After all he has been fired several times for "patterns of deception" and most of his inner circle quit and called him a pathological liar when he was re-hired.

I spend a lot of time with newer investors at our meetups and the patterns are consistent.

That’s where we do our best work.On the investment side, a clear pattern is emerging:A lot of my seasoned landlords are in refinement mode—shedding the time-suck properties and reallocating into quieter, more scalable cash-flow lanes.Oil and gas.Data-center participation.Warehouses.Not easier.

Among the nearly 1,100 closings tracked in October, 68% of deals with price history sold for more than their previous purchase price—a meaningful indicator of value recovery in most asset classes.While macro uncertainties persist—including tariff policy, labor market dynamics, and consumer spending patterns—the overall trajectory for commercial real estate points toward continued recovery.

While some alternative lenders may still offer 35- or 40-year amortizations privately, these are not mainstream and typically carry higher rates and stricter conditions.These global examples show a clear pattern: ultra-long mortgages may temporarily make housing more affordable, but they rarely create healthy long-term financial outcomes.

Another pattern worth pointing out is that these investors often end up with the highest insurance premiums because they get pulled into every nuisance claim—claims that would have never reached them personally had their operations, documentation, and communication been handled correctly.

Lesson 2: How Bad Contractors Burn Investors (and How We Try to Be Different)Patterns we see from clients burned by previous contractors:• Big deposits, then silence• Underbidding, then endless change orders• Vague scopes that hide missing itemsCheap bids often become very expensive.How we try to be different:• Build highly detailed scopes upfront• Reduce surprises, instead of burying them• Price honestly—even if that means losing jobs to cheaper bidsCompare scopes, not just price.A low number with missing assumptions is not a deal.

Their primary concern is the "difficult fact pattern" created by closing on a major asset in early December and attempting to operationalize the business and accrue Material Participation (MP) hours within a three-week sprint.

Their primary concern is the "difficult fact pattern" created by closing on a major asset in early December and attempting to operationalize the business and accrue Material Participation (MP) hours within a three-week sprint.

I used to think the same thing.But after working with a lot of new investors, here’s the pattern I keep seeing:The people who grow the fastest are the ones who get their foundation right before they buy anything.I’m talking about simple stuff like:Opening separate bank accountsKeeping clean records from day oneUnderstanding how income and expenses actually flowGetting a basic system for tracking your numbersYou don’t need to be an expert.