The Land Deal That Cost Heber Perez $70K

Heber Perez began his land investing journey in November 2020 after listening to a Seth Ari Tivster podcast about a young millionaire selling land. He was inspired by the idea that 'if they can do it, I can do it' and reached out to Armand Primji, who mentored him for several months. His first deal netted him $36,000—his entire annual UPS salary as an engineering specialist—from a property contracted at $100,000 and sold for over $150,000, which gave him confidence to continue.

Initially attempting direct mail in Texas yielded poor results, so Perez shifted to Washington state and found success. He eventually focused exclusively on five counties in Washington across two states, building a team of reliable realtors, surveyors, and soil scientists. His marketing strategy consists of sending blind offers via direct mail approximately every two months, distributing 5,000-7,000 letters per mailer, which typically results in one to two properties under contract per mailer.

2023 was Heber's worst year, coinciding with his decision to leave UPS to focus on land full-time and a significant market downturn. He adapted by pivoting to a new state where he successfully rebuilt his realtor network and business. He intentionally avoided changing his basic one-page blind offer letter format throughout his entire five-year career, believing simplicity and the speed of his response calls back to sellers differentiate him from competitors.

A major setback occurred early in his career when he partnered with a well-known land company on a deal that netted him approximately $70,000. After closing and selling the property, the partner ghosted him entirely, refusing contact about the profit split. The partner never signed the partnership agreement Heber possessed—a critical error he made due to inexperience and misplaced trust. Multiple attorneys advised that litigation would cost $50,000-$100,000 to recover $70,000, so Perez accepted the loss as a lesson learned and moved forward.

This year, Perez is experimenting with neutral letters (as opposed to blind offers) and has received significantly more calls but struggled to keep up with the volume. He is also exploring on-market deals and subdivision strategies, having successfully subdivided properties and recontracted them at higher prices. He plans to hire his first employee soon to handle the increased call volume from neutral letter campaigns.

Heber credits strong realtor relationships as critical to his success, finding them through systematic outreach—emailing the ten best-reviewed realtors in a target area, calling those who respond, and choosing the most eager. He collaborates closely with realtors on market selection, pricing, property evaluation, and listing. He asks realtors for property leads before sending new mailers, which has become increasingly productive.

Regarding events and networking, Perez emphasizes that attending smaller, more intimate gatherings with land investors provides significantly more value than large conferences. He highlights the Land Unconference and hog hunting events as particularly impactful experiences that motivate him and create lasting friendships within the industry. He prefers breakout-style events where meaningful conversations occur despite larger overall attendance.

Moving forward, Perez plans to focus increasingly on subdivision deals as his path to growth, as they allow him to maintain his solo operation while increasing deal sizes and profit margins. His overall philosophy centers on focus, specialization, and never giving up despite failures—with direct mail sending 5,000 letters hoping for one deal means accepting frequent rejection as normal.