Hit 2000+ units earlier this year
Most Popular Reply
Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votesCody have not seen you in a while.. Congrats though on your success and bringing reality to the equation .. its not like over night Oats takes time to build a portfolio.
And sometimes the stars need to align just right etc etc.. here's to the next 1k units should be some pretty solid buying opportunities for you these days with all the syndication deals that have cratered.
31 Replies
- 1moJay HinrichsBusiness MemberReal Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
Cody have not seen you in a while.. Congrats though on your success and bringing reality to the equation .. its not like over night Oats takes time to build a portfolio.
And sometimes the stars need to align just right etc etc.. here's to the next 1k units should be some pretty solid buying opportunities for you these days with all the syndication deals that have cratered.
- 1moCody L.Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votesOP
Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:
Cody have not seen you in a while.. Congrats though on your success and bringing reality to the equation .. its not like over night Oats takes time to build a portfolio.
And sometimes the stars need to align just right etc etc.. here's to the next 1k units should be some pretty solid buying opportunities for you these days with all the syndication deals that have cratered.
Yeah, I haven't been on in a while. I've found that at each stage I've ran into something stopping me from growing. No deals. No cash. No debt.
Right now? No people. I'm literally passing on deals because we are so short staffed. I just bought one of the largest (actually the largest) class C property in the 'hip' submarket of Houston I'm in and we had to push back the closing as we have no people to run it.
I talk to other owners as its the same. No maintenance, no trades, no cleaners, no property managers, no project coordinators. I have one contractor we'd use to do large upgrades --he always brought a crew. Now it's just him and his cousin. He'll try to find guys at home depot from time to time but his actual full time guys are gone.
It's crazy.
I've been trying to do more and more with AI to be able to stretch the people we have. AI scheduling of showings. AI follow up. AI doing accounting entries. AI doing/updating website. - Contractor · Cypress, TX · Member since 2017 · 40 posts · 4 votes1w
HI @Cody L. Sorry to hear about your contractor issues, but we may be able to assist here. Our company focuses solely on investor / institutionally owned property rehabs, renovations, make readies, and CapEx improvements. We have multiple crews, all the licensed trades, and boots on the ground project management to handle multiple projects at once. Please feel free to reach out to discuss.
- Investor · Milwaukee - Mequon, WI · Member since 2010 · 5k+ posts · 7k+ votes1mo
Quote from @Cody L.:
Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:
Cody have not seen you in a while.. Congrats though on your success and bringing reality to the equation .. its not like over night Oats takes time to build a portfolio.
And sometimes the stars need to align just right etc etc.. here's to the next 1k units should be some pretty solid buying opportunities for you these days with all the syndication deals that have cratered.
Yeah, I haven't been on in a while. I've found that at each stage I've ran into something stopping me from growing. No deals. No cash. No debt.
Right now? No people. I'm literally passing on deals because we are so short staffed. I just bought one of the largest (actually the largest) class C property in the 'hip' submarket of Houston I'm in and we had to push back the closing as we have no people to run it.
I talk to other owners as its the same. No maintenance, no trades, no cleaners, no property managers, no project coordinators. I have one contractor we'd use to do large upgrades --he always brought a crew. Now it's just him and his cousin. He'll try to find guys at home depot from time to time but his actual full time guys are gone.
It's crazy.
I've been trying to do more and more with AI to be able to stretch the people we have. AI scheduling of showings. AI follow up. AI doing accounting entries. AI doing/updating website.What happened to your labor market? Is it not enough pay or are they doing something else?
- 1moCody L.Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votesOP
Quote from @Marcus Auerbach:
Quote from @Cody L.:
Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:
Cody have not seen you in a while.. Congrats though on your success and bringing reality to the equation .. its not like over night Oats takes time to build a portfolio.
And sometimes the stars need to align just right etc etc.. here's to the next 1k units should be some pretty solid buying opportunities for you these days with all the syndication deals that have cratered.
Yeah, I haven't been on in a while. I've found that at each stage I've ran into something stopping me from growing. No deals. No cash. No debt.
Right now? No people. I'm literally passing on deals because we are so short staffed. I just bought one of the largest (actually the largest) class C property in the 'hip' submarket of Houston I'm in and we had to push back the closing as we have no people to run it.
I talk to other owners as its the same. No maintenance, no trades, no cleaners, no property managers, no project coordinators. I have one contractor we'd use to do large upgrades --he always brought a crew. Now it's just him and his cousin. He'll try to find guys at home depot from time to time but his actual full time guys are gone.
It's crazy.
I've been trying to do more and more with AI to be able to stretch the people we have. AI scheduling of showings. AI follow up. AI doing accounting entries. AI doing/updating website.What happened to your labor market? Is it not enough pay or are they doing something else?
Obviously if I offer $1,000/hr I can get as many people as I want. But I don't believe the fact that you can simply outbid everyone during a labor shortage means there isn't a labor shortage.
What's happening, I think, is jobs that just involve sitting at a desk and typing are going away slowly due to AI. However, the demand for labor from people actually "doing stuff" i.e. plumbing, electrical, roof, etc. has never been higher. Combine that with a crack down at the border and removal of people here illegally. Combine that with the fact most native born young people don't want to do hard jobs (sorry, it's true), and you have a market wide issue with finding labor.
We 'get by' though paying a bit over market, but we could always use more people. We posted for a property manager a while ago (and our managers make like $80k/year with bonuses) and had 1 person apply. And they've never been a property manager. We hired them anyway. - Investor · Milwaukee - Mequon, WI · Member since 2010 · 5k+ posts · 7k+ votes1mo
Quote from @Cody L.:
Quote from @Marcus Auerbach:
Quote from @Cody L.:
Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:
Cody have not seen you in a while.. Congrats though on your success and bringing reality to the equation .. its not like over night Oats takes time to build a portfolio.
And sometimes the stars need to align just right etc etc.. here's to the next 1k units should be some pretty solid buying opportunities for you these days with all the syndication deals that have cratered.
Yeah, I haven't been on in a while. I've found that at each stage I've ran into something stopping me from growing. No deals. No cash. No debt.
Right now? No people. I'm literally passing on deals because we are so short staffed. I just bought one of the largest (actually the largest) class C property in the 'hip' submarket of Houston I'm in and we had to push back the closing as we have no people to run it.
I talk to other owners as its the same. No maintenance, no trades, no cleaners, no property managers, no project coordinators. I have one contractor we'd use to do large upgrades --he always brought a crew. Now it's just him and his cousin. He'll try to find guys at home depot from time to time but his actual full time guys are gone.
It's crazy.
I've been trying to do more and more with AI to be able to stretch the people we have. AI scheduling of showings. AI follow up. AI doing accounting entries. AI doing/updating website.What happened to your labor market? Is it not enough pay or are they doing something else?
Obviously if I offer $1,000/hr I can get as many people as I want. But I don't believe the fact that you can simply outbid everyone during a labor shortage means there isn't a labor shortage.
What's happening, I think, is jobs that just involve sitting at a desk and typing are going away slowly due to AI. However, the demand for labor from people actually "doing stuff" i.e. plumbing, electrical, roof, etc. has never been higher. Combine that with a crack down at the border and removal of people here illegally. Combine that with the fact most native born young people don't want to do hard jobs (sorry, it's true), and you have a market wide issue with finding labor.
We 'get by' though paying a bit over market, but we could always use more people. We posted for a property manager a while ago (and our managers make like $80k/year with bonuses) and had 1 person apply. And they've never been a property manager. We hired them anyway.When you listen to all these people complaining on social media how hard it is to find a job, you'd think we have 2% unemployment rate.
The labor market remains a conundrum to me. You would think that AI has freed enough entry level desk jobs by now that you could find someone to be trained as a property manager. And despite all the violence and theatrics, ICE is deporting only 30k people a month, which is historically pretty average. We have for the first time since 1930 neg net immigration, but does that really explain it? Farmworkers, yes maybe. But property managers??
The reason why I follow the labor market is because I don't want to wake up one day and find out that half of my tenants have been replaced by Figure5 robots..
- 1moCody L.Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votesOP
Quote from @Marcus Auerbach:
Quote from @Cody L.:
Quote from @Marcus Auerbach:
Quote from @Cody L.:
Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:
Cody have not seen you in a while.. Congrats though on your success and bringing reality to the equation .. its not like over night Oats takes time to build a portfolio.
And sometimes the stars need to align just right etc etc.. here's to the next 1k units should be some pretty solid buying opportunities for you these days with all the syndication deals that have cratered.
Yeah, I haven't been on in a while. I've found that at each stage I've ran into something stopping me from growing. No deals. No cash. No debt.
Right now? No people. I'm literally passing on deals because we are so short staffed. I just bought one of the largest (actually the largest) class C property in the 'hip' submarket of Houston I'm in and we had to push back the closing as we have no people to run it.
I talk to other owners as its the same. No maintenance, no trades, no cleaners, no property managers, no project coordinators. I have one contractor we'd use to do large upgrades --he always brought a crew. Now it's just him and his cousin. He'll try to find guys at home depot from time to time but his actual full time guys are gone.
It's crazy.
I've been trying to do more and more with AI to be able to stretch the people we have. AI scheduling of showings. AI follow up. AI doing accounting entries. AI doing/updating website.What happened to your labor market? Is it not enough pay or are they doing something else?
Obviously if I offer $1,000/hr I can get as many people as I want. But I don't believe the fact that you can simply outbid everyone during a labor shortage means there isn't a labor shortage.
What's happening, I think, is jobs that just involve sitting at a desk and typing are going away slowly due to AI. However, the demand for labor from people actually "doing stuff" i.e. plumbing, electrical, roof, etc. has never been higher. Combine that with a crack down at the border and removal of people here illegally. Combine that with the fact most native born young people don't want to do hard jobs (sorry, it's true), and you have a market wide issue with finding labor.
We 'get by' though paying a bit over market, but we could always use more people. We posted for a property manager a while ago (and our managers make like $80k/year with bonuses) and had 1 person apply. And they've never been a property manager. We hired them anyway.When you listen to all these people complaining on social media how hard it is to find a job, you'd think we have 2% unemployment rate.
The labor market remains a conundrum to me. You would think that AI has freed enough entry level desk jobs by now that you could find someone to be trained as a property manager. And despite all the violence and theatrics, ICE is deporting only 30k people a month, which is historically pretty average. We have for the first time since 1930 neg net immigration, but does that really explain it? Farmworkers, yes maybe. But property managers??
The reason why I follow the labor market is because I don't want to wake up one day and find out that half of my tenants have been replaced by Figure5 robots..
I don't want to be out of touch but it's hard for me to feel bad for people who say they are looking for work and can't find it. Because all I see/hear is people looking for WOKERS and cant' find them.
The only way I can see there being a disconnect is if we have people that want work that just don't have any skills that the market is willing to buy. i.e. the value of their labor is just too low.
But given, IMO, a property manager role is pretty simple I don't know why it's so difficult to find people. And the OTE for our managers is $75k/year so it's not like we're payign minimum wage here. - Investor · Milwaukee - Mequon, WI · Member since 2010 · 5k+ posts · 7k+ votes1mo
Quote from @Cody L.:
Quote from @Marcus Auerbach:
Quote from @Cody L.:
Quote from @Marcus Auerbach:
Quote from @Cody L.:
Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:
Cody have not seen you in a while.. Congrats though on your success and bringing reality to the equation .. its not like over night Oats takes time to build a portfolio.
And sometimes the stars need to align just right etc etc.. here's to the next 1k units should be some pretty solid buying opportunities for you these days with all the syndication deals that have cratered.
Yeah, I haven't been on in a while. I've found that at each stage I've ran into something stopping me from growing. No deals. No cash. No debt.
Right now? No people. I'm literally passing on deals because we are so short staffed. I just bought one of the largest (actually the largest) class C property in the 'hip' submarket of Houston I'm in and we had to push back the closing as we have no people to run it.
I talk to other owners as its the same. No maintenance, no trades, no cleaners, no property managers, no project coordinators. I have one contractor we'd use to do large upgrades --he always brought a crew. Now it's just him and his cousin. He'll try to find guys at home depot from time to time but his actual full time guys are gone.
It's crazy.
I've been trying to do more and more with AI to be able to stretch the people we have. AI scheduling of showings. AI follow up. AI doing accounting entries. AI doing/updating website.What happened to your labor market? Is it not enough pay or are they doing something else?
Obviously if I offer $1,000/hr I can get as many people as I want. But I don't believe the fact that you can simply outbid everyone during a labor shortage means there isn't a labor shortage.
What's happening, I think, is jobs that just involve sitting at a desk and typing are going away slowly due to AI. However, the demand for labor from people actually "doing stuff" i.e. plumbing, electrical, roof, etc. has never been higher. Combine that with a crack down at the border and removal of people here illegally. Combine that with the fact most native born young people don't want to do hard jobs (sorry, it's true), and you have a market wide issue with finding labor.
We 'get by' though paying a bit over market, but we could always use more people. We posted for a property manager a while ago (and our managers make like $80k/year with bonuses) and had 1 person apply. And they've never been a property manager. We hired them anyway.When you listen to all these people complaining on social media how hard it is to find a job, you'd think we have 2% unemployment rate.
The labor market remains a conundrum to me. You would think that AI has freed enough entry level desk jobs by now that you could find someone to be trained as a property manager. And despite all the violence and theatrics, ICE is deporting only 30k people a month, which is historically pretty average. We have for the first time since 1930 neg net immigration, but does that really explain it? Farmworkers, yes maybe. But property managers??
The reason why I follow the labor market is because I don't want to wake up one day and find out that half of my tenants have been replaced by Figure5 robots..
I don't want to be out of touch but it's hard for me to feel bad for people who say they are looking for work and can't find it. Because all I see/hear is people looking for WOKERS and cant' find them.
The only way I can see there being a disconnect is if we have people that want work that just don't have any skills that the market is willing to buy. i.e. the value of their labor is just too low.
But given, IMO, a property manager role is pretty simple I don't know why it's so difficult to find people. And the OTE for our managers is $75k/year so it's not like we're payign minimum wage here.Yes, just maybe not in the field you went to school for. I had dinner with an IBM exec last night and he said we don't really hire computer science grads anymore. That sucks for the kid with student loans, might as well have a degree in basket weaving. But it's not survival of the fittest, it's survival of the most flexible who adapt to changing circumstances. And maybe that means working as a PM.
Gen Z has a lot of entitlement issues, but I don't blame them - it's how they got raised. They think the world owes them something. When I still in corporate I had a young girl and she was fi ishing her company paid degree on the side. When she was done she came to my office and demanded her promotion to be a manager. That conversation did not end well for her, but someone had promised her if you do X you'll get Y.
Gen X here: raised on garden hose water and neglect ;-)
- 1moCody L.Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votesOP
Quote from @Marcus Auerbach:
Quote from @Cody L.:
Quote from @Marcus Auerbach:
Quote from @Cody L.:
Gen X here: raised on garden hose water and neglect ;-)
Gen X here. Same. garden hose water and 'come back when the street lights come on'. My kids think it was a meme. I showed them the old "it's 10pm, do you know where your kids are" ad.
- 1moJeff IsaacsPro MemberMember since 2025 · 36 posts · 17 votes
Any advice on how to start with smaller apartments?
- 1moCody L.Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votesOP
Quote from @Jeff Isaacs:
Any advice on how to start with smaller apartments?
Best way to get started is to get started. I started with an 8 unit that I bought with savings from my 9-5 + a bank loan. Had no clue what I was doing. Deals are out there. They may not all be home runs. But if you can get a few deals under your belt they get easier and easier and you get more plugged into deal flow.
Also focus on a specific submarket and stick to it. Manage yourself. Don't get tempted by high caprates far away that you have to give to a 3rd party. You'll be doomed.
- St. Louis, MO · Member since 2019 · 10 posts · 11 votes1mo
This is incredible. What age did you start? Would love to hear more about how you're implementing AI as well!
- 1moCody L.Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votesOP
Quote from @Joshua Pfeffer:
This is incredible. What age did you start? Would love to hear more about how you're implementing AI as well!
Old man. Like 30+
- Real Estate Broker · AZ · Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 0 votes1mo
🏆Massive Congrats, Cody. Where have you done 80% of your deal or you stick to CA?
- 1moCody L.Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votesOP
Quote from @Tholin Johnson:
🏆Massive Congrats, Cody. Where have you done 80% of your deal or you stick to CA?
100% of my deals are in Houston TX. Aside from my first home in San Diego that I moved out of and kept as a rental.
- 1moJosh C.Pro MemberProperty Manager · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2010 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
Congrats! Very nicely done. We are similar, but still in the 3 figures, but have enjoyed no syndication and no investors to appease as well. The only way to do it!
Your places look nice and clean.- 1moCody L.Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votesOP
Quote from @Josh C.:
Congrats! Very nicely done. We are similar, but still in the 3 figures, but have enjoyed no syndication and no investors to appease as well. The only way to do it!
Your places look nice and clean.Yeah, having syndication parters/investors make it seem like I have a boss. To hell with that :)
- Member since 2018 · 22 posts · 7 votes1mo
Very impressive. If you're willing to share, I'd be curious to know the total portfolio LTV and what the Gross Rent/Mortgage ratio is - just trying to get a sense for your comfort with and leverage at this scale.
Congrats!
- 1moCody L.Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votesOP
Quote from @Louis P.:
Very impressive. If you're willing to share, I'd be curious to know the total portfolio LTV and what the Gross Rent/Mortgage ratio is - just trying to get a sense for your comfort with and leverage at this scale.
Congrats!
LTV is hard as I know my exact debt but the value is whatever I happened to type into excel.
If I look at loan to COST it's about 100%. I mean it sort of has to as without outside investors I've had to refi properties and use that cash to buy more. So some properties have loans that are way larger than the existing purchase price.
I'd rather not share my est portfolio value minus debt as that is basically my net worth but I consider my global leverage (when measured against value, not cost) to be somewhat conservative.
Without running a current rent roll consolidated vs. mortgage payment, I can tell you that the portfolio throws off plenty of free cash flow even after all capex is accounted for. - Member since 2018 · 22 posts · 7 votes1mo
Quote from @Cody L.:
Quote from @Louis P.:
Very impressive. If you're willing to share, I'd be curious to know the total portfolio LTV and what the Gross Rent/Mortgage ratio is - just trying to get a sense for your comfort with and leverage at this scale.
Congrats!
LTV is hard as I know my exact debt but the value is whatever I happened to type into excel.
If I look at loan to COST it's about 100%. I mean it sort of has to as without outside investors I've had to refi properties and use that cash to buy more. So some properties have loans that are way larger than the existing purchase price.
I'd rather not share my est portfolio value minus debt as that is basically my net worth but I consider my global leverage (when measured against value, not cost) to be somewhat conservative.
Without running a current rent roll consolidated vs. mortgage payment, I can tell you that the portfolio throws off plenty of free cash flow even after all capex is accounted for.Makes sense and helps to see how you think about and used leverage. Seems like you created value with improvements/rent increases and were able to use that efficiently to grow quickly. Appreciate the insight, thank you.
I would also imagine your portfolio naturally de-leverages pretty quickly and even a few years of flat growth would de risk quite a bit. Do you have thoughts to continue as you have, deleverage, or go into other avenues/markets? Just curious.
- 1moCody L.Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votesOP
Quote from @Louis P.:
Quote from @Cody L.:
Quote from @Louis P.:
Very impressive. If you're willing to share, I'd be curious to know the total portfolio LTV and what the Gross Rent/Mortgage ratio is - just trying to get a sense for your comfort with and leverage at this scale.
Congrats!
LTV is hard as I know my exact debt but the value is whatever I happened to type into excel.
If I look at loan to COST it's about 100%. I mean it sort of has to as without outside investors I've had to refi properties and use that cash to buy more. So some properties have loans that are way larger than the existing purchase price.
I'd rather not share my est portfolio value minus debt as that is basically my net worth but I consider my global leverage (when measured against value, not cost) to be somewhat conservative.
Without running a current rent roll consolidated vs. mortgage payment, I can tell you that the portfolio throws off plenty of free cash flow even after all capex is accounted for.Makes sense and helps to see how you think about and used leverage. Seems like you created value with improvements/rent increases and were able to use that efficiently to grow quickly. Appreciate the insight, thank you.
I would also imagine your portfolio naturally de-leverages pretty quickly and even a few years of flat growth would de risk quite a bit. Do you have thoughts to continue as you have, deleverage, or go into other avenues/markets? Just curious.
I don't totally understand your question but all things being equal, you deleverage over time though debt repayment via the loans natural amortization. I don't go into other markets as I understand that the reason I've done as well as i have is knowing my little niche really well.
- 1moDan H.Pro MemberInvestor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votes
I 2nd Jay’s comment that it has been a long time since I have seen you post on the forum.
2000+ unit is quite an accomplishment. Congrats.
I also find obtaining workers to have challenges like never before. The interest rate also has presented challenges that did not exist a few years ago. I have slowed my purchasing significantly and strive to enjoy the wealth that RE has provided, but I find it difficult to step away.
Take care
- 1moCody L.Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votesOP
Quote from @Dan H.:
I 2nd Jay’s comment that it has been a long time since I have seen you post on the forum.
2000+ unit is quite an accomplishment. Congrats.
I also find obtaining workers to have challenges like never before. The interest rate also has presented challenges that did not exist a few years ago. I have slowed my purchasing significantly and strive to enjoy the wealth that RE has provided, but I find it difficult to step away.
Take care
I was lucky to find a bank that's been very aggressive with loans. They've done about $30m with me across 10 properties (a few loans at ~$9m, the rest smaller). All at ~5.8%. But I hit their relationship limit so I'm back to more expensive options.
The bigger issue is I've been swimming in a pile of gold coins, scrooge mcduck style due to my average rate being ~3.5%. Well those good times are about to end as they were all fixed for 5 years. So sadly in the next 3-6 months I'll be rolling over a lot of loans in the mid 3's into high 5 / low 6s. that'll suck.
High rates are a blessing and a curse. The curse is obvious. The blessing is deals that are coming up that you'd never see if rates were in the 3's still. Sure it was great to have rates in the 3s -- if you had a bunch of stuff to refi. But it was a pain to buy something as everyone was bidding up prices to insane levels.
- 1moShiloh LundahlPro MemberRental Property Investor · Gilbert, AZ · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
That's awesome. Congratulations. Why did you pick Houston? Were there any particular benefits to that market and once you were in the market, did you find any drawbacks in that specific market?
- 1moCody L.Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votesOP
Quote from @Shiloh Lundahl:
That's awesome. Congratulations. Why did you pick Houston? Were there any particular benefits to that market and once you were in the market, did you find any drawbacks in that specific market?
Born/raised in San Diego. My previous 9-5 job took me to Houston. Decided I was going back and forth enough to buy a small condo. Had two I liked. Once I picked one, the agent said "If you buy this other, I have someone that would rent it from you". The rent amount = my payment. I wasn't thinking cash flow. I was thinking "wait, I can buy something and someone will pay me my payment? Does everyone know about this trick? How can it be so easy"
I then started to look for properties I could buy that would cash flow. Had about 100 units while still having my 9-5. Eventually dove into RE full time.
Stay in Houston and only Houston as there is a *HUGE* (can't be overstated) advantage of knowing a submarket in and out. You learn what's a good deal and what isn't by feel and not just a seller income statement. You get plugged into deal flow. Easier to manage. etc. etc. f
- Member since 2026 · 2 posts · 0 votes1mo
Cody, thanks for sharing your story. It’s truly inspiring to me as a fresh college grad and someone who’s very interested in real estate investing.
If you’re willing, I’d love to know more about your management pipeline, especially since you started in CA and invested in Houston. Do you have your own management company, or do you outsource it? Has that ever changed, like getting to a point where you had enough properties to justify building your own management company?
Also, what was one of the first pivotal moments where you started to build traction, the kind that allowed you to scale to 2,000 doors?
- 1moCody L.Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votesOP
Quote from @Jacob Goldsmith:
Cody, thanks for sharing your story. It’s truly inspiring to me as a fresh college grad and someone who’s very interested in real estate investing.
If you’re willing, I’d love to know more about your management pipeline, especially since you started in CA and invested in Houston. Do you have your own management company, or do you outsource it? Has that ever changed, like getting to a point where you had enough properties to justify building your own management company?
Also, what was one of the first pivotal moments where you started to build traction, the kind that allowed you to scale to 2,000 doors?
I managed myself till I realized I was no longer an investor, I was a property manager.
Hired a property manager so I could focus on growing. Then realized I turned into an operations manager (managing staff) vs. an investor. So I hired an ops manager.
So now my full time focus is on the things it's hard to hire for. Buying, selling, financing, dealing with insurance, higher level tasks.
Meaning I don't give properties to a management company. I built the management company that exists to manage my properties.
- 1moNicholas L.Pro MemberFlipper/Rehabber · Pittsburgh · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
congrats. did you BRRRR any of these to try to recycle capital, or did you just use the cash flow from the portfolio for new purchases? or a combination?
- 1moCody L.Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votesOP
Quote from @Nicholas L.:
congrats. did you BRRRR any of these to try to recycle capital, or did you just use the cash flow from the portfolio for new purchases? or a combination?
Absolutely, I was BRRR'ing before it was a thing. Still am.
Just bought a deal in an area of Houston called "Montrose" (it's the hip/trendy area). Bought it for $1.1m cash, it appraised for $1.7m, the bank did a $1.2m loan. So I'm in it for negative $ (cash in my pocket) and it cash flows.
God Bless America when that happens. Normally it's pay cash to close fast / get a good price, try to add a bit of quick value, and refi to get most of my down payment back so I'm ready to repeat.
- 1moWale LawalBusiness MemberReal Estate Broker · Houston | Dallas | Austin, TX · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
Congrats! That’s a good example of how real estate normally happens deal by deal, and not just one home run. Going from 8 units to over 2,000 units in 18 years, all while remaining laser-focused on Houston, is what consistency and experience gained from every deal can do for you and the AI article, as well, is an interesting one, since being able to free up time from management for acquisitions is a massive win.
Good luck!
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