Scaling with Strategy in Real Estate with Jim Fredo

 

Scaling with Strategy in Real Estate with Jim Fredo

 

Guest: Jim Fredo is a seasoned real estate investor and dynamic entrepreneur based in Pittsburgh. With a diverse background that spans the music industry and the tech sector, Jim embarked on a journey into the realm of real estate, leveraging his wide-ranging skills and experiences. He quickly established himself as an astute investor known for his strategic approach and keen eye for value-add opportunities. Having navigated the challenges of the music industry’s networking-driven landscape, Jim applied his tenacity and resourcefulness to the real estate market. Today, he stands as a testament to the power of adapting and thriving in diverse industries. Jim’s reputation extends beyond his impressive portfolio; he is also dedicated to sharing his insights and knowledge within the real estate community.

 

Big Idea: Jim Fredo’s remarkable journey in real estate is centered around the concept of scaling through strategic partnerships and embracing value-add opportunities. He has recognized the value of collaboration and the significance of enhancing property value to achieve remarkable growth. Jim’s approach underscores the importance of combining expertise, leveraging resources, and optimizing properties for sustained success in the competitive real estate landscape.

 

 

    

 

Jim: Sure. So I came here, I started off with single family. I didn’t know the area. I didn’t know the markets. I already had a disastrous first purchase. I lived in California and bought a building in Eastern PA and it was just a mess. So coming to Pittsburgh, don’t want to make the same mistakes. I’ve learned from all that. The first two properties that I bought were actually from the same seller. He carried the note. I still have properties today. You start off with zero percent interest and made sense. When I refinance that and paid him off, it’s worth a lot more than I paid for it. It’s like, “Okay, this worked out well.” And from there, I just-, I did some flips for a little while to build a little pot of money. Way too stressful for me, so I’ve stuck with rental since then. Single families, duplexes had been growing since then, a couple of six units, and I think I mentioned to you we closed on a 28-unit townhome package and a 25-unit, building.

Dan: Nice, congratulations on the scale there. So is that what your whistle now, to no longer want to add single-family rentals to the portfolio? Have you made a transition or is this is a, “Hey, welcome with my arms open. I’m happy to take another duplex, single family. If that feels good, I’m in.” What where you at with that, Jim?

Jim: I try not to do too many, but I have a great relationship with the wholesaler in town, and he brings deals to me, you know, and he knows I close-, if he’s going to buy, I’m going to buy, and no competition. He brings me killer deals. Like okay, fine, I’ll take it, so. I have a crew, so I go to renovation company, management company to support all this. So sometimes I buy stuff just to keep the crew busy for any slow period. So if it makes sense, I’ll buy it but I am focusing on the bigger projects. I’ve got a partner out of Michigan. Were working together on big syndication deals now. He’s got tons of experience. I think he’s purchased 1500, 2000 units syndication deals, so we’ve got one of those working on. But we’re talking about the before the show so.

 

This Episode of The REI Diamonds Show is Sponsored by the Deal Machine. This Software Enables Real Estate Investors to Develop a Reliable & Low Cost Source of Off Market Deals. For a Limited Time, You Get Free Access at http://REIDealMachine.com/

 

This Episode is Also Sponsored by the Lending Home. Lending Home Offers Reliable & Low Cost Fix & Flip Loans with Interest Rates as Low as 9.25%.  Buy & Hold Loans Offered Even Lower.  Get a FREE IPad when you Close Your First Deal by Registering Now at  http://REILineOfCredit.com

 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

https://www.SpringCapital.Partners/

 

For Access to Real Estate Deals You Can Buy & Sell for Profit:

https://AccessOffMarketDeals.com/podcast/

 

Jim Fredo & I Discuss Scaling with Strategy in Real Estate:

  • Value-Add Approach: The importance of renovating properties to enhance their value and improve tenant experiences.
  • Challenges in Scaling: The complexities of transitioning from smaller rental properties to more substantial syndication deals, including managing partner relationships and operations.
  • Managing Maintenance: The significance of preventive maintenance in reducing emergencies and long-term expenses.
  • Commercial vs. Residential: A thorough analysis of the pros and cons of commercial and residential real estate investments, exploring property management and tenant expectations.

    

Relevant Episodes: (There are 228 Content Packed Interviews in Total)

 

The transcript of this episode can be found here.
Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

Unlocking Multifamily Millions: How Vlad Arakcheyev Transformed from Graphic Designer to Syndication Powerhouse

 

Unlocking Multifamily Millions: How Vlad Arakcheyev Transformed from Graphic Designer to Syndication Powerhouse

 

Guest: With over a decade of experience, Vlad has transformed into a formidable figure in real estate, marked by his role as an active investor, co-sponsor, and JV partner in an impressive portfolio encompassing hundreds of multifamily units and lucrative land developments, resulting in multimillion-dollar achievements. His expertise shines in sales, marketing, and the acquisition of distressed and off-market properties. Vlad’s journey encompasses a transition from a graphic designer to a thriving real estate agent in New Jersey, revealing valuable insights on quick decision-making, the power of strategic partnerships, and the cultivation of a growth-oriented mindset.

 

Big Idea: In this episode we speak with Vlad Arakcheyev who is a dynamic real estate agent and investor who shares his transformation from single-family to multifamily investments. Vlad’s journey takes us from the suburbs of New Jersey to the vibrant markets of Texas and Kansas City. He reveals his strategies for scaling his real estate business through joint ventures and syndications, highlighting the importance of education, networking, and the balance between being a limited partner and a general partner. With his keen eye for undervalued properties and market trends, Vlad uncovers the hidden jewels that have propelled his real estate success.

 

 

    

 

Dan: You’ve made a switch a little bit here to multifamily. Do you own units and projects in both Texas and Kansas right now?

Vlad: Yes, absolutely. Primarily, we do JVs and syndications when it comes to our acquisitions. It varies depending on the purchase price. Obviously, we can’t buy ten million or $15 million properties ourselves. We pool our money together with passive investors, with investors that want to diversify their portfolios that when they invest in real hard assets, they invest with us into apartment buildings. Of course, we take that for the rest. We improve the properties over 5 years, sell it, and move on to the next ones.

Dan: You’re the limited or the general partner in these deals?

Vlad: I’m always a GP. I’m the operator in them. Like I said, how I started this, I joined a multifamily mastermind. There’s bunch of them out there. I interviewed with a lot. I’ve joined Jake & Gino. They are multifamily mastermind in the community. They’re all over the United States. It costs some money. But let me tell you. If you need education and networking, these are the places where you have to be.

In my opinion, it’s like this. If you want to learn how to ski, you can go up the mountain twenty times, fall down twenty times, and learn by bruising yourself and breaking maybe a few bones. But if you really want to know the proper way of ski, take a lesson. They’ll teach you exactly what you need to do.

Same thing in real estate or multifamily. Instead of doing it all by yourself – because it’s a team sport when it comes to multifamily – I joined the mentorship, connected with groups of people that are buying and doing business in Texas. That’s exactly how I got started by joining a mentor. Yes. I’m a GP in all my deals.

 

This Episode of The REI Diamonds Show is Sponsored by the Deal Machine. This Software Enables Real Estate Investors to Develop a Reliable & Low Cost Source of Off Market Deals. For a Limited Time, You Get Free Access at http://REIDealMachine.com/

 

This Episode is Also Sponsored by the Lending Home. Lending Home Offers Reliable & Low Cost Fix & Flip Loans with Interest Rates as Low as 9.25%.  Buy & Hold Loans Offered Even Lower.  Get a FREE IPad when you Close Your First Deal by Registering Now at  http://REILineOfCredit.com

 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

https://ZontikVentures.com/

 

For Access to Real Estate Deals You Can Buy & Sell for Profit:

https://AccessOffMarketDeals.com/podcast/

 

Vlad Arakcheyev & I Discuss Unlocking Multifamily Millions:

  • Transformation to Multifamily Investment: Journey from single-family homes in New Jersey to multifamily ventures in Texas, Kansas City, and the Carolinas, driving growth and diversification.
  • Leveraging Joint Ventures and Syndications:Harnessing the strength of collaborative ventures and syndications for multifamily acquisitions, scaling projects with passive investors.
  • Insights into Lucrative Markets: Exploring thriving markets like Kansas City, uncovering growth drivers in infrastructure, sports, and business, attracting yield-focused investors.
  • Mastery of Value-Add Strategies: Navigating property management, rent optimization, and cost-efficient measures to elevate property value, while balancing the hold-vs-sell decision for optimal returns.
  • Real Estate Diversification: Strategic shift towards multifamily investments, joint ventures, and tactical sales, illuminating a path to long-term prosperity and wealth accumulation.

    

Relevant Episodes: (There are 227 Content Packed Interviews in Total)

 

The transcript of this episode can be found here.
Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

Larry Taylor on Los Angeles Real Estate Investment & Development

 

Larry Taylor on Los Angeles Real Estate Investment & Development

 

Guest: Larry Taylor, a seasoned real estate entrepreneur specializing in Los Angeles real estate. Born and raised in a coal mining town, Larry’s journey took him from Pennsylvania to California, where he forged a successful career in real estate investing. As the founder of Christina Development Corporation, he has navigated the ever-changing real estate landscape, thriving in markets where others see challenges. With decades of experience, Larry shares his insights, spanning from the 1970s to the present day, revealing a wealth of knowledge about syndication, value-driven acquisitions, and the power of innovative thinking.

 

Big Idea: In this episode, Larry Taylor delves into key themes of real estate investment. He highlights seizing opportunities during economic shifts, crafting innovative investment models, and the importance of value-based property purchases. Taylor’s success stories, like acquiring historic West Hollywood properties, emphasize the significance of market timing and visionary insight. His focus on long-term partnerships and wealth preservation over quick returns adds a valuable perspective for investors at all stages.

 

 

    

 

Larry: The significance is that’s when Christina was founded. It was the outgrowth of a company that was founded years earlier by myself and a classmate at the University of Southern California. We started our own company as students to take advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves during President Nixon’s wage and price level freeze and the Arab-Israeli war, which caused the oil to go from two to $10 a barrel. It was the great recession, and it was an opportunity to be able to buy income-producing property, where rents had been frozen for years. So, we were learning about this in school as students, and we said, “Well, why don’t we just go out and try to do that?” And we did, and we were successful.

And then my classmate decided that he wanted to become a homebuilder when we graduated college. He went off to be a homebuilder, and I went off to become a syndicator, specializing in buying income-producing properties on the west side of Los Angeles.

Dan: Nice. Tell me about your relationship and the inspiration that you derived from the former deceased LA Lakers’ owner, Jerry Buss.

Larry: Well, it was a very fortunate and opportune moment when I got to visit a friend of mine that was operating in his property management department. Jerry Buss, for people who don’t know, was an aerospace engineer. And with a couple of partners, Frank and Bob Mariani, they founded a real estate syndication business. It was focused on buying apartment buildings only on the west side, and it was based on the aerospace engineers that needed write-offs. Because aerospace engineers in the 60s and 70s in Los Angeles County were some of the highest-paid professionals, federal income tax rates might have reached as high as 70%. So, Jerry and his partners formed the syndication business where they were buying apartment buildings and putting their fellow engineers into them and creating tremendous tax losses which they could use to offset their ordinary income.

When I met Jerry on that one particular day, he said, “So, how do you do your deals?” I didn’t know what he was talking about, and I said, “Well, I see an opportunity to buy a great building that’s undervalued, and I buy it, and then I use a combination of long-term and short-term financing. And then I go about figuring out how to add value to it. When I complete that, I sell the building, and then I look for another one.” He said, “Well, how many can you do in a year?” I said, “In a year, it takes me like a year and a half to do one. But I’ve been doing really well. I’m averaging more income on each building than the President of the United States is getting paid, which was 200,000 a year at the time.”

 

This Episode of The REI Diamonds Show is Sponsored by the Deal Machine. This Software Enables Real Estate Investors to Develop a Reliable & Low Cost Source of Off Market Deals. For a Limited Time, You Get Free Access at http://REIDealMachine.com/

 

This Episode is Also Sponsored by the Lending Home. Lending Home Offers Reliable & Low Cost Fix & Flip Loans with Interest Rates as Low as 9.25%.  Buy & Hold Loans Offered Even Lower.  Get a FREE IPad when you Close Your First Deal by Registering Now at  http://REILineOfCredit.com

 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

https://ChristinaLA.com/

 

For Access to Real Estate Deals You Can Buy & Sell for Profit:

https://AccessOffMarketDeals.com/podcast/

 

Larry Taylor & I Discuss Los Angeles Real Estate Investment & Development:

  • Adaptation to Market Cycles: Taylor underscores the importance of adjusting strategies to different market phases, capitalizing on downturns and optimizing strong market periods for exits.
  • Strategic Syndication: Syndication, as Taylor exemplifies, empowers smaller investors to join larger real estate ventures, pooling capital and expertise for mutual success.
  • Value Buying Strategy: Taylor’s approach emphasizes the significance of acquiring properties at favorable prices, reducing reliance on labor-intensive value-add methods and enhancing overall returns.
  • Understanding Tax Benefits: Exploring tax incentives, such as the Mills Act for historic properties, can notably impact a property’s performance and elevate investor returns.
  • Focus on Long-Term Wealth: Taylor’s preference for partnerships with high-net-worth investors and institutions aligns with a long-term wealth preservation strategy, prioritizing property performance over immediate distributions.

    

Relevant Episodes: (There are 226 Content Packed Interviews in Total)

 

The transcript of this episode can be found here.
Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

Family Values & Real Estate Investing with Jim Sheils, A #1 Wall Street Journal Best Seller

 

Family Values & Real Estate Investing with Jim Sheils, A #1 Wall Street Journal Best Seller

 

Guest: Jim Sheils is a seasoned real estate investor, #1 Wall Street Journal Best Seller and founder of 18 Summers, a family education company. Jim shares his journey from clueless investor to building a thriving real estate business while putting family first.

 

Big Idea: From his early days as a clueless investor in California to his thriving new construction projects in Florida, Jim’s career is a testament to resilience and adaptation. Beyond his real estate prowess, Jim is known for his family education company, “18 Summers,” which advocates spending one-on-one time with loved ones every quarter, fostering deep connections and lasting memories. Discover the power of intermittent tech fasting, detaching from distractions during these moments, and prioritizing family to achieve a harmonious balance between personal and professional life.

 

 

    

 

Jim: Yeah, sure. Like most of us, I started out pretty clueless 24 years ago. I remember the first offer I had accepted in Lompoc, California for 152,000 on a three-family house. And I hyperventilated in my kitchen when it got accepted because that just seemed way above my anything. And that was the first deal. And I went into a pretty active model in the central California area, a place called Bakersfield, buying, fixing, and reselling, and renting HUD foreclosures. I did that for a number of years. It was crazy in California. I didn’t like the landlord laws or the taxes. I’d always liked Florida. I had grandparents there and went off to Florida and started doing the same thing. The meltdown happened, which was not fun but we survived it and there were tons of deals. So we went into bulk foreclosures, buying, fixing, and reselling HUD foreclosures, not HUD foreclosures, bank foreclosures. Fixing them up, keeping our own portfolio, working with investors. And then by about 2015, we just got two screwy around here. It was getting bid up, you had to cut corners as a rehabber. So my now building partner and I said, well, what if we could build our own houses in properties instead of finding old ones? And that started as about a $3 million experiment and bring it up to last year we did 185 million in sales. So we build new construction only. No more rehabs. Rehab shoes got hung up. We’re just new construction, single-family, duplexes, and quads are our main focus. And we’re in high-growth markets in Florida. And all that means is markets that are experiencing economic growth, population growth, have a good affordability index, healthy supply and demand, and something desirable drawing them to the area.

Dan: Fantastic. Before I go down the tangents of real estate-specific questions, and we’re going to dive deep into that in a few minutes, but you have 18 Summers on the wall behind you. And for the listeners who are in the audio version only, we’re on the video, you could check that out on YouTube. Would you mind kind of touching on that and the family values-driven nature of how you’ve built your career over the past decade-plus?

Jim: Yeah, about, whew, 12 years ago, my wife and I started 18 Summers. It was just a simple family education company that was doing some retreats and workshops, and it was about bringing families together with this simple premise. We wanted to be successful in business and at home. And getting invited to some real estate events at a young age, Dan, I got to get too close to some heroes with huge balance sheets and absolute nightmare personal lives. And I didn’t want to be like that. I was like, I don’t think it has to be that way. And now a father of five, myself ranging from two to 20 and both biological and adoptive, it was just a big value that I held for myself. So it was really built out of a need for my own that I didn’t want to fail at home. So how could we find easier ways to get it done? How could we be more present at home? How could we bring more families together to kind of mastermind, if you would, family life and how to be more engaged and enjoyable? And that’s where 18 Summers started and our book came out of just some simple stories and strategies we were using at home and just got a following that we were not expecting. So it was an unexpected thing, but I’d say I’m definitely known more for family than I am for real estate, and I’m okay with that.

 

This Episode of The REI Diamonds Show is Sponsored by the Deal Machine. This Software Enables Real Estate Investors to Develop a Reliable & Low Cost Source of Off Market Deals. For a Limited Time, You Get Free Access at http://REIDealMachine.com/

 

This Episode is Also Sponsored by the Lending Home. Lending Home Offers Reliable & Low Cost Fix & Flip Loans with Interest Rates as Low as 9.25%.  Buy & Hold Loans Offered Even Lower.  Get a FREE IPad when you Close Your First Deal by Registering Now at  http://REILineOfCredit.com

 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

www.jjplaybook.com

 

For Access to Real Estate Deals You Can Buy & Sell for Profit:

https://AccessOffMarketDeals.com/podcast/

 

Jim Sheils & I Discuss Family Values & Real Estate Investing:

  • The art of balancing family values and business success.

  • The “18 Summers” paradigm which emphasizes creating meaningful family connections.

  • How Intermittent tech fasting fosters mindful living.

  • How Build-to-rent opportunities can lead to an evolution in real estate investing.

  • Methods to mitigate risks in high-growth markets through new construction.

    

Relevant Episodes: (There are 225 Content Packed Interviews in Total)

 

The transcript of this episode can be found here.
Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.