Tech to Real Estate: A Unique Journey with Kranti Ponnam

 

Tech to Real Estate: A Unique Journey with Kranti Ponnam

 

Guest: Kranti Ponnam, an accomplished engineer with a strong background in technology, embarked on a remarkable journey in the real estate world. Born and raised in India, Kranti’s early exposure to his family’s deep involvement in real estate ignited his passion for the industry. Despite a successful career in technology, he remained steadfast in his belief in real estate as a more reliable investment avenue than the stock market. Kranti’s real estate journey began with the acquisition of small condos and apartments in San Diego. From there, he expanded into the commercial real estate sector and became a limited partner in syndicated deals.

 

Big Idea: Join us for a deep dive into the thriving Atlanta real estate market and discover investment opportunities that extend beyond the city’s limits. Our guest, a seasoned investor, takes us on a journey through different facets of real estate, emphasizing the importance of market selection, effective strategies, and adaptability in achieving long-term financial security.

 

 

    

 

Dan: Yeah, you and me both. You and I were talking before we got to record about me having to cancel and you twice, and I was like so excited and looking forward to the episode once our booking agents started the conversation, like wow, here’s a really cool conversation. We’re going to have multi-family investment syndication in the Atlanta market, which the listeners know. I love the Atlanta market, I’m bullish on it. It’s going to be a great market, I think for another five, 10 years at least into the foreseeable future. But you also had this tech data driven background, which I think is unique, right? For people who come on the show and people who are usually syndicating real estate deals, usually they start flipping houses, maybe buy some things, develop, buy, build a three unit, and now they’re going to buy a 100 or 200 unit apartment building. I think your path was different and that was part of why I was excited. Maybe you could tell the origination story, the brief play by play on how you got to where you’re at and what the business model looks like now.

Kranti: Sure. My background is an engineer, and then came out of college, took a job in a field that was totally unrelated. I went to school for mechanical civil engineering master’s degree and then came out and did work in the technology space. So always was in the technology space. But growing up, and I grew up in India, my dad, my whole family has been in real estate and real estate was more of a second nature. So once I started making money and started building businesses and going into it, I’ve never invested as much in stock market, still don’t believe it one bit. So I have some holdings, but always been a believer of real estate and that’s how I first started buying. I bought my office complex that we basically had our company located. I think we did really well on that particular building and sold it in about a span of eight years for five x the price.

 

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.kipi.bi

 

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

https://AccessOffMarketDeals.com/podcast/

 

Kranti Ponnam & I Discuss Teach to Real Estate:

  • Transition from Technology to Real Estate Investing: Kranti delves into his unique journey transitioning from the technology sector to real estate investing, highlighting how his strong belief in real estate, coupled with a technology background, paved the way for his substantial success in the real estate market.
  • Exploring Different Real Estate Asset Classes: Kranti’s diverse investment portfolio spans various real estate asset classes, from small condos to retail strip centers and multi-family properties. He shares his strategic diversification tactics, showcasing his adaptability and astute investment acumen across diverse segments of the real estate market.
  • Unveiling the Potential of the Atlanta Real Estate Market: Kranti’s enthusiasm for the Atlanta market is fueled by its remarkable potential. He outlines key factors, such as population growth, job opportunities, and affordability, which make Atlanta an enticing and sustainable market for real estate investment.
  • Strategic Scaling: Kranti’s approach underscores the significance of strategic scaling in real estate investment. He provides insights into adding value to non-performing assets, optimizing property performance, and maximizing returns while diligently managing risk factors within a dynamic market.
  • Impact of Market Trends on Real Estate Investments: Kranti shares valuable insights into how market trends can significantly affect real estate investments. He addresses the evolving market dynamics, particularly focusing on factors such as interest rates and rental growth, which play a pivotal role in influencing investment decisions and asset values.

    

Relevant Episodes: (There are 233 Content Packed Interviews in Total)

 

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

Inside the Self-Storage Industry with Jacob Vanderslice of Van West Partners

 

Inside the Self-Storage Industry with Jacob Vanderslice of Van West Partners

 

Guest: Jacob Vanderslice is a real estate investor and entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He is the founder of Van West Partners, a real estate investment firm that specializes in self-storage facilities. Jacob has an extensive background in residential fix and flips, multifamily, adaptive reuse retail, and town-owned development, but his passion lies in the self-storage business. Jacob explains the reasoning behind his shift towards storage, the company’s investment philosophy, and how they create value in their facilities.

 

Big Idea:  Real estate investor and entrepreneur Jacob Vanderslice shares his expertise in self-storage investment. Jacob discusses his journey in real estate investing and how his company, Van West Partners, moved from single-family rentals to self-storage investments. He emphasizes the importance of creating value through income streams and optimizing unit mix for maximum revenue. Jacob also talks about his investment philosophy, which centers around value-add investments in growing markets.

 

 

    

 

Dan: This is a pretty quick return, right? 6 months later, here we are. I don’t recall if we did it when we were on the call live recording or when we were spending some time before or after the episode, but we were talking about a fund you had set up for self-storage that had a pretty big dry powder dollar amount looking to allocate. I think my comment was, “Do you think you can actually allocate that?” I think that might be a good place to start so you can divulge the details as you see fit there and some adjustments to the playbook for VanWest going forward to get us started.

Jacob: Yeah, well, hopefully, six months ago my answer was the same as it is now. Because we could start to feel the shift back then. We had targeted a pretty large equity allocation when we launched this in January of 2022, which might as well have been 10 years ago relative to the history of the real estate market. Not much has changed, but we’ll end up closing the fund with 11 assets, just over 80 million in total capitalization leverage in the low 60s. We love the assets we’ve bought. We started acquiring in April 2022, and our last acquisition was in June of this year, so we’re raising our final round of capital. We’re going to close out the fund by 1231. Really, the reason for that is, first of all, we’re a closed-ended fund, and we’ve been open for a little while. Secondly, deal flows have substantially diminished. The bid asks spread is still very wide. It’s been widening, it feels like the last year or so. Sellers are just not transacting and you’re not seeing as many deals come to market. Buyers are having a harder time making their assumptions work, just give them what the interest rate environment has done. Bank financing is more difficult to get. You’ve got this incrementally declining transaction volume, and I think it’s going to just continue through the end of the year and we’ll see what 2024 looks like, but I think there’s going to be some opportunity coming up.

 

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.VanWestPartners.com

 

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

https://AccessOffMarketDeals.com/podcast/

 

Jacob Vanderslice & I Discuss the Self-Storage Industry:

  • The evolution of Van West Partners’ investment strategy
  • The state of the US real estate market and the impact of COVID-19
  • The role of technology in the real estate industry
  • The potential impact of government policies on the market
  • The outlook for the real estate market in the near future

    

Relevant Episodes: (There are 232 Content Packed Interviews in Total)

 

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

Insights from Crowdfunding Expert Adam Gower

 

Insights from Crowdfunding Expert Adam Gower

 

Guest: Adam Gower, a seasoned real estate crowdfunding and syndication expert hailing from Central Coast California, has embarked on an extraordinary journey in real estate finance. His diverse experiences, from dwelling in Beverly Hills to navigating the California Coast’s tumultuous waters, have uniquely sculpted his perspective on real estate investing. Within his captivating background lies an intriguing PhD thesis, delving into the historical intricacies of banks underwriting financing during the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese war. Adam’s profound knowledge of financial history and its practical application to real estate investment is genuinely enlightening.

 

Big Idea: In this episode, Adam Gower, a real estate crowdfunding and syndication expert, discusses the evolving landscape of real estate financing, emphasizing the importance of risk management, adapting to changing market dynamics, and leveraging syndication and crowdfunding opportunities for real estate investors.

 

 

    

 

Dan: That’s right. So, Adam, we’re going to get into GowerCrowd, Crowdfunding as our main topic. But before we do it, I thought a cool place to start would be where we are talking about right before we hit record. You have this PhD in an interesting topic. Would you mind briefly describing that?

Adam: Sure. I wrote a thesis that examined how banks underwrote their financing of Japan during the 1904 and 1905 Russo-Japanese war. Oh my goodness, how obscure could that be? What I found interesting about it, why I ended up writing this thing was that when you look at, it’s called the historiography, when you look at how people have reported this particular period in American banking history. The way they reported it was that Kuhn Loeb was headed up by – oh they complete it with JP Morgan. And this was in the day of the railroad barons and the robber barons, they were called. And Jacob Schiff and Kuhn Loeb, and JP Morgan, all these guys, they were all part of that party. The historiography says that Kuhn Loeb took really huge unnecessary risks, and I just didn’t believe it.

When I got the idea to write this PhD, I was working for East West Bank. I was brought in during the global financial crisis, so 2007-2008. I just thought, no, banks don’t take risks like that. They don’t just randomly invest because, whatever, some kind of wacky political points of view, which is what everybody said Kuhn Loeb had done. So, I decided to dive into it. And so, what I did was, it was really cool actually, Dan, seriously, I mean, I was able to access all the telegrams that went back… It was a syndicate of banks, the finance Japan. I look to handwritten letters, telegrams that went back and forth, and contracts. They were all handwritten in those days. It was really, really cool. I read all of this stuff that they never anticipated. They never thought anyone will ever read this. I got into all of this stuff. I figured these guys, they were really, really diligent on not only underwriting the risk but making sure, a couple things, one, they made absolutely sure that their investors were going to get their money back. Even if whether Japan won or lost. If you read between the lines here, you can see how this applies to real estate investing. But they were very, very sure that their investors would get their money back because they had guarantees from the Japanese government. And number two, even more importantly, as bankers, and I”ll extend this to real estate sponsors today, they were also extremely careful in the way they structured their deals that they made money, didn’t really matter if anybody else did at the end of the day.

 

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://GowerCrowd.com/

 

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

https://AccessOffMarketDeals.com/podcast/

 

Adam Gower & I Discuss Crowdfunding:

  • Market Migration Trends: Exploring the migration of people from California to Florida and its potential impact on the real estate market.
  • Risk Management: Drawing lessons from historical financial practices to highlight the crucial role of risk management in modern real estate investing.
  • Changing Real Estate Dynamics: Understanding the impact of fluctuating interest rates, insurance costs, taxes, and other factors on real estate investments.
  • Principal-Agent Conflict: Emphasizing the importance of active management and hands-on involvement in real estate deals to maximize returns.
  • Syndication and Crowdfunding: Exploring the legal aspects and online visibility needed to attract investors through crowdfunding and syndication, along with strategies for scaling real estate businesses.

    

Relevant Episodes: (There are 231 Content Packed Interviews in Total)

 

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

Navigating Real Estate Investment: From Young Enthusiast to Mobile Home Parks with Mitchell England

 

Navigating Real Estate Investment: From Young Enthusiast to Mobile Home Parks with Mitchell England

 

Guest: Mitchell England is a dynamic real estate investor and entrepreneur known for his strategic prowess in property investments. With over a decade of experience, Mitchell’s journey in real estate began during his teenage years when he was inspired by “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” He has since built a diverse portfolio spanning multiple states and property types, with a particular focus on mobile home parks. Mitchell’s investment philosophy revolves around long-term holds and leveraging smart debt, all in pursuit of his vision for generational wealth and financial freedom through real estate.

 

Big Idea: Mitchell England shares his journey into real estate investing, starting as a young enthusiast inspired by “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” He discusses how he began with single-family properties, the importance of cash flow in his investment strategy, and his transition to owning and managing mobile home parks across the United States. Mitchell emphasizes the advantages of mobile home parks, such as stable cash flow and lower maintenance costs, and highlights the challenges of managing tenant-owned units. He also delves into the concept of good debt and how it has evolved over time, the ideal characteristics of a perfect mobile home park, and strategies for handling tenant turnover in older communities.

 

 

    

 

Dan: Okay, cool. So as our origination story, maybe you can kind of touch on how you got in real estate and sort of how you evolved into the space that you’re in now, and then kind of a summary of where you’re at now, just to get us started.

Mitchell: Yeah. So I started really young. I stumbled upon Rich Dad, Poor Dad, which I know a lot of people listening to this probably have a similar story. But I read that book and it changed my whole perspective on life and how to provide value, and it made me start to question everything. I probably read the book at 16 years old. I was in high school at the time, and I was watching the run-up happen. That was like 2004, 2005, right in there. I was watching a lot of people make a lot of money in real estate. And so, that book paired with this huge run-up in the market, I was like, “Man, I got to get in this game.” I know you’re laughing, right? Because what happens next? But that was my first like, “Hey, what is this thing? How do I get into the game?” And I started asking that question. So early on, I jumped in, I bought a couple of pieces of property, thinking, “Hey, I’m going to go make some money on these things.” A couple of bare pieces of property, actually like vacant land. And you know what happens next, right? Oh, [inaudible] and I’m holding the bag, right? I’m holding these two properties going like, “Huh, maybe I don’t really understand this game as close as I thought.” And so, throughout my 20s, I was really interested in real estate. And I dove into a couple of other land deals, a couple of smaller duplex, single-family type stuff. And for me, the big aha was like when I got my first cash flow property, I thought, “Oh my gosh, someone else can pay for this. This is pretty amazing.” I probably should have been a faster learner than that, but it took like six or seven years to figure out like, “Oh, I could put a renter in. This is pretty incredible.” But I got addicted to the cash flow real estate. I just got addicted to it because I thought, “Well, gosh, this could give me not only like pay for my real estate, but also give me freedom.” And so, that first cash flow property was sort of a house hack. And from there, I started to buy some other single-family duplexes, kind of some smaller stuff. And then during that time, I was also working my corporate job. I was working at a med-tech company. And so, life was really busy, but I started to see real estate as like this escape, this thing that I could do. I could build up cash flow properties and slowly leave my job. And so, that was really like the catalyst.

 

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.CadiaCapitalGroup.com/

https://www.zeroto100tribe.com/

 

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

https://AccessOffMarketDeals.com/podcast/

 

Mitchell England & I Discuss Navigating Real Estate Investment:

  • Ideal Mobile Home Park Characteristics: Mitchell discusses the key attributes of an ideal mobile home park, including city utilities, paved roads, and tenant-owned units.
  • Tenant Turnover and Value-Add Strategies: The challenges and strategies associated with tenant turnover and value-add opportunities in mobile home parks.
  • Good Debt and Financing: Exploring the concept of “good debt” in real estate investing, emphasizing the benefits of non-recourse loans and favorable terms.
  • Investment Philosophy and Long-Term Hold Strategy: Mitchell’s investment philosophy centered around long-term holds, cash flow, and building a portfolio that’s inflation-resistant.
  • Challenges in Mobile Home Park Investments: Addressing the complexities of managing older and newer homes in the same community and finding solutions to attract new tenants to older park communities.

    

Relevant Episodes: (There are 230 Content Packed Interviews in Total)

 

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

Taylor Loht: Navigating Multifamily and Self-Storage Real Estate Investments

 

Taylor Loht: Navigating Multifamily and Self-Storage Real Estate Investments

 

Guest: Taylor Loht is a seasoned real estate investor specializing in multifamily and self-storage properties. He hosts the “Passive Wealth Strategy” podcast and has a diverse investment portfolio spanning various markets, including Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, and mid-Michigan. Taylor employs syndication models to raise investor capital for strategic property acquisitions. His approach emphasizes value-add strategies to boost net operating income and property value. Taylor’s insights highlight market selection, the importance of a well-executed business plan, and considerations of interest rate trends. Through his podcast and expertise, he offers valuable guidance to real estate investors of all levels.

 

Big Idea:  In this podcast episode, Taylor Loht, a real estate investor and host of the Passive Wealth Strategy podcast, shares insights into his investment strategies in multifamily and self-storage properties. He discusses the importance of choosing the right markets and property types, emphasizing a preference for B-plus multifamily assets and larger self-storage facilities. Taylor also highlights the impact of rising interest rates on investment decisions and the need to make sound financial plans, cautioning against relying too heavily on Internal Rate of Return (IRR) metrics.

 

 

    

 

Dan: So do you want to give us a reader’s digest of your business model right now, Taylor?

Taylor: Sure, absolutely. So I invest in multifamily and soft storage deals. Again, pretty well spread out around the country. We do the syndication model where we raise investor capital to buy these properties. Our investors invest their equity and ride along with the investment for whatever the hold period is. Historically, there were a lot of folks holding in the say, three to five-year range, especially when the market was very hot and interest rates were falling, everything like that. Now that we find ourselves in a higher interest rate environment, shall we say, I think hold times are generally going to get more extended maybe five to seven years. But that’s probably a topic for another part of our conversation here. So investing in commercial multifamily and self-storage deals with a value add strategy. So your listeners are probably familiar with flipping residential real estate.

I understand that’s what you do. Well, this model is similar but different in many ways. Our hold periods are much longer, which changes the capital gains tax and everything around that situation. But that’s not the only reason. The value add strategy in commercial real estate is really based around raising a net operating income of the property. So in the case of multifamily, getting into a property with say, 100% classic interiors, old outdated interiors where tenants in the area would be willing to pay more for updated interiors, maybe improve the management, improve the exteriors, things that would make somebody be willing to pay more in rent for the units. Get in there, fix ’em up, raise the net operating income, and that in turn raises the value of the property. And depending on the strategy of the deal, you can either refinance and return capital to investors or just choose to sell lock in your gain, and move on to the next one.

So some folks look at it as flipping commercial real estate. Generally, there are some key differences. The timelines are longer, we generally look to cash flow from the property as well while we hold it, rather than having it all vacant and fixing it up. We need to be producing income in order to demonstrate that the value of the properties are going up. But they are pretty straightforward and I think well-proven business models as long as it’s implemented properly with the correct financing and reserves and everything around 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:

https://www.PassiveWealthStrategy.com/

 

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

https://AccessOffMarketDeals.com/podcast/

 

Taylor Loht & I Discuss Navigating Multifamily and Self-Storage Real Estate Investments:

  • Market Strategy: Navigating Secondary and Tertiary Markets for Success
  • Property Preferences: Maximizing Returns with B-Plus Class Multifamily Investments
  • Interest Rate Impact: Capitalizing on Current Interest Rate Trends in Real Estate
  • Investment Strategy: Crafting Effective Business Plans and Deal Rationality in Real Estate

    

Relevant Episodes: (There are 229 Content Packed Interviews in Total)

 

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

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.

Multifamily Strategies for Success with Ava, CEO of CPI Capital

 

Multifamily Strategies for Success with Ava, CEO of CPI Capital

 

Guest: Ava Benesocky is the CEO and co-founder of CPI Capital, a successful real estate investment firm specializing in multifamily assets in the Sunbelt States. Known for her strategic approach and data-driven decisions, Ava focuses on acquiring stabilized properties and implementing targeted renovations to generate significant returns for investors. With a hold time of 3 to 5 years, she leverages growth indicators and business-friendly markets like Orlando, Jacksonville, and Tampa to capitalize on market opportunities. CPI Capital offers attractive preferred returns and provides monthly distributions, while Ava remains committed to delivering consistent results, education and value creation for investors.

 

Big Idea: Join us in this insightful episode as Ava, the CEO of CPI Capital, shares her expertise and experience in multifamily real estate investing. Discover how CPI Capital’s strategic investment approach and data-driven decision-making have led to remarkable returns for investors. Explore the key lessons learned, including the importance of educating investors, building trust, and addressing potential risks. Gain valuable insights into identifying value-add opportunities, navigating market conditions, and maximizing returns. Whether you’re a seasoned investor or new to real estate, this podcast provides actionable strategies and valuable information to unlock success in the dynamic world of multifamily investing.

 

 

    

 

Ava: Yes, I would love to, Daniel. I’m the CEO and co-founder of CPI Capital. It’s a real estate investment firm where our mandate is to really partner with limited partners, passive investors, to acquire institutional Multifamily Assets in the Sunbelt States. When I say institutional, I mean 100-plus stores. Our business model is very black and white. We always look for already built stabilized, cash-flowing assets that are 90% or more occupied. What we really love to do is we love to go in there and be fixing flippers on a large scale. We always look for a value-add component. Nothing crazy. We go for properties that we like to call Class B properties.

We do a lipstick renovation. Take out the flooring, add new floors, paint light fixtures, kitchen appliances. My favorite thing is to add washers and dryers to units that don’t have washers and dryers. Then we turn over the tenants. The 10% that’s not occupied, we renovate those. As we’ve done a unit, we go to the current tenants living there, and we kind of say, “Hey, for a brand-new unit, would you like to move in for a $150 premium?” In most cases, they say, “Yes.” This is where the numbers start to get really exciting for investors because this is what we call our CPI Capital wealth creation system. It’s this forced appreciation aspect of how you can literally take one of these multifamily assets. Do these lipstick renovations, turn over the tenants, and increase the value by millions and millions of dollars in the first one to two years of owning the asset.

Daniel: Good stuff. The washers and dryers, 100 units with washers and dryers does what to the water bill?

Ava: Oh, that’s a good question. I’ll tell you one thing it does. Well, we have a community washer and dryer as it is, right? Everybody has all their laundry in the community washer and dryer. When we put it in the unit, it can actually increase the rent up to $50 to $60 per unit. To put it into perspective, say on a 200-unit, if you’re doing all these renovations and you’re increasing a unit by $150 a unit, you can increase the value by about 10 million dollars in the first two years of owning the asset. That’s just forced appreciation. Now, we also purchase in regions that are significantly growing: job growth, population growth, income growth, and rent growth. You’ve got that natural market appreciation as well. We kind of get the best of both worlds. I like to tell investors when I’m kind of explaining the business model.

 

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://CPIcapital.ca/

 

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

https://AccessOffMarketDeals.com/podcast/

 

Ava  Benesocky & I Discuss Clean Tech Meets Real Estate:

  • The “fixing flippers” strategy: Learn how CPI Capital implements targeted cosmetic renovations to enhance property values and rental rates, generating substantial returns for investors.

  • Market selection and growth indicators: Discover Ava’s investment philosophy centered around identifying markets with robust growth indicators, such as population growth, job growth, income growth, and rent growth. Gain insights into the business-friendly states and regions where CPI Capital focuses their investments.

  • Investment returns and metrics: Understand the distinction between preferred return and annualized return, and the importance of grasping the true metrics of investment performance. Explore CPI Capital’s goal of doubling investors’ money within five years and their pursuit of above-average returns..

  • Portfolio overview and market readiness: Learn about CPI Capital’s portfolio of nearly 1,000 rental units and their cautious approach in pursuing buying opportunities, particularly in the Florida market. Discover the strategies they employ to mitigate risks and avoid capital calls.

  • Capitalizing on distressed assets: Explore the potential for acquiring properties at a significant discount due to distress and motivated sellers. Gain insights into CPI Capital’s investment strategy and their focus on value-add opportunities in the real estate market.


    

Relevant Episodes: (There are 224 Content Packed Interviews in Total)

 

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