Deploying $50MM into Affordable Housing with Mario Brown - Co-Founder of Affordable Upstate

Affordable Upstate is a real estate investment firm focused on redeveloping and redefining naturally occurring affordable housing in the Upstate of South Carolina. 

In 2017 Mario co-founded Affordable Upsate, a small real estate investment firm, at the time with 63 units, that redevelops energy-efficient, multifamily apartment units. Since 2017 we have placed over $50MM of investor equity into socially responsible, environmentally-enhanced workforce housing investments.

On this episode, Mario and Jake discuss:

• The housing shortage in the southeast
• Mario's work in affordable housing
• Building a vertically integrated company
• Raising capital & deal structures

Connect & Invest with Jake:

Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jwurzak

Take the Hospitality Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/

Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo

Links:

Affordable Upstate

Mario on LinkedIn

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:51) - Greenville: The new Austin?

(00:06:57) - The housing shortage in the southeastern United States

(00:13:22) - The opportunity in Class B multifamily

(00:16:09) - Mario’s work in affordable housing

(00:20:47) - How are you assessing risk?

(00:25:47) - Mario’s journey into real estate

(00:28:10) - What advantage do you have investing in the market you live in vs. outsiders?

(00:29:36) - Making the entrepreneurial leap

(00:37:23) - Mario’s first deal

(00:41:36) - Value add

(00:43:07) - Becoming vertically integrated

(00:46:09) - What innovative ways have you chosen to run the operating business?

(00:49:56) - What’s a mistake you made when building the PM company?

(00:52:12) - Investing through Gps & building trust with investors

(00:55:41) - Deal structures

(00:57:56) - Raising capital

(01:01:30) - What is your competitive edge?

(01:03:31) - Construction & renovations

(01:08:48) - What’s your weekly work cadence?

(01:10:43) - What drains your energy?

(01:11:43) - What are your 3-year goals?

(01:14:00) - What is your favorite hotel?