PassivePockets: The Passive Real Estate Investing Show

Travis Smith is the Founder & CEO of Tribevest, a platform to launch an investor entity, pool capital, and experience wealth-building with friends, family, and people you trust. In this episode, Travis talks about why he started Tribevest and how the platform helps group invest together while solving for lack of capital, experience and community.Travis discusses how group investing gets you into more deals which helps with portfolio diversification. He also talks about some of the challenges of group investing and how Tribevest assists tribes in overcoming those challenges through the Same Page report and helping establish rules of the road early in the process.Travis mentions how a platform such as Tribevest opens passive syndication investment to more people – not just the “country club” set.  The platform can help both who have money but no time as well as those who don’t have the capital but want to learn together.Travis talks about how technology has changed the “stranger means danger” to allow strangers to interact – whether that’s through platforms like Aribnb, Uber or Tribevest.  He also discusses the benefits of pooling resources such as capital, experience and Community.Podcasts Travis recommends:Wealth Formula PodcastThe Tim Ferriss ShowYou can connect with Travis at www.tribevest.com.If you would like to contact Jim Pfeifer, you can email him at jim@leftfieldinvestors.com or if you would like to find out more about Left Field Investors go to www.leftfieldinvestors.com.Our sponsor, Tribevest provides the easiest way to form, fund, and manage your Investor Tribe with people you know like, and trust.  Tribevest is the Investor Tribe management platform of choice for Jim Pfeifer and the Left Field Investor's Community.   Tribevest is a strategic partner and sponsor of Passive Investing from Left Field.  

David Shirkey is an investor focused on operating companies in the manufacturing space, mobile home parks, high cash value life insurance and more!  He is also the leader of the Michigan Investor Group, a community dedicated to sharing investment knowledge and experience with others. In this episode, David talks about the high demand and low supply for affordable housing like mobile home parks, how networking has helped his investing and the importance of vetting the sponsor and being patient before making a second investment with a syndicator.David talks about the high demand and limited supply for affordable housing in the US and new zoning for mobile home parks is very difficult. He sees this as an opportunity for mobile home park investors. He also discusses how networking has led to him to multiple opportunities for his business including connecting him to a mobile home park operator who became his partner in a mobile home park fund.David also talks about vetting a sponsor. He begins by talking to people in his network to see if anyone has experience with the new sponsors, then he makes an appointment to talk with the sponsor, asks for track record and often goes to meet the sponsors in person. He also asks similar questions in different ways to see if the story stays consistent. He also usually does some research on LLC’s, GP’s and partners and sometimes does background checks.Although it is difficult to wait, David tries to wait one year after investing with a new sponsor before investing again or recommending him to his network.  This way he can get a good idea of the sponsor’s reporting, procedures and returns before he commits more capital to a new deal.  David also mentioned the importance of investing with full-time sponsors and to be sure you are investing with operators rather than just marketers.David also discusses using high cash value life insurance to invest in syndications. He uses the cash in his policies as an emergency fund first and opportunity fund second.  David mentions some of the metrics to look for when evaluating mobile home park opportunities.Podcasts David recommends:Wealth Formula PodcastThe All-In Podcast To connect with David, you can email him at dshirkey@orbitform.com or visit the website for the Michigan Investor group at www.michiganinvestorgroup.com.If you would like to contact Jim Pfeifer, you can email him at jim@leftfieldinvestors.com or if you would like to find out more about Left Field Investors go to www.leftfieldinvestors.com.Our sponsor, Tribevest provides the easiest way to form, fund, and manage your Investor Tribe with people you know like, and trust.  Tribevest is the Investor Tribe management platform of choice for Jim Pfeifer and the Left Field Investor's Community.   Tribevest is a strategic partner and sponsor of Passive Investing from Left Field.  

Kenny Wolfe is the President of Wolfe Investments and has been investing in multifamily since 2010. He currently owns over $250M of commercial real estate with 4500 units in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Ohio. He also owns commercial retail properties in three states and some ground up development as well. In this episode, Kenny talks about alignment of interest between the syndicator and the investor, investing in downtown metro areas and investing for cash flow, appreciation or both.Kenny discusses how he bought into two passive deals to learn the ropes in order to be a syndicator and the benefits of using networking to find sponsors and to get started.Kenny talks about structuring his deals for the long term by aligning interests with his investors by eliminating acquisition and disposition fees and not paying a preferred return.  He also mentions how bringing property management in house has given him better control over managing the assets.Kenny discusses the three different types of assets he investing in: 1. Development focusing on appreciation2. Existing multi-family properties focusing on cash flow and appreciation and 3. Commercial triple net leases focused on cash flow. He also has recognized that because of the pandemic, there are great deals to be had in downtown metro areas and has purchased multi-family properties and conversions in downtown Cleveland, Dallas and Atlanta. Podcast Kenny recommends:Old Capital PodcastTo connect with Kenny, go to Wolfe Investments or visit him on Youtube.If you would like to contact Jim Pfeifer, you can email him at jim@leftfieldinvestors.com or if you would like to find out more about Left Field Investors go to www.leftfieldinvestors.com.Our sponsor, Tribevest provides the easiest way to form, fund, and manage your Investor Tribe with people you know like, and trust.  Tribevest is the Investor Tribe management platform of choice for Jim Pfeifer and the Left Field Investor's Community.   Tribevest is a strategic partner and sponsor of Passive Investing from Left Field.  

Ryan Stieg is a passive investor and a Co-Founder of Left Field.  He owns a portfolio of 1-3 unit properties in five different markets and more than 20 syndication investments in notes, mobile homes, life settlements, crypto, self-storage,  multi-family and more. In this episode, Ryan talks about how he realized single family homes are great investments, but difficult to scale which led him to develop a network to help him get into real estate syndications. Ryan talks about using mentors and networks to help validate his investing style and decisions and how being part of a Community has helped him become a better investor.  He realized that he can offset some of his weaknesses with the strengths of those in his network in the same way that he can share his strengths to help others.Ryan discusses the five different types of return he can get from active investing: cash flow, loan paydown, taxes, appreciation and the inflation erosion of debt. Ryan and I also talk about Tribevest and why we started a Tribe together as a way to diversify into different syndicators, markets and assets.  Ryan mentions that belonging to a Tribe and a Community has helped him find new deals and new sponsors and made him a better passive investor. Ryan talks about how accumulation of assets is less important than increasing the number of income streams – he accumulates assets that produce cash flow as a way of producing sustainable wealth.  He also discusses the importance of finding sponsors you know like, and who have a positive track record and systems in place to ensure their success is repeatable.Podcasts Ryan recommends:The Wealth Formula Podcast with Buck JoffreyReal Estate News for Investors with Kathy FettkeThe Brendon ShowClick this link to connect with Ryan on LinkedIn.If you would like to contact Jim Pfeifer, you can email him at jim@leftfieldinvestors.com or if you would like to find out more about Left Field Investors go to www.leftfieldinvestors.com.Our sponsor, Tribevest provides the easiest way to form, fund, and manage your Investor Tribe with people you know like, and trust.  Tribevest is the Investor Tribe management platform of choice for Jim Pfeifer and the Left Field Investor's Community.   Tribevest is a strategic partner and sponsor of Passive Investing from Left Field.  

Dan Handford is the Managing Partner of PassiveInvesting.com. Dan is a business owner involved in specialty medical clinics, anatomical model sales, and chiropractic supply companies who got into real estate syndication to help take advantage of the tax advantages to real estate investors.  His company has a multifamily real estate portfolio of over 2700 doors worth $380M and is currently closing on their first self-storage deal.  In this episode, Dan talks about how to pick a sponsor, debunks the myth about tenants moving to different property types in a recession, investments with multiple share classes and his move into self-storage.Dan discusses the importance of delegation when managing his businesses and how crucial that was when he made the decision to become a real estate investor and syndicator.  He also mentions how hiring a mentor enabled him to feel comfortable with his first few passive investments.  Dan is still investing passively with 38 passive investments with 14 operators. To find new sponsors, he recommends getting on as many lists as possible to see the content and deal flow from sponsors which will make it clear to you which ones stand above the others.Dan talks about picking sponsors with a background in business and why that is important. He also discusses how in a recession tenants don’t really end up moving from Class A down to Class B or C assets, they generally move from A+ to A or B to B-, so the assets to avoid are mostly the A+ assets because there is no one to move down to those properties.Dan discusses the two different share classes that many sponsors are offering now and that it is becoming more common because of market tightening. The Class A shares are more like preferred equity with higher preferred return, but no upside - while Class B shares benefit from the upside at sale which is magnified because the Class A shares do not participate in the proceeds from sale.Dan mentions that they have moved into self-storage as a new asset class and that this was part of the plan from the start of their business. He has experience from investing in self-storage on the passive side, but he also hired a team of experienced operators to help find, buy and manage the assets. His team see self-storage cap rates are compressing as they are in multifamily, but self-storage has more room to run as the cap rates are currently higher than multifamily. Dan also talks about his Debt Fund which operates as a hard money lender to rehabbers and flippers and pays a 6% return. Dan mentions an article on his website titled, The Red Flags of Apartment Investing which can be read by clicking on the link.Podcasts Dan recommends:Mulitfamily Investor NationStorage Investor NationDan also shares his favorite book on passive investing: Best Ever Apartment Syndication BookTo connect with Dan, go to www.passiveinvesting.com and join the Passive Investing Club. You can also find him on LinkedIn through Linkwithdan.com.If you would like to contact Jim Pfeifer, you can email him at jim@leftfieldinvestors.com or if you would like to find out more about Left Field Investors go to www.leftfieldinvestors.com.Our sponsor, Tribevest provides the easiest way to form, fund, and manage your Investor Tribe with people you know like, and trust.  Tribevest is the Investor Tribe management platform of choice for Jim Pfeifer and the Left Field Investor's Community.    Tribevest is a strategic partner and sponsor of Passive Investing from Left Field.  

Josh Satin is the Director of Acquisitions at Gelt, Inc.  He is an experienced multifamily and mobile home investor involved in the acquisition of over 3300 units valued at over $300 million.  He is a former Major League Baseball player for the NY Mets and Cincinnati Reds and started his investing journey while still playing baseball by working with a mentor who exposed him to passive syndication investing.  In this episode, Josh talks about the importance of an experienced sponsor, understanding the expenses and knowing the story behind the markets you invest in.Josh talks about looking at various different industries and jobs after he retired from baseball and how he kept looking until he found his passion in multifamily investing. He mentions that he had a trusted mentor that helped him begin in the business and helped develop his interest in real estate while he was still playing baseball.Josh discusses how location is essential when selecting investments, but it’s more than just job and wage growth. The investor needs to look at the story as to why that location is experiencing growth and understand how sustainable and widespread those growth metrics are. He talks about using a rent-controlled market as a positive as it keeps competitors away and you can find success if you understand and work within the regulations in the market.Josh talks about the importance of finding the right sponsor and how critical that is to the success of the passive investor. He mentions how important it is to understand the proforma expenses that sponsors use for their financial projections. He also cautions that many sponsors underestimate the costs to operate the property which can lead to real problems if rent growth comes in under expectations.Podcast Josh recommends:Cash Flow Connections with Hunter ThompsonJomboy MediaTo connect with Josh, go to josh@geltinc.om or go to www.geltinc.com.If you would like to contact Jim Pfeifer, you can email him at jim@leftfieldinvestors.com or if you would like to find out more about Left Field Investors go to www.leftfieldinvestors.com.Our sponsor, Tribevest provides the easiest way to form, fund, and manage your Investor Tribe with people you know like, and trust.  Tribevest is the Investor Tribe management platform of choice for Jim Pfeifer and the Left Field Investor's Community.   Tribevest is a strategic partner and sponsor of Passive Investing from Left Field.  

Jeff Cook is the CEO of Cook Properties, a family owned and operated company that invests in commercial, retail, office, self-storage and mobile home parks.  He began his real estate investing with single family homes in 1997 and bought his first mobile home park in 2008.   In this episode, Jeff talks about the importance of focusing on what you are good at – which for his group is mobile home parks located in New York.Jeff discusses his transition from buying single and small multi-family homes to transitioning to more commercial assets.  He mentions the challenge of trying to do a 1031 exchange when selling his initial portfolio of homes but having it fail due to timing.  He now prefers not to sell, rather to return capital to investors through refinancing his properties. Jeff talks about investing in NY and how to be successful in a business climate that most regional and national operators avoid. He had to adjust the mobile park business to deal with rent control but it hasn’t negatively affected the business as they understand the market and the regulations. This allows him to run a successful business by focusing on the asset classes and markets they are experts in.Jeff discusses some important mobile home metrics he evaluates when looking for properties and what passive investors should focus on when evaluating a deal. He also talks about other asset classes they are currently operating in and why they are looking to sell most of those assets and continue concentrating on mobile home parks. He also mentions the current mobile home park fund for which they are raising capital until May 15th.Podcasts Jeff recommends:Passive Investing From Left FieldThe Mobile Home Park Expert PodcastPassive Mobile Home Park InvestingTo connect with Jeff, go to www.cookpropertiesny.com or send him an email at jcookproperties@gmail.com or call or text 585-233-4699.If you would like to contact Jim Pfeifer, you can email him at jim@leftfieldinvestors.com or if you would like to find out more about Left Field Investors go to www.leftfieldinvestors.com.Our sponsor, Tribevest provides the easiest way to form, fund, and manage your Investor Tribe with people you know like, and trust.  Tribevest is the Investor Tribe management platform of choice for Jim Pfeifer and the Left Field Investor's Community.    Tribevest is a strategic partner and sponsor of Passive Investing from Left Field.  

Cherry Chen is a full time internal medicine physician.  She is the founder of The Real Estate Physician – a community of physician investors focused on working toward financial independence. In this episode, Cherry talks about the importance of networking when passively investing and how her community helps investors become informed, vet sponsors and find deals.Cherry started her community to share with other doctors what she learned about syndications and to create a platform to share what she would have liked to have known when she started. Her goal is to create a space where doctors can invest safely and with confidence.Cherry discusses that her first objective with new community members is to help them get informed – through podcasts, books, blogs and introductory calls with her new people in her network. Her second objective is helping her community know who to trust and how to determine if a deal is a good deal worth funding.Cherry mentions the importance of making sure that the passive investments you make match your philosophy and fit in your portfolio. She discusses that there are no secrets or shortcuts to vetting a sponsor, you need to talk with them and develop a relationship of Know, Like and Trust.Cherry talks about how to pick a market and that she prefers stabilized value add properties. She mentions that her favorite markets are those with population growth and corporate headquarters moving to the city. She talks about the importance of doing your homework and not jumping into an opportunity without doing proper due diligence.Podcasts Cherry recommends:Bigger PocketsBest Ever with Joe FairlessThe Real Estate GuysOld Capital PodcastTo connect with Cherry go to www.therealestatephysician.com.If you would like to contact Jim Pfeifer, you can email him at jim@leftfieldinvestors.com or if you would like to find out more about Left Field Investors go to www.leftfieldinvestors.com.Our sponsor, Tribevest provides the easiest way to form, fund, and manage your Investor Tribe with people you know like, and trust.  Tribevest is the Investor Tribe management platform of choice for Jim Pfeifer and the Left Field Investor's Community.    Tribevest is a strategic partner and sponsor of Passive Investing from Left Field.  

Sean Donnelly is Managing Director at a reinsurance company and is one of the founders of Left Field Investors.  Sean has been a “right fielder” for most of his investing career, but found passive investing and is solidly in center field now through his new investments in passive syndications combined with his continued investments in the stock market and paper assets. In this episode, Sean talks about how he got into passive investing, the importance of a network in helping build your investing confidence and how the consistent returns of passive investing can be more attractive than the lumpy returns of active investing.Sean discusses how his real estate journey started with an underperforming flip and progressed through owning rentals and now is focused on passive real estate syndications. He also talks about the Founding of Left Field Investors and how it is helpful having a network for finding sponsors and vetting sponsors.  He mentions the importance of investing with sponsors that you know, like and trust and how critical that is to successful investing in syndications.Sean discusses some of his favorite asset classes – some he has already invested in and others that he has his eyes on – as well as how passive income will support and enhance his retirement. Podcasts Sean recommends:The Way I Heard It with Mike RoweTED Radio HourWe Study BillionairesYou can connect with Sean on LinkedIn or you can find him on the Left Field Investors Infielder’s Forum.If you would like to contact Jim Pfeifer, you can email him at jim@leftfieldinvestors.com or if you would like to find out more about Left Field Investors go to www.leftfieldinvestors.com.Our sponsor, Tribevest provides the easiest way to form, fund, and manage your Investor Tribe with people you know like, and trust. Tribevest is the Investor Tribe management platform of choice for Jim Pfeifer and the Left Field Investors' Community.Tribevest is a strategic partner and sponsor of Passive Investing from Left Field.

Drew Wahlgren is the Director of Capital Markets at MAG Capital Partners, a private investment firm focusing on single-tenant, net lease development and sale leaseback structured transactions.  In this episode, Drew talks about how he got started in real estate and explained what an industrial single tenant triple net sale leaseback is and why it’s a great asset class for consistent cash flow with appreciation upside.Drew talks about the consistent cashflow that starts from day one for the passive investor.  He explains that triple net means that the tenant pays for all maintenance, repairs, insurance and taxes so there are very few expenses for the property owner to pay. Drew also talks about the financial reporting requirements they have for their tenants during due diligence prior to purchase and ongoing after the property is acquired. He discusses why a company would want to sell their property and lease it back and the importance of understanding what the company plans to do with the capital acquired from the transaction. He also talks about the competition in purchasing these assets and when and how they exit a deal.Drew discusses how a passive investor can analyze an industrial tripe net sale leaseback opportunity and mentioned the typical preferred returns and average annual returns his firm strives for and has achieved in the past.  He explains that this is an asset class that has done very well in the pandemic and is expected to continue to outperform in the future.Podcasts he recommends:The Real Estate Espresso Podcast with Victor Menasce  To connect with Drew you can email him at drew@magcp.com or go to www.magcp.com to get more information about MAG Capital Partners.If you would like to contact Jim Pfeifer, you can email him at jim@leftfieldinvestors.com or if you would like to find out more about Left Field Investors go to www.leftfieldinvestors.com. Our sponsor, Tribevest provides the easiest way to form, fund, and manage your Investor Tribe with people you know like, and trust.  Tribevest is the Investor Tribe management platform of choice for Jim Pfeifer and the Left Field Investor's Community.    Tribevest is a strategic partner and sponsor of Passive Investing from Left Field.