How Brett Started In Real Estate In The First Place

[Brett P Swarts]

Gabe Petersen:

Here in the Real Estate Investing Club. We always start with stories. So why don't you take us back to the beginning? How did you get started in real estate in the first place?

Brett Swarts:

Yes, it wasn't always easy. You know, I started out at a company called Marcus and Millichap. Buy and sell multifamily properties here in Northern California. And it was in 2006 when I started and adjust when I started to get some momentum. Everything hit the fan, and that was in 2008. So I went from making just a little bit of money in commercial real estate, barely survived with my wife and our daughter at home, living with my brother in his condo to making next to zero. So I did what every good entrepreneur, real estate broker, or agent wants to do, you figure out a way to keep the dream alive. And that's when I got a side job hustle at a place called Cheesecake Factory. So by day, I will be making cold calls. And by night, I've been wearing the exact same tie that I had Marcus and Millichap to serve cheesecake nights and weekends.

You see what was happening was the crash happened and that hurt not only agents but also our clients. So I had to figure out a way to kind of make it in the business, to be able to keep my wife, our goals, keep my wife home full time to be able to raise our daughter. Also, we wanted to have more kids but I don't know if you've ever been so scared, Gabe, where you didn't know what you're gonna do, right? And people are telling you to go get a real job and go figure it out. And I'm like, I love what I'm doing. It's not just a job. It's my career. It's my calling. I love helping people solve problems in real estate. But just at that moment, my manager when things felt like they were the darkest or the toughest financially, my manager brought in a gentleman to speak on what's called the Deferred Sales Trust. That changed my real estate career forever because all of a sudden, I had something that was an alternative to a 1031 and I was able to help my clients who felt trapped by capital gains tax. Fast forward, this is what I do now, I coach and train folks on how to do it. And I also invest personally in real estate and still do 1031s for clients when the market makes sense. But mostly we just focus on the Deferred Sales Trust.

Learn more about Deferred Sales Trust
Visit: www.capitalgainstaxsolutions.com