Rental Property Investor · Porter Ranch, CA. · Member since 2019 · 48 posts · 3 votes
I'm wondering who has implemented a 'Grant Cardone' methodology throughout their REI journey and/or does or has it worked for you similar to his teaching's.
Have you actually been able to buy, hold for 3-5 years and sell at a 150% increase in value from original purchase and then go on to a twice the unit's purchase for your next property?
Basically, I suppose I'd just like some validity to this "double-up" approach and is it tried and true to "normal" REI's?
I welcome and appreciate all stories of who are willing to share their REI commercial MF journey. Thanks in advance!
Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 63 posts · 71 votes
7y
It took me over two years but I went from zero units to passively investing in 114, then closing my first deal, a 128 unit last week. I have three very experienced partners on my deal.
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
7y
I have a client in Oregon that did that exact thing over about a 15 year span.. they got to a fabulous Oregon solid B to B + 60 units.. then for some reason let their broker talk them into selling it since it went up a bunch.
and 1031 into a 300 unit C class in OKC.. well one year in they were in risk of losing it.. needed to move there lived there for 4 years straightening it out and finally sold it came back to Portland bought a nice 20 unit and a condo on Maui LOL
Kansas City, MO · Member since 2015 · 609 posts · 321 votes
7y
I don't know how long it will last, but so far I'm in the beginnings of it.
I bought 12 units out of the gate. After 1. 5 years, I 1031 into 11 units of a higher quality. Almost twice the rent and profitability. So less doors, but I consider it doubling based on profit and property value even if the doors went down.
Just finished a cash out refinance after owning a little over 1 year. Using that money, I will try to double again and I'll just have to see where I go from there. I don't expect to double every year or two, but I do hope to stabilize what I *hopefully* buy this year, refinance out and buy more within a couple years of the purchase.
If all goes well, I hope to own approximately 4x the property value of my first purchase after 4 years. As long as I can cashflow decently after the refinance(s), I'll consider it all a success. We'll see, it's goal, not an eventuality.
Rental Property Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2017 · 258 posts · 207 votes
7y
Never studied Grant Cardone, but that is how we built our portfolio of a couple hundred units. Started with a 4 family. Used a number of 1031's to get larger properties. So yes, the principle works
Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 63 posts · 71 votes
7y
It took me over two years but I went from zero units to passively investing in 114, then closing my first deal, a 128 unit last week. I have three very experienced partners on my deal.
Rental Property Investor · RVA · Member since 2016 · 5k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
There are many ways to do it.
Story time: A friend is an Air Force veteran, young guy. He currently owns 45 doors (he & his wife, without investors) and is looking at buying another 20 right now. After that he's going to start syndicating and the numbers will get MUCH bigger. He built that portfolio with flips, brrrrs, quads, and small multis. I recently made a Facebook video with him, PM me and I can get it to you if you'd like to see.
I started as a passive investor in >400 doors, and recently closed 225 on the GP side.
There's a gentleman in my area who owns 400 units w/o investors, with about 65% equity. And it took him 30 something years.
Remember, @Account Closed, Uncle G has been building his portfolio for, what, 25 years? 30? Over that span of time there are a ton of buying opportunities. Long term vision and commitment are wonderful, profitable things!
Never studied Grant Cardone, but that is how we built our portfolio of a couple hundred units. Started with a 4 family. Used a number of 1031's to get larger properties. So yes, the principle works
For the guys that have used 1031 to get to bigger units faster, do you feel like you've gotten greater benefits consolidating into higher unit buildings than just holding all of your earlier purchases? A portfolio will still have a snowball effect from rent and equity increases that can be put toward the next acquisition even without selling.
I started with a SFH, then a duplex, then a few fourplexes, and lastly a 12 unit. Haven't sold anything yet and each time I consider, it just doesn't feel like there's a benefit to all the hassle and associated fees. At least from the inventory I see in Midwest, the cap rates don't drastically improve just from size increases.
I think it would be different if one was doing more active value-add projects but for buy and hold not sure what benefit 1031's have vs. just holding and sizing up to bigger buildings a little slower.
Rental Property Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2017 · 258 posts · 207 votes
7y
@Steve Sell - 2 reasons why larger is better. 1) you get better economies of scale. Only one manager is needed for 100 units and they are a lot easier to manage if they are under one roof or one location than if they are spread across town. You have fewer roofs, fewer mechanical issues (for the most part). It is easier to run a 40 unit location than it is to run ten 4 families.
2) SFH, Duplexes and 4 families trade on a sales comp basis. Therefore, if you have the best 4 family on the block and your rents are 3x as high as your competitors on the same block, you do not get rewarded when you sell for your good management. Yes, you still get the increased cash flow while you operate, but you still trade for the comps that the neighborhood generates. With a larger building, you can get price appreciation if you have good management and financials.
These are the reasons why we traded out of your 4 family product. You mentioned you have a newer 12 plex. Give it a while, I bet you will see that the 12 plex is easier to manage than the SFH or even the 4 families.
Investor · Cary, IL · Member since 2017 · 15 posts · 14 votes
7y
Thanks for the feedback John. I want to take the next step and get more out of real estate now that I've built some experience with it. Still trying to learn how best to do that.
Up until now I've been happy to buy stabilized buildings at reasonable prices and just collect the yield. But it seems like thinking more about exits--how to improve properties, boost the value and then collect it by being the one selling to people like past-me--is a big part of how to grow.
Cashflowing around $1K to $2K a month and paying down around that in principal feels like a decent effort so far but it will still take a long time for that to pile up into a life-changing amount. Feeling lately like I need to discover how to travel a little further down the paradigm.
Rental Property Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2017 · 258 posts · 207 votes
7y
@Steve Sell I started in 2008 acquiring a couple 4 families and a college rental duplex. We cash flowed similar to you and just continued to roll the profits over to the next building and build that way for a while. We originally planned to build like you did and not sell, but someone needed to do a 1031 and made an offer on a couple 4 families of ours that we could not refuse and it allowed us to buy a bigger commercial apartment building. We did our own 1031 at the time, but we also learned the benefit to having larger multi-unit buildings at the time and we then decided to sell of the rest of our 2 and 4 family property and move them into larger units.
Rental Property Investor · West Palm Beach, FL · Member since 2017 · 262 posts · 136 votes
7y
It is so great to read other's stories of how they've been able to scale up exponentially. These types of stories are what every new investor should be aspiring to, especially people like @Brian Adams and @John Lenhart who started in residential and was able to move into commercial.
I agree with what was said into why commercial properties make more sense as you have a greater ability to manipulate the value of the asset.
Is there a minimum amount of equity one would suggest reaching before proceeding to 1031 into larger buildings? (i.e doubling your investment, waiting until you have a certain amount of the mortgage paid off, etc.)
Rental Property Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2017 · 258 posts · 207 votes
7y
@Allyssa McCleery whether it is worth it to do a 1031 depends on if you have taxes you want to defer that are more than the cost of the 1031. A standard 1031 forward exchange will cost between $1200-$2000. If your tax bill is less than that, certainly a 1031 does not make sense. If it is more than that, it depends on how much you personally want to save in taxes.
Rental Property Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2017 · 258 posts · 207 votes
7y
@Allyssa McCleery In order to do a 1031, he will need to find a qualified intermediary who will I need to handle your funds at closing. The long and short of it it is, that when you sell a building, and there is a delay on the closing of your purchase, you are not allowed to touch any of the proceeds you received upon the sale of your Original property. This is why the qualified intermediary is required. They hold the funds in escrow and provide the paperwork used to complete the forward exchange.
Qualified Intermediary for 1031 Exchanges · St. Petersburg, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 9k+ votes
7y
@John Lenhart, You're exactly right. If @Allyssa McCleery wants to do a 1031 to defer tax on the gain from the sale of her real estate she would need to use the services of a QI to document the process and hold the proceeds. But you're a little off on the cost - you're over paying :) Here's a recent blog we wrote for BP on average nationwide costs for a regular 1031:
Qualified Intermediary for 1031 Exchanges · St. Petersburg, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 9k+ votes
7y
@Allyssa McCleery, Welllll... It's what we do. So I'm a little biased :) But there are lots of QIs out there. I'll send you an email with some resources that will help you choose wisely.
You can also talk to a particular title company that you like to use. They will either have a national firm that they own or they will have a relationship with a QI firm like ours and refer us to you. If it is a national QI firm that they don't have a lot of experience with your experience will only be as good as the sales agent assigned to you. If it's someone that your closer has had direct experience with on numerous occasions you can start to feel like they'll be legitimately what you'll need.