Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing

Think you need an Ivy League education or 20 years of experience on Wall Street to set up a fund? Think again! Once you've done a handful of syndications, you can easily launch a fund of your own and simplify the process of raising money for multiple real estate deals. Bridger Pennington is Cofounder and CEO of Fund Launch, an education platform that helps aspiring fund managers launch, build and scale a fund. Fund Launch has served more than 20K students with its hundreds of videos and dozens of downloadable assets. Bridger also serves as Founder of Black Bridge Holdings, where he established multiple funds and facilitated more than 326 transactions across a variety of industries. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Bridger joins Garrett and me to discuss what differentiates a real estate syndication from a fund, describing when it's appropriate to start raising capital through a fund and how the process changes. Bridger walks us through the pros and cons of raising money with a fund, explaining how it allows you to scale your business faster and close on a good deal more quickly. Listen in for Bridger's insight on generating excitement around investing in a fund and find out how to launch a fund of your own and raise a huge pool of capital from investors for real estate deals! For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session336/

Investor relations is not about selling a deal. It’s about getting to know individual investors and solving their problems. But what does that look like in practice? How do you connect with potential LPs and educate them around the benefits of investing in multifamily syndications? Travis Watts is Director of Investor Education at Ashcroft Capital. He got his start in real estate in 2009, investing in single family and short-term rentals. Travis became a passive investor with Ashcroft several years ago and was so impressed with their performance that he offered to join the Investor Relations Team in 2019. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Travis joins Garrett and me to explain why he transitioned from active investing in single family to passive investing in syndications. Travis describes how he attracts new investors at Ashcroft and walks us through the pros and cons of raising capital through a fund. Listen in for Travis’ best practices for taking care of investors and learn how to serve your LPs and solve their problems to grow your syndication business. For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session335/

Proximity is power. But how do you get in front of successful people when you're struggling yourself? Sterling Griffin was homeless when he made the decision to surround himself with the people he wanted to become. Then he found creative ways to add value so they'd want to be friends. And in just two years, Sterling went from living in his Honda Accord to making $1.68M. Today, Sterling serves as Founder of Life Changer Academy and Sterling Capital, a real estate firm that provides high-net-worth individuals with access to tax-advantaged investments. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Sterling joins cohost Garrett Lynch to share his journey to becoming a millionaire, explaining how he borrowed money and sold his car to invest in a mentor and why he's committed to inspiring others to see more for themselves too. Sterling describes his transition from fitness trainer to business coach to real estate investor, discussing his decision to focus on triple net lease investing and the tax advantages of accelerated depreciation. Listen in for Sterling's insight on finding the right people to learn from and learn creative ways to add value to high-profile people who will help you grow to the next level of success! For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session334/

The lack of affordable housing is a big problem in the US. And most developers shy away from these projects because it’s hard to make money. But Alvin ‘Hope’ Johnson is not most developers. He’s found a way to innovate in the affordable housing space and ‘do good while doing good.’ Alvin is President of the Hope Housing Foundation, a nonprofit positioned to be one of the country’s most effective affordable workforce housing organizations. He also serves as CEO of Multifamily Monopoly, an education platform for real estate developers interested in the process of multifamily development and ownership. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Alvin joins Garrett and me to discuss his journey from painting houses to $225M multifamily entrepreneur and describe the tenacity it took to find a mentor in the space. Alvin shares his successes in affordable housing so far, explaining how he’s turning neighborhoods around, building sustainable workforce housing developments, and making a profit in the process. Listen in for Alvin’s insight on pursuing a mission-driven business and learn how to leverage innovation to make money building naturally occurring affordable housing. For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session333/

As real estate investors, we spend years building up generational wealth. But a single lawsuit can tear it all down. So, how do we put the right asset protection measures in place? Garrett Sutton is the corporate attorney and asset protection expert behind Corporate Direct, a firm that helps entrepreneurs and investors protect their assets, maintain their privacy and achieve their financial goals. Garrett is also one of Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Advisors and the bestselling author of several books, including his new release, Veil Not Fail: Protecting Your Personal Assets from Business Attacks. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Garrett joins cohost Garrett Lynch and me to explain why asset protection is crucial for real estate investors at all levels. Garrett discusses why an LLC is the best way for syndicators and apartment owners to structure a business and walks us through the most common mistakes people make when it comes to asset protection. Listen in for Garrett’s advice on what insurance you need as a real estate investor and learn what steps you can take to protect both your personal assets and property from lawsuits. For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session332/

For 20 years, Adam Mitchell has been dreaming of a multifamily portfolio. But without the confidence or the know-how to invest in apartments, he started with single family. A decade ago, Adam joined forces with his friend Lance Doty, and they became the Home Buying Guys, scaling a successful single family investing business that runs on autopilot. But in 2021, Adam took action on his vision of moving into the multifamily space and invited Lance to join him in the transition. They became the Apartment Buying Guys, and within 35 days, they had 225 units under contract. In just 10 months, Adam and Lance have raised over $2M and acquired 731 units. Both have achieved financial freedom, and they are well on their way to the goal of 1,000 doors in five years. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Adam and Lance join Garrett and me to explain why it took them so long to make the move to multifamily and how they overcame their lack of experience to break into the space. Adam and Lance discuss the value of hiring a mentor, describing how they might have accelerated their journey by getting support sooner and why they’re focusing on scale from Day One. Listen in for insight on what makes Lance and Adam’s partnership work and learn how to make the leap from single family to apartment building investing—and achieve financial freedom in three years or less! For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session331/

When we started investing in multifamily, we relied on property managers to handle construction. As the business grew, we hired GCs to run construction projects with little oversight on our part. And got very mixed results. That’s when we realized that if we wanted to scale our multifamily portfolio, we needed an in-house team. But how do you build a construction arm for your real estate business? Jorge Abreu is Cofounder and CEO of Elevate Commercial Investment Group, a multifamily firm based in Dallas, Texas, and Founder of JNT Construction, the in-house construction arm of Elevate CIG. With 15 years of experience in real estate, Jorge has acquired a portfolio of nearly 7,000 units worth more than $500M. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Jorge explains why he started his own construction company and how JNT gives Elevate a competitive advantage. Jorge walks us through the process he used to build an in-house construction business, describing what he looks for in a project manager and how he leverages software to hold the team accountable. Listen in for Jorge’s insight on the importance of construction contracts and learn how an in-house construction team can help YOU scale your syndication business! For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session330/

Not everyone who wants to be a real estate investor sticks with it long enough to be successful. But if you apply a sales mindset to multifamily investing, you will be able to take the initial rejection and keep pushing. Because as Eric Chadderdon says, ‘The only time you lose in this business is if you quit.’ Eric is Managing Partner at Gibby’s Capital Investments, a boutique firm that helps investors diversify their portfolios with commercial real estate. He got into multifamily in December of 2020 and has amassed a portfolio of 724 units in just 18 months! Prior to founding Gibby’s, Eric spent 12 years in the sales industry, and he leverages the skills he learned there to build relationships in the multifamily space. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, Eric joins Garrett and me to explain why he quit his W-2 job after his first multifamily deal and explore how the skills he learned in sales translate to real estate. Eric discusses what he did to build relational capital in the real estate space, challenging us to put ourselves in the right rooms and add value any way we can—without asking for compensation. Listen in for Eric’s insight on underwriting in an uncertain market environment and learn how a sales mindset can help YOU scale a multifamily portfolio and quit your 9-to-5 with real estate! For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session329/

According to the mainstream media, the sky is falling in the real estate market. But is that entirely true? While no one can predict exactly what will happen in the global economy or how it might impact real estate, Robert Helms is a student of the markets. And he can tell us how to prepare for the change that’s coming our way. Robert is Founder and Host of the top-rated Real Estate Guys Radio Show. He has 18 years of experience working in a real estate brokerage with his dad, Bob ‘the Godfather of Real Estate’ Helms, and has been involved in development projects worth more than $300M. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, we're sharing the replay of Robert’s talk at Deal Maker Live, where he explains why the mainstream media doesn’t get the real estate markets right and why investors like us need to pay attention anyway. Robert walks us through a SWOT analysis of the real estate market, describing the current opportunities and threats to multifamily investors. Listen in for Robert’s insight around the purchasing power of the US dollar and learn how apartment building investors like YOU can prepare for a fundamental change to the economy and thrive regardless of the circumstances! For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session328/

There aren't a lot of women in the real estate investing business, in part because there are so few female role models. But if you can see it, you can be it. So, we brought together a panel of powerhouse women entrepreneurs this past June at Deal Maker Live to share their experiences and encourage other aspiring investors, men and women alike. Our panelists included Savannah Arroyo, Founder and CEO of Networth Nurse, Julie Holly, Founder of Three Keys Investments and Host of The Conscious Investor Podcast, Veena Jetti, Founding Partner at Vive Funds, and Liz Faircloth, Cofounder of the DeRosa Group and Cocreator of The Real Estate InvestHER Community. On this episode of Financial Freedom with Real Estate Investing, we're sharing the replay of the Women in Real Estate panel discussion from Deal Maker Live, exploring some of the biggest obstacles Savannah, Julie, Holly and Liz faced as entrepreneurs and what they did to overcome those challenges and become successful multifamily investors. Our panelists discuss how to create work-life balance as a woman in real estate, offering advice around creating a support system and getting on the same page with your partner. Listen in for insight into the surprising skills you need to be an effective entrepreneur and get Savannah, Julie, Holly and Liz’s advice on the mindset you need to build a thriving real estate investing business! For full episode show notes visit: http://www.themichaelblank.com/session327/