#232 - How He Got Approved For Land Being Self Employed with Mike Cantrall

Welcome to the land podcast, a platform for people looking to educate themselves in the world of land ownership, land investing, staying up to date with current land trends in the Midwest, and hearing from industry experts and professionals. On today's episode, we are back in the studio with Mike Cantrall. We discuss: Why two years of house-loan rejections came down to being newly self-employed and a DTI formula. How Mike found a lender who looks at the whole financial picture instead of a W-2. The Roth IRA withdrawal that covered his down payment when income alone wouldn't get him approved. Going self-employed with no college degree, no plan, and two deer dropped off at a friend's shop. Why the pressure of working for yourself is what finally forced him to figure out land ownership. How he got pre-approved first, and had a landowner call him about 40 acres the very next day. Buying, improving, and selling his first farm inside four months — and why he skipped the 1031. Why he walked away from a 500-acre lease that cost about what a farm payment does. What a permanent CREP easement restricts, plus the DNR visit that comes with owning one. Why two used car payments a month is roughly the cost of a small farm. And so much more! Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:00 Starting a Taxidermy Business 04:19 Financing Land While Self-Employed 10:46 Mindset for Land Ownership 13:56 First Farm Purchase Strategy 17:40 Leasing Versus Owning Land 22:25 Rapid Farm Transactions 30:31 1031 Exchange Lessons 34:43 Reflections and Lessons Learned 41:26 Future Plans and CREP 50:37 The Home Building Challenge 53:05 Final Advice and Outro Thanks again for all of the support from our partners—none of this would've been possible without them! Buck Land Funding: https://www.firstbankers.com/bucklandfunding Hawke Optics | Use Code WHTL for 15% off: https://bit.ly/hawkeoptics_ OnX: https://bit.ly/onX_Hunt Painted Arrow: bit.ly/PaintedArrow Latitude Outdoors: https://www.latitudeoutdoors.com/ Whitetail Master Academy https://www.whitetailmasteracademy.com Use code 'HOFER' to save 10% off at www.theprairiefarm.com Massive potential tax savings: ASMLABS.Net