Welcome

 Welcome

43 YEARS OF CREATIVE REAL ESTATE MASTERY

Brian Gibbons

Bypassing Traditional Bank Debt to Engineer Highly Profitable, Problem-Solving Transactions Since 1983

U.S. Marine • Creative Financing Pioneer • Mentor • Educator

 

“You must be the person you have never had the courage to be. Gradually, you will discover that you are that person, but until you can see this clearly, you must pretend and invent.”

— Paulo Coelho

 

Brian Gibbons

www.REISkills.com  |  REISkillsTraining@Gmail.com  |  442-221-6610

Financial Advantage Inc.  |  2000 Executive Plaza, Suite 1400  |  Oceanside, CA 92057

 

At a Glance: 43 Years of Results

43+ Years in Creative Real Estate	1983 Year Career Began	~500 Sellers Vetted in First 6 Months	3–5 Houses Bought Per Month (Early Career)
$0 Bank Debt Used in Transactions	5 Creative Financing Strategies Mastered	1,000s Investors & Homeowners Coached	60 mo Signature Lease-Option Term

 

 

About Brian Gibbons

From U.S. Marine to Creative Financing Pioneer: Your Guide to Real Estate Investing Success

Hi, I'm Brian Gibbons. Since 1986, I've been deeply involved with real estate investing, and I love to coach people one-on-one to help them conquer their real estate investing issues.

But my journey didn't start in a corporate boardroom. It started with a personal turning point that changed my life forever.

 

The Bar, The Boss, and The Turning Point of 1983

I am 61 now, but at the time I was 25 years old and fresh out of the U.S. Marines. The year was 1983. The economy was brutal, and interest rates were screaming past 10%. I was working a J.O.B. (Just About Broke) for a small construction engineering products firm, Johnson Controls, selling air and water control equipment to large apartment and commercial building contractors. My math and science background helped me land it, but the position only paid a $400-a-week advance on future commissions.

After grinding out over $10,000 in future commissions due to me, I asked my boss for my hard-earned money now. He laughed and said I would get paid when he got paid. We got into a heated argument, and he fired me on the spot.

Later that same day, I found myself sitting at a bar, drowning my sorrows. I must have had self-pity written all over my face, because a smiling man sitting nearby looked at me and asked:

“Who just died?”

— Glenn — The Man Who Changed Everything

That man's name was Glenn. When I told him I was going to look for work, he threw out a question that took me completely aback: "You like real estate? You like solving problems for people?" I smiled and asked if he was looking to hire someone. He chuckled and said, "Well, I'm always looking for great salespeople that hustle."

 

2.5 Years Under a Master Mentor

Glenn owned a real estate investment company, though he never called it that. To him, it was simply "a place where we solve problems for people." Glenn knew a little bit about everything—and I mean everything. He knew about business, legal issues, tax issues, marketing, sales, promotion, networking, and most importantly, human psychology.

The first thing he did was give me two pieces of foundational wisdom:

1.           "You have two ears and one mouth. Listen more than you talk."

2.           Read How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

Then he taught me how to set appointments with home sellers, go out to their homes, and write up a letter of intent to purchase or lease. He told me, "Your job is to bring me potential home sellers who will consider a creative offer."

I was very confused the first few months working there. I did not know what a wraparound mortgage was, what a subject-to was, what subordinating notes meant, or how to do a lease option assignment. So, I stumbled along.

What allowed me to succeed was that Glenn had an awesome direct mail marketing machine, and he even had an appointment setter. I just needed to get in my car and go talk to 3 to 4 sellers every day. I used the same presentation with everyone, creating a letter of intent to buy for cash or on terms.

Glenn constantly reminded me:

“Some will, some won't, so what! The law of large numbers cures all problems. If you have 25 appointments a week you will be extremely successful.”

— Glenn

What surprised me even more is that some sellers would call the office 3, 6, or even 12 months later because they appreciated our first meeting. This was especially true for some sellers who were very angry with me in the beginning, called me names, and said things like, "You're just trying to rip me off!"

The Numbers That Built a Foundation

In my first six months, I kept up an intense pace:

20 People Seen Per Week

80 People Seen Per Month

~500 People Vetted in 6 Months

3–5 Houses Bought Per Month

 

We were buying 3 to 5 houses a month, grossing between $5,000 and $10,000 per house. I didn't make that big money—Glenn did. My pay arrangement was a straight $500 cash every week. No benefits and no 401(k). Was it legal? I don't know; I didn't own the business, I was just a hired hand.

After a few months, Glenn said, "You're doing a good job, keep it up. I'm going to give you a few more duties. I want to be able to travel so you can run the office while I'm gone." I was scared at first, having never run a business and preferring the security of a paycheck. But I quickly fell in love with making decisions and being the captain of my own ship.

What made me more pissed off than anything, though, was making my $500 a week while personally making company bank deposits of $10,000, $20,000, and even $30,000 a week.

 

The $15,000 Exhale

After two and a half years of making $500 a week and living frugally, I sat Glenn down.

“Glenn, I've learned so much here. You taught me about sellers, buyers, legal, tax, and marketing—there is no way I could have learned this in school. I've saved up some money to start my own office. I won't compete with you, and I'd like to give you four weeks' notice.”

— Brian Gibbons

Glenn leaned back in his swivel chair, smiled, and said:

“Brian, you're irreplaceable here. You came to me knowing nothing and now you know everything you need to know. You never asked for a raise or a partnership stake in the business. I can honestly say that without you over the last two and a half years, I would not have made the kind of money that I have. I have two things to say to you before you go onto greener pastures.”

— Glenn

My God, I was nervous. What was he going to say?

“The first thing I want to ask you is: what took you so long? He laughed. I expected you to hang in there for about six months and move on. You're really smart and you should have started your own business long ago. The second thing is I'm going to give you a bonus. I don't want you to look at it until you sit down in your car and drive away, deal?”

— Glenn

I said, "Deal!" I got to my car, exhaled, and pulled the check out of my pocket. It was for $15,000. Back in 1985, that was a massive fortune. In the memo line, it read: "For my good friend Brian."

$15,000 in 1985 — Glenn's parting gift and the seed capital for everything that followed.

 

 

Building the Future

With everything I learned over those two and a half years, it didn't take me long to become highly profitable. I set up a modest office space right next to white-collar professionals—an attorney and a CPA. I hired a part-time secretary for the first three months, which quickly turned into a full-time position. Glenn even took me to lunch every week, telling me he missed me.

That first business was incredibly special to me. I have owned several businesses since then, but that first one will always be my favorite.

“My absolute wish for everyone reading this is that you find your “Glenn,” bust your tail, read relentlessly, and never stop learning.”

— Brian Gibbons

 

 

The “Cash or Terms” Philosophy

Most casual operators get stuck in the wholesaling trap. Wholesaling—where you tie up a property on contract and assign it to a cash buyer who fixes and flips it—is just a transactional exit strategy. It is not a sustainable business.

To understand why a motivated seller would accept a creative offer, you have to look past the real estate itself and look at human psychology and situational pressure. Sellers don't accept creative offers because they love the financial mechanics; they accept them because the offer solves a specific, burning problem.

To build an automated, enduring real estate enterprise, you must transition into a "Cash or Terms" Investor by mastering a diverse toolkit. Here is why motivated sellers accept these five distinct offers:

 

1. The Free & Clear House Installment Sale (Principal-Only Offer)

The Situation: The seller owns the house outright with no underlying mortgage. They want a premium price and want to secure their equity, but they don't need a massive lump sum of cash up front, or they want to avoid heavy capital gains taxes.

The Strategy: You structure an installment sale note with a low down payment and 0% interest (principal-only payments). You put 100% to 102% of their equity into the face value of the note to give them their full asking price (or slightly above) in exchange for the zero-interest structure.

The Math & Runway: Your monthly payment to the seller is calculated as: Market Rent − (PITI + Maintenance), ensuring your spread is at least $500 a month. You structure this on a 60-month (5-year) term.

The Exit Execution: You exit the deal using a lease option to a high-quality tenant-buyer. You collect a 3% to 5% non-refundable option fee upfront, and charge them an inflated rent rate of 1.05% of the market rent while they work on qualifying for a mortgage. Because your underlying note is 0% interest, 100% of your monthly payment principal knocks down the debt, building massive equity chunks every month.

 

2. The Lease Purchase Offer (Lease Option)

The Seller's Pain: They are locked into a property they can no longer afford or maintain, but they don't have enough equity to sell traditionally through a real estate agent (which costs ~6% to 10% in closing fees). They are facing double payments or an expensive vacancy.

Why It's Accepted: Immediate relief. When you tell a seller, "I will take over the maintenance, the management, and pay your exact mortgage payment starting on the 1st of next month, and buy it at your price down the road," they exhale. You stop their financial bleeding without forcing them to write a check at a closing table.

 

3. The Subject-To (Sub2) Land Trust Offer

The Seller's Pain: Severe financial distress. This seller is usually facing imminent foreclosure, bankruptcy, job relocation, or extreme tax delinquency. They don't care about making a profit; they care about their credit being utterly destroyed by foreclosure.

Why It's Accepted: Speed and credit salvation. A bank takes 45 days to close a loan; you can close a Sub2 in 3 days. By taking title via a Land Trust (for privacy and protection), bringing their back payments current, and taking over the future debt, you lift the heavy burden off their shoulders instantly.

•             With a Note: Used if they have some equity; you give them a secondary promissory note to be paid out later.

•             Without a Note: Used if they have zero or negative equity.

 

4. The Wraparound Mortgage Purchase Offer

The Seller's Pain: The seller has a property in great shape, but it isn't selling on the retail market. They want a top-dollar retail price and refuse to take a low-ball cash discount, or they are an aging landlord looking to retire without a massive lump-sum tax hit.

Why It's Accepted: The creation of yield. If the seller has an underlying mortgage at 7%, you can offer to buy their house via a Wrap at 8.5%. They instantly become the bank, collecting a monthly "spread" (the difference between what you pay them and what they pay their original lender) without managing tenants, while deferring their tax liabilities through an installment sale.

 

5. The All-Cash Offer (ARV × 70% − Repairs − Wholesale Fee)

The Seller's Pain: The property is an absolute structural disaster—hoarder houses, severe fire/water damage, or complex inherited properties. The seller doesn't have the cash, time, or emotional energy to deal with contractors, permits, and renovations.

Why It's Accepted: Radical convenience. Traditional retail buyers using banks cannot buy a broken house because lenders won't approve the loan. By offering all cash, you buy the house completely as-is. They take a steep financial haircut in exchange for absolute certainty and zero hassle.

 

The Five Strategies: Quick Reference

Strategy	Seller's Pain	Why Accepted	Investor's Profit	Best For
1. Installment Sale (0% Interest)	Wants full price; fears tax hit	Full price + tax deferral	0% interest = all principal paydown	Free & clear homes; tax-sensitive sellers
2. Lease Option	Can't afford agent; double payments	Immediate relief; no closing costs	Option fee + rent spread + back-end equity	Sellers with little equity; landlord fatigue
3. Subject-To Land Trust	Foreclosure; credit destruction	Speed (3 days); credit saved	Equity + cash flow on existing loan	Distressed sellers; pre-foreclosure
4. Wraparound Mortgage	Won't discount; wants retail price	Yield + tax deferral; no management	Interest rate spread + installment gain	Sellers with low-rate existing mortgages
5. All-Cash Offer	Structural disaster; no time/energy	Certainty + zero hassle	ARV × 70% − Repairs − Wholesale Fee	Hoarder houses; fire/water damage; inherited

 

 

Real Estate Investing Programs

Comprehensive, Systemized Training Formulated from 40+ Years of Field Execution

Program	Best For	Core Focus
The Creative Transaction Playbook	Investors looking to bypass banks entirely.	Master the exact operational mechanics of structuring Wraps, Subject-To, Zero-Interest Installment Sales, and Lease-Option Assignments with zero credit risk.
The Autonomous Scaling Machine	Built directly on the Gerber E-Myth architecture.	Learn to build a clear Assistant, Doer, and Thinker matrix with standard operating manuals so your business can scale automatically.
The Influence & Vetting Academy	Scale transaction pipeline consistency.	Master verbatim scripts, Dale Carnegie relationship psychology, and high-volume marketing funnels to handle 20+ seller appointments a week.

 

 

Brian's Core Principles: The Philosophy Behind 43 Years of Success

Principle 1: Solve Problems First, Make Money Second

Every creative financing transaction begins with a problem — a seller who is stuck, a buyer who can't qualify, a property that won't sell. Brian's approach is always to identify the problem first and engineer the solution second. The profit is the natural result of solving the problem well.

“Glenn never called it a real estate investment company. To him, it was simply "a place where we solve problems for people." That philosophy has guided everything I've done for 43 years.”

— Brian Gibbons

Principle 2: The Law of Large Numbers Cures All Problems

Glenn's most important lesson was also the simplest: volume cures everything. If you see enough sellers, you will find the motivated ones. If you make enough offers, some will be accepted. If you build enough relationships, referrals will come. The investor who sees 25 sellers a week will always outperform the investor who sees 5.

In his first six months, Brian vetted nearly 500 sellers. That volume built the foundation for everything that followed.

Principle 3: Listen More Than You Talk

Glenn's first lesson — "You have two ears and one mouth" — remains the most important sales principle Brian has ever learned. The seller who feels heard is the seller who accepts a creative offer. The investor who talks too much loses deals. The investor who listens discovers the real problem — and the real solution.

Principle 4: Never Use Bank Debt

For 43 years, Brian has structured transactions without traditional bank financing. This is not a limitation — it is a competitive advantage. Without bank debt, there are no loan applications, no appraisals, no underwriting delays, and no DTI requirements. Deals close in days, not months. And the investor's personal credit is never at risk.

Zero bank debt. Zero credit applications. Zero underwriting delays. 43 years of profitable transactions.

Principle 5: The 60-Month Term Is the Sweet Spot

Brian's signature 60-month lease option term is not arbitrary. It is the result of decades of experience with what works. Five years is long enough for a tenant-buyer's income to season, for a property to appreciate meaningfully, and for a seller's tax situation to be managed optimally. It is short enough to maintain urgency and momentum.

Principle 6: Build Your Team Before You Need It

From his very first office, Brian positioned himself next to an attorney and a CPA. He understood that creative real estate transactions require a professional team — not just a real estate license. The investor who builds relationships with attorneys, CPAs, title companies, and elder law specialists before they need them will always outperform the investor who tries to figure it out alone.

Principle 7: Find Your Glenn

The single most important accelerator in Brian's career was finding a mentor who had already done what he wanted to do. Glenn compressed decades of learning into 2.5 years. Brian has spent the rest of his career paying that forward — coaching, teaching, and mentoring investors who are where he was in 1983.

“My absolute wish for everyone reading this is that you find your “Glenn,” bust your tail, read relentlessly, and never stop learning.”

— Brian Gibbons

 

 

Success Stories

“Brian's training completely transformed my approach to real estate. Instead of fighting over low-ball cash offers on the MLS, I learned how to approach sellers with structural lease options and terms. I put together my first creative sandwich lease deal inside of 60 days and brought in a non-refundable $15,000 option deposit upfront.”

— Sarah Johnson, Creative Transaction Graduate

“I was a classic burned-out solo operator spending thousands on marketing but keeping very little profit. Brian taught me how to take Michael Gerber's principles and build a true three-tier operational cockpit. I now have a dedicated assistant taking phone logs and pre-screening leads while I focus purely on high-level strategy.”

— Michael Chen, Portfolio Operator

 

 

Career Timeline: 43 Years at a Glance

Year	Milestone
1983	Fired from Johnson Controls. Met Glenn at a bar. Joined Glenn's real estate investment company as a hired hand at $500/week.
1983–1985	Two and a half years under Glenn's mentorship. Vetted nearly 500 sellers in the first 6 months. Learned creative financing, marketing, legal, tax, and human psychology.
1985	Received $15,000 bonus from Glenn. Left to start his own real estate investment business.
1985–1990	Built first independent real estate investment business. Mastered all five creative financing strategies. Established professional relationships with attorneys and CPAs.
1990–2000	Expanded into multiple markets. Refined the 60-month lease option as a signature strategy. Began coaching other investors.
2000–2010	Developed the "Cash or Terms" philosophy into a comprehensive teaching curriculum. Began formal coaching and education programs.
2010–2020	Founded REISkills.com. Expanded online education platform. Developed the 85/15 Split-Note Matrix for senior homeowners.
2020–2026	Developed the HPSI (High-Probability Senior Inbound) framework. Created the 60-Month Lease-Option Bridge Program for mortgage turn-down borrowers. Continued one-on-one coaching.
Today	Financial Advantage Inc. | REISkills.com | 43 years of creative real estate mastery | Still coaching, still investing, still solving problems.

 

 

Epilogue: The First Little Business I Ever Had

I got an office from the $15,000 Glenn gave me, and hired a part-time secretary. I started doing deals in a different territory — about 15 miles away from Glenn's office, so I wouldn't compete with him. But I used everything he had built: his accountant, his lawyer, and his marketing strategies.

At the time, those marketing strategies were just postcards to lists. Three basic mailing lists, three different colored postcards. Simple. The part-time person would just call back the list and ask if they got our postcard — and if they would like to get an offer from us.

“SW SW SW. Some will, some won't, so what.”

— The Motto on Glenn's Wall

That saying was on the wall. We didn't care as a company who said yes or no. We just cared about how many people we called, how many appointments we made, how many contracts we wrote, and how many deals actually closed. Those were our metrics. Nothing else mattered.

The Four Metrics That Drove Everything: Calls Made • Appointments Set • Contracts Written • Deals Closed

I enjoyed that first little business I ever had. But I had a mentor. I went to lunch with Glenn once or twice a month and went over deals with him. Sometimes I needed private money and he lent me some of his private lenders. Sometimes I needed a joint venture partner and he introduced me to people.

Glenn had great integrity in the market. All I needed was to mention his name and people would say, "Oh, I know Glenn." That opened every door.

“Without Glenn, I wouldn't have been successful. It's that simple. Find your Glenn. That one relationship changed everything.”

— Brian Gibbons

The lesson I carry from that first business into everything I teach today is this: you don't need to reinvent the wheel. You need a mentor who has already built the wheel, the humility to learn from them, the discipline to show up every day, and the patience to let the law of large numbers do its work.

The postcards, the phone calls, the appointments, the contracts, the closings. Day after day. Week after week. That is how a real estate business is built. Not with one big deal. With hundreds of small, consistent actions — guided by someone who has already walked the path.

 

The Four Metrics of a Successful Real Estate Business

1 Calls Made How many people did you reach today?

2 Appointments Set How many sellers agreed to meet?

3 Contracts Written How many offers did you put on paper?

4 Deals Closed How many transactions actually funded?

 

 

 

Go Become the Investor You Have the Courage to Be

Stop chasing transactional, standard bank debt deals. Harness classical relationship architecture, automated marketing funnels, and true creative leverage today.

 

Contact REISkills

Systemizing real estate investment execution, relationship psychology,

and corporate scaling strategies since 1985.

442-221-6610

Brian Gibbons  |  Financial Advantage Inc.

Web: www.REISkills.com

Email: info@reiskills.com

Direct: REISkillsTraining@Gmail.com

2000 Executive Plaza, Suite 1400  |  Oceanside, CA 92057

 

“Find your Glenn. Bust your tail. Read relentlessly. Never stop learning. And never, ever stop solving problems for people.”

— Brian Gibbons — 43 Years of Creative Real Estate Mastery