The Journey From Flipping Houses to Owning 1,470 Units with Andrew Cushman

On this inspiring episode of the BiggerPockets Podcast, we sit down with real estate entrepreneur Andrew Cushman to learn how he went from a full-time job as a chemical engineer to a house flipper and finally a real estate syndicator, buying over 1400 units in less than a decade. You’ll learn how Andrew finds deals, manages the rehabs on a large scale, raises money for large apartment purchases, and more. Don’t miss a moment of this powerful show!

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This Show Sponsored By

We just wanted to give a shout out to our podcast sponsor on today’s show: RealtyShares. RealtyShares is a crowdfunding platform that allows you to invest in professionally managed properties without leaving your living room!

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In This Episode We Cover:

• How Andrew started as a chemical engineer — then got into investing
• Why he trusted his mentor from the outset
• How many flips he has done so far
• Tips for scaling from 0 to 24 flips in 5 years
• The details of his first flip
• A discussion on buying pre-foreclosure properties
• The story of making 4,575 phone calls before getting his first deal
• The importance of believing in yourself and believing in the system
• How Andrew has flipped 24 properties and 1,470 apartments
• How he made money on the first flip
• How to scale by building a system
• How to find pre-foreclosed deals
• The best flip he’s ever completed
• Tips on weird houses
• His first apartment deal
• Why he doesn’t recommend a heavily distressed deal
• The difference between single family and multifamily properties
• How to become a “sophisticated investor“
• How he find apartment deals
• And SO much more!

Links from the Show

• Webby Awards
• Bloomberg
• DowJones
• HarvardBusiness
• Wired
• Forbes
• CNN Money
• BiggerPockets Calculators
• Foreclosure.com
• PropertyRadar
• Realtytrac
• How to Buy a Foreclosure : The Comprehensive Guide to Buying a Foreclosed Home
• General Foreclosure & Pre-Foreclosure Forums
• BRRRR Strategy
• GoBundance
• BP Podcast 157: A Simple Morning Ritual to Help You Dominate Every Area of Your Life with Hal Elrod
• BP Podcast 166: How Modeling Greatness Can Get You To 100+ Deals with Matt Aitchison
• BP Podcast 169: Using Hustle and Persistence to Build Wealth Through Real Estate with David Greene
• 1 Life Fully Lived Organization
• Slack

Books Mentioned in this Show

• Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
• The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
• The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
• Emerging Real Estate Markets by David Lindahl
• Multi-Family Millions by David Lindahl
• Start with NO by Jim Camp

Tweetable Topics:

• “This system will work so I’m going to make it work.” (Tweet This!)

Connect with Andrew

• Andrew’s BiggerPockets Profile
• Andrew’s Website

Windy Hill Manor Deal

Acquisition

• Purchase Price: $1,300,000
• Units: 94
• Financing: 100% equity
• Investor Equity: $1,675,000
• Acquisition Date: June 2012

Cash out Refinance

• Loan Amount: $1,400,000
• Original Investor Equity Returned: $1,340,000 (80%)
• Loan Date: December 2013

Current Valuation Based on 12 Month Net Operating Income

• At an 8% Cap Rate: $2,989,763
• At a 7% Cap Rate: $3,416,871