“There’s no time to wait, and you’ve got to get educated in order to take advantage of the opportunities. People think you have to be in the right place at the right time, that’s incorrect. You’re always in the right place, and it’s always the right time, you are just not aware of the opportunity.” – Alfonso Cuadra 

Alfonso Cuadra is an Award-Winning Real Estate Entrepreneur, Speaker, and Author of the 2012 book From the Ground Up!

He is the President and CEO of The Cuadra Group of Companies and has an extensive background in business and Real Estate Management, Investing, and Development. Alfonso is dedicated to showing others how to overcome their obstacles and become high performers. He truly is in the business of changing lives and has a special gift in his ability to connect with people and move them forward.

Listen in to this episode as Alfonso shares his own story of overcoming great obstacles to achieve his dreams. Born in El Salvador during the civil war, his mother, the head of the newspaper, was arrested for reporting the truth to all about the corrupt government in power. After escaping to Canada and being raised in poverty, at 17 years old, he started a small company that quickly grew to multiple locations across Canada. Alfonso shares his journey to real estate and how a seed planted as a teen came full circle courtesy of his daughter, 12 years later. Alfonso and Patrick talk about financial markets, real estate in ANY market, and the importance of critical thinking, staying aware and educating ourselves to get ahead of opportunities.

Alfonso is a dynamic leader that is passionate about sharing his story and inspiring others to create the life they want and to never give up on their dreams.

 

[0:42] Patrick introduces his next TEDM guest, Alfonso Cuadra.

[02:01] Alfonso and Patrick swing into action and Alfonso tells us where “The Godfather of Real Estate” came from!

[04:32] Alfonso shares a bit of his background, his family’s difficult journey from Latin America in the 70s, the uptick and downtick of his business, and how real estate then came to show up in his life.

[09:13] As an immigrant to Canada and now a Canadian citizen, Alfonso has a real understanding of both sides of the immigration controversy. As witness to his mother’s hard work and tenacity plus the thousands of people he has employed in his business, Alfonso understands how hard people are willing to work, and want to participate and contribute to their community.

[13:03] A life re-imagined. Alfonso recounts some impactful moments in his life from the young age of 3 being held in captivity, coming to Canada with an undeveloped education and all the emotional and behavioural challenges that result from that, to living on the street angry at the world. The turning point came at the age of 17 when his daughter was born. His whole life opened up with love, he started to realize the opportunities he had turned his back on and became reinspired.

[18:06] Always fascinated by the concept of real estate investing, thoughts of being a building owner and collecting rent drifted in and out over the course of Alfonso’s life. When his business took a downturn, Alfonso studied and found inspiration in books like Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and he began to rebuild his business and committed to building his wealth through real estate. A seed planted as a teen came full circle courtesy of his daughter, 12 years later.

[23:53] What is Alfonso’s outlook of our economy and what opportunities is he sharing with his investors? Macro view: massive opportunity.

[29:42] As issues continue to arise in pre-construction condo markets, housing markets, and commercial, Alfonso sees big opportunity in the office space. As refinancing becomes a prohibitive option, there may be opportunity to repurpose and convert to multi-family. In the multi-family space,