Drew Breneman

Protect & Grow Capital With Our Multifamily Investment Opportunities For Family Offices, Fund Managers, & High-Net-Worth Individuals

When I was 19, I bought my first property.

I didn’t realize it then, but that little duplex changed my life.

Now, 20+ years later, I’ve sourced, capitalized, and closed on over $250 million of properties for my firm, Breneman Capital.

I’ve worked closely with investors - family offices, PE, Fund of Funds, RIAs, and individuals - to help them generate income and wealth through multifamily real estate.

The old real estate adage says, “You make your money when you buy in real estate.”

I agree with that - but I think it’s only 50% true.

The other 50% comes in the execution. And I’ve built Breneman Capital through that lens. 

Our realized investments have produced an average gross return of:

• 27% IRR
• 2.3x equity multiple
• 14% average annual cash yield

This is across 14 full-cycle investments with an average hold period of 6 years.

In my opinion, our longest-standing investor relationships come down to 2 factors:

1) Our deals have performed well.
2) We focus on giving investors the best possible experience.

Real estate can be complex. But we like to keep our goals for our investors simple.

- Strong returns.
- Great experiences.
- World-class communication.

Here is what our investor said about us:

✅ Tim B.
“My wife and I wanted passive real estate heading into retirement. We’ve invested in multiple Breneman Capital deals and have been very pleased. They’ve helped us preserve and grow our nest egg without day-to-day work, and I recommend them to friends and co-workers.”

✅ Jim H.
“I’ve invested with Drew for 10+ years across 20+ projects. He’s the most knowledgeable real estate operator I’ve met and someone I trust. These investments have built long-term wealth for my family, with solid returns.”

If you’d like to set up an exploratory call, feel free to click the link in my Featured Section.

Founder & CEO

I started Breneman Capital in 2005 at age 19 to purchase my first rental properties and grow my own wealth. 

Today, we work with individual investors, Family Offices, PE, Fund of Funds, RIAs, etc., and allow them to invest alongside us in the best opportunities that we find (and have been for nearly 20 years).

Invest with us: https://www.breneman.com/invest

High-paying jobs keep you broke.

Yes, even if you're making $750,000+.

For a lot of people, high salaries become a pair of Golden Handcuffs.

• Expensive zip code
• Luxury car payments 
• Country club dues

You’re trapped.

And you can’t leave your job because your $75,000/mo lifestyle depends on your $62,500/mo income. 

So it's not really the job that might keep this person's bank account near $0. It's the lifestyle creep that some allow to happen.

A high-paying job with the conscious choice to not always increase spending as income increases is a powerful tool.

The real wealth builders are living below their means, saving, and investing. 

A good question to ask yourself:

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲?

Founder @ Breneman Capital | Passive Multifamily Investments That Protect & Grow Capital | 21+ years in Real Estate | Trusted by 100+ Accredited Investors

When you see people successful in real estate, it's usually not: "They went to Harvard for undergrad and MBA.”

It's:

"Yeah, that guy bought a duplex when he was like 22. Then just kept buying. Now he apparently owns 800 units. I think he's from Iowa or something."

Most millionaire investors I work with have zero interest in private jets or Lamborghinis.

A lot of my calls with new investors look like this:

"Hey Drew.

"I've been maxing out my 401(k) & IRA for years. I'm always trying to figure out what the best option is for the other assets I have. Can you tell me a little bit more about what you do and how real estate works?"

Of course, everyone is different.

But nearly all my investors have a few things in common:

-> They're savers.
-> They don't care about flashy things.
-> They're willing to delay satisfaction.

In other words:

They focus on building wealth more than showing it. 

--

P.S. If you'd like to explore investing alongside us at Breneman Capital, schedule a call with our team here: https://lnkd.in/gWFK2VmV

10 pieces of real estate advice I wish someone had given me when I was 20:

1. Start before you're ready.

I bought my first duplex at 19. I didn't know what IRR meant. My entire strategy was: If it's cash flow positive, my worst-case is holding it long-term and receiving cash flow each month.

2. Buy what's in front of you.

I was a student at UW-Madison, so I bought student rentals in Madison. My market study was polling friends about what they were paying.

3. Your W2 is education on someone else's dime...

I worked at a multifamily developer, then a retail developer. I knew nothing about commercial property when I started. I learned everything there, and I wasn't in a rush to leave while I was still learning.

4. ...So build while you work.

From 2008 to 2011, I worked three jobs simultaneously: my W2, self-managing my Madison rentals, and buying deals with my first investor.

5. Quit when your job starts costing you money.

By deal five, I'd already exceeded my W2 income. I still didn't quit until deal six was under contract. 

The math was simple: Could I make more reallocating my 9-to-5 hours to the next deal? When the answer was yes, I left.

6. Optimize for learning, not salary.

Comparing a $65K job to a $75K job? When you're 40, that extra $10K you passed up won't matter. What you learned is what compounds.

7. Get to your spot.

On that note, if you know where you want to go with your career, prioritize experience that will get you there. If you want to go out on your own someday, don't take a job as an analyst at a rating agency. Be a broker, get in the mix on actual transactions.

8. Periods of discipline feel longer than they are.

I lived in places under $1,000/month into my late 20s. At 26, I moved back in with my parents to extend my runway. 

At the time, it felt like a lot of sacrifice. But looking back from now that I'm in my 40s, it was all just a blip.

9. Get creative with financing.

I owner-occupied my first duplex for a lower down payment and better rate. You can still do FHA loans at 3.5% down on a 1-4 unit. Someone I know went 50/50 with her sister-in-law. One qualified for the loan, the other brought the cash.

10. The compounding happens later.

I bought $2 million of property as a college student. Same strategy on repeat: Buy, increase operating income, improve value, refi, buy again. 

By 2019, my first investor and I had built that into $80+ million.

--

P.S. What advice would you give to yourself when you were 20?

1 major reason you should invest in real estate: 
 
What other investment gives you 4 ways to make money?  
 
𝟭. 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 
 
You collect your rent, you pay your expenses, you have money left over. 
 
That money left over is your cash flow.  
 
It’s critical to you focus on your cash flow (especially as a new investor). 
 
Beyond just income, a strong cash flow can: 
 
✅ Act as a buffer against risks. 
✅ Help you secure more favorable financing. 
✅ Provide flexibility for reinvesting in future properties. 
 
(And that’s just the start).  
 
𝟮. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 
 
You know how your parents bought their house for $79,000 in 1984? 
 
And how that same house sold for $453,000 in 2026? 
 
That’s building appreciation.  
 
There’s a lot more to unpack with building appreciation, but that's the gist. 
 
𝟯. 𝗟𝗼𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 
 
Most investors take out a loan to buy a property. 
 
You can take the rental income from your tenants to pay down that loan. 
 
As your loan is paid down, your equity in the property increases. 
 
Now, you own more of your property — and your rental income paid for it.  
 
𝟰. 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀)  
 
Real estate has a bunch of tax benefits (too many to break down right now). 
 
But simply put, the U.S. government wants to incentivize real estate investors. 
 
Depreciation allows you to deduct the cost of the building over its useful life as if it were an expense. 
 
A.K.A: You can reduce your taxable income thanks to your real estate.  
 
--  
 
OK. That’s a lot.  
 
(And remember, we kept it all high-level.) 
 
Questions?  
 
Just send me a DM.



Disclaimer: This is not an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities. Past performance is no guarantee of future results, and investors may experience different results than those shown, including the loss of principal. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events.

I’ll never forget walking through this building.

It was sad. And bizarre. 

During the walkthrough, the seller was visibly nervous. Her tenants kept coming up to her to give her hugs.

Turns out, she getting a divorce from her husband, and was quietly selling the building. So her tenants were consoling her about the divorce while she was simultaneously trying to sell the building in secret. 

And as I was halfway through the walkthrough, it hit me:

“They clearly want to keep this a secret... I was actually the only buyer the broker reached out to on this. And it’s going to be a hard deal to sell if it needs to be a secret.” 

The broker knew I had the reputation of being a closer — so I got the call before he even had the listing secured.

I don’t want to be insensitive by boiling down this woman’s personal situation with a lesson about how it’s important to build a reputation in real estate, but that’s the reality of this one.

In 2017, I acquired the building for $1.45MM.

By late 2018, it appraised for $2.45MM when I refinanced.

I upzoned the property, added a unit, and did a light renovation of all the other units. 

You can't really plan for things like this.

All you can do is build a reputation and protect it.

Behind every "deal" are real people navigating real-life situations.

You never know how that's going to come into play.

--

P.S. If you'd like to explore passive real estate investing, send me a message. Let's find a time to chat. 
 


Disclaimer: This is not an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities. Past performance is no guarantee of future results, and investors may experience different results than those shown, including the loss of principal. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events.

The “real estate market” doesn’t exist. 
 
(𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀.) 
 
People like to paint with broad strokes in investing. 
 
• “Everything is distressed!” 
• “The market is hot right now.” 
• “I think the bubble is about the pop.” 
 
This mindset leads to passive investors missing out on great opportunities — and harming their understanding of real estate in general. 
 
I say the “real estate market” doesn’t exist because there is no singular real estate market.  
 
If you owned a multifamily property in Chicago in 2025, you probably had a great year. 
 
If you owned a multifamily property in Las Vegas in 2025, you probably had a rough year. 
 
But if you extrapolate these experiences into your perception of the “real estate market” as a whole, you’re skewing your perception of both opportunity and risk.  
 
-> Every region is different. 
-> Every asset is different. 
-> Every deal is different. 
 
Generalizing and making assumptions in real estate is no different than making stock market decisions based on fear-mongering CNBC headlines. 
 
Yes, some areas of the country and some real estate assets are distressed. 
 
But in other areas and other asset classes, opportunity is exploding. 
 
Define your goals. 
↳ 
Do your research. 
↳ 
Find a great deal. 
 
A singular “real estate market” doesn’t exist. 
 
But the benefits of real estate certainly do. 
 
-- 
 
P.S. If you're an accredited investor looking to experience the benefits of passive real estate investing, send me a DM.

Hiring general contractors can be a nightmare.

Use these 5 tips to find the best GC possible:

1. Check qualifications

Do your homework. Google the GC’s name and business name. See if any reviews are listed on public sites. 

2. Ask for referrals

The single most important part of hiring a GC is finding one you can trust. 

Reach out to other property owners and investors to ask for referrals. If you get a referral, take that GC out for a beer or coffee to get to know them better.

3. Ask questions 

• What is your payment schedule?
• How long have you been in business?
• Will I have a dedicated team for my project?
• How and where do you store your team’s tools?
• Do you have end-of-the-day clean-up procedures? 
• How far in advance do you order materials and where are they stored?

4. Vet the team

Talk with the job site superintendent and understand their expertise and approach to solving issues with subcontractors.

Who's going to run the painting crew? It's more important to talk with them than the salesperson for the contractor's company. 

5. Protect yourself when paying

Pay through a title company to ensure the contractors get paid and you avoid mechanics liens. This way, the owner is always protected since the title company will be providing a date-down endorsement.


To see the full list of 10 tips for hiring the right GC, check out our blog here: https://lnkd.in/dtdD2NjE

I didn't come from money.

My "wealth" was education.

Some people are born into trust funds.

But both of my parents were teachers.

So my "trust fund" was an emphasis on education.

I think that ended up being more valuable in the long run.

I've talked often about how I'm a self-taught real estate investor.

• I got interested in it around age 16.
• I started reading books about real estate.
• I made the leap with my first investment at 19.

My parents instilled a love for learning in me.

Turns out, there can be a pretty big ROI in that.

Since education has always been central to my success (and since I'm my parents' kid), I wanted to take a stab at doing some educating of others myself.

I spend a lot of time on the phone with beginner real estate investors.

And I get a lot of the same questions:

-> "How does this all work?"
-> "What are the tax implications?"
-> "Why would I invest in X and not Y?"

So over the last year, I took all those questions...

And I turned them into a free educational course. 

The result?

My 5-day "Passive Real Estate Investing Mini-Course."

It's free to anyone who wants to learn.

In 5 days, you'll get 5 emails (1 email per day).

By the end of the course, you'll understand what you need to know to make your first real estate investment, including:

-> How to protect yourself from a stock market downturn with real estate income.
-> How to get ownership interest in an income-generating property.
-> How to replace tenant headaches with ACH deposits.

Education is wealth — both figuratively and literally.

Get my free course here: https://lnkd.in/dFuyGq2T

When it comes to bedtime, my kids are better negotiators than most people I've done deals with.

Bedtime starts at 7:45.

By 8:30 they've secured:

• One more story
• Water
• Different water (too cold)
• Bathroom trip
• Answers to their questions 
• One more hug
• Actually, yep, another story 
• Second bathroom trip (suspicious timing)
• One final tucking in

Each concession is small. They all feel reasonable in the moment. Then somehow I end up 45 minutes past where I started, wondering how I ended up here again. I knew it was coming. I saw it coming. And here we are. 

This is the part where I'm supposed to tie it to business.

Something about scope creep? Or protecting your boundaries in negotiations? Or how small concessions compound?

But I'd rather get some actual parenting conversation going:

How do you get your kids to stick to their nighttime routines?

Put in 5-10 years of intense work in your 20s.

Don't waste that time. 

At that age, you can be on for 18 hours a day.

I expect that if you surveyed people who grinded in their 20s and people who ignored work in favor of "finding themselves" in their 20s, you'd find very few who regretted working and quite a few who regretted falling behind financially.

Real estate GPs talk about the benefits of investing.

But *how* does it actually work? Here’s how: 

𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂.

At Breneman Capital, we provide an investment memo via email and through our investor portal that highlights:

• The strategy for that particular asset, including investment type and hold period.
• Renovation scope (if applicable).
• Competitive analysis.
• Expected returns.
• Market analysis.

From there, we welcome any questions.

𝟮𝗔: 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 “𝗡𝗼.” 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆.

𝟮𝗕: 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 “𝗜’𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁.” 

If you don’t already have access to our investor portal, you’ll be given access.

Then, you’ll commit your investment amount (minimum $50K).

𝟯. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝟯𝗿𝗱-𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀.

Most people just have their attorney or CPA sign a letter. 

(We have a template form we can provide to help this process.)

If you don’t have a CPA or an attorney, we use a service called Parallel Markets that makes it easy to verify your status. 

𝟰. 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗟𝗖 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗟𝗖.

𝟱. 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀:

• Subscription Agreement
• Private Placement Memorandum (PPM)
• Operating Agreement

𝟲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗟𝗖 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗟𝗖.   
 
𝟳. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲, 𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆.

If you're someone who likes to:

• Get all the information.
• Study all the information.
• Understand all the information

Then you'll love my free 5-day, 5-email Passive Real Estate Investing Mini-Course.

Get access to no-frills real estate guidance for passive investors here: 
https://lnkd.in/dFuyGq2T

Senior Construction Project Manager @ VareCo

My company is Investor Acquisitions. 

In short, I help real estate executives attract LP investors. 

What I've found is the best operators in real estate often neglect marketing. 

Marketing is important enough to wish you were better but not important enough to take it on on your own. 

Put another way: If operations fall apart? 
You don't have a business to market. 
If marketing falls apart? 
You've survived this long without it. 

However, there's a catch 22 to this approach to marketing. 

The modern real estate sponsor, broker & lender needs marketing. 

They need to be known. 

Social media expedites 2 key aspects of deal making: 
1. Building awareness of you. 
2. Building trust in you. 

My business is taking the hard work of figuring social media out off your hands, & replacing it with all the benefits. 
1. Being trusted and known at scale. 
2. Generating quality leads. 
3. Raising capital/closing deals. 

The fun stuff that comes from being known. 

Whether you're the CEO, an executive team, or a broker, our team at Investor Acquisitions can level up your brand & content on LinkedIn. 

Our business is telling your story.

If this resonates with you, DM "Intro" to schedule an introduction call.

Cole Baker

Rondale Moore passed away today. 
We attended Purdue at the same time. 
The most electric player I've witnessed live. 

My favorite memory ever in college involved Rondale Moore. 

It was October 20, 2018, Purdue University was 3-3 and facing off against the undefeated number 2 team in the country, Ohio State University. 

It was the 4th quarter of the game. 

Terry McLaurin had just scored a touchdown to bring Ohio State within 2 scores with 4:40 to go in the game.  

For context, Purdue isn't that good at football. 
So when we have a lead?
I never really expect Purdue to keep that lead. 

But on 3&7, on the Ohio State 43 yard line, 
Rondale Moore made one of the most spectacular plays I've ever seen in my life. 
Breaking 2 tackles & spinning out of another for a touchdown. 
To all but seal the game for Purdue. 
Absolutely electric. 

I've never experienced the feeling of pure elation quite like I felt that night with Purdue vs. Ohio State. 

& Rondale was a huge part of that night. 

Rondale, you're an inspiration to me. 

Thank you for giving us your all. 

I pray for your family & friends. 
I pray for your soul. 
May God bless you, Rondale Moore.

I help real estate executives attract investors & build their brands | Trusted by 50 Firms | DM “Intro” to schedule a meeting with Investor Acquisitions

I did some door-knocking today. Did 13 doors. 

Here was the script I came up with in the car: 

"Hello my name is Cole Baker, I buy industrial buildings like this one, who can I speak with about submitting an offer to buy the property?"

Most conversations lasted less than a minute. 

Here were the results: 
• 1 firm no. 
• 3 properties didn't answer the door. 
• 3 phone numbers of owners.  
• 1 "come back tomorrow, the owner just left."  
• 5 "here's who to talk with but I don't have contact info." 

I even got a tour of one of the properties from an employee. 

My favorite interaction though was with an owner. 
Larry. 

Larry wasn't looking to sell, but here's what I asked him: 
"Are you looking to buy other buildings?" 

Larry perked up, & emphatically said "yes."

I got his number & will follow up. 

Day 1 in the books. 

About 2.5 hours of walking the streets of Denver. 
About half of that was hyping myself up to do the first knock. 
Then the second. 
But after about 5 I was getting excited about it. 

Means nearly nothing doing it 1 day, but figured I'd share. 
Looking forward to Day 2.

I spoke with an investor who replaced his $450,000/year tech job with a $50,000,000 real estate portfolio. 

Here's how he did it: 

1) He didn't want to rely on a boss

• There was not "accelerating" retirement. 
• He had to put in the time.
• This unsettled him pretty early on. 
• He had the stock options. 
• So he diversified. 

2) He didn't start small. 

• His first deal was a $1,000,000+ 8-unit deal. 
• He took the knowledge from conversations. 
• He took the knowledge from podcasts. 
• He took the knowledge from books. 
• Then...
• He implemented a value-add plan. 
• He remodeled the interior. 
• He updated the exterior. 
• He raised rents. 
• & refinanced. 

He still owns the asset today. 

Builds up the appreciation. 

Collects the cash flow. 

& the best part? 

No longer works a 9-5. 

P.S. What's the first thing you'd do when you achieve financial freedom?

Warren Buffett bought 49% of Berkshire Hathaway for approximately $8.3 million. 

60 years later…

The company is worth $998 Billion. 

Warren Buffett credits most of his early success to a mentor. 

Benjamin Graham. 

Buffett summed up Graham’s influence in 3 ways: 

1. Graham taught Buffett compassion for shareholders.
2. Graham taught Buffett the importance of generosity.
3. Graham taught Buffett the intricacies of investing.

Buffett credits Graham having been his greatest teacher. 

The greatest investor of our generation credits a mentor as the greatest influence for his success. 

Don’t overthink it. 

Find a mentor.

P.S. Tag your mentor in the comments below! Show 'em some love!

It took 1 year posting on LinkedIn to raise my first $1. 
It took 9 years before I started a profitable business. 
It took 24 years to find the woman I'd marry. 

All the good things we want take time & patience. 

Give yourself the grace to take that time.

I asked a lender (who has originated $23,000,000,000 worth of commercial real estate loans) 3 red flags to avoid in a general partner.

Here's what he said:

𝟭) 𝘼 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧 (𝙂𝙋) 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙣𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡.

- In his opinion, a GP must provide capital in the deal.
- It’s this simple: If a GP has no capital in the deal,
- They don’t have your best interest in mind.

𝟮) 𝘼 𝙂𝙋 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙣𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚.

- You don’t want to hear what they promise.
- You want to hear what they’ve done.
- If they haven’t done very much, &
- They promise great returns?
- Run.

𝟯) 𝘼 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝟱+ 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨

- In his opinion, teams shouldn’t exceed 3 GPs.
- When there are too many partners on a team,
- He questions the team’s ability to manage.

There’s no need to take on unnecessary risk.

Dismiss all GPs with these red flags.

P.S. What would you add to the list?

Dave Ramsey was a millionaire by the age of 27.
He owned $4,000,000+ in real estate in 1987. 
The next year? In 1988? He went bankrupt... 
He didn't stay there long though. 
Now? 
His company grosses $300,000,000 a year. 

Here's 2 lessons I've learned studying Dave Ramsey: 

1) Don't let your failures define you. 

• When Dave was bankrupt? He had a wife & kid too. 
• He had $0. No income. & a family to provide for. 
• BUT...
• He didn't let his failure define his story. 
• He got back to work. 

LESSON: 

To be great at anything, you will fail. Many times. 
If you want to build financial freedom?
If you want to build a business? 
Learn to fail. 

2) Sell what you believe in. 

• Dave is controversial for one main reason: 
• He hates debt. 
• A belief formed by the impact of the bankruptcy. 
• It also formed a passion for financial literacy. 
• More specifically, teaching others about it. 
• This passion?
•  It's the foundation of his business. 
• (A $300m per year business)

LESSON: 

Starting a business is really hard. 
But if you want to make it easier?
Believe in what you're selling. 

P.S. Which lesson sticks out most to you? 
P.S.S. What are your thoughts on Dave?

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I spoke to an operator who replaced his finance job income with income from a $3,000,000 real estate portfolio. 

Here's how he replaced his W-2 income: 

1) He was fed up with his current role. 

- He had invested in 8-units prior to his discontent. 
- But the discontent motivated him to step up. 
- & the motivation led to 3+ more deals. 

2) He was willing to take lots of risk. 

- At one point, he had $250,000+ in CC debt. 
- Between labor & material costs for projects. 
- He went ALL in building his portfolio. 

SIDE NOTE: 

This was back in 2019, 2020, 2021 where interest rates were low. He had 3-4 credit cards giving him 0% interest for an entire 12 months! WILD!

3) He leveraged the BRRRR method. 

- At the time, he wasn't utilizing any mentors. 
- Just podcasts, books and good ole action. 
- After each renovation, he'd refinance. 
- & redeploy the capital. 

I wouldn't recommend taking on that kind of credit card debt. 

But one thing was very clear speaking with him: 

He would do anything to make it happen. 

P.S. To what lengths would you go for financial freedom?

I knocked on 10 more doors today. 
Yesterday, it took 2.5 hours to do 13 doors. 
Today, it took me an hour & 15 minutes to do 10.  

Here were the "objective" results from today: 
• 2 firm "no's" from building owners who's own businesses were in the building.
• 2 businesses who rent, but who's key people in the know weren't around.
• 2 phone numbers of business owners who know the building owner.
• 4 properties no one was at I'll circle back to.

Here were the "subjective" results from today: 
• I noticed a measured improvement around the anxiety I felt yesterday about door knocking. 
• I was genuinely excited about the opportunity to meet people. 
• For the first time in a long time, 
• I noticed myself counting the small wins rather than focusing on losses or rather than focusing on the ultimate win I didn't have. 
• It's day 2, there's plenty of challenges to come. 
• But I'm feeling good about knowing that I am doing the work I need to do. 
• Which is also new to me. 

Day 2 in the books. Looking forward to Day 3.

I spoke to a GP who’s acquired $300,000,000 of CRE.
The last 10 years, 
He’s acquired every deal below 30% LTV. 
Here’s why:

In his career, the GP has acquired over 100 properties. 
During the GFC, 10 of his deals lost money. 

Here’s the exact reasoning he gave why:

- 9/10 of the assets were not his usual niche asset-type.
- 9/10 of the assets were not his usual business plan.  
- 3/10 of the assets were not his typical market. 

In other words:

- He tried to do deals he wasn’t familiar with.
- At the exact wrong time in the market.
- with investor capital. 
- He & his investors paid for that. 

LESSON:

- This goes for both limited partners and GPs. 
- Invest in assets & business plans you know. 
- Jon Gray of Blackstone put it this way: 
- “You don’t outsized returns without taking risk.”
- “But we take risk we understand.”
- Debt will amplify that risk. 

P.S. Did this lesson resonate with you? 
If so, comment below why it do! ⬇️

I spoke to an investor who owns a ~$250,000 SFR. 

The catch?

He & his wife are JV's with family members. 
He & his wife want to sell the SFR. 
Family wants to keep it. 

The way the deal is structured, they can't just sell the property...

They're stuck. 

This is a major downside to the JV structure. 

Here's 3 tips to avoid this in future deals: 

1) Identify the long term plan for each JV member. 
2) Have your attorney draft clear exit provisions.
3) Create an exit plan aligned w/ expectations. 

BONUS: 

4) Don't ever do deals with family???

Will this guarantee you avoid issue?
No. 
But it will provide options.

Curious to hear your experiences with JVs. 

Have you experienced something similar?

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦; 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴.

$400,000,000 in transaction volume as a broker. 
30,000+ followers on LinkedIn. 
0 leads. 

A (now) client approached me with a question: 
• "Can you improve my LinkedIn results?"
• "I get 15K impressions each week."
• "I post content every single day."
• "I already have a following."
• "But I don't get leads." 
• "What do I do?"

In the last few weeks alone, this same client set 35 meetings from 100K+ impressions. 

Only 12 weeks into working together. 

Even cooler? 

As a broker, he has 10,000's of people seeing the deals he's selling each week. 

(Talk about a competitive advantage for his clients selling a deal)

Here's the exact post schedule we use for his content: 

M: Deal Breakdown Post
T : Asset-Type Education Post
W: Promotional Post for an Active Deal
T : Famous Person Post
F : Personal Post/Deal Breakdown
S: Weekly Update Post
S: Personal Post. 

P.S. Was this helpful? Comment below with what was most helpful.

I asked an accountant (who managed the books for a sponsor with $200,000,000 in AUM) the best way an LP can identify a quality sponsor. 

What he told me actually blew me away: 

1) Ask the GP what % of their income from their investment firm is from acquisition fees. 

• If the GP answers over 50%, do not invest. 
• This GP is too reliant on acquiring real estate for their income.  
• & it's an indication they don't have sound operations. 
• You want the asset management fees, promotes, & other income to far out way compensation from acquisition fees. 

2) Ask the GP what their payroll is. 

• If the GP doesn't know the answer, run. 
• You track what you care about. 
• If they don't know their overhead cost, 
• & don't know the cost of their labor. 
• They don't care about the deal. 

3) Ask the GP what % of asset management fees they collect across their portfolio. 

• When an investment is in distress, the first bit of compensation to be turned off is the asset management fees. 
• If a sponsor owns 20 properties, & is collecting asset management fees from 95% of them? 
• That's a great indication the deals are being run well. 

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on these questions. 

P.S. I help limited partners place equity into real estate. 

If you're a limited partner & this resonated, let's talk.

I asked an investor (who owns $10,000,000 worth of mobile home parks) why they chose the asset class. 

Here's what she had to say: 

• Depreciation.
• A low basis.
• Cash flow.

1) depreciation

• The value of traditional real estate is in the structure. 
• With residential real estate, 
• The depreciation schedule is 27.5 years. 
• Within commercial real estate, 
• The depreciation schedule is 39 years. 
• For mobile home parks, it's a totally different asset. 
• Almost none of the value is in its structures. 
• Rather much of the value is in roads, utility lines, clubhouses, lighting, fencing, electrical, pads. 
• All items that have "shorter" lives in the eyes of the law. 

2) A low basis. 

• Everything is better when you buy at a low basis. 
• You have flexibility through market downturns.
• You have lower breakeven occupancy.
• Debt is cheaper.

3) Cash flow. 

• Especially if you structure the site in the correct manor. 
• Think renting the pad sites. 
• Rather than the mobile homes themselves. 
• Cash flow is what creates freedom. 
• & many investors want that. 

P.S. What's your opinion on invest in MHPs? 
I'm much more curious after the conversation with this operator.

I spoke to an investor with $120,000,000 in AUM. 
He raised $2,400,000 in equity this month alone. 
Is the "slump" over?

I've heard a lot of chatter about a lack of capital.
I've heard a lot of chatter about down markets.
I've heard a lot of chatter about a recession.

Yet, plenty of people out there are doing deals.

3 trends I'm seeing in CRE right now:  

1. Cash flow is king for accredited investors.

• I'm seeing more deals get funded with 1 focus. 
• Not value-add. Not development.
• Cash flow.

2. Development is king for family offices.

• The conversations I have with capital allocators. 
• RIAs, family offices, etc. 
• A lot of them are focused on developments. 
• I feel like this is contrary to the news. 
• Are you seeing the same thing? 

3. First time investors want to operate. 

• I've heard this a lot from experienced operators. 
• But I'm starting to experience it for myself now. 
• People who haven't invested in CRE before? 
• They want to buy, buy, buy. 

Curious to hear what's going on in your market? 

What trends seem to be bucking the news?

or what trends seem to be sticking?

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