Abraham Gray grew up moving from foster family to foster family before he found martial arts and business. Today he buys around 15 properties a month in Atlanta and has 40 million dollars out in private loans.
What we cover:
- How he built a martial arts empire, four gyms and hundreds of classes a week
- Why sixty five to seventy percent of his deals come from wholesalers and how he gets on their lists without talking to them
- His loan-to-own philosophy: he underwrites the asset, not the borrower, assuming any loan might never get repaid
- How lending to a few close friends in the late 1990s grew into a business with 40 million dollars out at all times
- Building Gator lending with Pace Morby and funding SubTo entry fees through Deal or No Deal
- What building something this size actually costs and how he made other people millionaires alongside him
Abraham has bought properties from sellers since 1998 and has run dozens of businesses, from baseball cards to jewelry to martial arts gyms, before building his current lending business in Atlanta.
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Preview
01:03 From Martial Arts to Becoming the Bank
01:53 Growing Up Fast and Getting Into Business
03:05 What Martial Arts Taught Abraham
04:55 Turning a Gym Passion Into a Business
06:38 Buying Houses Directly From Sellers
08:13 Why Nasty Houses Can Be the Best Deals
09:34 Buying 15 Properties a Month in Atlanta
11:01 Getting Deals From Wholesalers
12:11 Underwriting Fast and Knowing Your Market
14:47 Becoming a Private Lender
16:37 Growing to $40M in Loans
18:20 Selling Deals vs. Fixing and Flipping
20:13 Buy-and-Holds, Subto and Owner Finance
20:55 Abraham's ARV Formula in Atlanta
21:56 Lending to Friends and Early Borrowers
24:09 How Abraham Sizes Up a Borrower
25:06 The Loan-to-Own Model
25:43 When a Borrower Dies During a Deal
27:00 Minimum Returns and Lending Terms
28:01 Running 150+ Loans With One Person
29:17 Building Gator Lending With Pace Morby
31:50 Deal or No Deal and Funding Entry Fees
33:19 How Abraham Met Pace
36:45 Vetting Partners and Protecting Reputation
39:41 Managers and Running Multiple Businesses
40:29 Learning to Spot Good Operators
41:39 The First Hire That Freed His Time
43:20 Why Systems Make Delegation Possible
44:18 Learning From People Ahead of You
45:42 Taking Smart Risks
46:20 From Foster Homes to Financial Freedom
48:23 Staying Focused Before Expanding
49:00 Helping Students Become Millionaires
54:06 The Sacrifices Behind Success
56:25 Teaching the Next Generation
56:51 Advice for People Who Feel Stuck
57:53 Lending Against a Lamborghini
59:40 Who Abraham Wants to Work With
1:00:20 Where to Connect With Abraham
1:01:08 Martial Arts, Jiu-Jitsu and Final Thoughts
🤝 Connect with Abraham Gray
📧 Email: [email protected]
👉 Don't forget to 👍like, 💬comment, 🔔subscribe, and share.
🔧 Tools & Resources Mentioned 🔧
Some of the links below may be affiliate partnerships. We only share tools we personally trust and use.
💸💸 Need funding for your next deal? Get approved fast here:
👉 app.dealfunding360.com/?ref=EdgarSalgado
💤 Sleep better, dream bigger! — Eight Sleep
👉 https://refer.eight.sl/edgardsalgado
💵 Prime Corporate Services (LLC setup + business credit)
👉 https://primepartner.info/edgardsa
💵 Foundational Funding, EMD, Transactional Lending, Double Close
👉 https://foundationallending.com/funding-wl?ref_name=Josh+Smith&[email protected]
► Join the SubTo Community and learn creative finance from Pace Morby
👉 https://join.nre.ai/mQ9T9vZ
► Learn to make money on other people's deals with the Gator Method
👉 https://join.nre.ai/mQBDJK5
► Tools I use for productivity
👉 https://linktr.ee/EdgartheConnector
🔌 PLUG IN & SUBSCRIBE 🔌
Instagram: @edgartheconnector
TikTok: @edgarsrei
🚧 DISCLAIMER 🚧
We are not a CPA, attorney, insurance, contractor, lender, or financial advisor. Content is for entertainment purposes only; verify all information yourself.
