BigMikeFund

By Mike ZlotnikBusiness Entrepreneurship Investing

BigMikeFund episodes

June 15, 2020 062: Impact of covid19 to Multi-Family Real Estate Investments
Welcome to The Big Mike Fund Podcast. Today it is a pleasure and a privilege to welcome Tim Bratz. Tim is a multi-family real estate investor from the Cleveland, Ohio area. He buys, develops, and holds apartment buildings, vacation rentals, & other commercial real estate properties throughout Ohio, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, & Texas.
Today we’re talking about the impact that COVID-19 has had on one of his biggest projects: Georgia Plains. We’ll talk a little bit about the background of Georgia Plains and the mechanics behind it. Tim and I also go over his plans for the rest of 2020 as well as his view on the future of multi-family real estate investments.
Minute Markers:
00:29 – Welcome Tim Bratz
04:15 - The courage it takes to trust a sponsor and operator
08:00 - A little about Georgia Plains
14:13 - The mechanics behind Georgia Plains
17:00 - How Tim pays an overfunded project
18:00 - Rent per door on average
21:12 - How did the virus affect the overall project?
28:00 - What are Tim’s plans for the rest of 2020
36:25 - How to get a hold of Tim
37:25 - Thank you for listening to the Big Mike Fund podcast
Resources:
Tim Bratz, Facebook
Tim Bratz, Instagram
Tim Bratz, LinkedIn
Quotes:
“I buy pretty heavy value-add deals like the one that you're involved in. There is a lot more work but there's a lot more upside to those.” – Tim Bratz
“When you have that distressed of a property and the property has that bad for reputation, you got to go in and you got to clean up everything before you start rebranding, marketing, and bringing in new tenants because otherwise, you're just going to track the same type of tenant who's not respecting the property, not respecting their neighbors..” – Tim Bratz
“When I invest, I want a predictable rate of return. At the same time, I want some equity upside. If I'm going to help somebody make a million dollars. Isn't that only fair that I get $100,000 or $200,000 also?.” – Tim Bratz
“All this money goes back into the property to reinvest into the property to make sure that we're providing a clean, safe, functional, cosmetically improved housing for you as the tenant. We explain that. We said, that being said, if you are facing hardship, please reach out to us. Proactively, reach out to us. We're not going to chase you down, but if you reach out to us, we will put some workout plan together on a case-by-case basis to help you through these difficult times.” – Tim Bratz
“It’s hard to find deals but we do have one deal and it's a decent deal. It's the same thing. You can give the deals in the middle of a COVID situation. It's the right value-add plan. You feel comfortable based on all the numbers you look at, but the uncertainty is still out there. It's possible that there could be better deals in the future. On the other hand, it does appear. Who knows, right?” – Mike Zlotnik
38 min
June 08, 2020 061: Chatting about the future of the economy with Frances Newton Stacy
Welcome to The Big Mike Fund Podcast. Today I have the pleasure of chatting with Frances Newton Stacy. She works for Optimal Capital as the director of portfolio strategies. Frances is also a frequent guest on both CBS, CNBC, as well as Fox Business News as a commentator on Central Bank Policy.
She also blogs about the trading community by helping to recognize key cycles and significant support and resistance levels. Today we’re talking about her thoughts on the future of the economy: jobs, the stock market, real estate, and the general overview of what we may see in the upcoming year.
Minute Markers:
00:50 – A bit about Frances Newton Stacy
04:50 - Frances’ thoughts on the current state of joblessness
07:10 - Things to look out for in the near future
12:00 - Incentive programs for people to go back to work
13:36 - Things happening in real estate
15:20 - Frances’ proposals and thoughts on how to prevent rates from going negative
18:25 - Stocks, the markets, and trading
29:00 - Economist market projections
31:45 - Airlines stocks as an example of cyclical recovery
34:45 - Parting thoughts on what people should or could do with their money
41:55 - What’s the best way to get ahold of Frances?
43:30 - Thanks for listening to the Big Mike Fund podcast.
Quotes:
“Lower rates usually support the real estate market but in a situation where you don’t have banks willing to lend, then that kind of restrains that area. So you may not see that traditional reaction to the rates falling.” – Frances Newton Stacy
“In New York City, 30% of restaurants will never open their doors again. And how many of those 30% actually default somewhere in credit-land?.” – Frances Newton Stacy
“In real estate, you have to wait. We don’t know what the data is going to do but I personally wouldn’t pay pre-COVID prices until I saw what the defaults look like.” – Frances Newton Stacy, on what to do with your money in the near future.
“It would be so much better to give employers and employees incentives to go back to work.” – Mike Zlotnik
Resources:
Previous episode with Frances Newton Stacy
Optimal Capital
44 min
June 04, 2020 061: Chatting About the Future of the Economy With Frances Newton Stacy
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44 min
May 18, 2020 060: Creating Relationships Between Entrepreneurs and Their Families With 18 Summer Founder, Jim Shiels
Welcome back to the Big Mike Fund podcast. Today I’m talking with my good friend, Jimmy Shiels. We’ve known each other for many years. He’s a humble and genuine guy who classifies himself as a speaker, consultant, and the crazy glue that can help keep families together. The mission for his company, 18 Summers, is to help create relationships between entrepreneurs and their families, which can get strained due to the lifestyle and professional pressures of being an entrepreneur.
With this new reality, situations at home are changing and families are being impacted. Today, Jimmy shares his thoughts on what families can do while they’re at home, in order to take advantage of the time that we have together.
Minute Markers:
00:35 - A little bit about Jimmy
01:15 - 18 Summers
02:00 - How the quarantine is affecting families
04:45 - The story behind 18 Summers
06:35 - One-on-one time and having conversations with your spouse or SO
08:30 - “You should have known better.”
09:15 - Too much technology
10:30 - Family dinners
11:50 - Keeping work and family life separated/multitasking
14:00 - Being separated from family
16:15 - Family retreats/Virtual events
19:50 - Reaching out to Jimmy
20:36 - Parting thoughts
21:44 - Thank you for listening to the Big Mike Fund Podcast
Quotes:
“The average person will spend 85% of the time they ever have with their children by the end of their 18th summer because the amount of opportunities starts to delineate because they’re off to college, they’re going into their own life.” - Jimmy Shiels
“The average person--the average family 60 years ago, dinner was about 90 minutes. Now, the average time length for dinner now? 12 minutes.” - Jimmy Shiels
“The days are long but the years are short.” - Jimmy Shiels
“[This quarantine] is a crisis but also an opportunity.” - Mike Zlotnik
“Be present; that’s the most important thing.” - Mike Zlotnik
Resources:
Jim Sheils Official Website
The Family Board Meeting: You Have 18 Summers to Create Lasting Connection with Your Children by Jim Sheils
23 min
May 04, 2020 059: Sales Techniques With John Martinez
Welcome to The Big Mike Fund Podcast. Today, I have my friend, John Martinez, from the Collective Genius Mastermind. He is an expert when it comes to training salespeople. That’s what we’re going to talk about today: sales techniques and what it takes to mold or train a successful salesperson. Even if you don’t classify yourself as a salesperson, the information that he shares in this episode can us used in other, related fields (like real estate agents, for example).
Minute Markers:
01:52 - A little bit about John
03:00 - John’s bread & butter training
06:00 - Seller motivation
08:15 - “Reframing of the whole question”
13:15 - Summary of the technique
15:40 - Problem-impacting picture-perfect questions
17:35 - The REI sales economy
19:35 - How does this information apply to agents?
21:50 - Midwest Rev
23:00 - Outbound calling and cold calling
26:37 - REI Sales Academy and Branding/Names
27:59 - Final thoughts
30:26 - Thank you for listening to the Big Mike Fund Podcast
Quotes:
“The question that the top acquisition agents or investors ask is not how much do you think your house is worth because then you run into that conversation you talked about.” - John Martinez
“[Salespeople] need to discover, through whatever questions, then you can ask why questions and get them to give the seller or house owner to start talking about their problems rather than what they want for the property.” - John Martinez
“Sales isn't about pressuring anyone to do anything, sales is just about uncovering the reasons why someone would do something. The only way to get there is to remove the pressure, so people feel safe opening up and then asking questions.” - John Martinez
“If you can't find the motivation, it's a useless conversation, but once you find it and you explore it, stress the key points, that's the path to success.” - Mike Zlotnik
“Is it free will or predeterminism? But if they’re already talking to you, if they're spending the time, if you just help them a little bit to really see why, why they're doing this and then the decision is just so much easier.” - Mike Zlotnik
Resources:
Midwest Rev
REI Academy
31 min
May 02, 2020 060: Creating Relationships Between Entrepreneurs and Their Families With 18 Summer Founder, Jim Shiels
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23 min
April 30, 2020 059: Sales Techniques With John Martinez
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31 min
April 30, 2020 060: Creating Relationships Between Entrepreneurs and Their Families With 18 Summer Founder, Jim Shiels
Welcome back to the Big Mike Fund podcast. Today I’m talking with my good friend, Jimmy Shiels. We’ve known each other for many years. He’s a humble and genuine guy who classifies himself as a speaker, consultant, and the crazy glue that can help keep families together. The mission for his company, 18 Summers, is to help create relationships between entrepreneurs and their families, which can get strained due to the lifestyle and professional pressures of being an entrepreneur.
With this new reality, situations at home are changing and families are being impacted. Today, Jimmy shares his thoughts on what families can do while they’re at home, in order to take advantage of the time that we have together.

Minute Markers:
00:35 – A little bit about Jimmy
01:15 – 18 Summers
02:00 – How the quarantine is affecting families
04:45 – The story behind 18 Summers
06:35 – One-on-one time and having conversations with your spouse or SO
08:30 – “You should have known better.”
09:15 – Too much technology
10:30 – Family dinners
11:50 – Keeping work and family life separated/multitasking
14:00 – Being separated from family
16:15 – Family retreats/Virtual events
19:50 – Reaching out to Jimmy
20:36 – Parting thoughts
21:44 – Thank you for listening to the Big Mike Fund Podcast

Quotes:
“The average person will spend 85% of the time they ever have with their children by the end of their 18th summer because the amount of opportunities starts to delineate because they’re off to college, they’re going into their own life.” – Jimmy Shiels
“The average person–the average family 60 years ago, dinner was about 90 minutes. Now, the average time length for dinner now? 12 minutes.” – Jimmy Shiels
“The days are long but the years are short.” – Jimmy Shiels
“[This quarantine] is a crisis but also an opportunity.” – Mike Zlotnik
“Be present; that’s the most important thing.” – Mike Zlotnik

Resources:
Jim Sheils Official Website
The Family Board Meeting: You Have 18 Summers to Create Lasting Connection with Your Children by Jim Sheils
23 min
April 20, 2020 058: COVID-19 Crisis: What’s the Impact on Multifamily?
Today, I’m once again talking with Whitney Sewell, the Director at Lifebridge Capital. Whitney and I talk about the Coronavirus crisis, and its present and future impact on the multifamily space.
These are difficult times for the country and world. Some of you may be losing sleep, or feeling grateful for a reserve budget and conservative underwriting. Stay healthy, keep your distance, and keep washing your hands.
Minute Markers:
01:00 - Whitney’s background
01:56 - COVID-19’s effects on multifamily space now
03:20 - COVID-19’s future impact on multifamily space
04:12 - CMBS freeze and next steps with tenants
06:28 - Proactive about possible job loss and vacancy rates
08:20 - Predicted and projected health perspective on economy
11:00 - Fear, fluctuating numbers, and looking forward to future opportunities
12:15 - Are deals going to be re-priced or re-traded?
15:23 - Marketing and always looking for more deals
18:53 - Distressed sellers, distressed situations, and big enough discounts
25:40 - Rent’s due: Who will or won’t pay, and why?
32:24 - Reaching out to Whitney Sewell
33:19 - Thank you for listening to the Big Mike Fund Podcast
Quotes:
“We had such a hefty reserve budget before we ever planned, before we ever knew anything, obviously, like this was going to happen. I'm so grateful that we did. Now, we can even hit something like this and we're okay. We're not losing sleep over it because of that.” - Whitney Sewell
“Is it going to affect us? It's going to. I think it's going to affect us all in some way. No doubt about it. Already is. We're working with our management company. We're taking strides to be proactive.” - Whitney Sewell
“I think there's going to be some opportunities for operators that are prepared. I think there's going to be some opportunities. I think there's going to be deals too that some operators have to sell and that are going to be discounted. I think we're prepared for that.” - Whitney Sewell
“People who got properties, unless they have extreme distress, they're not selling. The people who are buying, I guess they want to get a good enough deal. I think that the business now just broadened quite a bit because of uncertainty.” - Mike Zlotnik
“There's going to be tenants that are going to still pay their rent because they know they should and they're supposed to. There's going to be tenants that can't pay their rent legitimately, they lost their job, they live paycheck to paycheck, they cannot make it happen. There's still going to be some that just take advantage of the situation, no doubt about it.” - Whitney Sewell
Resources:
Whitney Sewell
Lifebr
34 min
April 09, 2020 058: COVID-19 Crisis: What’s the Impact on Multifamily?
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34 min