Logan Fullmer | The Closers Podcast #9

Logan Fulmer, operating a distressed property acquisition (DPA) business with $40M in inventory across 200-225 properties, discusses how he scaled from a solo operation to a multi-partner enterprise. His business model involves six JV partnerships operating as separate LLCs, each with 50/50 ownership splits, handling their own deal generation while benefiting from shared back-office resources (legal, accounting, project management). Fulmer emphasizes that different partners operate successfully with different personalities and skill sets—ranging from lifestyle-focused operators making $1-2M annually to high-efficiency, detail-oriented operators generating significantly higher volumes. He stresses the importance of cash conversion cycles, explaining that recovering capital quickly (120-130 days currently) allows for re-deployment and compounding returns, prioritizing velocity of capital over margin size.

On hiring and team building, Fulmer advocates aggressively for A-players only, implementing a framework that defines A players as those who take ownership, keep commitments, and show up on time, versus B and C players who may be dependable but lack ownership or consistently underperform. He increased minimum starting pay to $60K-$80K for coordinator-level positions, specifically targeting high-IQ candidates with 3.5+ GPAs from quality schools, preferably early-career hires who are bright and trainable rather than experienced but unmotivated. After identifying that C-players were dragging down team performance, he gave a 90-day ultimatum resulting in three firings, which dramatically improved office energy and initiative. For acquisition managers, he recommends $4K base monthly salary for first four months, then commission-based compensation ranging 10-20% depending on resources available, typically resulting in total compensation of $70K-$250K annually.

Fulmer discusses common title defects including chains of title breaks from probate issues, tax delinquency, death and heirship situations, and multiple ownership conflicts. He shares specific strategies for solving these, including validating whether judgments and liens actually attach to the correct person (many don't), checking statutory lifespans of judgments (often overlooked by title companies), and researching 50 years of adjacent property transactions to find hidden easements. For landlocked properties, he outlines a systematic approach: deep dive into land records for 50 years, attempt neighbor easement purchases, identify the property that caused the lockdown through deed research, and if necessary, pursue one of four common-law remedies (implied easement, easement by estoppel, easement by necessity) through litigation budgeted at $20K-$30K over 12-18 months.

On AI implementation, Fulmer cautions against the 'slop in, slop out' trap—emphasizing that AI executes what you tell it but won't think strategically for you. He notes that many operators waste weeks building custom platforms that replicate $149/month software, distracting from actual deal generation. In his coaching business, however, AI has proven transformative for tracking, attribution, and optimization—using tools like Victor AI to transcribe calls, identify offer acceptance rates, and attribute performance back to specific ad campaigns and creative. This allows sophisticated measurement showing that higher-cost campaigns sometimes have better conversion rates (1 in 3 vs 1 in 10), enabling counter-intuitive budget allocation decisions. He emphasizes hiring specialists to build and manage AI tools while core business leaders focus on generating revenue.

Personally, Fulmer describes himself as a recovered drug addict (14 years sober) driven by proving his worth to a deceased father who told him he wasn't good enough. He's restructured his work to operate Monday-Thursday intensively (7:30 AM-5:00 PM) while maintaining three-day weekends for family time, claiming higher output in fewer hours. He intentionally parents differently than he was raised—avoiding yelling, providing affirmations his father never gave, while also manufacturing some stress and challenge for his son to build resilience. The overarching theme emphasizes execution over theory, building for scale rather than comfort, and maintaining long-term partnerships through sacrifice and genuine care for partners' success.