The One Trait Behind My Real Estate Success

Do you get a genuine thrill from finding a great deal? I’m not just talking about a casual appreciation for a sale. I mean, are you the person who will visit a store multiple times, eyeing that one item you want, just waiting for the price to drop before you even think about buying it?

Have you ever haggled so effectively with a car salesman that he muttered under his breath while finally accepting an offer he swore was impossible? Or driven an hour out of your way to an outlet mall just to get something for half the price you’d pay locally? If any of that sounds familiar, you understand the rush of the chase. It’s that feeling of victory, knowing you were smarter than the average person who paid full price. For me, that feeling is almost like a drug, and I’m a total deal junkie.

I bring this up because I’m convinced that to succeed in the land business—or real estate in general—you have to truly live for finding a good deal. It’s the foundation of almost all wealth. The old saying “Buy low, sell high” is as true today as it was for ancient merchants. It’s the core principle behind how Warren Buffett, Donald Trump, and Sam Walton all built their fortunes. They all mastered the art of buying for less and selling for more.

Learning to Never Overpay

This lesson was drilled into me by my dad, who was a wholesale grocer. I remember standing in a supermarket line with him and my mom, holding a pack of Wrigley’s Spearmint gum. “Put that down,” he told me. When I protested, he explained, “They’re charging a dollar for that. I pay 40 cents for the same pack and sell it to the store for 60 cents. No son of mine is paying a dollar for gum!”

I sheepishly put it back. My dad’s pride, and my mom’s for that matter, was built on never paying retail. While it meant I went without a lot of gum as a kid, it gave me a priceless gift: the core investing principle to . This is the key to creating what can become one of the .

This is so critical because, as another old saying goes, “Money is made on the buy.” To turn a profit, you have to keep your initial costs as low as possible. This creates your margin—the space between what you paid and what you sell for. The bigger the margin, the bigger the profit. Even if you make a product yourself, you’re in trouble if your costs for materials and time are too high for what the market is willing to pay. This is where a nose for a good deal becomes your superpower when .

From Theory to a Real-Life Gamble

If you didn’t grow up clipping coupons, don’t worry. The joy of the chase is a skill you can learn, and once you get it, it’s with you for life. After you make your first few hundred dollars from a , your entire perspective shifts.

My journey started when a friend, Jeran, and I drove out to a land auction. As we pulled into the parking lot, my stomach dropped. The place looked like a dusty, forgotten town from a Clint Eastwood movie. “Am I really doing this?” I thought. Walking toward the auction hall, I decided I was out. There was no way I was buying property in this desolate landscape. I was just going to watch my friend make a fool of himself.

Forty-five seconds later, I was back in. We walked into the auction hall, and the thrill of the chase ignited inside me. The room was nearly empty. I saw about twenty locals who didn’t look like serious competition. I’d expected a room full of cigar-smoking “land sharks,” but this was a welcome surprise. My heart started pounding as the auctioneer began.

With a minimum bid of $150 for a half-acre parcel, I had already told myself I wouldn’t spend more than $300. As my sweaty palms raised my hand, I rationalized the risk. What’s the worst that could happen? I’d own a piece of land. It’s a real asset. Maybe one day I could make a few hundred bucks on it. By the time it was over, I, Mark Podolsky from Scottsdale, owned a sizable chunk of raw land in Deming, New Mexico—a place I’d never even seen before. “What have I done?” I asked my friend.

The Payoff That Changed Everything

We bought some maps, took a few pictures of the rocky, dirt-filled landscape, and I headed home. The next day, with shaking hands, I listed my new properties on eBay for a seven-day auction, starting at just one dollar. All I could hear was my wife’s voice in my head: “Mark, we needed that $3,000 for car repairs!” I felt like a gambler who had just bet our life savings on a single spin of the roulette wheel.

That feeling didn't last. In just thirty days, all ten parcels sold for $1,000 each, plus a $199 recording fee. I had just made a 300% return on my investment—$8,990 in pure profit. I can’t describe the high. It was like every holiday rolled into one. I was completely hooked.

I needed more. A month later, at another auction in southern Arizona, the room was even emptier. This time, we were buying properties for as little as $5. I bought ninety of them. Over the next six months, I sold them all and made over $92,000. My life was never going to be the same. The dream of having a was becoming a reality.

From Side Hustle to Full-Time Freedom

I was still as an investment banker, a job that was draining my soul. But now, my part-time land flipping income was making a huge difference. One Saturday morning, I told my wife, “Honey, I’ve decided to quit my job.”

Time froze. She looked at me with a mix of shock and anger that every married person recognizes. “Absolutely not,” she said.

Fast-forward eighteen months. I was still miserable at my day job, but there was one huge difference: my income from the land had officially surpassed my investment banking salary. That journey from freedom was now within reach, all because I learned to embrace the thrill of the chase. And while that mindset was the key that unlocked the door, it was also just the beginning.