The Best Ever CRE Show

Tony Castronovo is the founder and managing partner of Novo Multifamily Group, a multifamily real estate investment and asset management group that focuses on building communities that offer affordable living at higher standards. In this episode, he discusses his journey from management consulting to real estate, his new company, and the challenges he navigated with his first multifamily property.    Tony Castronovo | Real Estate Background Founder and managing partner of Novo Multifamily Group, a multifamily real estate investment and asset management group that focuses on building communities that offer affordable living at higher standards.  Portfolio: 868 units across 7 properties Based in: Houston, TX Say hi to him at: novomultifamilygroup.com LinkedIn Greatest Lesson: Who, not how. Proximity is power. Join the newsletter for the expert tips & investing content.   Sign up to be a guest on the show. FREE eBook: The Ultimate Guide to Multifamily Deals & Investing Register for this year's Best Ever Conference in Salt Lake City Stay in touch with us! www.bestevercre.com YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Click here to know more about our sponsors: PassiveInvesting.com | DLP Capital |Reliant Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vab Jain left medical school in 1998 to become a stock broker. After serving on the Chicago Board Options Exchange for a time, he returned to school to earn his master’s degree. By 2006, he had an MBA, but no job prospects. Determined to own his own business, Vab began investing in hotels. However, one deal that didn’t work out left him with nothing.    Without a home or any money, Vab returned to his hometown of Dayton, Ohio, to stay with his parents and start from scratch. He decided to turn around a hotel that his parents owned, which became the catalyst he needed to get back on his feet.   Today, Vab is the CEO of Athena Investments. In this episode, he shares how he was able to use creative financing for several years while he worked on improving his credit, how he has been able to adapt to an ever-changing market, and his advice for scaling in today’s economic climate.    Vab Jain | Real Estate Background CEO of Athena Investments. He also served on the CBOE (Chicago Board Options Exchange). Portfolio: GP of 200+ residential units Based in: Dayton, OH Say hi to him at: LinkedIn Best Ever Book: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff by Richard Carlson Greatest Lesson: Still in the works, but it’s to be content and accept change. Join the newsletter for the expert tips & investing content.   Sign up to be a guest on the show. FREE eBook: The Ultimate Guide to Multifamily Deals & Investing Register for this year's Best Ever Conference in Salt Lake City Stay in touch with us! www.bestevercre.com YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Click here to know more about our sponsors: PassiveInvesting.com | DLP Capital |Reliant Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Warren Dresner is the founder and managing partner at Equity Yield Group, a real estate investment and acquisition firm focused on acquiring A- and B-class multifamily assets. In this episode, he tells us how he reached $200M in AUM in just four years, why he decided to go big on his first deal, and how his mindset has helped him find success.    Warren Dresner | Real Estate Background Founder and managing partner at Equity Yield Group, a real estate investment and acquisition firm focused on acquiring A- and B-class multifamily assets.  Portfolio: GP of 2,000 units LP of 2,530 units $200M in AUM Based in: Miami, FL Say hi to him at: equityyieldgroup.com Greatest Lesson: Being disciplined and focused in your investment strategy reduces risk, and in turn yields better ROI.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christina Kovacs is a residential broker and owner at Home Agency, a full-service boutique real estate brokerage in Fort Lauderdale, FL. She is also a single-family real estate investor. In this episode, she discusses how she continually pushes herself out of her comfort zone despite her introverted tendencies, how increasing her network has paid off, and her plans to begin raising capital.    Christina Kovacs | Real Estate Background Residential broker and owner at the Home Agency, a full-service boutique real estate brokerage in Fort Lauderdale, FL. She is also a single-family real estate investor. Portfolio: LP of 731 units JV partner of 54 units Based in: Fort Lauderdale, FL Say hi to her at: christinakovacs.com LinkedIn Best Ever Book: Crushing It by Brian Murray Greatest Lesson: Proximity is power and never stop learning/growing.   Join the newsletter for the expert tips & investing content.   Sign up to be a guest on the show. FREE eBook: The Ultimate Guide to Multifamily Deals & Investing Register for this year's Best Ever Conference in Salt Lake City Stay in touch with us! www.bestevercre.com YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Click here to know more about our sponsors: PassiveInvesting.com | DLP Capital |Reliant Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael H. Zaransky’s family has been in the real estate business for three generations. His grandfather began by buying apartment hotels in the Chicago area in the early 1900s. Over the years, his family has pivoted within the multifamily space from purchasing existing properties to developing new ones.    Today, Michael is the founder and managing principal at MZ Capital, which focuses on ground-up construction and apartment syndication. In this episode, he shares two reasons why he’s focusing on new construction suburban-style complexes, his perspective on the state of the economy and its impact on multifamily, and his predictions for the future in terms of rent growth and occupancy.    “I would never, ever bet against the growth and the vibrancy of the United States economy.”     Michael H. Zaransky | Real Estate Background Founder and managing principal at MZ Capital, which focuses on ground-up construction and apartment syndication. Portfolio: GP of 2,500 units Based in: Chicago, IL Say hi to him at: michaelzaransky.com mzcapitalpartners.com LinkedIn Twitter Best Ever Book: Making It in Real Estate by the Urban Land Institute Greatest Lesson: If business success were easy, everybody and his brother could do it and we would not have our edge! Join the newsletter for the expert tips & investing content.   Sign up to be a guest on the show. FREE eBook: The Ultimate Guide to Multifamily Deals & Investing Register for this year's Best Ever Conference in Salt Lake City Stay in touch with us! www.bestevercre.com YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Click here to know more about our sponsors: PassiveInvesting.com | DLP Capital |Reliant Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Passive Investor Tips is a weekly series hosted by full-time passive investor and Best Ever Show host, Travis Watts. In each bite-sized episode, Travis breaks down passive investor topics, simplifying the philosophy and mindset while providing tactical, valuable information on how to be a passive investor.   In this episode, Travis discusses how passive income can be used as a way to enhance your lifestyle. He explores whether it is possible to increase your happiness with passive income by sharing his journey from being a W-2 income earner to a full-time passive investor and how it has impacted his own life. Join the newsletter for the expert tips & investing content.   Sign up to be a guest on the show. FREE eBook: The Ultimate Guide to Multifamily Deals & Investing Register for this year's Best Ever Conference in Salt Lake City Stay in touch with us! www.bestevercre.com YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Click here to know more about our sponsors: PassiveInvesting.com | DLP Capital |Reliant Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt Kontoff left his successful 30-year career as a software engineer to pursue multifamily syndications just a couple of years ago. Today, he is the principal and founder of Redwing Capital, which focuses on multifamily syndication. He is a GP of 43 units and four duplexes and an LP of over 1,000 doors.    In this episode, Matt discusses why multifamily investors should be interested in the Columbus market right now, how his skills as an engineer have transferred over to deal analysis and asset management, and how he learned firsthand that the devil is in the details.    Matt Kontoff | Real Estate Background Principal and founder of Redwing Capital, which focuses on multifamily syndication. Portfolio: GP of: 43 units Four duplexes LP of: Over 1,100 doors Based in: Acton, MA Say hi to him at: redwingcap.com Facebook LinkedIn Greatest Lesson: Pay attention to the details. Don't assume something to be true until you verify it, especially during due diligence. Join the newsletter for the expert tips & investing content.   Sign up to be a guest on the show. FREE eBook: The Ultimate Guide to Multifamily Deals & Investing Register for this year's Best Ever Conference in Salt Lake City Stay in touch with us! www.bestevercre.com YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Click here to know more about our sponsors: PassiveInvesting.com | DLP Capital |Reliant Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marc Weisi spent his career working in financial markets, starting out in IT and then moving on to trading and portfolio management. Over the last five to six years, he has steadily grown his personal portfolio, eventually transitioning to the multifamily space.   Today, Marc is the principal at Maple Capital Partners, which invests in multifamily commercial assets in class B and C neighborhoods throughout the United States. In this episode, he shares how he and his partner gained experience by raising for other operators and co-sponsoring deals, what he has done to steadily grow his investor network, and what traits he thinks will be most important for investors to succeed in the current economic climate.    “I think it’s going to be the people that are the most creative and the most willing to do what others aren’t in terms of adding value to properties. I think those are the people that are going to get the most deals under contract and do the most in terms of business over the next couple of years here.”    Marc Weisi | Real Estate Background Principal at Maple Capital Partners, which invests in multifamily commercial (5+ units) assets in class B and C neighborhoods throughout the United States. Portfolio: GP of 54 units LP of 93 units Based in: Jersey City, NJ Say hi to him at: investwithmaple.com Facebook Instagram Email: marc@investwithmaple.com Greatest Lesson: Your level of success will be in direct proportion to the strength of your team. Join the newsletter for the expert tips & investing content.   Sign up to be a guest on the show. FREE eBook: The Ultimate Guide to Multifamily Deals & Investing Register for this year's Best Ever Conference in Salt Lake City Stay in touch with us! www.bestevercre.com YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Click here to know more about our sponsors: PassiveInvesting.com | DLP Capital |Reliant Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Josh Rothstein is a listing specialist at OnSite Retail Group, a commercial real estate brokerage and development company specializing in retail and restaurants. He has been a commercial realtor for 10 years, and he describes his current role as “playing  matchmaker between buyer and seller or landlord.”    In this episode, he tells us what makes shopping centers succeed (or fail), how urban downtown retailers remained open and survived the pandemic, and tips for how urban core landlords can adapt and fill vacancies post-Covid.    Josh Rothstein | Real Estate Background Listing specialist at OnSite Retail Group, a commercial real estate brokerage and development company specializing in retail and restaurants. Based in: Cincinnati, OH Say hi to him at: onsiteretailgroup.com Instagram Best Ever Book: Cincinnati Enquirer Greatest Lesson: Patience. Join the newsletter for the expert tips & investing content.   Sign up to be a guest on the show. FREE eBook: The Ultimate Guide to Multifamily Deals & Investing Register for this year's Best Ever Conference in Salt Lake City Stay in touch with us! www.bestevercre.com YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Click here to know more about our sponsors: PassiveInvesting.com | DLP Capital |Reliant Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How a PowerPoint Helped Launch 4 Businesses ft. Mehdi Khachani   Mehdi Khachani moved to the United States from Morocco in 1999. He and his wife stumbled into real estate seemingly by accident — after moving into a building with unimpressive property management, they decided that they could do a better job. They presented a PowerPoint to the building owners and were promptly hired as the new property managers.    Today, Mehdi is the CEO of the JMK Group, which is a vertically integrated company with a brokerage, contracting, property management, and investment team focused on multifamily syndication. In this episode, he discusses the challenges he and his wife encountered when taking on their first property, why he advises against other investors taking property management in-house, and what practices and tools give them an edge over the competition.    Mehdi Khachani | Real Estate Background Chief executive officer of the JMK Group, which is a vertically integrated company with a brokerage, contracting, property management, and investment team focused on multifamily syndication. Portfolio: GP of 511 units Based in: Miami Beach, FL Say hi to him at: jmkpropertyinvestment.com jmkpropertymanagement.com jmkre.com jmkcontractor.com Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Greatest Lesson: Misfortunes can often lead to blessings. Join the newsletter for the expert tips & investing content.   Sign up to be a guest on the show. FREE eBook: The Ultimate Guide to Multifamily Deals & Investing Register for this year's Best Ever Conference in Salt Lake City Stay in touch with us! www.bestevercre.com YouTube Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Click here to know more about our sponsors: PassiveInvesting.com | DLP Capital |Reliant Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices