Real estate is on a SLIGHT hold going forward while I work on stabilizing the current asset I have.
Right now everything is going well, but the 24 unit I just purchased is a lot of work and I want to take my time and really run this thing well so I can have a rock solid track record before buying the next one.
As my goal is not to race blindly for the most units, but instead to have a long and successful career of this I want to make sure I take my time and really develop a deep understanding of managing these types of deals before getting the next one.
So for a few months this section will be a bit less interesting I think.
I sent out my first investor email to partners and that is a useful skill.
It’s one thing to buy your own assets and only have a faceless bank to answer to. It’s much different to have to write an email to friends and partners who are expecting you to manage their money correctly.
I have no problem doing that, but answering for it and being proactive about open communication is something I find under talked about in online syndication talk.
Buying assets is the easy part, managing the property and distributing profits is where the rubber really meets the road.
That’s what I’m most focused on.
That said, I am still helping other people buy SFR and I’m still looking at multifamily deals every day.
If something GREAT comes up that I can take down then I’ll immediately retract everything I just said 😉 😉
Content production is WAY UP my friends. I knew once the 24 unit closed I was going to have some downtime to stack capital, stabilize the property, and find a few one. So I’m ramping up the amount of time I spend on content considerably, and I hope this pleases you!
VIDEO CHAT
If you haven’t noticed, I offer video chat option on my website open to anyone. I guess this is kind of a unique offering since so many people seem surprised I do it. I would like to take a moment to tell you about the impact it’s had.
First, yes, people use it ALL THE TIME. I’ve had to limit it to Thursday evenings, but I’m booked every Thursday evening.
Second, people reach out for a myriad of different reasons. I think most people don’t know what to expect from it actually but that’s perfectly fine. I’m very good at figuring out where peoples’ roadblocks are and helping them overcome them.
I’m a HYPE MACHINE, so many people walk away with little more that motivation and I think that alone provides a good value.
I bought my multifamily apartment complex with 2 people that I met from that video chat. This is proof you have no idea what one interaction can become. So if you’re on the fence, or apprehensive, don’t be. Sign up, lets hang out, if nothing else I promise you I’m FUN!
PODCAST
First the podcast has been difficult for me to produce so I sort of took a break. On the last episode of the show at the end (where I do my personal rant) I mentioned this and I have been astounded by the outreach from fans expressing their disappointment. Truly, thank you to all who said something because I have decided to shorten that break considerably in response. Maybe a month or so and then we will do another season of ~18 episodes. BIG THANKS to the stranger who emailed me and told me to “stop being a pussy about it”. LOL you get me <3
YOUTUBE
I am working on YouTube for the first time ever as well. YouTube has been hard for me just because I’m not used to it I think, but I’m going to do a 9 part series to discuss all of my current deals and then I have some ideas for other content as well. I don’t know how I’ll do on YouTube but I’m highly animated, I talk fast and loud, and the visual composition I’ve created is high contrast. If you thought my written word was intense, this will be double.
All 9 episodes should be completed and released by the September update. Would love your feedback when it gets here. (or if anyone is a rockstar video editor using Adobe Premiere let a brother know, I need you!)
GRAPHICS
Notice my fancy new banners? I’ve been working with Photoshop for a few years now but really ramping up lately. Hoping to do better graphics for this website, better thumbnails for the podcast. The current one is just my stupid face and doesn’t change, so I’ve built a nice template that will allow for guest photos and more text so I can provide a deeper user experience.
Our next multifamily purchase will be in the next ~6 months or so and we will be raising outside capital. I don’t know what the requirements will be yet but if your’e AT ALL interested then let me know. I can start putting you on our email list to go over potential deals and keep you in the loop. I’m going to be able to provide my current investors GREAT returns so you’ll want to get in on this train as soon as you can (unless you hate making money).
This section has become a much more personal update for me, that’s why I put it at the end. Since my reading style has gone far away from self-help and business topics to history, economics, politics, and other dense work I’m sure most people no longer care but that’s to their detriment. I’ve found VASTLY more usefulness in this type of reading than the pseudo-intellectual self-help nonsense
The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism
F. A. Hayek
Do you want to understand the difference between socialism and capitalism from a nobel prize winning economist? This is a dense but brilliant book
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
James W. Loewen
Fantastic book about the gap between what happened in history and what American history books actually teach. Our relationships with the native Americans, black/white relations, class structures, our record of imperialism, and more. It’s also a critique of the overly patriotic narrative that history books sell. Very happy I read this one.
I read a few others but these were the best two!
4 Responses
Alex — My name is Forrest Motz and I’m a big fan of your blog. Thanks for putting together this website. It’s a good source of reality and inspiration. Glad to hear things are progressing well towards your goals. I’m not interested in real estate and have always chosen the stock market as my medium for investing. What is your opinion on equity investing? Thanks for the reply. Keep crushing it!
I like equity investing, it’s just hard to turn that into a business. For me Real estate allowed me a more hands on approach towards investing. It also allowed me to use leverage immediately and get cash flow immediately which for my life circumstances were important. As I go forward with investing I do hope to shift to buying a bit more equities. Real estate will continue to be my primary focus though.
In many ways it’s just a preference thing I think.
I’m so thankful for your comment and to be able to provide useful content to you my friend. thank you!
Hi Alex,
I saw your post on BiggerPockets. What are your thoughts on Turn Key, I just closed on two rental properties and the numbers work! They had a premium on the house but I declined over a dozen houses until I bought the two as they were at least in the range of comps around the area. So far, 6 months in and zero work from me as they handle everything. I know a lot of people are against turn key property but wondering what your thoughts. Am I too simple? I like to focus 100% on my full time job so I can’t manage or do it myself. Turn key was an excellent solution.
Not a fan of turnkey unfortunately.
It’s basically buying retail (maybe slightly below) with a property manager in place. Well, it’s highly unlikely that your property manager will last forever so all you’ll be left with is paying nearly full price for a house all to avoid learning the important skills that make money in real estate (finding deals, building teams).
This isn’t to say turnkey can’t work, but if you want passive there are better ways, and if you want to be active then there are FAR better ways.
my opinion only