Passive Income Through Multifamily Real Estate

Opportunity Zones were created to revitalize economically distressed communities using private investments rather than taxpayer dollars. However, due to their relative newness, Opportunity Zones are understandably unfamiliar to most investors and residents of these newly designated areas. What exactly are the benefits? Today’s guest is Jake Gardner, Head Of Investor Relations at the St. George Opportunity Zone Fund. Jake is a successful entrepreneur, starting his marketing technology firm seven years ago, which he just recently sold to a public company. As an investor, Jake focuses on finding unique projects in Opportunity Zones. In this episode, he shares with us his journey into real estate, verifies the importance of scaling, and explains why he believes COVID-19 is an opportunity for businesses to not only survive, but thrive. We discuss Opportunity Zones and the benefits for investors to defer capital gains, and Jake tells us what is different about the St. George Opportunity Zone Fund compared to other

The topic of downside protection is of particular importance right now as we are all going through this current crisis and period of instability. Our guest, Tauheed Siddiqui, is here to discuss his thoughts on the subject and how he and his company, TAAS, have gone about preparing for the more difficult times. He mentions conservative underwriting as the best place to start with a safety net. He also explains the importance of the market in which you’re investing in and how you prepare before reminding us of the power of liquidity; you do not want to be going into a downturn without any cash! Tauheed is very generous in sharing some of the strategies he uses and is currently using to make it through the troubled waters, and from there we move onto leases and renewals and hedging known and unknown factors. For Tauheed, an intimate relationship with the data as well as close links to his property management company are what helps him sleep at night. Listen in with us for this episode of Asset Management Fridays

While moving from single-family into multifamily is a gamechanger, once you start closing 1,000+ unit deals, things definitely switch gear again! Our guest on the show today is Jorge Abreu, and he joins us to talk about what it takes to close deals of that size, having recently closed on both a 1,000-unit portfolio and an 850-unit property too. Jorge is the co-founder and CEO of Elevate Commercial Investment Group and has over 1,700 doors on the GP side as well as over 1,400 doors on the LP side under management. He has the huge ambition of growing that number to 10,000 units in the coming years! Jorge believes that the more units you can manage, the easier managing them becomes and we get into why that is with him today. We chat with Jorge about how valuable systems, procedures, teams, and the right network of invested people are to the deal closing process, and especially so for larger deals. These factors help Jorge with everything from due dilligence to capital raising, acquisitions, and focusing on the b

Jason Yarusi from Yarusi Holdings joins us today to give some practical advice for saving on controllable expenses. The first place where you want to start is with your utilities, and he shares how little adjustments in terms of water and electricity can make a big difference. Another area with cost-saving potential is contracts. When you have had the same service provider for years, it is easy to lose track of their rates and in doing so, you could be overpaying on services. That is why Jason advises listeners to renegotiate prices every year. When you start making these small upgrades to your property, be sure to include your tenants in the conversation and get their buy-in before you bump up the rent. The conversation concludes with Jason encouraging listeners to remain persistent in their real estate endeavors. Key Points From This Episode:Get a quick overview of Jason and his wife’s multifamily syndication firm and where they invest. The biggest controllable expenses and what can be done to keep costs do

We know that deals can be structured in numerous ways. One model we don’t often hear about is joint ventures. Our guest today, Jerome Myers, has chosen this deal structure model to grow his real estate portfolio. As an asset manager for about 90 units and 90,000 square feet of workforce housing across Virginia and North Carolina, Jerome is also a passionate coach and teaches his methods of multifamily investing. In this episode, he walks us through joint ventures and how they are different from syndications. If syndications are commercial planes, with a crew and passengers, then joint ventures are fighter jets with no travelers. Everyone has an equal stake in the game. For Jerome, this model allows him to collaborate and engage with smart, creative people, who are all equally invested in achieving success. Along with this, we also touch on different debt structures, why he prefers to stay in the smaller multifamily space, and how joint ventures fulfill dual objectives of contributing to community good and mak

Today on the podcast, listeners will hear from Ajai Sharma, the founder, and principal of AimNext Realty. Ajai oversees all aspects of property operations, including asset management, property management oversight, and investor relations. Since he entered the real estate investing space in 2008, he has been involved in almost 5,000 units as a passive investor and also a deal sponsor. In this episode, Ajai shares why he entered the real estate market in the most difficult economic period and decided to pivot to apartment syndication five or so years ago. For him, the most important aspect of the business is communication—with investors, executive property management staff, and brokers—because you never want to burn bridges. He explains why bonus plans for staff on the sale of a property is a good way to keep them committed to the cause and how that helps to ensure positive future working relationships. He walks us through their process of getting ready to sell a property after the five years, what they do when

Today on the Passive Investment Through Multi-family Real Estate Podcast we are joined by Damion Lupo! Damion has a long history in entrepreneurship and he is here to talk about the new CARES Act and how it might affect the foreseeable future for real estate investors. Damion does a sterling job of explaining the particulars of the act and what it means right now, leading into the rest of the calendar year. Although the reasons for the act might be apparent in the current crisis, Damion is skeptical of its long term benefits, foreseeing a damaging effect on the dollar and the American economy in general. We discuss what the CARES Act allows individuals to do, in terms of withdrawals and repayments and what this means for taxation. The stimulus packages that have already been implemented have relieved the finances of many businesses but how far can this strategy legitimately be stretched? Damion does not believe very much further, without some very negative results. All that being said it pays to be in the kno

Strong investor relations are a crucial part of the syndication puzzle. Without these, it will be very difficult to thrive in the business. Our guest today, Ivan Barratt of Barratt Asset Management, is here to share his top tips on creating investor relationships that propel you to success. In this episode, we learn about the importance of investor communication. Ivan shares how frequently he interacts with investors and the various platforms he uses. It is important to be open and transparent with investors, particularly in difficult times. Investors understand that things may not go to plan, so keeping them in the loop will quell any anxieties. Along with this, strong returns always go a long way in growing the relationship. Ivan also sheds light on some other investor relations strategies he uses as well as his superpower. Be sure to tune in today!Key Points From This Episode:Find out more about Ivan’s background and what he’s accomplished over the last 10 years.How often Ivan communicates with investors a

Diversification can be a great ally in the game of passive investing and today's guest is a wonderful example of this! Travis Watts currently has 27 investments, utilizing 14 different sponsors, and while this high number might be a bit unusual, our conversation makes it quite clear how Travis has made this work for him and his business. Travis believes in recession-resistant asset classes and he unpacks exactly what that means to him. We get to hear about his real estate journey and the lessons he learned when he started out focussing on active projects. Travis comments on his appreciation of good communication, the usefulness of video and photos, and how he goes about vetting sponsors. We also dig into Travis' management process and style, his focus on cashflow, and the challenges he has weathered in his career thus far. With the world in a state of uncertainty, Travis' emphasis on certain types of asset classes is something useful for all listeners to think about, so tune in and get it all!K

Going through a property’s monthly reports might not be the most glamorous syndication related activity, but it is incredibly important. You need to inspect each report with a fine-tooth comb to ensure that all of the numbers are correct. Today, Kyle Mitchell, co-host of this show, is in the hot seat, answering questions about monthly reporting. In this episode, Kyle talks about the new company he and Gary are launching and what they’ll be working on. He then takes us through his process of reviewing monthly reports, highlighting some of the common areas where he sees mistakes. From double changes to accidental fees, it’s easy for property management companies with a large clientele to make mistakes. Kyle stresses the importance of going into the ledger rather than looking at the summary report. Along with this, we also talk about tax expensing in your budget, being a signer on your bank account, and more. Be sure to tune in today!Key Points From This Episode:Learn more about Kyle and the new project he’s goi

Starting your real estate investment journey with single-family is a good way to get an understanding of all the moving parts. However, it's not scalable or passive and often requires more work than a larger project. Our guest today, Agnes Wong, saw this first hand, which is why she transitioned from single-family solely to include multifamily. Her portfolio now consists of single-family, multifamily, and she's a limited partner of over 1,000 doors for larger multifamily projects. She has designed and project managed over 35 million dollars of residential developments in the San Francisco area. Agnes also hosts a real estate meetup group in San Francisco, where she shares her passion for real estate and creating financial freedom. In this episode, Agnes shares more about her fix and flip business and why she pivoted to multifamily. She gives us insights into how she found her first operator to work with as well as what she did to vet them. It is important to put a lot of work into background checks

It is so important to explore every avenue when trying to generate more income from your properties. This requires creativity and outside of the box thinking. Today’s guest, Ben Suttles, of Disrupt Equity, is here to share some of the top strategies he and his team use to increase their property returns. In this episode, Ben sheds light on why implementing RUBS is a huge boost to property revenue.  He walks us through the time frame and other specifications of rolling RUBS out. Ben also shares other tactics for increasing returns, like pet rent and trash and pest fees. When introducing these fees, it is crucial to understand whether your tenant base can support them. This is why it’s important to draw on your property management team’s knowledge of the area and the fees other properties are charging. We also discuss how to get on the same page as your property management team, why you should stagger the introduction of additional fees, and how tighter management itself produces more income. This was a great s

When it comes to investing and managing a large portfolio, fortune definitely favors those who know when to take risks but more importantly, when to exercise diligence and caution. Today on the show we were lucky to speak about all the ways that we could become better multifamily syndicators with the famous Gino Barbaro! For listeners newer in the game, Gino has over $100 million, or 1400 units in real estate under management, is a bestselling author, successful coach, and also co-host of The Jake and Gino Show! We hear from Gino about how he threw in the towel with his restaurant business and took a few risks early on to grow a small portfolio with his partner Jake. He speaks about all the lessons he learned while studying to be a personal coach, and how this fed into his approach to real estate thereafter. Gino has many wise sayings he shares with listeners today. Putting them to work will help you learn how to buy and invest smartly so that when things go south (like they are now!) your deal structure is f

With all the different concerns that go into real estate investing and the multifamily business, the human element can sometimes be understated. After all, managing a residential property is first and foremost about providing people with a place to stay! This is the attitude of our guest today, Jamie Gruber, who has a strong philosophy of putting people first. This does not mean that he is not business-minded or focussed on making money and shrewd decisions, rather that he does so with a strong emphasis on the human element and what the effect will be on the residents of his properties. Jamie tells us how he aims to treat residents as he would like to be treated and tries to have as much meaningful communication with them as possible. This means surveying their needs and desires, providing good maintenance services, and reasonable notice on rent increases. We get into some examples of issues that can be encountered in the game of multifamily and Jamie shares his ways of dealing with potential hurdles. So for

Self-storage is a fast-growing sector of commercial real estate that has been called ‘recession-resistant’. Today’s guest is Kris Benson, a Chief Investment Officer for Reliant Investments, which is a subsidiary of Reliant Real Estate Management and was named one of the top 30 commercial self-storage operators in the US in 2018. Investing in real estate has been in Kris’s steadfast path to passive income and he is passionate about inspiring others to change their mindset around investing for their future. In this episode, Kris unpacks what he thinks makes self-storage recession-resistant, and what attracted him to this asset class in the first place. We also discuss some of the challenges when investing in self-storage and how Kris’s company adds value to their self-storage units, depending on the client. Kris goes into detail about rent increases, ground-up developments versus existing properties, and the existing lending structures for self-storage, and we end off the show with the final four questions from

Today on the show we welcome Andrew Campbell, the co-founder at Wildhorn Capital, a multifamily operations group in Central Texas. Currently, they have 1,800 units that are all value ad and within the B to A-minus asset class range. Andrew shares with listeners how they have been doing in-house renovations with great success, partly due to the savings they make on bulk purchases and focusing on those renovations that give you the most bang for your buck. He also discusses the advantages of having the products on hand and using the same ones across all their assets, and why they choose vinyl flooring throughout all their apartments. We switch to discussing the importance of communication between the asset manager, on-site manager, and GCs, and Andrew also gives advice about value add renovations in general.  Key Points From This Episode:Learn about the Wildhorn Capital operations group and its number of units. How Andrew and his team manage the renovations on properties in-house. Buying flooring, light fixture

With a ratio of four million employees to two million companies, the commercial real estate industry in the US is highly bifurcated. Some of the larger firms have over two million employees though, meaning there are a considerable amount of companies that only have a staff count of one or two. Hiring full-time specialist staff in such a climate can be difficult for the smaller firms, but our guest for today joins us to speak about the work he is doing to remove that pain point. Mason Fiascone is the head of sales and marketing at Bullpen, an online marketplace that connects smaller real estate firms to commission-based analysts. Mason covers Bullpen’s mission and its distinctiveness compared with more general virtual assistant platforms. From there, he talks about the different areas of real estate underwriting that Bullpen analysts do, the most common phases in deals they work on, and how the company goes about vetting new analysts before including them in the platform. We also talk to Mason about how Bullpe

Our guest for this episode, Drew Kniffin, is the president of Nighthawk Equity, a syndication group focused exclusively on buying C plus and B class multifamily assets. The topic today is leasing, and as an expert in this field, Drew shares what a good leasing strategy should look like, including the performance indicators for leases and leasing agents and how they have had to temporarily adjust their approach amid the COVID-19 outbreak. He talks about their trusted formulation and striking the balance between maximum rent versus maximum occupancy, and how they go about getting property managers on the same page. In terms of hiring the right people for your team, he encourages listeners to look for those guys who are adept at selling who will ensure that your properties get leased out. Key Points From This Episode:Learn about our guest’s role at Nighthawk Equity and the asset classes they focus on. Drew’s leasing formulation: maximum rent versus maximum occupancy. The asset manager’s role in communicating the

Where do you want to be in ten or twenty years from total monthly income perspective? Are you interested in passive real estate investments that will allow to live off the money you make on them in the meantime, while also continuing to increase in value? Today’s guest is David Gwilt, an active duty USAF Officer, Realtor, Real Estate Investor, and financial analyst for an apartment investing firm. David and his wife, Tasha, purchase apartments to create passive income and generational wealth, and they’re helping others do the same. Find out about David’s real estate journey, and why he chose to get into multifamily real estate in the first place. He also shares with us what he looks for when choosing to make an investment and some possible red flags that might cause him to pass up on a deal. Tune in for some great advice on beginning with your end financial goal in mind!Key Points From This Episode:David gives us a glimpse into his background and his multifamily real estate journey.Concerns prior to investing

With the right approach to your value-add strategy, you can be sure that your dollars are being well spent, you’re up to speed with your competition, and that you’ll lease up faster! Today on the show, Kyle interviews Gary and the two talk shop about best practices for value-add! It’s important to start your value-add process from the very beginning, and Gary tells us that he’s already thinking about it from the time he receives the EOM. Another great tip Gary mentions is to keep touring your comps, even after a deal closes. Constantly assessing metrics like ROI and staying in the know about where you sit in relation to your competitors is vital! Equally important is how to know when to deviate from a value-add plan, and our hosts have a few golden nuggets to share in that regard. Gary also suggests that investors should focus on exterior renovations first, and shares a few of his top-performing cosmetic additions, such as billboards, paint jobs, and amenities. Lastly, we get into some ways that you can know