then give them direction, but let them express themselves.

And then you come back and hone in on what exactly you want. And how that helped me is when I started, you know, really doing vocals, and I've never been a master vocal producer, but I was able to camouflage that by, you know, just letting them do some really cool things and then becoming a monster comp artist as far as like, you know, tweaking it.

And then thankfully technology changed with Pro Tools and all this stuff. So it made it easier to do so. You know, stuff was a little late. I could move it back. I could really get it the way I hear it in my head. But that comes from face, you know. So I'm so thankful for that experience. That's awesome.

Two legends in the game help shaping you, man. So here's what I know about the super elite producers like yourself, right? So like you and Dre and even like Cool and Dre, like those guys, right? Like Jermaine Dupree, like every great producer has a sound, right? Like, you know a Timberland beat, right? Because it's Timberland, right? Like, you know a Timberland beat, right?

Because it's Timberland, right? Like, you know what Dre beat because he's going to give you something funky in the very beginning, right? Like, you know it's Dre. Like, so for those that don't know, like I know Rich. Like, what's the iconic, like, what's your sound? Like, what's a Rich song?

Like, how do we know it's a Rich song? I think that one thing when I look at my production career, I think it's funny. When I first got with Bad Boy, he didn't like my music. He liked the fact that I made it into the office and I was so young. He said, you know what? You're just idolizing the wrong people. At that time when I got in, it was like Pete Rock and the whole East Coast thing, and he had a different vision.

So I think that as I got to sit in those things, my vision kind of became that. So I think my sound was heavily influenced in what he was doing, what we do in that Bad Boy as a company. He had like a distinct sound as far as like kind of the drums we would use or the placements of the percussions and samples, sample heavy. And then I think I grew into not using samples because it just became very expensive. But I think my sound overall on the hip hop side, the songs that would, I would say would represent my sound is Big Pun.

I did a song called You Ain't a Killer that was his first record, but I loved it because it was like an East Coast mixed with some West Coast vibes and it was hard. So I really loved that kind of vibe. And then there's a song that I did for a new edition called Love Again. I was on the Home Again album. This song was not successful at all, but I felt like there's certain songs when God is in the room, when you can just feel that energy. And I felt like that was one of those songs.

And they were like one of my favorite groups. And I'm like, wow, I got to work with them. So that was cool. But outside of that, there was a record, Come To Me, that was the first single on Diddy's press play album. That was, the sound of it was great. It was like sonically, you know, it was like when you talk about Dre,

his mixes were always great. And I think that that record right there will be one that you can always play forever because of the sonics. Yeah, man. But I'm so thankful to have that experience that creative energy is like, you know, being a part of a great song is one of those feelings that like, it's like one, it's like, you know, my children being born, like how I would feel, you know what I'm saying? Like how I felt when they were born. It's just one of those great feelings. Whenever I hear it on the radio, when you first do it, it's just a great feeling. I'm so thankful I got to have a lot of those feelings.

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So speaking of that, what's one of the projects you're most proud of? What's the one project that you could almost go back to every day and you're just really proud of? Like what's the one project that like you could almost go back to every day and you're just like really proud of that project? I like making Rich think. Yeah, yeah.

Project that I'm proud of. I'm proud of, I would say all of them, but I think the, I have to say, I mean, I guess, I can't give you one record, but one thing I'm super proud of is growing up, even before I thought of doing music, I'm from New York, the Bronx, Molly Moll was like an idol. I got to look up to him, RZA, all those guys, and I got to work with a lot of their artists like Master Ace, I got to work with LL, I got to work with Coogee Rap, and those experiences were real cool. But I think one of the records I'm super excited about is actually a record that's about to

come out next year. It's a record for Ghostface Killer. ghost face killer. And it's weird because I stopped creating full time sometime now, but it's a record that I knew was for him and I sent it to him maybe eight years ago. And then I got a call a few months back, like, yeah, he's ready to do it. I'm like, what? So I think that is real cool. Whenever that is released, it's going to be on this new album that it's, I just like the experience of connecting with the artists and working with, let me say, it's so hard, Big Pun's first single off the second album.

That was one record that was really connected to him because he was a friend and we had success together on his first album. And we were planning to have bigger success on the second album before he passed. And I was just lucky that I got to work with him so closely and then in passing and then that kind of representing and taking the torch for him. But that record, I think I'm very proud of that. I got to be a part of his story, his life. So that is my favorite Big Pum record right there.

And I think it's more just because of a lot of symbolism. He kind of free flows a little bit or ad-libs a little bit. I'm sure I think is ad-lib or free flow, but you probably punched it in like for him, right? But he's like, you know, he just lost weight. He's trying to live, right? Like he's acknowledging things. And then it's like, damn, right? Like that's my favorite pun record by far.

And it's actually something that's in my rotation. You know how you get your Sunday morning, I'm gonna cook breakfast, I need to flow? I usually start with that song, it's usually one or two, just to get me in that groove. So that's by far my favorite pun record, bro. That's cool, yeah, yeah. Working with them, that job, they were cool.

Good people, good people, man. Yes, sir, Yes, sir. So you were a titan in music. You're still a titan in music. But knowing you the way you are, man, you were like, there's more things I can do. Right? Like, I'm a beast at a lot of things. And so you get into the real estate game, man. And all of a sudden, I'm sure it's because the work ethic that you have, the way that you you learn things, right? It's like, let me learn the angles and let me learn the way that people aren't doing things. And what's the way that I can come

in and be rich. You're now you're now a real estate mogul, a real estate beast, a real estate titan. Like, when did real estate become a thing for you? Wow, you know what real estate just like music kind of like accident, you know. But before I even go in there, you know, I want to say I'm really thankful that I met this brother by the name of Clarence Ava who passed about a year year ago and I was able to build a great relationship with him and kind of talk and get some lessons from him. And one thing I learned from him is that you can do anything.

You're not just one mode. You don't have to just do one thing. Because a lot of times as creatives say, oh, I'm a producer. You get that kind of role stuck in your head. I'm a producer. No, that's not all you can do. You can do this, you can do that. And what he kind of taught me was to try things. He's like, something's going to work. Your greatness is in more than one place. You don't know where it's going to do, so you got to try and it's all good. So that always had me with an open mind for anything, you know? And I was able to become really close with this guy.

His name was Oscar Dayes, who I met when I was a teen. He was a manager of this group called the Barrio Boys. And so funny, they were like nothing in the States, but they were like the Jacksons out of the, you know, in Latin America. And what was so revolutionary about him was that he was a black guy, didn't speak any Spanish, and he had the Spanish group he put together, you know?

It was successful. So years later, he said, hey man, you know, you should get into real estate. You should get into flipping houses because you'll do really well in it. And it goes in one ear after the other ear for the most part. I wasn't really thinking about it because I'm in my music zone, but then you got Mr. Avott's lessons always running through my head. So I said, oh, okay, okay. So one day I went with him to a closing and

on this particular deal, he made $300,000. I'm like, what just happened? He didn't rob nobody. He didn't have to... Like in music, for you to make that money, so many stars have to line up at the same time. And it's totally out of your control. But this, it's a little bit more, you can kind of ensure things happen. And I'm like, what just happened? So after that, I kept, I was like, going up to his house and like, so he kind of explained to me and what flipping that, the concept of it. And the way to do it was, I guess,

left to your own individual formula to create. But I found that I did in fact have a unique way to do it because I was in the music business. In the music business, a lot of my contemporaries, some years we make a ton of money, and then the next year we might not make the same amount of money. Some guys are still spending like the year before, and that's how you get into financial trouble. So, hey, if you're in trouble, let me do a short sale on your house. You know what I'm saying? And I'll make sure you make some money too, and everybody's happy.

And then also with music, a lot of guys get divorced. And a lot of times, so one or two things happen when they get divorced. One, they have to sell the house. And then two, the wife gets the house. And in that situation, she's going to need to sell at some point because without the husband, chances are she can't handle the overhead that comes with the house. It's just a matter of time. You know what I'm saying? So I was interjecting myself into those situations and became known as a person that could help you in those situations.

And that started me off and running and not just like small houses, like big houses and big divorces and big this. Yeah, that started me in a game. And then once you get comfortable with it, show yourself. And then I started doing three houses at a time, five houses at a time, which you build a team. But it was a lot because I never was the person to pick up a hammer. I didn't know anything about that world. So I felt that that's one way

that I can get taken advantage of. So thankfully there were YouTube. I would kind of create my scope of work, work that watched on YouTube everything that needed to be done so I could communicate clearly with people on what needed to be done, how long it would take, how much it would cost, what materials were needed. I could tell if somebody was on the point based upon what I see on YouTube. It took a while until I built my team. But once I got that, we were on the poppin' man.

That's what's up, that's what's up man. So Rich, on Mick Unplugged, we talk about our because, our purpose, that theme that drives us, that's deeper than your why, right? Your why might be your kids, but your because is the reason that your kids are your why. And so for me, my because is simple. It's a promise. When I was 10, I made a promise to my mom. When I had kids and married, I made promises to my spouse. I made promises to my kids.

And so my because is to always fulfill promises because I never want to let someone down, right? Like when people depend on you, you never want to let them down. So every day I make sure I'm fulfilling the promises and keeping the promises that I said I was going to do. Right now, does it happen every day? No, but like I make sure that that's the focal point of the things that I do.

So for the listeners and viewers, man, like I'd love to know what is Rich's because? I think my because is to balance the books. And let me explain that. I feel that in my life, I've been blessed with so much love, support and teachings that, you know, like I'm not going to say that, like, hey, I'm a super smart

person, just get this. I've been tutored. I've been mentored. I've been helped so much that allowed me to do these things. There's so many people that poured into me. It's not even funny. And so my whole thing of balancing the books is make sure that I'm able to do the same thing, do the same thing for my kids that my parents did for me, which was a lot. Do the same thing for random people that have done for me. It's so much. So man, my life is like, it seemed random at the time, but now, you know, high-entitled 2020, I could see that I was moved into certain positions to meet certain people, to get certain things.

And, you know, when something, let's say, doesn't go right or something like that, it's not, I'm never like upset about, let's say, if I lose money on trying something on a venture or something like that. It's more disappointing on the people who pour it into me, that being able to do right with what they gave me. I'm so blessed with those people. So kind of balancing the books, and in order for me to balance the books, I have to have the quote unquote success or the resources to do that. So yeah, my parents gave me a great experience as a kid, so I want my children to have the same

thing. My parents, when I first made the decision, I wanted to get into the music thing, my parents really weren't messing with me because I used to flip flop from idea to idea. But once they saw, once I was able to prove to them that this was it, they came through big time and by helping me with equipment. I give you an example. I had this one machine, that's the 1200, which was the machine at the time, but it was just one machine. I needed more. So one day my father went in to get a lotto ticket and he came out and I'm like, man, why'd you get that lotto ticket? I'm getting a lotto ticket. I start hitting him in the head and two of my brothers were

with me and they joined in and started hitting him in the head too on my behalf. And we hit them in the head so hard that he took me to Sam Ash, which is like the guitar center in New York. He said, get whatever you need to compete. Don't worry about the price. Get whatever you need to compete. And man, it felt like Christmas, man. It was Christmas. We came home, my mother was like, what the hell? You know what I'm saying? Cause you know, I came with all this stuff, spent all this money, I'm sure wasn't in their budget.

But a, you know, him doing that, and then maybe about, it was like a month later that I got with that boy and I was able to recoup that. But him pouring into my vision, my dream like that, it's like, so I have to be able to pour into my children's vision. Yeah. To, I want to do that.

I want to help. I just want to be a resource for people to help so I can balance the books because I'm not, this is not me. Me being here, all of these records is not me at all. I'm telling you, it's a collection of people that have poured into me. So I just want to be able to balance the books. That's my whole thing. I love that, man. I love that. And I know that you my whole thing. I love that, man.

I love that. And I know that you live that too. For those that are listening or watching, those aren't just words from Rich. He really lives that so much so. Rich, we've been talking a little offline and you were telling me one of the things that I don't want to say is surprising you, but this niche that you have, and I'm sure it's coming from your heart, is helping senior citizens with real estate

and how to navigate where they're at now too. So I'd love for you to take just a few moments and talk about that passion that you, again, as you've been saying throughout the day, you just kind of, it just happens, right? Like you didn't go seek it, it just happened. Right, so that just happened as well, you know? So what, you know, when Flippin' Houses, of course I have my music niche, but that, you know, like

I'm trying to do multiple deals. So I'm doing all types of marketing. And one of the marketing that worked, one piece market that worked at the time really good for me with bandit signs. And I put bandit signs near hospitals or just major intersections. And one day I got a call from this woman and her name is Miss Babette, her name was Miss Babette. And she was a 75 year old Jewish woman. And I went and met with her. She wanted to sell her house. And we worked out a great price. We're ready to go. Then I do my little research and she doesn't own the house. And the reason why she doesn't own the house is because it's her mother's house. And her mother had just died maybe four or five months ago at this point. So I was like, okay, well, she had a brother who died. And so I'm like, okay, you just have to become the administrator

and all that stuff. Seemed like an easy process. I set it up. And during this process, instead of it taking a few months, it ended up taking two years. During this time, this woman would call me and she would ask me to take her to the supermarket, take her different small things. But the deal that we worked out was so good. I'm taking her to the supermarket. It's not a problem. good. I'm taking it to the supermarket. It's not a problem. I'm having somebody deliver something. It's not a problem." So through that, we got to talk many times and just have good conversations. One day she called me and she was like, Rich, what is taking so long? I want to sell this house. She's like, my friend, let's change the name to protect the innocent. Let's say my friend John doesn't believe me that I'm gonna sell the house.

I keep telling him to sell the house. I was like, your friend John. So I said, well, let me meet this friend John, right? Because it sounded, I asked her a few questions. He's in his late 50s. I just, she's under my care. You know what I'm saying? Even though we're doing the deal,

I'm seeing she doesn't have a lot of family and I'm just hearing this. I want to see, make sure that he's not taking care of her. And I met him and they were friends and he was actually, he had a whole family. She was friends with the whole family, I guess, but she had given them some money or something like that. And what I realized is that when an older person is connected with somebody, there's

nothing that I can necessarily do but keep an eye out on what's going on and try to make sure everything is on point. So I would kind of just make sure that I would be involved a little bit more and that that family ended up moving in with her. So the process took like two years. And what we found out the problem was, is that once she, her mother died, so that it was being held up by the nursing home, that once she, her mother died, so it was being held up by the nursing home. The nursing home that her mother was in, they wanted their money. They were owed some money and they didn't believe that they would, if she was the head of the state, that they would get their money because once her mother died, she took out $300,000 from

her mother's account. I said, Ms. Babbitt, what did you do with this money? She's like, I went on a vacation, I had to buy a few things. That money, $300,000 just don't disappear. So I'm thinking maybe she hid it in the walls or something, or maybe she gave it to her friends. We don't know. So once she, we got, I had to pledge payment, you know, I guaranteed the payment, let her become the administrator. And of course, you know, yeah, I'm buying a house, you know, I'm not, I'll make sure they get the money. So once she becomes administrator, we go into our mom's safety deposit box, we find out the mother has like over a million dollars in bonds in the safety deposit box.

Wow. So she's happy since I get them a new place. The family moves with her. They clearly kind of try to take advantage, but there's nothing I can't do except make sure that she has full control and that she's making decisions that she wants to do. So the day, no, maybe about a week after I get her the new place, maybe about three days

before we're supposed to close on me purchasing the house, she goes into a coma. And she, it's like, they're like, yo, call the family, she ain't coming back. I'm like, oh, because I invested lots of funds, but even beyond that, at this point, I've gotten to know this woman and she's a friend. So I go to the hospital and they're like, highly unlikely she comes out of this. But maybe about three weeks after she comes out of the coma, miraculously.

So I'm like, wow, during this time, the family that she took in, they are trying to become the administrators of the estate to take control of the funds and everything like that. And so when she comes back, she's like, you know, I want to sell you the house. You know, she's real like, you know, we're really tight, you know?

Yeah. And we set up to do the closing in the hospital and the attorneys got to come to the hospital, everything. And the day before that happened, she goes back into her home. Wow. She comes out and as I say to her, I say, look, I say, if you're coming back to sell me this house,

don't worry about me, I'll be all right. Do what you gotta do. Like go on whatever path you have to go on. And then the next day she passed. So that family, like I said, they're trying to get the estate. But what was real cool is I remembered all of those times that we spoke and she was telling me she had a brother who had two daughters that she hasn't spoke to in 30 years. And I remember her telling me about them. So I hired a private investigator and I found them. And so what that did was that stopped the friends from getting the estate and I was in her

nieces, family, and they agreed to honor the contract that she signed and I still, I was able to purchase the house and they were able to get that money and it was kept in front, you know, within the family. So I said, wow, man, I was an inexperienced. And then, you know, I also started working with another senior from a sign, this is all from Bandit Science, because seniors are old school, they're not on the internet. They're not like that. So they they sell a house, I need to sell a house. So this woman, she was older and she felt that one of her tenants was taking advantage of her. So she had all these problems with the house, the town told her to get out of the house and she wanted to just rid herself of the situation. So I'm looking at everything and I'm like, well, the best way to do it is a short sale.

But she was an older woman who's proud that she makes all the payments. And I'm like, you can't live here. You can't stop making these payments. And I had to get her kids involved because one thing I don't ever like to work with seniors by themselves, I wouldn't work with children by themselves. I want families to be involved because I'm not going to take a venture, but I want them to know that as well. It's just a family thing.

We were able to get her out of that situation and I took care of all of the liens and all of that stuff and was able to get the house. But a lot of times that happens where the fines for certain things, violations, they don't understand how to take care of it. And then sometimes, you know, the family just, it's time for them to downsize and go to like an assisted living facility or something like that. So a lot of times I would help facilitate that, find a place and do all of that work to get them in a place and then, you know, sell the house and, you know, do all that stuff. So I became, I guess, just by accident,

by my way of marketing, the old school marketing that I would end up working with a lot of seniors. So I kind of created a system to help them, help them understand with their level of understanding. And what I mean by that is not that they're stupid or anything, but instead of having everything online, which we do, but have some stuff on paper. They need to touch and feel things and have the patience to explain the process and really make moves within their best interest. So I'll give you an example. One lady called me, she wanted to get rid of her house. She had a lot of stairs. It was one of them townhouses

kind of things. It was a bunch of stairs and she felt that she wasn't going to be able to do the stairs for much longer. But she was almost done paying it off. And now rents anywhere are just super high. And I was like, look, you have to stay here. Let's, I'll help you. Shoot, I'll even front the cash and you can pay me back monthly to get you one of them elevated things. Just because there's,

the money you get from selling this house, even if we sell it to somebody for retail, in today's wrench it's gonna last you maybe three years. And then you're done. She was like in her late 60s, you still have a lot more life to live. And you need to be flexible with what you can do when you need to do it.

And right now, a mortgage and maintenance, maybe like $1,400, you're not going to get that anywhere, not even in senior housing, which is backed up forever. So and I just felt like, all right, you got to stay here. What do you need to do to stay here? So once I said, wow, man, I gotta get some information out there to let them understand, because I understand she wants a place, such condo, she lives in an elevator, but with that, you can't control the expenses

like you can within a home that you have. So sometimes they need to stay. That has become a way for me to find leads that nobody wants to deal with because a lot of people don't have patience. I don't want to take the time to deal with that, but it's also become a way for me to then balance the books and help out because that's how I would want to be treated or how I want my parents treated.

And you gotta push it forward. So I'm happy that I'm able to do that and help that community specifically. And I'm glad that I don't, I'm in a position where I'm not desperate for dollars where I have to take every dealer, every situation has to become a deal for me where I can truly put the situation and people first and see what's the best route

for everyone involved. The book balancer himself. Rich man, I appreciate you so much, man. You blessed us with some time today, dropped some wisdom and some knowledge. One of the people I've looked up to for a long time, so I'm honored to have you on here, man. Like this has been a bucket list for me.

So I appreciate you brother. Well, thanks for having me. And for all of the people that listen to your show that are in the beginning of their flipping career or in the middle, you know, I just wanna tell you that referrals are real. So always treat people good. Always do the best thing in a situation

because even if the deal can't work and you do what's best for the seller's situation, they will spread the word. Because everybody knows somebody that's in trouble and a personal referral is 100 times more powerful than any letter you can send or any type of advertising that you can have. That is something else. It guarantees deals. So I would say at the beginning of your flipping career, look at how you can help more people when the deals will come, period. Dude, I tell salespeople that all the time.

Referrals are the shortest sales cycle you'll ever have. The absolute shortest sales cycle you'll ever have. So I support that a thousand percent. Rich, man, where can people follow and find you? We'll make sure we have all this in the descriptions and show notes. Oh man, you can definitely find me on Instagram at Rich Younglord, at Instagram or Facebook,

but also you can check out likeagenius.com, where I kind of give a bunch of tips for flipping and stuff like that. And if you have seniors that need any help for any reason, you can email me directly at rich at likeagenius.io. And so hit me up and if there's any way I can help any of you guys move forward, be successful,

please, please give me more opportunities to help and balance the books. I love that, man. I love that so much. Thank you again, Rich, and for all the listeners and viewers, remember, your because is your superpower. Go unleash it. Thank you for tuning in to MICK Unplugged. Keep pushing your limits, embracing your purpose, and chasing greatness. Until next time, stay unstoppable.