The Big Breakthrough

Main Points:

Big deals and small deals are the same amount of work - you just make less money on small deals

Kris's first multifamily deal was a 64-unit new build project with an old family friend

Kris had a full-time job as a salesperson, but he realized he didn't have time to find, underwrite, and put together deals in addition to his work and family commitments. His strength was in selling and bringing equity to projects operated by other operators

If you're going to ask people to invest with you, you need to have a history of demonstrated success

His major operator partners stopped doing deals because of the recent market compression, which prompted Kris to find other operators and other asset classes to invest in

Why Self Storage? Better returns based on reports by the National Association of REITs, relative recession resistance (during the recession self storage dropped by 4% instead of the 22% that the S&P 500 dropped). Check out Self Storage Overview for more information from Kris

Advice to get into real estate: Just go. Don't wait to have all the answers

The only thing we can't replace is time. You can replace toys and money, but you can't make more time

Kris's biggest motivator was that he didn't want to trade his time for money - he was never going to be financially free if he stayed as his job for the next 20 years

Kris used written affirmations to fight the omnipresent thought that he didn't know what he was doing

Kris uses an annual goal list that is posted on his refrigerator

Main Points:

Edified Equity is a platform to education people about investing and being an owner/equity partner in a multifamily syndication

Dino started with Sean Terry's wholesaling course, but thought it was too active. He started to partner with flippers by lending them money for the projects. He later transitioned to multifamily due to the influence of a friend/mentor by partnering with experienced operators and networking with brokers and investor partners

Learn syndication first, learn how to raise private equity by presenting people an opportunity to collaborate. Start with multifamily deals and never look back. Align with credible industry experts and bring value to them

Everything Dino's accomplished wasn't because of smarts -

Have the Last Man Standing mentality

The hardest thing about getting started in real estate for Dino was having the time. We all get 24 hours and he made the decision that he was going to do this no matter what. If that meant underwriting deals at 3:00 in the morning, he was okay with that

Dino was raised to save a pile of cash to live on in retirement. He now believes the right strategy is to set up a pile of cash paying him NOW, and not wait until retirement

Dino saw a cartoon of two kids playing with one saying "What did you want to be before you gave up?" and doesn't want his kids to have to give up on their dreams. They can use his experience and set up streams of income through multifamily real estate to be able to do whatever they want later in life

Steps to start raising private money: get a pretend deal to present to potential partners in your network. Explain how this opportunity is different than what they're currently doing: passive, regular payments, tax benefits, etc and get their buy-in. Ask if they would like the opportunity to collaborate on similar deals in the future. Also, align yourself with a credible industry partner and bring them value

Life is happening now, this is not a dress rehearsal. More time is not coming our way. If we don't find a way to make it happen, it's not going to happen ever

Dino uses a scorecard for daily, weekly, and monthly tasks and an hourly time blocking worksheet for each day

Dino uses a keyword notification for certain words on Bigger Pockets to add value to conversations on that forum for people who are discussing things relevant to his business

Main Points:

Rich and his business partner started the 13th HomeVestors franchise

Rich was loaning hard money before the Great Recession and they were making so much they didn't know what to do with it, until the Recession hit and they went from flying high to nearly broke in an instant

You can't put all your eggs in one basket

It took Rich over 2 years of growing the property management business to go from working IN the business to working ON the business

When driving for dollars as they were getting started, Rich and his partners had to go through the phone book calling person after person to find the actual owners of the properties they were interested in

When the Great Recession came, Rich and his wife considered selling their house to pay business bills, but they never paid anyone late and did not lose the house

There are a lot of ways to get into real estate. If you have a good job already just invest the money in rental property or notes while keeping the steady paycheck. If you need a cash flow machine, invest in notes. If you want to flip houses, you need to make it your full time job to be successful

Success habits include checking email twice a day, keeping a calendar, saying no, and not eating alone

Main Points:

It all comes down to treating people right, finding good deals

3 resources you have in the real estate world: Time, Money, Network/Knowledge (or 4:20-ish)

Turnkey investments - flipper rehabs a house specifically for a renter, package it up, and sell it to a passive investor

With 10 houses, he would plan to lose on 3 houses. have 1-2 evictions / year, and have 3-4 bigger maintenance items during an average year

Lane believes that single family homes are the prerequisite to everything else. Experiment and learn with your own money, then upgrade if/when you're ready

Make the move from single family to syndication by finding good people and partner up with them

Lane's biggest shift was to invest in properties remotely

If you didn't do anything or take action, where would your current trajectory take you?

If you have to work with a random person, you need to improve your network and meet more people

Main Points:

Build your lifestyle and work around your passion and your purpose

Norada Real Estate Investments provides turnkey properties for investors who want it served up on a silver platter. They work in 18 markets throughout the US

Different markets, neighborhoods, properties fit different peoples' investment goals and investment speeds

To accelerate your investment goals, accumulate as much investable cash as you can. Build your business, get a second job, start a side business, drive Uber - whatever. Stack cash - not to save it, but to deploy it

Turn key property returns aren't just the cash-on-cash returns. Real estate investment returns also include mortgage pay-down, asset value appreciation, and depreciation. (Consult your tax professional)

Lifestyle Design - With success, you can shift your focus from building yourself to giving back to other people

Don't let "lack of knowledge" to be an excuse to not getting started. With the resources available today, getting knowledge is easy and often free

Book Recommendations:

The Four Hour Workweek - Tim Ferriss

Traction - Gino Wickman

The Ultimate Guide to Passive Real Estate Investing - Norada Real Estate Investments

Main Points:

3 Types of income: Earned, Portfolio, and Passive

If you have other options for income (ie: employment), getting into real estate is hard. With no other option and his back against the wall because of his medical diagnosis, Ben had it easy. He had no other choice.

Nothing that's free will be received with due value

More money comes from success, which comes from knowledge

Get smart before getting into real estate

Work smart instead of work hard. Work to create more systems that create passive income instead of just working hard

Book Recommendations:

The 35 Strategies of War - Robert Greene

Working With The Law - Raymond Holliwell

The Richest Man in Babylon - George Samuel Clason

Main Points:

Lennon has been in business for 1.5 years and BLD Capital Group has already been involved in over $100 million in real estate transactions so far.

Real estate is all about "We". Leveraging the experience of your team is key to overcoming objections when you're getting started.

Shift your limiting beliefs with daily affirmations of "I believe in my self, I am enough, and I'll make it happen".

Lennon's daily routine:

Start of Day:

Get up

Cup of cold water

Meditate for 20 minutes

Write in a journal - 3 things he's grateful for today

30-40 minute workout

Write down 5 goals - 1 long-term, 1 mid-term, 2-3 for this month or this year

Go to the office

End of Day:

Write the day's successes

Re-write the 5 goals

Read at least 1 page of the book he's reading

Go to bed

Media Recommendations:

Mistakes Millionaires Make - Harry Clark

The Tim Ferriss Show (podcast)

Contact:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/LennonLD

[email protected]

Main Points:

Overcome the Impostor Syndrome through education.

When entering a new area of real estate, get an expert mentor to increase your chances of success.

When raising money, most people are NOT interested. Focus on finding the people who are, and don't worry about the rest.

How you use your spare time determines your success. Use your downtime to email, read, and prepare so you are ready when it's Go Time.

Book Recommendations:

Zero to One - Peter Thiel

Traction - Gino Wickman

Contact:

SierraWhiskeyProperties.com

ClarityMgmtGroup.com

Main Points:

Old Rule was: Look at 100 properties, make offers on 10, get 1.  He's now looking at up to 350 properties to find that one deal.

The MLS is where you go to find single family properties on the open market - not where you find single family properties at deep discounts.  Don't expect published commercial markets to have discounted properties.

If you call a broker off of LoopNet and he doesn't call you back, don't despair - it's a right of passage.  The trick is to be consistent, show up, and don't disappear.  If you stick with it you can earn their respect.  Also, the best deals typically come up right after you stop looking.

His main goal when he was getting started in real estate was to buy 1 house per year and rent it out.  He didn't know how he was going to accomplish that, but he's ended up doing a whole lot more.

Flipping is tough today - instead, buy property and rent it out.

Book Recommendations:

The Deal Maker's Guide to Commercial Real Estate - Ray Alcorn

Real Leaders Don't Do Powerpoint - Christopher Witt

An introduction to the Big Breakthrough.  James Gregg's backstory.  My goals for the podcast.