Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing

When was the last time you reviewed your due diligence process? Too many real estate investors are so eager to do a deal that they cut corners on due diligence and hope for the best. But a robust due diligence checklist is essential to your success. Jake Harris uses his superpower of methodically sorting through data to make real-world decisions on real estate, and his private equity firm has acquired more than $200M in assets in the last five years alone. Jake is extremely detail-oriented in conducting due diligence, and he shares that expertise in his new book, Catching Knives: A Guide to Investing in Distressed Commercial Real Estate. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Jake joins cohost Garrett Lynch and me to discuss how he hit rock bottom during the recession and describe his transition from single family flips to commercial real estate. Jake explores how to use deep knowledge of a given real estate market to your advantage and explains how due diligence can uncover significant downside risk in a commercial deal. Listen in for Jake’s no-stone-unturned approach to due diligence and learn how to decide when a deal is worth the risk—and when to walk away. For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session322/

Most new multifamily investors focus on deal flow. We know that capital flow is important, but we figure we can rely on friends and family to fund our first few deals. But eventually, the money runs out. So, if you want to scale a real estate business, you’ve got to grow your sphere of potential investors. And the easiest way to do that is through an online thought leadership platform. Brian Wagers raised capital for his first 361 units simply by talking to people one-on-one. And then he realized that to achieve scale, he needed to pay more attention to marketing. Brian is Founder of Wagers Capital, a real estate investing firm with $4.1M in multifamily assets. To date, Brian has built a portfolio of 447 units in his home state of Arkansas and another 125 in Texas. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Brian joins cohost Garrett Lynch and me to share the steps he took to get into multifamily and explain how live events helped him see the possibilities of growing a multimillion-dollar portfolio. Brian walks us through the steps he took to build an online thought leadership platform, describing how his social media presence and podcast appearances attract new investors to Wagers Capital. Listen in to understand how Brian leveraged my Platform Builders Workshop to build out his marketing systems and learn how to scale YOUR syndication business by focusing on deal flow and capital flow at the same time! For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session321/

Why would a real estate investor want to share content on social media? Yes, we can build relationships with other investors and raise capital without Instagram or YouTube. But social platforms help us maintain those real-life connections and make tens of thousands of others! So, how can we use social media to crush it in real estate? Lili Thompson was playing with the Harlem Globetrotters when COVID hit. Stuck at home with nothing to do, Lili learned about wholesaling and decided to try it—and document the process on social media. Today, Lili is one of the rising stars in the real estate space, and she has 148K subscribers on YouTube. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Lili joins cohost Garrett Lynch and me to discuss how she benefits from sharing her real estate journey on YouTube, describing the connections she’s made with other beginners and experienced investors alike. Lili offers insight into how she built an audience on social media and explains why it’s important to produce content consistently. Listen in to understand why Lili is shifting into the multifamily space (using my Syndicated Deal Analyzer) and take the first steps to creating a thought leadership platform of your own, no matter where you are in your real estate journey! For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session320/

What’s stopping you from doing your first multifamily deal? Whatever your perceived weakness may be, you can overcome it and achieve the same kind of success in commercial real estate that you’ve had in other areas of your life. English is Jonathan Wei’s second language and he’s a quiet, introverted guy. And yet, he’s raised millions of dollars for real estate syndication deals. What’s his secret? Jonathan serves as Cofounder and CEO of Greystone Capital Group, a commercial real estate firm that focuses on multifamily and self-storage assets. He left a successful career as a CPA to become a full-time investor, quitting his job in February 2022. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Jonathan joins cohost Garrett Lynch and me to share his fears around raising capital, explaining how he got comfortable talking to brokers and investors with the help of a mentor. Jonathan discusses how the connections he made at Deal Maker Live led to JV partnerships that helped him build a portfolio of 500 multifamily units and another 500 in self-storage. Listen in for Jonathan’s insight on overcoming limiting beliefs by leveraging prior personal and professional successes—and applying the same work ethic to real estate! For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session319/

Before you invest with a multifamily operator, it’s important to understand their track record. To know that they’ve got experience overcoming obstacles and making a deal work. Prior to joining our team at Nighthawk Equity, podcast cohost Garrett Lynch owned and operated a class D real estate portfolio on the south side of Chicago. And learned how to solve problems on a life-or-death level in the process. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Garrett is flying solo, discussing how he acquired 300 properties in six months and describing some of the challenges he faced managing assets in crime-ridden neighborhoods. Garrett shares his experience owning and operating a 381-unit, class D apartment building in Memphis, walking us through the steps he took to end gang violence onsite and increase occupancy to 90%. Listen in for Garrett’s insight around the pros and cons of investing in class D properties and find out what he learned about problem-solving in a high-stakes situation that he brings to the team at Nighthawk! For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session318/

A 2017 Forbes headline reads, ‘Median Wealth of Black and Latino Families Could Hit Zero by the Middle of the Century.’ That hit home for Puerto Rican-born Duamel Vellon. And he’s made it his mission to raise awareness in his community, making multifamily investors out of his friends and peers. Duamel Vellon is Cofounder of Ten15 Capital, a multifamily investment firm with assets in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. A former engineer in the theme park industry, Duamel quit his job in December of 2021 to be a full-time investor, and he currently manages a 203-unit portfolio. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Duamel joins cohost Garrett Lynch and me to share the ‘chess versus checkers’ mindset that helped him transition from flipping to multifamily. Duamel describes his grassroots approach to raising capital, discussing how he grows his network and educates potential investors before he has a live deal. Listen in for insight on Duamel’s mission to serve the Black and Latino communities and learn his uncommon strategy for ensuring regular deal flow. For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session317/

If you finance a multifamily syndication through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you’re securing non-recourse debt with a fixed interest rate. But if you want to exit anytime sooner than the loan expiration date, you're going to pay a BIG penalty on the back end. So, how might we leverage credit unions to avoid these big-ticket prepayment penalties? Are there other benefits to financing real estate deals through a credit union? What’s the downside? Mark Ritter is CEO of Member Business Financial Services or MBFS, a business lending credit service organization owned by credit unions for credit unions and their members. An expert in credit unions and business lending, Mark is dedicated to helping commercial real estate investors secure the financing they need. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Mark joins cohost Garrett Lynch and me to explore the pros and cons of financing multifamily through a credit union versus traditional loans. Mark describes the credit union philosophy of people helping people, discussing how real estate investors benefit from having a personal relationship with our lender. Listen in for Mark’s advice on how to approach a credit union for a loan and learn about the flexible terms and low cost of capital available if you finance your next deal through an organization like MBFS! For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session316/

A career as a professional athlete is exciting, and if you’re among the best, you can make a lot of money in a short amount of time. But what do you do when your career is over? Dan Brisse was a professional snowboarder for over a decade, participating in the X Games four times and winning gold twice. But he noticed that older pros were suffering as their careers wound down, struggling financially and in their personal lives. And that inspired Dan to make his money work for him with multifamily real estate. Today, Dan is the cofounder of Granite Towers Equity Group, cohost of the Keeping It Real Estate Podcast and coauthor of 4 Steps to Successful Passive Investing. He and his partner, Mike, are GPs in 1,414 units worth $74M across five states, and he owns another 589 units as a passive investor. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Dan joins cohost Garrett Lynch and me to discuss his transition from snowboarding to real estate and describe the steps he took to become a multifamily investor. Dan explains how his investing strategy has evolved over time, encouraging us to seek out a high-level mentor early on and avoid shiny object syndrome. Listen in for insight around the values alignment that makes Dan and Mike’s partnership work and learn how to make the leap from YOUR current career to full-time real estate investing. For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session315/

Why do you do what you do? Articulating the WHY behind your work gives it meaning. And makes for a richer, more fulfilling life.  But how do you uncover your purpose and then apply it each day?  Lee Prosenjak is a serial entrepreneur and executive coach at LynchPyn. He's worked with thousands of entrepreneurs in 30-plus countries, cultivating cohesive work groups and facilitating conversations that truly matter.  An artist at heart, Lee is also the Cofounder of Cherry Creek Dance, former Igniter at Simon Sinek Consulting and current real estate investor on a mission to help others discover their own inspiration, love and greatness. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Lee joins host Garrett Lynch to discuss his WHY and describe how clarity of purpose leads to better decision-making. Lee explores the relationship between purpose and identity, sharing the experience that inspired him to play BIGGER and expand his influence beyond Cherry Creek Dance. Listen in for Lee’s insight around being open to new opportunities and find out how he is living his purpose as the owner of a boutique hotel in the Bahamas! For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session314/

Imagine earning cash-on-cash returns as high as 50%!  Inspired by sophisticated real estate investors in her network, Steffany Boldrini moved her money out of tech startups and into commercial properties three years ago. And while she’s faced a lot of challenges along the way, Steffany reached financial freedom in less than two years. So, what is Steffany’s approach to investing in real estate? And what does she do to earn such big-time returns? Steffany moved from Brazil to Silicon Valley 20 years ago and enjoyed a successful career in tech sales before shifting her focus to commercial real estate. As Principal at Monte Carlo Real Estate Investments, she has built a portfolio across three asset classes, achieving 36% cash-on-cash returns.  Steffany is also the host of Commercial Real Estate Investing from A-Z, a podcast about investing in retail, office, industrial and self-storage properties. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Steffany joins host Garrett Lynch to discuss her transition from angel investing to real estate, describing why she likes the risk profile of commercial properties over tech startups.  Steffany shares her approach to building a commercial real estate portfolio, explaining the pros and cons of investing in car washes, self-storage and short-term rentals.  Listen in to understand how Steffany leverages technology in her real estate business and get ideas for adding value to force appreciation—in any commercial asset class. For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session313/