The Best Ever CRE Show JF 4038: Building a Scalable Land Business, Managing Risk and Raising Capital ft. Mark Podolsky
Sep 24, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Mark Podolsky, founder of The Land Geek, reveals his journey from burnt-out investment banker to land investing expert with over 6,500 transactions. He shares his strategy of buying rural land at deep discounts and generating passive income through seller-financed notes. Mark elaborates on how he built systems to scale his business, the importance of risk management, and why he prefers many small deals over large projects. Lastly, he highlights his commitment to educating new investors and offers turnkey programs for busy professionals.
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Quit Banking After Early Land Wins
- Mark left a miserable investment banking job after learning land auctions and flipped lots for large cash wins early on.
- He scaled from $3,000 saved to quitting once land income exceeded his banker salary after 18 months.
Land's Superior Risk-Reward For Him
- Mark stuck with raw land because its risk-reward and time leverage outranked other asset classes for him.
- He buys cheap, flips, and offers seller-financing to create recurring passive income without property management headaches.
Buy Pre-Auction With Data-Driven Offers
- Use lists and automated scrubs to acquire pre-auction land and avoid competitive auctions.
- Price offers by assessor value rules (e.g., divide comps by four) and expect ~3–5% response, ~1% close rate.
