The Best Ever CRE Show

Debbie Wilcox is from Honolulu, HI, where she and her husband previously owned and operated a swimming pool business. After 30 years of running their business together, they decided to act on their shared dream of becoming multifamily real estate investors. They uprooted their lives, sold their dream home, and headed for the mainland to attend conferences, network, and soak up as much knowledge as they possibly could.    Today, Debbie is the managing partner of Blue Rock Capital Group, which helps investors build and generate passive income through multifamily real estate. She is a co-GP of 33 units in Idaho and an LP of 2,400 units across seven states. In this episode, Debbie tells us what inspired her to leave Hawaii in pursuit of a career in multifamily, why she is adamant about getting out of her comfort zone, and how her background in business has driven her to explore asset management.    “I had to ask my husband, ‘Do you want to live in our dream home, or do you want to live our dream life?’”   1. Uprooting Everything to Pursue Multifamily Debbie and her husband owned their own swimming pool business in Honolulu for 30 years before moving to California to pursue multifamily. Debbie says that thoughts of changing careers began to crop up as early as 10 years ago, but limiting beliefs prevented them from making a change. Then, one day, they stumbled upon some real estate podcasts, and they began listening.    “What inspired me was listening to the stories of people that I felt were just like me — kind of feeling stuck,” Debbie says. “And maybe they were older just like myself, but they didn’t let that stop them.”    She and her husband spent the next few years learning as much as they could, and when they were ready, they did the unthinkable — they sold their home and left Hawaii to set down roots on the mainland, where they could more easily attend conferences, find partners, and oversee properties.   2. Escaping Her Comfort Zone Debbie is a big believer that success lies just outside of her comfort zone. She admits that networking can be a challenge for her, and even scary sometimes, but she doesn’t let that stop her. “If I’m initially scared to do something, I get a little tingly, but I think, ‘Ah, this must be right. This must be good. I’m supposed to do this.’” By applying this mindset at her first conference, she met the people who would eventually bring her in on her first deal.   3. A Knack for Asset Management Debbie assumed that she and her husband would take on the role of raising capital for their deals, but much to their surprise, they developed a strong interest in asset management. “That 30 years in business looking at spreadsheets and budgets and income expenses — we find ourselves diving into that quite a bit,” she says.    For the time being, they are enjoying pitching in on the asset management side of things, I think it’s good, in the beginning, to have your toes in a little bit of everything,” she says. “We really just want to learn as much as possible.”      Debbie Wilcox | Real Estate Background Managing partner of Blue Rock Capital Group, which helps investors build and generate passive income through multifamily real estate. Portfolio: Co-GP of 33 units in Idaho LP of 2,400 units across seven states Based in: Dana Point, CA Say hi to her at: Facebook LinkedIn Greatest Lesson: In the business of multifamily investing, the quality of the network of people you surround yourself with greatly correlates with the level of success you'll achieve. 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

Logan Freeman grew up in the Midwest and got his first job bailing hay at 14 years old. He quickly developed a strong work ethic that led him to excel in athletics. After a successful collegiate football career, Logan played in the NFL, but ultimately decided it wasn’t the right career path for him. Soon after returning to school to earn his master’s degree, he discovered the world of real estate investing.    Today, Logan is the co-founder and chief development officer of FTW Investments LLC. He is also the managing broker for XChangeCRE, and he is a GP of 1,300 units across four states totaling $130M in AUM. In this episode, Logan discusses the progress and growth the Kansas City market is currently experiencing, how the current market factors are affecting 1031 buyer demand and seller supply, and the piece of advice he received as a college football player that he still swears by today.      Logan Freeman | Real Estate Background Co-founder and chief development officer of FTW Investments LLC, and managing broker for XChangeCRE. Their strategy involves acquiring, operating, and the eventual disposition of large-scale commercial real estate assets in key sectors and markets. Previous episodes:  JF1845: Ex-NFL Player Turns To Real Estate Investing with Logan Freeman JF1908: Reinventing Yourself After A Traumatic Experience #SituationSaturday with Logan Freeman Portfolio: GP of 1,300 units across four states totaling $130M in AUM Based in: Kansas City, MO Say hi to him at: ftwinvestmentsllc.com Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Best Ever Book: Above the Line by Urban Meyer Greatest lesson: Put yourself around people that are smarter than you, and that will push you and make you better. 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

Each week for the Best Ever Round Table, the three Best Ever Show hosts — Ash Patel, Slocomb Reed, and Travis Watts — come together for a deep dive into a commercial real estate investing topic.   In this episode, Ash, Slocomb, and Travis discuss what a hard landing for the economy or out-of-control inflation might look like. They share their thoughts on what a recession would look like for the overall economy, how it would affect real estate in particular, and how inflation impacts real estate specifically. 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

Danny Spitz started his real estate career 20 years ago as an underwriter doing transactions for a middle-market Bank in Chicago. Eventually, he was able to land a mentorship from a broker, investor, and developer who showed him the real estate ropes.  Today, Danny is the CEO and managing partner of Greenstone Partners, a brokerage that focuses on various commercial real estate properties including multifamily, industrial, mixed-use, retail, and office. He is a GP of four properties and an LP of over 12 properties across four states. In this episode, he tells us how he typically finds deals, the hardest lesson he’s learned during his 20-year run in the industry, and what he is seeing in terms of macroeconomics with real estate right now.    Danny Spitz | Real Estate Background CEO and managing partner of Greenstone Partners, a brokerage that focuses on various commercial real estate properties including multifamily, industrial, mixed-use, retail, and office. Portfolio: GP of four properties LP of over 12 properties across four states Based in: Chicago, IL Say hi to him at: greenstone-partners.com LinkedIn Greatest Lesson: Lean on others who specialize in areas you don’t. Don’t think you can be a GP immediately. It takes years and a number of deals as a limited partner to learn. 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

Joseph Cornwell started his career as a full-time police officer in 2011. Four years later, he began educating himself on all things real estate by reading books, listening to podcasts, and attending meetups. He began buying rental properties and scaling his portfolio. By 2021, he was able to retire from law enforcement and transition into a full-time real estate career.    Today, Joseph is a licensed real estate agent at Ownerland Realty and a full-time real estate investor with 75 units. In this episode, he shares why he became a real estate agent before investing in properties, what made him decide to start a general contracting company, and how he planned the transition from his W-2 job to a full-time career in commercial real estate.    Joseph Cornwell | Real Estate Background Licensed real estate agent at Ownerland Realty and full-time investor who initially came into real estate looking for a side hustle, but was ultimately able to retire from his full-time W-2 job as a police officer. Portfolio: GP of 75 units Based in: Cincinnati, OH Say hi to him at: Facebook Instagram TikTok YouTube Greatest Lesson: You have to prioritize things, and having a single-track mind is probably not the healthiest approach. 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

Jack Martin got his start in real estate by working in land development and building houses in his early 20s. He then transitioned to the apartment space, which he thought would be his long-term retirement vehicle until he discovered mobile home parks.   Today, Jack is the co-founder and managing partner at 52TEN, a vertically integrated firm that focuses on acquiring and improving underperforming manufactured housing communities. In this episode, he discusses the four main ways mobile home parks are excellent, recession-resistant investment options.     1. Affordability When times get tough, mobile home parks are an affordable option for those who can no longer afford high rent payments. “The reason why most people are attracted to moving to a manufactured housing community is because it’s the most affordable living solution in America,” Jack says. “Anytime you get the most affordable option, you’re going to have a higher degree of recession resistance than anything else.”   2. Low Tenant Turnover The average length of stay in manufactured housing communities is 15 years, Jack says, versus a 12- to 18-month average for apartment communities. This provides stability and consistent cash flow for property owners in the event of a recession.    3. Tenants Own Their Homes All of the tenants in Jack’s manufactured housing communities own their homes. That means that if they are hit hard in a recession, they are able to sell their home and extract enough money to get them back on their feet. If those same tenants lived in an apartment, they wouldn’t have anything of their own to sell in times of economic difficulty.    4. Extra Incentive to Pay Rent Because Jack’s tenants own their own homes, there is a major incentive to stay current on their lot rent payments. In the rare occasion that a tenant decides to default, the penalty is the forfeiture of their home. “Let’s say you own a home that’s work $50K,” Jack explains. “It doesn’t make any economic sense at all to skip a $500 monthly lot rent payment to potentially risk your $50K home.”   Jack Martin | Real Estate Background Co-founder and managing partner at 52TEN, a vertically integrated firm that focuses on acquiring and improving underperforming manufactured housing communities. Portfolio: GP and LP of 1,000 sites across seven properties Based in: Scottsdale, AZ Say hi to him at: 52ten.com LinkedIn Best Ever Book: The Secret Life of Real Estate and Banking by Phillip J. Anderson Greatest Lesson: The importance of a long-term vision, and always doing the right thing. 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 the 2,000-year-old philosophy of stoicism. He explains that stoicism helps you to train your mind to overcome fear, uncertainty, and obstacles along the way to becoming a better person — or, in this case, a better investor.    Travis outlines three different elements of stoicism that helve helped him on his personal journey to becoming a full-time passive investor:   1. Learn to Focus on What You Can Control “You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” —Marcus Aurelius   When you are a passive investor, lots of things fall outside of your control. These include government decisions, different regulations and programs, actions taken by the Fed, weather, storms, tenant issues, and more.    You can, however, focus on things that are within your control in order to simplify your investing strategy: Do proper due diligence before making an investment. Invest in deals that are conservatively underwritten. Have proper insurance coverage on the real estate you are investing in. Set aside adequate cash reserves for unexpected events.   2. Be Tolerant with Others “Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself.” —Marcus Aurelius   Financial education is not necessarily widespread today. Most people have not taken the time, energy, and effort to become experts in investing. What might seem like common sense to you as a passive investor might not be so obvious to a neighbor, colleague, or coworker. It’s important to be understanding and forgiving of those who, as Marcus Aurelius would say, have been cut off from the truth.   3. You Can Be Twice as Rich by Desiring Half as Much “By desiring little, a poor man makes himself rich.” —Democritus It’s easy to get caught up in the success cycle, always wanting more things and more money. However, if you take a step back and think about what brings you the most happiness, you’ll likely find that many of these things are free or cost very little. It’s important to ask yourself what you're really after and how much is enough. The first episode of Passive Investor Tips covers this topic in more depth. 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

Jonathan Tonks’s background is in the automotive industry. He began his studies as a mechanical engineer with the goal of following in his family’s footsteps. However, after purchasing and house hacking his first duplex, Jonathan was immediately hooked on real estate. He decided to pursue his passion through mentorship and coaching and quickly found himself on the route to commercial real estate syndications.    Today, Jonathan is the managing partner at Provision Space, which specializes in multifamily syndications and raising capital. He also works full-time as a continuous improvement engineer at Magna International.   In this episode, he shares his biggest learning curve as a sponsor, the most valuable skill he’s developed as an apartment syndicator, and how he approaches and builds relationships with potential investors.    Jonathan Tonks | Real Estate Background Managing partner at Provision Space, which specializes in multifamily syndications and raising capital. Portfolio: GP of 297 units Works full-time as a continuous improvement engineer at Magna International. Based in: Holland, MI Say hi to him at: provisionspace.com Facebook LinkedIn Best Ever Book: Who Not How by Dan Sullivan & Benjamin Hardy Greatest Lesson: Ask and you shall receive. There have been so many lessons wrapped around this concept, but this is the greatest one I've learned. 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

Bryan McLaren’s real estate background started in sustainable development. He spent his early career working with local communities on how to develop real estate, renewable energy, community systems, agricultural regeneration, and more.  Around 2010 when many states started to legalize cannabis, he immediately saw similarities between sustainable development and the cannabis programs that were emerging in the market. The overlap launched his involvement in the cannabis real estate industry.  Today, Bryan is the CEO of Zoned Properties, a real estate development firm for emerging and highly regulated industries including legalized cannabis. In this episode, he discusses the three major risk conversations investors need to have when it comes to cannabis, his tips for mitigating those risks, and why he is so passionate about the cannabis real estate industry.    “The reason we’re experts is we made every mistake possible along the way, and we learned from them.”    Bryan McLaren | Real Estate Background CEO of Zoned Properties, a real estate development firm for emerging and highly regulated industries including legalized cannabis. They provide integrated growth commercial real estate services, including advisory, site identification, commercial brokerage, property acquisition/investment, sustainable development, and Property Technology (PropTech). Portfolio: GP of four commercial properties in Arizona that have been developed, permitted, and leased to regulated/legalized cannabis operators. Based in: Scottsdale, AZ Say hi to him at: zonedproperties.com LinkedIn Twitter Greatest Lesson: Trust in your brain. In other words, identify smart and ambitious people to join your team, provide clear direction about the goals and objectives, and then trust those team members to get the job done. And provide whatever tools they need to support them. 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

Each week for the Best Ever Round Table, the three Best Ever Show hosts — Ash Patel, Slocomb Reed, and Travis Watts — come together for a deep dive into a commercial real estate investing topic. In this episode, Ash, Slocomb, and Travis discuss what they believe a hypothetical investor should do with their money, assuming the investor is accredited and has $100K to invest in real estate. The three hosts offer up their investment vehicle recommendations based on the insights they’ve gained from their own careers. 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