Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing

Chad Schieler saw himself as the numbers guy, so he let partners handle the task of raising money for his first big real estate syndication.But his team was short. At closing, they had $1M of a $1.4M raise, and Chad had to take out a bridge loan to cover the rest.That experience inspired Chad to overcome his limiting beliefs around raising money and take his syndication business to the next level.Today, he is Founder and Principal at Focused Capital, a multifamily firm that helps busy professionals generate passive income and create wealth through real estate investing.After 17 years running a successful credit card processing service business, Chad became a full-time real estate investor. He is a GP on 139 units and LP on 900-plus!On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Chad explains what he struggled with early in his real estate career, describing his fears of asking for money and the flaw in his underwriting formula.Chad discusses how investing in a mentor gave him the confidence to take on bigger multifamily deals and shares his approach to building a team as he scales.Listen in for Chad’s advice on fast-tracking your path to financial freedom and learn how to overcome your limiting beliefs around raising capital and start sharing the opportunity to invest in real estate!For full episode show notes visit: https://themichaelblank.com/podcasts/session386/

Does your business feel like a black hole?Are you feeding it all your time, energy and money? But it just keeps sucking away?Too many business owners get to the end of their career and don’t have much to show for it, selling for next to nothing or simply letting the business fade away.But what if you could leverage your business profits to build personal wealth?Todd Polke is an international educator and trainer in the realm of wealth creation and building strategic investment portfolios.Todd is dedicated to the mission of helping as many people as possible break free from the default and ‘live a life unlimited by income.’On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Todd explains the idea behind his Profits to Portfolio system and how it helps business owners grow their personal wealth.Todd shares how Australia’s real estate market compares to the US, offering advice on how to navigate the current downturn and prepare to capitalize on opportunities coming down the pike.Listen in for Todd’s insight on avoiding emotional investment decisions and learn how to leverage a diversified portfolio to build personal wealth—and a lasting legacy.For full episode show notes visit: https://themichaelblank.com/podcasts/session385/

We all go through challenging life experiences, be it the loss of a loved one, a serious illness, or painful divorce.And the last thing we need in those circumstances is to worry about money.But what is the best way to build the kind of passive income you need to make it through tough times without stressing about finances?Rachel Richards is the creator of Money Honey, a financial education platform that helps young women manage their money effectively and achieve financial freedom.Rachel achieved her own financial independence at the age of 27 with a portfolio of 38 rental units, and she is the bestselling author of Money Honey and Passive Income, Aggressive Retirement.On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Rachel explains how she and her then-husband leveraged real estate to reach a passive income goal of $10,000 a month in just three years.Rachel shares her definition of financial independence and describes how it gave her the opportunity to escape to Italy and heal from a painful divorce.Listen in for Rachel’s insight on rebuilding after a challenging life experience and learn how real estate can give you the financial independence to pursue what you love!For full episode show notes visit: https://themichaelblank.com/podcasts/session384/

Asset management can be a real challenge for multifamily operators, especially if you’re managing properties from a distance.If a site is not working, how do you figure out what’s wrong? Is it the staff? Are rents too high? Do you have too many work orders?The good news is, new AI tools can give GPs transparency around what’s going on—helping us set pricing, manage expenses and optimize the performance of our real estate assets.Marc Rutzen is Cofounder and CEO of HelloData.ai, a game-changing platform that is using data science to transform the world of proptech.On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Marc joins us to explain why the HelloData team decided to take on asset management.Marc discusses the weaknesses of traditional revenue management software, describing how HelloData leverages AI to address those problems.Listen in for Marc’s insight on the potential dangers of AI and learn how HelloData can help you analyze numbers effectively, evaluate your operations and optimize your real estate portfolio!For full episode show notes visit: https://themichaelblank.com/podcasts/session383/

A multifamily operator in Houston recently lost 3,200 units to foreclosure.Is that a sign of calamity to come? Or can we learn from their mistakes and ask better questions before we invest in our next syndication?On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, I walk you through nine important questions to ask before you invest in your next multifamily syndication.I explain why not-so-good operators (what I like to call NSGOs) are struggling in the current multifamily market and how to differentiate an NSGO from a capable one.Listen in to understand why it’s a mistake to sit on the sidelines until the real estate market changes and learn how to find great deals right now for pennies on the dollar!For full episode show notes visit: https://themichaelblank.com/podcasts/session382/

Caleb Johnson’s mother had just had surgery and was living off savings while she recovered.But after three months, she wasn’t healed and had to make an impossible decision: Return to work in excruciating pain or prolong retirement by several years.Inspired to help his mother financially and achieve financial freedom himself, Caleb started investing in real estate at the age of 18.Today, he is the 25-year-old Founder of Red Sea Capital Group, and Caleb has a $9 million real estate portfolio of 117 units.On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Caleb joins us to explain how he started his real estate journey with a house hack and then partnered to invest in bigger multifamily deals.Caleb discusses why it was harder to raise money than he thought and challenges newbie investors to have an experienced partner verify our underwriting early on.Listen in for Caleb’s insight on persevering through roadblocks and learn where to find partners with the capital and knowhow to help you get a deal done—regardless of your age!For full episode show notes visit: https://themichaelblank.com/podcasts/session381/

So, you’ve got some money set aside to jumpstart your real estate career. What should you invest in?An apartment building? Mobile home park? Something else?The answer is no. Don't do any of those things. If you have money to invest, the first thing you should invest in YOURSELF.John Manfredy has over 30 years of real estate experience as an architect where he was responsible for design, project management and construction supervision for projects budgeted over $500 million.But when John was laid off during COVID, he transitioned to multifamily investing and development, and today, he serves as Principal at Manifest Multifamily Group.On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, John joins us to explain how our mentoring program helped him transition from a W-2 to real estate quickly and avoid mistakes ‘with a lot of zeros behind them.’John describes how he raised $1.7 million in three days, challenging us to share opportunities with potential investors months in advance and build a team with skills complementary to our own.Listen in to understand the benefit of sticking with old deals and learn how John reached his real estate goals faster by investing in himself!For full episode show notes visit: https://themichaelblank.com/podcasts/session380/

Scaling up a multifamily investing business starts with scaling up your capital raise.And one key strategy for expanding your investor network is to get referrals from friends and family who already invest with you.But how do you encourage your investors to talk about their experiences? How do you leverage referrals to build momentum in raising money for real estate deals?Dan Reilly and Greg Danielson are Managing Partners at Measured Capital, a private equity firm that sponsors value-add multifamily investment projects.Dan and Greg both walked away from lucrative careers for real estate, and since becoming partners in 2022, they have built a portfolio of 500-plus units.On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Dan and Greg join us to explain how they overcame limiting beliefs around talking to brokers and scaling up quickly to build a successful multifamily business.Dan and Greg discuss their decision to invest in Des Moines and Jacksonville, describing how they’re gaining traction in those markets and dealing with deal flow challenges.Listen in for Dan and Greg’s approach to raising money from their network and get strategic advice on how to land referrals for investors from friends and family.For full episode show notes visit: https://themichaelblank.com/podcasts/session379/

You say you want financial freedom. You want to build wealth and have money for extraordinary experiences.But if you’re doing what everyone else does, if you’re trying to save your way to wealthy, you’re never going to get results.So, what do you do if the path you’re on doesn’t lead to the outcomes you want?PJ Ghadimi is a self-made millionaire who’s taken the world of entrepreneurship by storm. He transitioned out of a lucrative but limited career in banking to build several successful businesses, including Exotic Car Hacks and Watch Trading Academy.Today, PJ is at the forefront of entrepreneurial education, helping aspiring business owners start their own venture and then grow to the next level of success.On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, PJ joins us to share his journey from corporate finance to entrepreneurship and explain how he continues to scale his income exponentially.PJ offers advice on reinventing yourself in order to level up, challenging you to get better at your craft every day and focus on the person you need to become to achieve your financial goals.Listen in to understand the connection between financial freedom and fulfilling life experiences and get PJ’s practical tips for aligning your financial plan with what you say you want.For full episode show notes visit: https://themichaelblank.com/podcasts/session378/

The recent foreclosure on 3,200 units in Houston has investors nervous about putting their money in multifamily.But does that default mean we should all be sitting on the sidelines?John Casmon argues that investing in apartments is a business, just like any other. And if we avoid the red flags in the Houston deal, we can (and should) continue business as usual.John is Head of Acquisitions and Investor Relations at Casmon Capital Group, a multifamily investing firm committed to helping busy professionals achieve financial freedom.John has invested in over $100 million worth of apartments, and he is passionate about consulting with active multifamily investors to help them start or grow their business.On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, John joins us to discuss what mistakes the Houston operators made and how to protect yourself from a similar fate.John explains how he got started with 2- to 4-unit multifamily properties and shares the breakthrough that gave him the confidence to raise money for bigger deals.Listen in for John’s insight on overcoming low market sentiment and learn why you should still be analyzing deals and looking for opportunities in apartments right now!For full episode show notes visit: https://themichaelblank.com/podcasts/session377/