Month: May 2025

Stocks -vs- Real Estate Investing

For most of my RE career, I’ve been a “Real Estate is the only way to wealth” kind of guy. 90% of my net worth is invested in real estate assets & partnerships. Great vehicle. However, more recently, I’m also intentionally developing my skill in investing in the stock market.

I’m currently listening to Buffett & Munger, Unscripted, a book of Charlie Munger & Warren Buffett’s discussions over the past 50 years which took place at their annual shareholder event. These discussions are organized by topic-and you can use this audiobook to condition your mind into a more disciplined investor -yes, in stocks, but also you can “translate” the thinking into real estate investing.

The Most Valuable Form of Compounding (it’s NOT interest…)

I was surprised to hear Charlie describe the compounding of knowledge as more important than the financial compounding of an investment. Sounds a bit like: “How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.” (Proverbs 16:16)

Charlie said, “Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Discharge your duties faithfully and well. Step by step you get ahead, but not necessarily in fast spurts. But you build discipline by preparing for fast spurts Slug it out one inch at a time, day by day, and at the end of the day – if you live long enough – most people get what they deserve.”

I’ve experienced this in my own life. All of these Jewels of Wisdom over time, discovered with great excitement along the way, have enabled the life I live today. This continuous improvement over time, or Kaizen, is the most important factor in long term wealth. A few books I recommend everyone on my team read can be found here.

Hold, Don’t Trade – Stocks & Real Estate

The stock market’s biggest challenge for individual investors? The sheer ease of buying and selling shares. We’ve all been there: seeing a stock dip and, in a moment of panic, hitting that “sell” button to stop the mental anguish of a “losing” position. Yet, history shows that holding for 5 to 10 years often nets those same sellers 2-3 times their initial investment.

Real Estate investing provides an automatic hedge to impulse selling because of the lengthy timeline to exit & receive your cash. List the property, wait for a buyer, go through inspections & mortgage approval, and maybe, 60-90 days later, you receive your cash. It is precisely this “forced hold” period & delayed gratification (getting the $) which has allowed me to hold properties 5 years or more-and realize the doubling or tripling of my money.

Only in the past 6 months have I personally been successful in the stock market by resisting the impulse to sell when I was down 10% or more. Now, these positions are back in the profit-some as much as 45%-in LESS THAN 6 MONTHS. The one thing I did right here is NOT SELL. Charlie calls this, “sit on your ass investing.”

Real estate naturally embodies this principle, making frequent or easy selling impractical. This eliminates a significant profit killer: selling too soon. It’s precisely why real estate remains my favorite investment and my largest long-term allocation. It always will be.

High School Drop Out Now Owns 1.5M Sq. Ft of Commercial Real Estate

I’m here in Las Vegas today at the Diamond Inner Circle commercial real estate event and hanging out with my friend & business partner Jarred Elmar. Through The Geneva Group, the commercial real estate investment firm he founded, he’s accumulated more than 1.5 million feet of commercial real estate. He’s also averaged over 30% IRR to his investors on deals exited.

He just released his life story, Built from Nothing, detailing his journey to the present day. If you do audible, he reads it himself-which are my personal favorite audiobooks. If you read it & love it, give him a review on Amazon. While it’s not a “how-to” commercial real estate book, there is great value in the mindset necessary to go from broke to wealthy. I recommend reading or listening.

My favorite line in the book: “N.O. stands for NOT OVER”

This useful belief leads to The Best Deal Possible. However, you must be persistent. This belief is powerful in sales and in successful Cold Calling, which Jarred has done to build his porfolio. I’ve also generated 8 figure profits from cold calls.

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More than $10M in Profit from a Cold Call

Back in 2006 one of my mentors told me to cold call houses listed for rent in the local newspaper. The goal was to find that landlord who was more interested in selling than re-renting and buy their house. Only one person answered, Craig, and he had zero interest in selling his house. I believe he still has that house in his portfolio today, almost 19 years later. Regardless, Craig changed my life.

They Assumed I was a Player!

Instead of selling me his rental property, Craig invited me to a local real estate networking event. I was 26 years old and had to get a ride from my dad because I couldn’t afford a car. However, when Craig introduced me to the big players in that room, they paid attention and assumed that I, too, must be a player. People too ME seriously. Thank God they didn’t see me getting dropped off by my pop!

How I Pissed Off Craig

Craig & I did several deals that year. Craig sent one deal which my dad & I considered, but it had water damage in the enclosed back porch. My dad tried inspecting it by pulling on the wet section of the wall-creating noticeable damage to the house. We passed on that deal. Soon, I received a call from Craig saying, “What the hell did you do to that back porch?? It looks like you dug a frigging mine in the wall!!?” He was not happy with us…

Regaining Rapport

Proverbs 21.14 says, “A secret gift calms anger”. So my dad & I constructed a “miner’s cap” to present to Craig at the next real estate event. Honestly, I felt a little foolish bringing this hard hat with a light into the event to give to Craig, but it did the trick. Last week, while in Philly for my daughter’s graduation, I used Craig’s office to run company meetings and noticed that Miner’s Cap from 2006 still displayed in his office. That gift did the trick, huh?

$10M+ in Profit, from a Cold Call

Post miner’s cap, Craig & I flipped dozens of houses in an informal partnership. We went on to formalize our partnership in Diamond Equity sometime around 2017 and went on to flip several hundred houses since. That $10.529M in profit? That’s just the last 2 years – the actual total is significantly higher than that. Craig has been a friend, mentor, private lender, & great business partner since 2006. All from a single cold call. Thank you Craig!

Are You Capable of Cold Calling to Generate Leads at a High Level?

I’d consider high level to be someone earning $200,000 per year, or more. Right now we have 26 deal makers throughout our 3 offices and buy & sell houses nationwide. We also have custom AI systems which select, in real time, the most motivated property owners throughout the U.S.

If you are a cold calling monster, I have a position that can generate $200,000 or more, per year, just sitting at a computer cold calling to generate leads to disburse across our nationwide team. You don’t have to make any offers, you don’t have to negotiate, you don’t have to run rehabs or put any cash into any of the deals. You simply generate leads & set appointments. If this is you, please reply to me directly with details on your past cold call experience.

It would be helpful to be in either Chicago, Atlanta, or Philadelphia, but I’d consider a fully remote situation for a cold call killer. You would work directly with me on this endeavor. Why don’t you & I close a few hundred deals together too?

How to Find Off Market Industrial Deals & Multiply their Value

Industrial HQ Bootcamp Jun 21-22 in Chicago

My buddy Saul is hosting an exclusive 2 day bootcamp in Chicago where he will share, in detail, how he built a $100M portfolio.

This event is perfect for experienced industrial operators or ambitious guys and gals (aka killers) looking to become elite players in real estate—specifically those working on acquisitions of industrial deals where we can invest.

Details & Application Here

Full disclosure, I am not affiliated with the event and am not earning any commission if you attend. Saul is a friend and mentor who loves building people up. I am sharing this as a favor to you-to make the introduction-if you have a burning desire to succeed in Industrial Real Estate.

I will be in attendance-mostly because I’m always looking to meet the best Commercial Real Estate Operators with whom I can invest my capital. Meeting operators in person is my preferred method of choosing passive investments. If Saul approves, perhaps I’ll see you there!

What is a “Killer”?

A killer is a salesperson I want on my team. They get shit done, close more deals, and outperform the average by 3-5 times. On Diamond Equity’s team, a killer earns $250K+ per year. Details on a “killer”: (to join: careers.diamondequity.com)

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How to Find Off Market Industrial Deals & Multiply their Value

This week I had lunch with my friend Saul Z. You may recognize Saul from the REI Diamonds podcast we created last year on how he’s driving value of $10M or more per deal. Saul also publishes the Value Builder newsletter each week, sharing strategies for creating & cashing out millions of dollars in value in industrial real estate. He does this through Off Market Deals & Driving High Leasing Velocity.

Industrial HQ Bootcamp Jun 21-22 in Chicago

Saul is hosting an exclusive 2 day bootcamp in Chicago where he will share, in detail, how he built a $100M portfolio.

Saul’s goal is to meet a few exceptional entrepreneurs (aka killers), who he can elevate and partner with long-term—coaching, underwriting, closing off and providing capital industrial deals using everything in his toolbox, including his new Industrial IQ software, built for small bay industrial acquisitions.

Saul will go deeper than spreadsheets and tactics. He’ll break down who you need to become to be a top tier real estate pro—the mindset, the discipline, the habits, the goals, the drive, the energy, the oomph. The whole enchilada. The stuff you can’t fake—and sure as hell can’t fit in a spreadsheet.

This event is perfect for experienced industrial operators or ambitious guys and gals (aka killers) looking to become elite players in real estate—specifically those working on acquisitions of industrial deals where we can invest.

Details & Application Here

Full disclosure, I am not affiliated with the event and am not earning any commission if you attend. Saul is a friend and mentor who loves building people up. I am sharing this as a favor to you-to make the introduction-if you have a burning desire to succeed in Industrial Real Estate.

I will be in attendance-mostly because I’m always looking to meet the best Commercial Real Estate Operators with whom I can invest my capital. Meeting operators in person is my preferred method of choosing passive investments. If Saul approves, perhaps I’ll see you there!