PassivePockets: The Passive Real Estate Investing Show

Steve Suh is one of the Founders of Left Field Investors.  He is an ophthalmologist and the host of the Healthy Eyes 101 Podcast.  Steve has invested in a broad range of passive syndications including multifamily and self-storage as well as some more unique assets like underperforming resorts, coffee farms and a Broadway show.  In this episode, Steve talks about how he got started in real estate and syndications, what metrics are important to him when analyzing a deal and some of the unique asset classes he invests in.Steve talks about his first syndication in an oil and gas well that didn’t work out.  He then got into turnkey investing but had multiple property managers for one property and it was not passive enough for him. After he had a loan called through the due on sale clause, he decided that active investing was not for him and he made the change to passive syndications beginning with an investment in Puerto Rico.Steve discusses the seminars he went to and how they helped him confirm that investing passively was his future.  From there, he went on to invest in multifamily, self-storage, underperforming resorts, a wellness resort, coffee farm, ATM’s, a Broadway show and more.  Steve talks about his desire to invest in interesting investments as a way to keep himself motivated and involved.Steve talks about the LFI Deal Analyzer and how it helps him evaluate the risk in a syndication.  Some of his favorite metrics are debt service coverage ratio, break even occupancy, rent growth, and exit cap rate.  He also dives deep into IRR and IRR Partitioning - what it is and why it is important in analyzing a deal.Steve also discusses investing in a Broadway show and how it’s been a good performer for him and an enjoyable investment to follow and how he expects the show to bounce back after the pandemic shut down Broadway.Steve ends with his podcast recommendations and an inspiring take on investing and the quest to build wealth.Podcasts he recommends:The Real Estate Guys Radio Show  How I Built This with Guy Raz   The Happiness Lab  To connect with Steve you can email him at steve@leftfieldinvestors.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.   

Alex Breshears is a private money lender, syndication investor, community builder, military spouse and much more. She started a private lending company, Infinite Road Investments, funding first and second position loans on residential property and runs a Facebook Group called Private Lending Lessons. She is also the Fund Investor Relations Manager for Mission First Capital – a company dedicated to providing real estate investment opportunities to active duty and veteran military personnel. In this episode, Alex talks about her journey into private lending and the group she started to help others become private lenders and passive investors.Alex discusses some of the mistakes new investors make in not analyzing their desired lifestyle and current skillset which makes it difficult to find investments that match their desires and skills.  She also talks about how networking led her to private lending and has continued to help her along the way. Alex mentions that early in her career she saw that borrowers have to always pay the mortgage lenders and realized being in the private lending business was a great way to create passive income.  She used her skills to create the lifestyle desired as she knew she wanted to be in real estate, but she did not want to be a landlord or a flipper.Alex describes the difference between private lending and hard money lending. Private lending is borrowing capital directly from the person in control of the funds and making the decisions and hard money is usually backed by a financial institution with strict guidelines and policies when making loans. She also talks about how private lending is very relationship focused and most lenders work in only one or two markets that are familiar to them.Alex talks about the need to find an attorney who knows private lending and she talks about the typical terms and rates used by private lenders.Alex discusses her desire to get more women involved in syndication and private lending and helping the reduce the obstacles women face financially that sometimes inhibits their ability to become passive investors.Alex talks about her work with Mission First Capital which is a investment fund operated by military veterans that allows investors to access syndications with a minimum investment amount of $5000.Podcasts Alex recommends:Cash Flow NinjaCapital HackingMultifamily Real Estate Experiment PodcastTo connect with Alex, go to Private Lending Lessons on Facebook or contact her on LinkedIn or at Mission First Capital.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.  

Chris Odegard is The Prolific Investor.  Chris worked in corporate America for over 30 years before going full time in alternative investments.  His goal to help improve the financial lives of Americans one blog article at a time through his Prolific Investor blog.  In this episode, Chris talks about how alternative investments allowed him to recover quickly from a massive “illiquidity event”, his Hierarchy of Investors and how alternative investments outperform traditional investments.Chris talks about how he was a conventional investor most of his life until he found real estate and passive investing.  He mentions that his goal is to help people achieve financial freedom so that work is a choice, rather than a necessity.Chris likes multifamily apartments right now because of the undersupply of affordable housing.  He also recommends that everyone swing for the fences in asymmetric return bets with small percentage of your portfolio. He mentioned Palm Beach Research for help in finding some of these potential opportunities.Chris talks about some of the tax law changes for disregarded entities and how those entities are treated and the importance of a quality tax advisor.Chris discusses his Hierarchy of Investors and the importance of insurability and leverage in his investment philosophy.  He compares actual stock market returns to the returns from alternative investment including the tax benefits that really make a difference.  He includes an example of alternative investments compared to a 401k for young investors and explains how leverage and tax treatment of alternative investments can vastly outperform a 401k even with an employer match. Click these links to get access to the Hierarchy of Investments and the 401k vs SFH Rental resources from The Prolific Investor website.Podcast Chris Recommends:Real Estate Guys Radio ShowRich Dad Radio ShowThe WealthAbility ShowPassive Investing from Left FieldTo connect with Chris go to theprolificinvestor.net to schedule a 30 minute virtual coffee.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.  

Paul Shannon is a real estate entrepreneur specializing in the acquisition of value-add, single-family homes and apartment buildings with a focus on conservative underwriting and cash flow. He is the Principal and Owner of Redhawk Real Estate focusing on providing high quality, affordable rental properties to Central and Southern Indiana communities, while providing stable and predictable long-term income to his investors. He is also a passive investor and a member of the Infielders Community of Left Field Investors and has written several blog posts for our group. In this episode, Paul talks about ditching the W-2 to go full time in real estate, overcoming the 4% rule for retirement savings through active and passive real estate investing, and how relationships and networking have helped his business.Paul talks about how he realized the 4% rule wouldn’t work for early retirement which led him to look past traditional investments and into “alternative” investments such as real estate. He also discusses the self-limiting doubt of the possibility of losing his entire investment if he put money into real estate and how he had to overcome that in order to change his strategy and get more into “Left Field”.Paul discusses the notion that with real estate – passive or active – one major advantage is that if you aren’t forced to sell, you can wait for the market to come back while you continue to collect cash flow during the down market.Paul mentions when you start, the first deal is always the hardest to get into – it gets easier from there.  He also talks about quitting his W-2 before he had replacement income and how the first active deal gave him the confidence to make the change even though the deal didn’t work out exactly as he planned.Paul talks about relationships and networking and how his network helped with some of his decisions, including what markets to invest in and how important it is to find quality partners and how your partners are often the most important part of a deal.Paul discusses his decision to invest passively for diversification of markets, but also to learn as an LP to experience how to be a GP in the future.Podcast Paul recommends:Old Capital PodcastTo connect with Paul go to www.redhawkinvesting.com or you can find him 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.  

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.