All Forum Posts by: Ken Breeze

Once you enter the commercial multifamily level, the game rules change - in my mind for the better. 

More leverage through access to capital and people.

The gradual shift needs to happen in the mind. 80% of MF RE is the mindset.

Good advice @Jerryll

Jessica Brown don’t have anyone ever discourage you - ever. Grow a thick skin, don’t feed the trolls, as we say in gaming ;-) , and push forward. That said I think it’s time for you to buy ALL the books in the BP book section and read. It’s the best and cheapest investment into yourself and will save you thousands. That’s what I did years ago. There are some good free ones too and a couple of guides. You will see things in a different light as you work through them and will be much better prepared to make educated decisions. If you’re lucky, and network on and offline, you might find a mentor (their hard to find) or two to speed up the learning curve.

@Nina Atenburger 

Best Advice Ever: Start earlier, dump your fears (it's all the same work just more zeros at the end), work with mentor/partners to speed up the learning curve 10X, and think muuuuch bigger!

@Blake Davis BTW, I'm looking for boots on the ground in your area. Perhaps you might PM me to chat about multifamily opportunities. ;-) Cheers.

@Blake Davis it's always a good time to do real estate but regardless of cycle, it's always about a strong market location and making the numbers work for cash flow, all else is vanilla. You make your money when you buy. Never calculate hoping for appreciation - that's the cherry on top.

The thing is, when we feel the squeeze in the RE strategy we practice, it is definitely time to step back and look at the bigger picture. It might be time to phase into a different strategy or a different activity within your strategy.

Let's say for example in 2008 - 2012-ish it was all about wholesaling, flipping, seller financing SFH. Then it became more about assisted living, small-, mid- and large-size multifamily. Now everybody and their mother's cat is doing it so we might want to look into storage and notes but also groom and nurture our network of private investors and such.

We have lost touch with nature. It's like with the seasons: There's a time for preparing the field, a time for sewing the seeds, a time for growth, then harvest, celebration, reflection, and rejuvenation.

The challenge for many of us is accepting it is so.

Hey @Amber Brown there's some good advice here and the one by @Patrick Britton might feel like a slap in the face but that's because deep down one might feel there's more truth to it than one would like to admit at the moment, especially after investing so much blood, sweat and tears into a venture.

Darwin's theory of the "survival of the fittest" always holds true. "Fittest" might be a bit misleading, what he meant is "survival of the most nimble to adapt to change".

I will have to support Patrick's assessment that wholesaling is very done for now - not just in Seattle. The good years are long gone. It's hard to find courageous people who will admit and tell you the truth about their failures and experiences. We live in a culture of "overnight successes" - which is a myth. Nobody wants to listen to the painful journey of hundreds of thousands that fail. The truth is that it's the norm. It's hard. Success is rare. We just don't like to talk about it, hear about it or admit to it.

I'll also have to second @Tim West comment that those deals (everybody and their aunt's dog is chasing) you described are distracting you from the bigger picture and real deals. Non-competitive methods are called for and hard to come by. We can get very blinded quickly when we have nobody to give us perspective. Look for wholesalers who have had a good streak but have finally given up and moved on. That's the best learning you can get.

Real estate, like any other business, is in constant flux. We don't necessarily feel or see it since it creeps slowly like molasses. Plus we get attached to what we know and feel secure and comfortable in, even if it's our demise. Recall the analogy of the two frogs in the milk bucket. We keep hanging on to a business strategy that doesn't work anymore. It will come back, but not soon enough to wait for it. Historically these ups and downs rotate roughly in an 8-year cycle. As Tim mentioned, and I have had hundreds of conversations on this topic in the last year alone, supporting this notion, the music has stopped for wholesaling quite a while back but the die-hards don't want to admit their ship has sunk. There's tons of material on youtube about the cycles topic ;-)

All this doesn't mean real estate is over, it just means we need to be nimble and pivot as the waves flow. I guess wave surfing is a good analogy to wrap our heads around. There's much to learn from these wave catchers when we look closely how they are patient and observe the flow, knowing that everything is moving and can't be held, you can only learn and prepare to see it coming and then ride it.

Like Patrick mentioned, the challenge is to constantly observe what's the next "thing" (wave), when wholesaling or flipping or whatever other strategy has passed, for now, to prepare and get ready to change, since change is the only constant you can be sure of.

In closing and getting back to your current situation, feel free to PM me, perhaps we might chat a bit more about other strategies to shed some light on other options. You will need to change course, but never give up the main dream - financial freedom :-)

Awesome, brief outline @Jon Holdman and good luck to you @Phoebe Bright

By the way @Patrick Britton , you're so right on with your summary. 

Once the early adapters have spread the current RE "virus" or strategy at too many meetups, and the trend has become a fashion for all, most don't realize, that it's too late to jump on that band wagon. Unfortunatley they do (the greater fool syndrom) and pay the price as seen in the last crash. Everyone, their aunt and their dog was getting a "stated income" loan to buy dirt or a house they couldn't afford, silencing the inner voice of reason, letting greed take over and hoping for appreciation to take care of being way too overleveraged. It becane a mind-numbing gold rush, a national epidemic.

The challenge is to have spent enough time in the market to "see" and understand these wisdoms and act accordingly with courage and vison to do what nobody else or very few are doing or talking about now. Take CREI for instance, 3-5 years ago nobody dared to think outside the SFR/seller-financing/wholesaling/flipper box, now multifamily is becoming everybody's gig.

Thus, let us stay nimble, practice, learn, grow our network (PM me ;-) ) and expect to gradually change strategies as everything changes. Storage, notes, land anyone?

Welcome to the Bigger Pockets universe @Austin Pekarek !

I will chime in with @Andrew Newlon , these are learning and networking time. "Dig your well before you're thirsty."

And contrary to what many want to make us believe in courses, blogs or otherwise, it takes time, dedication, perseverence and money to make money.

Learning is vital but can only do so much. Learn as much as you can, but also do your networking to find, join and build your team. Find a mentor or two. Online and offline. You will go through a few, in the years to come. Oh, and do yourself and your mentors a favor, otherwise they will not take you onboard, or they drop you quickly: do not waste your mentors time and stay positive. You will need to trust, give up control, have faith and get down to the work your mentor puts on your table. That's where things change and get real uncomfortable and "scary" for most. Everbody wants somethings fast and for free these days. But only outside your comfort zone is where your future and success lies.

That said, I highly recommend using the awesome tools provided here on BP to learn the basics of analysis and underwriting. Grab a few from Zillow to practice. Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area.

Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you.

Read Beginner’s Guide.

Check out BP Podcasts.

Find upcoming real estate events and meetups near you.

Check out the file place from time to time or do a direct search.

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Send me a PM should you ever get interested in commercial (5+ units) multifamily apartment investing. Syndicators like me are always looking for new partners in various metropolitan areas to grow our portfolio together.

Cheers, Ken ;-)