Keith and Gelena Wasserman are a dynamic husband-and-wife real estate duo who turned a $5,000 loan into a $1.3 billion portfolio. They share their compelling journey through strategic investments in multifamily properties, highlighting how they identify undervalued assets. Listeners hear tales of persistence during the 2008 recession and the importance of mentorship. They also discuss innovative housing solutions and the balance between real estate and startup mindsets, offering valuable insights for aspiring investors.

Real estate powerhouse Keith Wasserman discusses investing strategies, building business relationships, managing a career with his wife, raising capital, navigating real estate markets, entrepreneurial ventures, journey from eBay to real estate success, Phoenix investment journey, balancing passion and family, operational changes, fundraising challenges, confronting challenges, building relationships, evolution of cold calling, and insights on Twitter and perfectionism.

My guest this week is Keith Wasserman, co-founder of the real estate investment firm Gelt. This was my first fully dedicated conversation on direct real estate investing, so we cover many different topics, including the pros and cons of different types of real estate, current valuations, risk vs. reward, tax protection, and the most interesting emergent areas.   You can tell Keith is an entrepreneur at heart so I enjoyed his energy and all that he has learned. Please enjoy.   For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag   Show Notes 1:15 - (First Question) – Their interest in apartments and mobile homes as investments 2:32 – The returns spectrum for different classes of real estate 4:03 – His early entrepreneurial ventures and the start of Gelt 7:45 – Don’t be afraid of negotiating 8:34 – Going through early deals in real estate 11:57 – How he determines when it’s time to sell a property 14:13 – How do they think about taxes in their investment offerings 16:57 – Depreciation strategies in real estate investing 18:27 – The evolution of the types of real estate properties they’ve invested in 21:41 – Most important factors when evaluating a building to invest in 23:50 – Barriers to entry 25:41 – Changes in his cost of capital 28:51 – Cost of debt and deciding how much to put into a building 30:33 – A look at the competition 34:51 – Effective marketing strategies 37:07 – How demographics impact their strategies 39:11 – The co-living space 40:34 – Cloud kitchens and how he would invest in these 46:11 – How autonomous vehicles will impact real estate 47:52 – Pros and cons of developing new properties vs buying existing ones 49:59 – Early stage investing interest 53:48 – Favorite business/entrepreneur story 55:10 – Advice for younger entrepreneurs 57:09 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Keith   Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.  Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub