How He Lost $400K on Fix and Flips and Bought a $500K Home for $9K Using Creative Finance - Jose Cortes

What does it actually cost to learn real estate the hard way — and what can you build after? Jose Cortes, 22-year Air Force veteran turned real estate investor and private lender, gets brutally honest about losing $400K across three fix and flip projects, winning an 18-month court battle, and coming out the other side buying a $500K home in Texas for just $9K using subject-to creative finance.What we cover:From wholesaling and Airbnb arbitrage to lending — Jose's full journeyHow a bad contractor cost him $400K and an 18-month lawsuitWhy out-of-state investing fails without true boots on the groundThe Sub-2 deal: acquiring a $500K home for $9K at a 2.765% interest rateCreative deal structure: helping a seller avoid tax sale using an LLC membershipHow he underwrites every deal with a 25% "war chest" for unforeseen expensesCross-collateralization explained simply — how to protect private lendersWhy he always underwrite to long-term rental — even for Airbnb or co-livingHow to show up to networking events with value, not a handoutWhat success looks like now: generational wealth, housing vets, and giving backAbout Jose Cortes:Jose is a 22-year Air Force veteran, real estate investor, and private lender based in Colorado. He runs free weekly deal underwriting office hours every Tuesday at 6 PM Eastern and leads the Deal Execution Lab community on School.com.Chapters:00:54 - Intro + who Jose is02:24 - How Jose got into real estate (starting at 19)06:08 - The bad contractor who cost him everything08:26 - 22 years in the Air Force — IT career and transition11:26 - Pivoting to private lending and transactional funding17:23 - Free Tuesday underwriting office hours18:30 - Creative deal: helping a seller avoid tax sale with LLC structure27:41 - The deal that changed everything — $400K loss in Minnesota37:42 - How he evaluates risk differently now38:15 - Sub-2 deal: $500K Texas home acquired for $9K at 2.765%40:55 - The divorce deal breakdown — zero out of pocket, 50% ownership43:16 - What he had to let go of to grow: embracing failure46:43 - Where to start in real estate if you feel overwhelmed51:25 - Don't show up to networking with your hand out53:17 - What success looks like now57:23 - How he handles stress when the stakes are high1:00:00 - Conservative underwriting: the 25% war chest strategy1:05:24 - Should buyers or sellers handle repairs at closing?1:07:20 - How to structure offers with the seller's situation in mind1:09:21 - Stop being the bottleneck — emulate what's working1:13:21 - Where to find Jose + free underwriting Zoom🔧 Tools & Resources 🔧Some links may be affiliate partnerships.📊 Jose's free deal underwriting (Tuesdays 6PM ET): DM on IG or Facebook🏫 Deal Execution Lab: school.com — search Deal Execution Lab📺 YouTube: Good, Bad & Ugly of Real Estate with Jose Cortes📱 Instagram: @JosePurposeOverProfits📧 Email: [email protected]💸 Deal Funding 360: app.dealfunding360.com/?ref=EdgarSalgado💤 Eight Sleep: https://refer.eight.sl/edgardsalgado🏢 Prime Corporate Services: https://primecorporateservices.com/?_...🏦 Foundational Funding: https://foundationalfunding.com/fundi...🛠️ Edgar's tools: https://linktr.ee/EdgartheConnector🔌 Don't forget to 👍 like, 💬 comment, 🔔 subscribe, and share!Instagram: @edgartheconnector | TikTok: @edgarsrei🚧 DISCLAIMER 🚧Not a CPA, attorney, insurance, contractor, lender, or financial advisor. Content is not tax, legal, financial, or other professional advice. For entertainment purposes ONLY.