It's 2018. Whatcha Gonna Do About It?

[Brian Burke]

Every year around this time I see threads on BP asking about your goals for the coming new year. “Put it out there, hold yourself (or each other) accountable” yada yada yada. Those of you that know me well know that I don’t normally post this type of stuff.

This one is different.

I’ve never been big on the whole state your goals thing. I’ve never had a coach or mentor to hold me accountable. But I’ve still managed to accomplish things that many people aspire to but never do (like going from broke grocery clerk to buying over 700 properties for starters). I didn’t do it by just putting it out to the universe. I did it by taking action. Taking specific thought-out steps on a consistent basis.

Your goals don’t matter to anyone but you. They can be as lofty or as modest as you want—because they are YOUR goals. So whether your goal is to buy the Empire State Building or your first house hack, your participation in this thread is relevant. Someone out there will benefit from what you have to say.

Go ahead and state your goal, not to hold yourself accountable, but to give context to your answer to the real question: What are you going to do in the coming year to accomplish your goal?

I’ll start. My goal is to buy $100 million of real estate in 2018 (my primary focus is large apartment complexes). I’ve done $50 million-ish a year for the last two years so this goal, while lofty, isn’t an impossible stretch. And if I don’t accomplish it, I don’t care…if there aren’t enough great deals to get to $100 million I’m perfectly fine if the final tally is less.

But I’m going to fight hard for it. I’m going to evaluate over 1,000 deals. I’m going to thoroughly underwrite several hundred deals and I’m going to tour and make offers on many dozens. I’m going to implement a secure online portal on my website where my investors can obtain copies of their quarterly reports and tax documents, which will give added transparency and make it easier for them to monitor their investments and performance. I’ll add a place on my website where investors can view new offerings and subscribe to investments online without shuffling paper documents via email which will make it easier to invest. These last two steps will build additional investor loyalty and referrals, which ultimately leads to more capital to fuel purchases.

I’ll post on BP to help others, and at the same time build awareness to my skill set and my business. I’ll write a series of articles for the BP blog which will initiate discussion about topics of interest to income property investors, which will ultimately lead to more brand awareness. I’m going to put at least ten opportunities in front of institutional private equity groups, guys that can write $10 million checks (or even more) to further leverage my investor base, which will allow me to not only buy larger properties, but more properties, and give additional opportunities to my growing base of investors.

@Tarl Yarber

Now it’s your turn. Whatever your goal is, give the rest of the BP community a peek behind the curtain. Some readers will have the same goal as you and are struggling to figure out how to accomplish it. Or maybe you need this more than they do…have you really thought about the steps you’ll need to take to get to where you’re going? If not, think about it now and post it here. You’ll thank me next year.

Maybe I can even convince some of my go-getter BP friends to participate?  How about it, @Tarl Yarber, @Jered Sturm, @Arlen Chou, @Mindy Jensen, @Scott Trench, @Jay Hinrichs, @Brie Schmidt, @Joe Fairless, @Michael Blank, @Engelo Rumora, @Ben Leybovich, @Reed Goossens, @Jeff Pollack, @Account Closed, @David Greene, @J. Martin, @Serge S., @Johnson H., @Bryan Hancock, @Jeff Greenberg, @Dave Van Horn, @Brian Adams, @Karen Margrave, @Brandon Turner, @Will Barnard, @Chris Clothier and @J Scott?

So…what are you going to DO in 2018 to accomplish your goals?

[Ryan Cox]

Enjoyed reading everyone's goals!  @Brian Burke  Thanks for posting on the topic and for the "uncharacteristic share"

Here are my goals for 2018 - Raise $16M

Daily:

Engage with other real estate investors on social media/blogs

Contribute to the conversation on Bigger Pockets

Write a blog post

Weekly:

Publish a podcast episode

Meet with 3 potential investors/connectors

Newsletter

Monthly:

Host a local meetup

Participate on the board of a local non-profit (Friends of Barton Springs)

Newsletter

Quarterly:

Speak at an event

[David Greene]

@Brian Burke

Can't believe I'm really doing this, but if Brian Burke asks for it, I'm gonna do it.

(For those of you who don't know, Brian is not only a genius, but a legit awesome guy and I'm on the board of directors for his fan club)

For those of you who read my book, the entire section on analyzing ROI vs ROE (Return on Equity) was born from a conversation with Mr. Brian Burke).

My goals for 2018:

Sell 50 million worth of real estate for "The David Greene Team"-my agent business. this is about 2.5 times what I did this year, which was an awesome year. I am going to need allllllll of your help if you're reading this forum to help me accomplish this and i'd love to talk to anyone who responds about how  you can help me accomplish my goal and how I'll help you accomplish yours.

Buy an average of 2 homes a month (25 for the year). My criteria are to be all in for 75% ARV, cash flow positively, and not be in bad neighborhoods.

Host a BP meetup every month

Write my second book

Put out 2 educational videos on my youtube channel a month

Film my second episode with House Hunters

Strengthen my friendship with three specific people who all embody a trait I want to be better at (brandon, daniel and andrew)

Host more biggerpockets podcasts and become the best host I possibly can.

Finish the year weighing 220 lbs

Grow my net worth by 1 million

I have become very passionate about helping people accomplish their goals and would love to hear more about how i can help people do that. 

Who's interested in helping me accomplish mine?????

[Nate Waters]

@Brian Burke

I am in  a similar situation as @Scott Trench and (I'm sure) many others reading this information dense tread - I am employed full time. In my case, my employment is outside the real estate world...although, an interesting fact is most of the value of the company I work for, a 95 year old environmentally friendly chemical company, is in the real estate they have acquired over the years to house the business.

On to my goals...

2017 was a foundation forming year for me as a RE investor - I listened to 100's of hours of podcasts (mostly BP featuring many that are posting on this thread), read 1000's of pages (books, blogs, posts), analyzed many properties, and talked to several RE professionals.

In 2018, I will 1) connect and form relationships with professionals that are in the business of finding deals - finding deals (and finding the time to do so) has been challenging. 2) deploy my knowledge and capital to build passive-ish income through buy-and-hold RE investments so that by 2022 my investment income will surpass my W-2 income. 3) give back to the BP community by openly sharing my knowledge, experience (albeit relatively shallow at this point), successes, and failures with others. As someone much smarter than me once said, "A rising tide lifts all boats." - and I believe that to be a truth in real estate.

Lastly, thank you all for sharing, teaching, and supporting all levels and types of real estate investors/professionals. I don't know if I will ever be able to pay it back...but I will certainly pay it forward!

[Jeff Pollack]

@Brian Burke, thanks for the tag in this thread. Great stuff. To be mentioned among such amazing investors? I am not worthy. I was out of the country for a few weeks when this started, so I'm late to the game, but here it goes....

• Work less than 20 hours per week
• Chaperone at least 3 of my kids field trips
• Take family on an African Safari
• Sell all remaining out of state buy and hold properties and 1031 into an apartment building or passive investment with minimim 25% annual return
• Continue to invest at least $100k of Solo 401k funds into passive investmets (private money, syndication deals)
• Actively work to increase lead generation via direct mail, online, networking and agent relationships
• Double flipping income for the 3rd straight year with target of $2m net
• Make at least $150k via passive investments

The utlimate, overarching and ongoing goal is as it has always been. Keep moving the needle from active income to passive income so I can do what I want, when I want, how I want, and with whom I want.  Its all about owning my time. 

Good luck meeting your goals everyone!

[J. Martin]

Originally posted by @Brian Burke:

Every year around this time I see threads on BP asking about your goals for the coming new year. “Put it out there, hold yourself (or each other) accountable” yada yada yada. Those of you that know me well know that I don’t normally post this type of stuff.

This one is different.

I’ve never been big on the whole state your goals thing. I’ve never had a coach or mentor to hold me accountable. But I’ve still managed to accomplish things that many people aspire to but never do (like going from broke grocery clerk to buying over 700 properties for starters). I didn’t do it by just putting it out to the universe. I did it by taking action. Taking specific thought-out steps on a consistent basis.

Your goals don’t matter to anyone but you. They can be as lofty or as modest as you want—because they are YOUR goals. So whether your goal is to buy the Empire State Building or your first house hack, your participation in this thread is relevant. Someone out there will benefit from what you have to say.

Go ahead and state your goal, not to hold yourself accountable, but to give context to your answer to the real question: What are you going to do in the coming year to accomplish your goal?

I’ll start. My goal is to buy $100 million of real estate in 2018 (my primary focus is large apartment complexes). I’ve done $50 million-ish a year for the last two years so this goal, while lofty, isn’t an impossible stretch. And if I don’t accomplish it, I don’t care…if there aren’t enough great deals to get to $100 million I’m perfectly fine if the final tally is less.

But I’m going to fight hard for it. I’m going to evaluate over 1,000 deals. I’m going to thoroughly underwrite several hundred deals and I’m going to tour and make offers on many dozens. I’m going to implement a secure online portal on my website where my investors can obtain copies of their quarterly reports and tax documents, which will give added transparency and make it easier for them to monitor their investments and performance. I’ll add a place on my website where investors can view new offerings and subscribe to investments online without shuffling paper documents via email which will make it easier to invest. These last two steps will build additional investor loyalty and referrals, which ultimately leads to more capital to fuel purchases.

I’ll post on BP to help others, and at the same time build awareness to my skill set and my business. I’ll write a series of articles for the BP blog which will initiate discussion about topics of interest to income property investors, which will ultimately lead to more brand awareness. I’m going to put at least ten opportunities in front of institutional private equity groups, guys that can write $10 million checks (or even more) to further leverage my investor base, which will allow me to not only buy larger properties, but more properties, and give additional opportunities to my growing base of investors.

@Tarl Yarber

Now it’s your turn. Whatever your goal is, give the rest of the BP community a peek behind the curtain. Some readers will have the same goal as you and are struggling to figure out how to accomplish it. Or maybe you need this more than they do…have you really thought about the steps you’ll need to take to get to where you’re going? If not, think about it now and post it here. You’ll thank me next year.

Maybe I can even convince some of my go-getter BP friends to participate?  How about it, @Tarl Yarber, @Jered Sturm, @Arlen Chou, @Mindy Jensen, @Scott Trench, @Jay Hinrichs, @Brie Schmidt, @Joe Fairless, @Michael Blank, @Engelo Rumora, @Ben Leybovich, @Reed Goossens, @Jeff Pollack, @Account Closed, @David Greene, @J. Martin, @Serge S., @Johnson H., @Bryan Hancock, @Jeff Greenberg, @Dave Van Horn, @Brian Adams, @Karen Margrave, @Brandon Turner, @Will Barnard, @Chris Clothier and @J Scott?

So…what are you going to DO in 2018 to accomplish your goals?

 Brian Burke,

An honor to be mentioned with these great investors, and I'll probably only do a tenth of what they do if I'm lucky! lol
I'm still not rich, but rich in life ;) 

2018 Goals
1) To live a life of experiences - not burdened by physical possessions (they all fit in my backpack), and not worrying about money (having it or growing it.)
2) Spend less and less time managing the manager my furnished rental businesses

3) Wholesale or wholetail one property for $100K-300K profit
4) Raise $30K+ for charity, and volunteer weekly
5) Continue traveling the world

2018 Actions to Accomplish goals
1) I spend my money on awesome experiences and places, and save the rest. Continue not buying physical possessions unless it brings a ton of happiness to my life, is useful, and fits in my backpack. Continue making enough money to not have to worry about how much I make. Not worry too much about my business goals or increasing my income. 

2) Streamline hiring processes, update processes and procedures for manager, and having manager cross-train everyone on their role, so we'll have more depth in the company

3) Hire a couple VA's to produce and screen leads electronically and by mail on high-end homes. I'll be reaching out to the people in the Bay Area that already do this successfully for advice, and maybe partner up when I land a deal. This goal is a tiny fraction of what people in the space I know are doing already.

4) Have my VA's find places to volunteer where we travel, and put google calendar reminders in w/ alerts to make sure we have the volunteer events in our calendar and our heads. (We'll be reading with/teaching English to local children in Koh Lanta weekly, in addition to beach cleanup, and helping out the local animal shelter)

5) I don't have a permanent home, and I enjoy traveling, so this one is the easiest!! lol I grew my businesses while riding a motorcycle from the Taj Mahal to the Pushkar Camel Fair, eating Xiao Long Bao in Taipei 101, cooking food and donating to orphans in Chiang Mai Thailand, snorkeling on the beaches of Phuket Thailand and El Nido Philippines, releasing lanterns for Loy Krathong, climbing waterfalls, snowboarding in Japan, playing ukulele, and doing exactly what I wanted to do when I quit my job :) I'll be spending a month in the southern Thai islands for Feb, a motorcycle trip through Vietnam w/ @Arlen Chou in March to visit orphanages we support, then stopping in Manila for a good friend's party before coming back to the US to speak at Dave Van Horn's Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Summit. Then on to South America I think. Or wherever I feel like!

[Jay Hinrichs]

@J. Martin  we will be in Phuket on the 7th for 5 days you around ???? come show us the sights.. no camel rides but would do a Elephant !!!

[J. Martin]

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

@J. Martin  we will be in Phuket on the 7th for 5 days you around ???? come show us the sights.. no camel rides but would do a Elephant !!!

 In Feb? 
I'll be not too far away in Kho Lanta for the whole month of Feb. Can probably pop in to southern Phuket, unless you want to come down to the island. 
Great snorkeling and scuba. Are you staying in Rawaii or Patong? (near the beach I assume..?) Unless you're staying in Phuket town...?
Happy to give recommendations, and I might be able to come up to show you around personally ;)

[Michael Bereslavsky]

Originally posted by @J. Martin:

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

@J. Martin  we will be in Phuket on the 7th for 5 days you around ???? come show us the sights.. no camel rides but would do a Elephant !!!

 In Feb? 
I'll be not too far away in Kho Lanta for the whole month of Feb. Can probably pop in to southern Phuket, unless you want to come down to the island. 
Great snorkeling and scuba. Are you staying in Rawaii or Patong? (near the beach I assume..?) Unless you're staying in Phuket town...?
Happy to give recommendations, and I might be able to come up to show you around personally ;)

 I'm in Chiang Mai almost entire February, pm me if you come north and are in the area. The city has a big online  entrepreneur community and some good property investment deals as well (everything is cheap).

[J. Martin]

Originally posted by @Michael Bereslavsky:

Originally posted by @J. Martin:

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

@J. Martin  we will be in Phuket on the 7th for 5 days you around ???? come show us the sights.. no camel rides but would do a Elephant !!!

 In Feb? 
I'll be not too far away in Kho Lanta for the whole month of Feb. Can probably pop in to southern Phuket, unless you want to come down to the island. 
Great snorkeling and scuba. Are you staying in Rawaii or Patong? (near the beach I assume..?) Unless you're staying in Phuket town...?
Happy to give recommendations, and I might be able to come up to show you around personally ;)

 I'm in Chiang Mai almost entire February, pm me if you come north and are in the area. The city has a big online  entrepreneur community and some good property investment deals as well (everything is cheap).

 Michael, are you here in Chiang Mai right now?
We're going to a ladyboy cabaret show at the night bazaar with a group of digital nomads tonight! lol
Text me at the number in my profile if you're around. We're heading down to the islands for Feb..

[Michael Bereslavsky]

Originally posted by @J. Martin:

 Michael, are you here in Chiang Mai right now?
We're going to a ladyboy cabaret show at the night bazaar with a group of digital nomads tonight! lol
Text me at the number in my profile if you're around. We're heading down to the islands for Feb..

 Yep I'm staying in CM for a few months currently. A ladyboy show at the night bazaar is not my kind of entertainment,  but we can grab a coffee or lunch some time, will text you.

[Jay Hinrichs]

Originally posted by @J. Martin:

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

@J. Martin  we will be in Phuket on the 7th for 5 days you around ???? come show us the sights.. no camel rides but would do a Elephant !!!

 In Feb? 
I'll be not too far away in Kho Lanta for the whole month of Feb. Can probably pop in to southern Phuket, unless you want to come down to the island. 
Great snorkeling and scuba. Are you staying in Rawaii or Patong? (near the beach I assume..?) Unless you're staying in Phuket town...?
Happy to give recommendations, and I might be able to come up to show you around personally ;)

 we are staying at the Hilton on Karon beach.. yes please lets make an effort would love to see you.

[J. Martin]

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

Originally posted by @J. Martin:

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

@J. Martin  we will be in Phuket on the 7th for 5 days you around ???? come show us the sights.. no camel rides but would do a Elephant !!!

 In Feb? 
I'll be not too far away in Kho Lanta for the whole month of Feb. Can probably pop in to southern Phuket, unless you want to come down to the island. 
Great snorkeling and scuba. Are you staying in Rawaii or Patong? (near the beach I assume..?) Unless you're staying in Phuket town...?
Happy to give recommendations, and I might be able to come up to show you around personally ;)

 we are staying at the Hilton on Karon beach.. yes please lets make an effort would love to see you.

 Jay, I just messaged you on FB, and will send you a text to your number also. 

[J. Martin]

Originally posted by @John Casmon:

Great thread! My real estate goals have been simplified for 2018 so I can focus on the actions that will be most beneficial. 

2018 Goals

1. Build an amazing network of investing partners 

2. Syndicate 150 units; General Partner on an additional 350 units

Planned Actions:

- Continuing my weekly podcast and growing the audience  

- Host bi-weekly meetups in partnership with  @Rj D. @Nicole Valenzuela and @Meghan McCallum

- Creating the Midwest Real Estate Networking Conference with @Brie Schmidt and our host committee members

- Attending at least 3 other conferences (including @Joe Fairless's Best Ever Conference and @J. Martin's SF Bay Summit)

- Develop & execute marketing plan for more apartment leads

- Partner with others like @Malcolm Douglas to find and underwrite deals

 Awesome to look back after setting out out on the goal of creating the Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit, then hitting it out of the park! Awesome job :)  And congrats on achieving your goals!

[Nicole Valenzuela]

@J. Martin ! 

Besides the meet-up with @John Casmon , G, and @Rj D., @Rj D. and I closed on a 6 unit at the end of June. We have been on the hunt for our next one since before we closed on that building. Would love an introduction to ANY contacts you have in the Chicagoland area that have experience doing full gut rehabs. We've found a few projects but hope to have the crews/connections to take action on them. 

Hopefully, we'll see you on one of your upcoming adventures! 

[Mindi Rosser]

@Nicole Valenzuela If you're looking at any projects in the NWI area, my hubby is a well-connected union carpenter and knows a few different crews. Happy to help you get connected, if we can. :)

[Jay Johnson]

@Brian Burke Hands down, this is the most motivating thread ever. 💪

[J. Martin]

Originally posted by @Nicole Valenzuela:

@J. Martin ! 

Besides the meet-up with @John Casmon , G, and @Rj D., @Rj D. and I closed on a 6 unit at the end of June. We have been on the hunt for our next one since before we closed on that building. Would love an introduction to ANY contacts you have in the Chicagoland area that have experience doing full gut rehabs. We've found a few projects but hope to have the crews/connections to take action on them. 

Hopefully, we'll see you on one of your upcoming adventures! 

 @Brie Schmidt, you know anyone doing full gut rehabs out in Chicago area.? 

[John Casmon]

Originally posted by @J. Martin:

Originally posted by @John Casmon:

Great thread! My real estate goals have been simplified for 2018 so I can focus on the actions that will be most beneficial. 

2018 Goals

1. Build an amazing network of investing partners 

2. Syndicate 150 units; General Partner on an additional 350 units

Planned Actions:

- Continuing my weekly podcast and growing the audience  

- Host bi-weekly meetups in partnership with  @Rj D. @Nicole Valenzuela and @Meghan McCallum

- Creating the Midwest Real Estate Networking Conference with @Brie Schmidt and our host committee members

- Attending at least 3 other conferences (including @Joe Fairless's Best Ever Conference and @J. Martin's SF Bay Summit)

- Develop & execute marketing plan for more apartment leads

- Partner with others like @Malcolm Douglas to find and underwrite deals

 Awesome to look back after setting out out on the goal of creating the Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit, then hitting it out of the park! Awesome job :)  And congrats on achieving your goals!

It's definitely good to look back and see where we're at currently. Conference was well-received and we're already planning 2019. We closed on one multifamily and have a large deal under contract now with our partners. We've submitted numerous LOIs for other deals and have some promising leads so we should be in a good position to crush these goals! A little less than 5 months left to make it happen!