Gokce Capital offers high quality properties at reasonable prices by sidestepping brokers and middlemen. We recently interviewed Gokce Capital founder Erika Benson.
Please describe your journey as an entrepreneur so far.
Just as a quick introduction, our company is Gokce Capital LLC, a real estate firm that specializes in rural vacant land. The company was started in 2018 by my partner, Abi, and I when we realized that land investing could be a lucrative business. Since I had previously worked in real estate finance and Abi works in finance and software development, it was also a business that nicely complemented our existing skill sets. So, we set aside some of our savings, combined our skill sets and, from there, we grew!
One of our first big breakthroughs came when we started making YouTube videos on each of our properties. These videos generated a lot of interest and really helped us grow our sales arm by marketing to out-of-state buyers.
Our second breakthrough came when we introduced our suite of promotions, which now include our:
- Free Land Giveaway
- Free Vacation Giveaway
- Free Swag Giveaway
Most recently, we also introduced the Gokce Investor Series on our YouTube channel and free 15-minute consultation calls for fellow land investors.
What was the biggest challenge you faced while growing your business?
The biggest challenge was building the sales arm of our company. Rural vacant land can sit for a long time, unless you have an established buyer’s list and know how to reach out-of-state buyers. As I mentioned above, one of the biggest tools we discovered to help us with sales was our YouTube channel, which we have found to be a very useful medium for land sales. YouTube works very well for our industry because we can pack a lot of information in one video and show images of our properties. It also helps us build a long-term buyers list.
Tell us more about how you came up with Gokce Capital?
We talked a bit about this in our first video for our Gokce Investor Series. With our combined backgrounds in finance and real estate, we knew real estate investing was a natural fit for us, but we were having trouble finding the right niche. Then, one night, we were watching a Netflix show called, “World’s Most Extraordinary Homes,” which featured a bunker house that was built on rural land the builder had purchased on Craigslist. We were so surprised that land could be acquired this way that we looked up rural land investing and ultimately went down a rabbit-hole that led to Gokce Capital.
How does Gokce Capital solve the problems of property sellers?
Gokce Capital focuses on buying rural vacant land from those who no longer have a use for it. We buy land with cash and pay all closing costs. What we provide is a quick path to disposing of property that is no longer a benefit to its current owner.
We remove the headache of the traditional real estate process by sidestepping brokers and middlemen. By purchasing with cash, we also provide much-needed liquidity to a market that is under-capitalized. Most banks will not provide mortgages for smaller parcels of rural vacant land, which leaves only cash buyers. This can make it very difficult for owners of vacant land to find a buyer when they need to sell. By providing liquidity to the market, we give landowners a way out of unwanted land.
How does Gokce Capital solve the problems of property buyers?
For our buyers, we are a source of affordable land. Because we purchase land at a discount to market and we restrict our overhead, we can pass on our savings to our buyers. We keep our prices low enough to be affordable without a mortgage, making it easy to purchase a new vacation spot or campground. Most of the time, we also take on the role of the bank ourselves and offer seller financing for those who want to spread out their payments over a few years.
How do you assess the fair market price of a property?
This can be very hard to do with rural vacant land because there is often a deficit of sales comparables given that many markets do not have a high sales volume. To work around the lack of comps, we developed a proprietary algorithm that looks at a few data points to determine our offer prices. Our data points include assessed value, county-level market values, recent comps, historical comps, macro and micro economic trends, annual property taxes and local real estate market conditions.
Any tips to our readers to save money so they can invest in real estate?
Avoid using a broker when purchasing real estate to the greatest extent possible. Also keep in mind that most real estate on the market is over-priced. Sellers are often willing to negotiate the price down if you can work with them directly.
You can also check out our Gokce Investor Series on our YouTube channel to learn about how we invest in vacant land.
In the ongoing global economic situation, where do you see the property market going?
We believe that the market for rural vacant land will not be greatly affected by the current downturn, especially when properties are priced with a discount. Many buyers will be actively looking for deals in a downturn, and the unique nature of this economic slowdown may also mean that more people will look for properties far from major population centers.
Any suggestions you would like to give to aspiring entrepreneurs.
Don’t ignore social media. These days, social media is one of the best ways to build a strong base of interested purchasers. We use social media to market our parcels, but we also use it to run promotions that help spread the word about what we do.
Also, block out time for your family and don’t look at emails when you are on vacation. Focus on what is in front of you and don’t let yourself be distracted.
Life isn’t only about work, it’s also about family, health, friends and community. Don’t forget to keep yourself healthy and maintain a strong community and family. Take the time to focus on other aspects of life.
