The Filter Behind a Billion-Dollar Multifamily Business with Glenn Hanson

In this episode of Pivotal REI, Ginny Bolling sits down with Glenn Hanson of Colony Hills Capital about the mindset behind long-term success in multifamily real estate. Glenn shares how sharp deal criteria, patient buying, and strong operating systems have shaped his approach to value-add apartments, capital raising, and market timing. From recession-resistant business thinking to the lessons learned through changing interest rates, this conversation gives investors a clear look at how experienced operators think before they move. Whether you are raising capital, reviewing multifamily deals, or waiting for the right market window, this episode offers practical insight from someone who has built, scaled, and stayed in the game.

Glenn Hanson is the Founder and CEO of Colony Hills Capital, a real estate investment firm focused on value-add multifamily communities. A seasoned entrepreneur and private investor, Glenn brings decades of business-building experience to the real estate space, with a practical focus on disciplined growth, smart operations, and investor-centered opportunities.

Connect with Glenn Hanson:
Website: https://www.colonyhillscapital.com/
Email: glenn.hanson@colonyhillscapital.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glenn-hanson-2008b112/ 

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Connect with Ginny Bolling on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginnybolling

Pivot to Prosperity is a podcast that is sponsored by Pivotal Real Estate Investments, which focuses on helping investors build wealth and income through commercial real estate that improves communities. To learn more, visit www.PivotalREILLC.com

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Transcript

Ginny Bolling

(0:00) This is Ginny Bolling with Pivotal REI, the real estate investing podcast. (0:05) And today we have Glenn Hanson with us from Colony Hills. (0:09) Glenn, thank you for coming on.

Glenn Hanson

(0:10) Happy to be here. (0:11) Thanks for inviting me.

Ginny Bolling

(0:13) Well, I would like to say that I normally chat with people for a little while before we start recording, but you and I, every time we talk, we get really talking a lot. (0:23) So have to remember what we need to put in the recording here, I think.

Glenn Hanson

(0:30) Well, it was productive.

Ginny Bolling

(0:31) Yes, you are very interesting as far as all the things you've done over your career and what you're doing now. (0:40) And I want you to go ahead and just share with us starting. (0:43) I want you to go back a little bit here and talk about how you became you.

Glenn Hanson

(0:48) Sure. (0:49) Yeah, happy to do that. (0:50) Everybody likes to talk about themselves, right?(0:53) So I'm no different. (0:54) Anyways, I started in manufacturing probably 40 years ago and built a large company with my brother. (1:03) We purchased the family.(1:04) We took out the family business when it was small and we grew it to 400 employees, 40 million in sales. (1:11) And somebody came out of California and they wanted it more than we did. (1:15) It was a private equity firm.(1:16) So we sold it in 1999 and I was 47 years old, retired, got bored, bought a helicopter, flew it around the country and then started an angel investment group and funded 25 startups, built a team of 35 members, put out, probably raised a couple hundred million bucks and learned a lot. (1:42) And during that process, I created a filter of what I want to do next in my career. (1:47) And the filter is that I want to do something that cannot go to China, wildly profitable, scalable, doesn't need skilled labor and recession proof.(1:58) So what would that be, right? (1:59) And that's what I'm going to do next. (2:03) And as luck would have it, I came up with two great ideas.(2:08) One was to do a rollup of pet crematories across the United States. (2:14) And the other was to start a multifamily investment firm. (2:18) I did both and the pet cremation business did really well.(2:24) I was big on systems procedures. (2:27) My background is engineering and manufacturing. (2:29) I redesigned the crematory ovens to create more efficient cremations.(2:35) But the big selling point was we found a way to prove that your pet went through the system and you got the cremains back that was really your pet. (2:44) So that company was called Pet Angel World Services. (2:47) It's still around.(2:48) We were bought by a private equity firm. (2:51) And the second company, I started that in 07 and sold it in I think 14. (2:57) And then the second company was Colony Hills Capital, a real estate investment firm.(3:02) And it met the filter as well. (3:03) Can't go to China, wildly profitable, scalable, doesn't need skilled labor, recession proof. (3:09) And here we are, 18 years later, we've done a billion three in transactions in multifamily.(3:16) And we're scaling the business going forward. (3:21) And we expect to have $2.4 billion under management in the next seven years. (3:27) And we hope that we find a good partner to help take us out at that point or become a larger player with us.

Ginny Bolling

(3:35) Very good. (3:36) That's a great takeaway too, right? (3:39) Your filter is the criteria that you like to be sharing with people that remember.

Glenn Hanson

(3:44) Yeah, that was not an accident. (3:48) I thought about it long and hard because I saw so many of my startups go out of business. (3:54) And what were they missing?(3:55) Well, they didn't have all those categories met. (3:57) They had just pieces of it. (4:00) And out of 25 startups, there's only a couple that make it.(4:04) And the filter helped guide me and it's worked. (4:09) We've done well.

Ginny Bolling

(4:11) Yeah, sure sounds like it to me. (4:13) That's interesting. (4:14) Yeah.(4:14) And retiring at 47, a lot of people don't do that. (4:18) That's for sure. (4:20) And the helicopter, you shared with me before we started recording, you used to use that to go to work, right?

Glenn Hanson

(4:27) Yeah. (4:27) My wife and I, we commute. (4:30) It's a three-hour ride or a 45-minute helicopter ride.(4:33) So it's a true joy for me to fly. (4:37) And it's practical. (4:41) I actually raised a lot of money with the helicopter.(4:44) When I was doing the startup business, I would donate the helicopter for causes like the YMCA or the Boston Symphony Orchestra. (5:00) And I would provide rides in a silent auction and people would pay up to $3,000 for a ride in a helicopter. (5:06) So I discovered that the people that were paying $3,000 for just a ride in a helicopter were high net worth.(5:13) So I started pitching them when I did these rides and I had an 80% success rate closing the deal. (5:21) And I think the reason for that is when you get in a helicopter with somebody, there's hormones that are released on takeoff. (5:27) There's like the love hormones, the trust hormones.(5:30) And I think people's thinking got a little soft and it worked anyways. (5:38) It was a lot of fun.

Ginny Bolling

(5:40) True story. (5:40) That's very interesting. (5:42) And do you still have your license now?

Glenn Hanson

(5:44) Yeah, I'm licensed, but I don't have the helicopter anymore. (5:47) But the license is good for life as long as your health is holding up. (5:53) So you have to have FAA medicals every three years.

Ginny Bolling

(5:56) Ah, wow. (5:58) And you seem like you stay fit. (6:01) So the rest of the company side of it that you were talking about, Colony Hills is thriving in so many ways.(6:12) You have quite an impressive track record. (6:14) Why don't you talk about that a little bit more?

Glenn Hanson

(6:16) Yeah, the track record was flawless until 2025. (6:20) We had zero losses in 2025 due to the interest rate debacle that occurred starting in 22. (6:29) We got hit hard with some costs on a couple of deals.(6:34) But the experience we have has made us smarter. (6:39) We're better, cheaper, faster today. (6:42) And the team is still together.(6:44) And the market is finally changing, I can say, after three years of being pretty quiet. (6:51) We've got many opportunities in front of us today. (6:55) And happy to report that finally, I can say there's deal flow coming in.

Ginny Bolling

(7:03) That there is. (7:03) That there is. (7:04) I've been talking about that too.(7:05) And I think it's safe for you to say what the return has been, your track record as a company, before and after you had some litigation, I guess, that's pending. (7:19) So if you exclude that one, what is your average return to investors?

Glenn Hanson

(7:26) Our track record prior to our first problem was 36% levered IRR.

Ginny Bolling

(7:33) Yeah, in general rate of return, right?

Glenn Hanson

(7:36) Yeah, we focused on value add under properties that are underloved, undercapitalized, undermanaged. (7:44) And of course, during that run of 18 years, before we started in 08, we didn't make our first buy for three years because we just couldn't find the right thing that made sense. (7:56) And we were relatively patient.(7:59) And at that point, we weren't burning a lot of capital for cost because it was just a few people. (8:03) But our first transaction was $35 million out of the gate. (8:07) And we stayed with pretty big deals with portfolios, etc.(8:13) And that allowed us, it gave us access to go to people for a different kind of ads than just 100 grand. (8:20) We were looking for millions of dollars. (8:23) And David Kaufman, my partner and I, we were on the street every day raising capital.(8:29) And it was not easy because we had the great financial crisis then, right? (8:33) 2008. (8:34) We started when the same month Lehman Brothers went out of business in 08.(8:40) And boy, that was hard.

Glenn Hanson

(8:43) That would be, yes.

Glenn Hanson

(8:44) But we did it. (8:45) We got through it, right? (8:46) And you know, what we're experiencing today is mild by comparison.

Ginny Bolling

(8:50) True. (8:51) Yes. (8:52) Yep.(8:53) And now as far as the types of assets you're buying and your buy box, why don't you talk a little about that?

Glenn Hanson

(9:03) Yeah. (9:03) Greater than, we prefer greater than 200 units. (9:07) And the same formula, undercapitalized, underloved.(9:11) They need better management. (9:14) And we don't mind some challenges. (9:17) We don't look for trouble, but we're looking for opportunities to generate value that we can sell into the next property management or owner.

Ginny Bolling

(9:31) So they're all multifamily?

Glenn Hanson

(9:33) Yes. (9:34) Yes.

Ginny Bolling

(9:34) Okay. (9:35) And is there a minimum occupancy?

Glenn Hanson

(9:36) When you say minimum, you mean for the number? (9:40) Yeah. (9:41) So typically we like greater than 90, but we've caught them a lot worse and we plan accordingly.(9:53) We try to build a budget up front to cover that burn and we've been successful. (10:00) So it's never easy. (10:02) It's never a piece of cake, right?(10:04) It's always work.

Ginny Bolling

(10:06) Yeah. (10:06) Well, that's how you're in the money, right?

Glenn Hanson

(10:08) Yeah.

Ginny Bolling

(10:09) And what geographic areas?

Glenn Hanson

(10:11) East of the Mississippi. (10:13) Yeah. (10:13) We've covered a pretty broad landscape, but we were big in Texas.(10:22) Currently we're in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Georgia. (10:28) I think that's it right now.

Ginny Bolling

(10:31) Okay. (10:32) Yeah. (10:32) And you're looking at deals now, so that's a big- Yeah.

Glenn Hanson

(10:35) Oh yeah. (10:36) We're active.

Ginny Bolling

(10:38) And if investors are looking to place capital, are you doing 506Bs or Cs or both?

Glenn Hanson

(10:46) Yeah, it's 506C. (10:49) And yes, we're looking for typically greater than a hundred thousand per investor, but we do look for big slugs of millions at one time. (11:01) It's a lot easier.(11:02) So we're open to that. (11:05) And we formed over the years, we had three different funds. (11:07) We raised about 60 million in what we call our GP funds.(11:11) And that's been a bit of a workhorse for us to give us the capital up front to be able to initiate and close on a property.

Ginny Bolling

(11:22) So, and that's referring to your GP stakes? (11:25) Is that right?

Glenn Hanson

(11:26) No, GP stakes is a GP fund itself. (11:31) GP stakes is we're actually raising money now for the operating company to scale it to that $2.5 billion assets under management mark. (11:40) And we're looking for outside investment capital into the operating company.(11:46) We've successfully raised capital to do this. (11:49) And we're able to keep our machine running and scale the business as a result of an influx of new capital.

Ginny Bolling

(12:00) And the operating company is Colony Hills?

Glenn Hanson

(12:03) Colony Hills Capital. (12:04) Yep.

Ginny Bolling

(12:05) Capital. (12:05) Okay. (12:06) All right.(12:07) And is that like a five-year, 10-year fund or is it evergreen?

Glenn Hanson

(12:13) It's not a fund. (12:14) It's actually money into the company that's doing the work. (12:19) And we're scaling it for growth, obviously, and profitability.(12:25) And we anticipate a partner coming in in seven years to either participate or take it over for us and continue the growth.

Ginny Bolling

(12:37) So, they're actually buying into the company itself?

Glenn Hanson

(12:40) Yes. (12:41) Yeah. (12:42) Into the company that we started in 2008.

Ginny Bolling

(12:46) Okay. (12:47) And they get then shares? (12:49) Is that how it works?(12:50) Or explain a little more because a lot of people aren't familiar.

Glenn Hanson

(12:53) Yes. (12:53) It's an LLC, so they buy units for equity in the operating company. (12:58) And then they're in it for the ride.(13:01) And it's not unlike somebody raising money for a startup. (13:07) And it's like to accelerate the growth quicker, it's smart to bring in outside equity. (13:15) There's two choices.(13:16) You can borrow the money or bring in equity. (13:18) I kind of frown on borrowing money. (13:20) I'd rather have my money or other equity in the deal.

Ginny Bolling

(13:26) Now, do they come in as limited partners or are they- Yes.

Glenn Hanson

(13:29) Yeah. (13:30) They have no say. (13:32) Now, if somebody came in and they dropped 50% or more of our capital raise and they would get some decision rights.(13:40) But we're not interested in taking people in that are going to tell us how to manage.

Ginny Bolling

(13:48) Right. (13:48) Okay. (13:49) That makes sense given that you're trained in management to not have losses, not have inefficiencies, not have loss of time.(13:58) So, yeah, that relates quite well to understanding why you would say that. (14:03) Yeah. (14:05) Well, and so do you have any stories you'd like to share with us about a particular property that's done really well, for instance, that surprised you even?

Glenn Hanson

(14:14) Well, they all surprised me. (14:18) And they've all ultimately done well, except for the couple we struggled with two years ago.

Ginny Bolling

(14:26) A story to share in terms of- An ugly duckling that you surprised yourself, maybe, or it sold for much better than what you thought, maybe, or you had a- The coolest story was that our first buy was a single property in Hoover, Alabama.

Glenn Hanson

(14:44) It was a $35 million deal. (14:46) The second one was $14 million in Atlanta. (14:49) But then our third one was a $100 million, 2,000-unit portfolio in Mobile, Alabama.(14:56) And when you're green and in a business and you're trying to do those kinds of deals, people, I think they laughed at me. (15:05) And I was a lot younger than I am now and didn't have the experience. (15:08) And we put it together.(15:10) We actually bought it for $98 million. (15:14) We sold it for $134 million. (15:16) And a few years after that, it was worth $165 million.(15:21) And the takeaway or the learning from that is, don't be afraid to step out there. (15:26) And frankly, it wasn't any harder to manage 2,000 units. (15:30) There were five properties.(15:32) It wasn't any harder than one unit in another state. (15:37) And that was a lesson learned.

Ginny Bolling

(15:40) So- It wasn't any harder than one unit in another state.

Glenn Hanson

(15:43) Yeah. (15:43) So what I'm getting at is, if you have five properties, 2,000 units all in one, like in Mobile, Alabama, it's not hard to get your arms around it, right? (15:56) And you can share resources between properties if necessary.(16:00) And then you can attract better talent for management because of the size and the momentum. (16:06) And it was a lesson learned. (16:11) Don't be afraid of the big ones.

Ginny Bolling

(16:13) That's good advice, I think. (16:15) Yeah. (16:15) Yeah.(16:16) And that actually held true for me too. (16:20) I started out flipping, had some buy and holds for a little while, but then I started flipping when a friend of mine and I both got downsized at the same time. (16:30) And once I started going to the local REIA and heard about the commercial group, I knew I always liked commercial more than residential.(16:37) I don't know why I didn't just go straight to that, but yeah, it's much more efficient, much more, a lot better. (16:46) Business decisions more so too. (16:50) And right now, do you have a podcast or is there anything you're doing to outreach for people?(16:57) Are you doing it the old fashioned way or what are you doing?

Glenn Hanson

(17:00) So we've done a couple of things. (17:03) One, I just got involved with and helped start a company called Ravium out of Austin, Texas. (17:13) And I met this fellow through the University of Mass and he was looking for guidance.(17:19) And for four years, I guided him on what to do. (17:21) And we've successfully launched that company to raise capital from overseas. (17:27) So we're doing our first transaction right now with them.(17:32) And that's, what was the question again? (17:36) I want to make sure I'm relevant.

Ginny Bolling

(17:38) How are you reaching out to people now?

Glenn Hanson

(17:40) Yeah, so we're doing that, but we were doing ad spend with meta ads and we tried going down the retail route recently and that's actually worked pretty well. (17:52) But we've signed up with Marcin from M1 and we're pretty happy with what we're seeing. (17:58) We're new at it with him.(17:59) So that's a current outreach for people looking to raise capital. (18:03) I would say they should look into that and they should consider booking a Ravium as well.

Ginny Bolling

(18:10) Right. (18:10) Yes. (18:11) That's good advice.(18:12) And I'm part of M1 as well. (18:13) So that's interesting to find that out. (18:18) And yeah, it's hard to reach people as much social media as that there is out there, you get drowned out.(18:25) So finding your channels and what works to reach the people that are interested is a big deal. (18:32) I have to constantly remind myself to tell people if they know somebody looking for these opportunities, connect me, right? (18:41) Because yeah, people don't think of it, but more and more, I'm convinced more and more people are hearing that they can own a piece of these big, impressive properties.(18:51) And most people never knew that.

Glenn Hanson

(18:53) Yeah. (18:54) Hey, let me correct something. (18:55) I think I said Marvin, it's Marcin, M-A-R-I-C-I-N.

Ginny Bolling

(18:58) I think you said Marcin. (18:59) Yeah. (19:01) And he's very accomplished.(19:05) I think he's a very professional, not like person, but the company, the way it conducts itself now that I've been in it about two months now, I've been impressed as well. (19:14) So yes, I agree with you definitely. (19:17) As far as what you have going on right now, are you raising for something that you're allowed to talk about right now?

Glenn Hanson

(19:24) We're always raising. (19:26) And I'd say if somebody's interested to just reach out to me, that'd be the best thing.

Ginny Bolling

(19:32) Okay. (19:33) Well, that's very good. (19:35) And as far as my takeaway that I like to have everybody say, why don't you repeat it one more time?(19:42) And then we'll go ahead and wrap up.

Glenn Hanson

(19:45) The takeaway? (19:46) Yeah. (19:48) Your filter.(19:50) Oh, my filter about can't go to China, wildly profitable, scalable, doesn't need skilled labor. (19:57) Yeah. (19:58) The takeaway is, look, I'm a pilot and I respect the discipline of aviation checklist, practicing, knowing what to do in an emergency.(20:13) And the scrap rate or the loss rate is acceptable in manufacturing of 1%. (20:20) And in the aviation world, if you had a 1% loss rate, we'd have 30 plus planes a day fall out of the sky. (20:27) And my takeaway is to think about our manufacturing or our management operations in a way that we can improve and create the same disciplines the aviation industry has on aircraft and think more like a six sigma quality performance.(20:45) And we can all benefit from that and perform better at the properties and everything we do in terms of business. (20:56) So the takeaway and tied to real estate is that we need systems, procedures, et cetera, to be able to scale. (21:06) And that's important to keep in mind.

Ginny Bolling

(21:10) Yeah. (21:10) Yeah. (21:11) Totally agree.(21:11) All right. (21:13) Well, so, and as I do with everybody, is there a pivotal, I asked this question, is there a pivotal person or event that's brought you to where you are today, or that is pushing you towards some set goal, would you say?

Glenn Hanson

(21:29) You know, the pivotal event was the filter that I mentioned earlier. (21:34) And it's just, it helped me pick the right horse. (21:38) And no matter what your personality is, that filter is critical to making a decision about what you're going to do.(21:48) And, you know, get rid of the obstacles before you start is the takeaway.

Ginny Bolling

(21:55) That's good. (21:55) Good advice. (21:56) Yeah.(21:57) Yeah. (21:58) Well, terrific. (21:59) I hope that people will reach out to you.(22:01) You're doing some great things out there. (22:03) You'd look at the website and the portfolio and the background of all the people involved at Colony Hills. (22:10) It's very impressive.(22:11) I've been in touch with a couple and I know that you guys are really do well now. (22:18) Yeah. (22:18) I've been patient myself, waiting for the correction we're in.(22:21) There's much better pricing out there right now. (22:24) And I think that, you know, for those of us that are conservative and cautious, it's a good time for our friends and family and people that are also waiting to take part in owning commercial real estate to start paying attention. (22:40) Yeah.

Glenn Hanson

(22:40) I agree.

Ginny Bolling

(22:41) So why don't you tell people how they can reach you?

Glenn Hanson

(22:44) Yeah. (22:45) So if you're interested in learning more, my email is glenn.hanson, that's g-l-e-n-n dot h-a-n-s-o-n at colonyhillscapital.com.

Ginny Bolling

(22:58) Right. (22:58) Terrific. (22:59) We'll put that into the show notes along with some other things and, you know, the regular social media connections and whatnot.(23:06) And I thank you so much for coming on.