In this episode of the The Gordian Knot, Rick is interviewing Bruce Norris. Rick and Bruce talk about Bruce’s early years as a real estate speculator, the Norris Group’s role in funding fix and flip real estate investors and some of of his own experiences in the California real estate market.
Find out about Bruce’s experience with his own 700+ property investments and his predictions for the California real estate market.
What kind of customers do you usually work with?
Bruce was a house flipper himself which was how he got started in teaching his methods to a variety of people. He eventually got into the loan business because he was borrowing a lot of money each month to fund his flipping business.
The first time Bruce went to the club he eventually started speaking at, the first thing that Jack Fullerton said was “anyone that says they can flip houses for a profit immediately after buying them is lying.” Bruce took a hundred pictures of the properties he had flipped and itemized the numbers to show him it was possible. He eventually ended up speaking to the group about his process.
Bruce’s typical clients are the people who hustle around to find whatever properties they can to buy and flip. These clients figure out how to buy and sell wholesale deals at least 20 times a month.
Around 1995, Bruce realized that he didn’t know how to get out of the way of a cycle and keep his investments safe. He collected all the date from 1970 to 1995 that might be able to predict the price of real estate and he wrote a report that got the direction and timing of the future market remarkably close.
Do you have any predictions for the market?
Bruce has noticed that the people that listen to him are either really excited or really afraid. People are very concerned about a future downturn in the market, but Bruce believes the elements that contribute to a crash are not currently present.
It all boils down to a ratio of foreclosures that have to occur. The number of foreclosures are the tipping point that can crash the market. At this point, this is one of the first real estate booms where the majority of people have a stable mortgage and their equity intact.
Bruce relates a story of the single best real estate deal that he’d ever seen. He managed to buy 93 lots and sell them with a lot cost of 1% of the project.
Have you had some crazy title puzzles?
Bruce typically doesn’t deal with title problems, the majority of his problems involve people. The personalities and foibles of dysfunctional people are what usually get in the way. The houses don’t care, people do.
Bruce tells the story of Mrs. Grey, a hoarder with an incredibly dysfunctional family. The story ends with Bruce driving a truck down an embankment at a 40 degree angle to escape a potentially dangerous encounter.
What is your biggest strength that surprises people?
The best compliment Bruce has ever gotten in business was from Mike Kantu. Bruce asked Mike what word the Norris Group had captured. A couple days later, Mike calls up Bruce and tells him that the word is ‘integrity’. Mike said he would have been willing to play high stakes poker over the phone with any of Bruce’s employees and if he was told that he lost, he’d have no problem paying up.
What gets you up on a Monday morning?
Bruce gets excited about working with a group and discovering the next a-ha moment when looking at a chart. Being able to control your circumstances enough to know that you won’t be surprised again is a great comfort.
Links To Resources Mentioned
951-780-5856
thenorrisgroup.com
tngtrustdeeds.com
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