The 5 Questions Podcast
Join us as we unlock real estate and business insights, one question at a time.
The 5 Questions Podcast
From Attic to Assets: A Real Estate Journey with Joao Macavilca
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Joao Macavilca shares his journey from growing up in an attic with undocumented parents to flipping over 70 properties and owning a 54-unit commercial property, demonstrating how early hardships can fuel business success.
• Growing up in difficult circumstances in East Orange, NJ shaped his drive to create a better future
• Reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad created a powerful mindset shift from "I can't afford it" to "How can I afford it?"
• Networking and finding complementary partners is crucial for scaling from residential to commercial real estate
• Mistakes with building codes and renovations can cost thousands - befriend your inspectors and understand code requirements
• Building genuine relationships, not just exchanging business cards, creates a powerhouse network of suppliers and contractors
• Skip the painful learning curve by learning from others who have already found the best subcontractors and vendors
STF Capital | CEO and Founder
🌐 www.stf-capital.com
IG: @Joaomac_stf | https://www.instagram.com/joaomac_stf/
FB: @STF_Capital | https://www.facebook.com/STFCapital
LinkedIn: Joao Macavilca | https://www.linkedin.com/in/joao-macavilca-478383136/
📞 +1 (864) 256-1333
✉ construction@stf-capital.com
Building Relationships with Inspectors
Speaker 1make sure you are best friends with your inspectors . So you know doesn't I've had partners before that like to yell and scream at inspectors does not work at all . You do not want to get on their bad side . You want to make sure you're doing things by the book .
Speaker 2Welcome to the Five Questions Podcast , where we unlock real estate and business insights one question at a time . Welcome to the 5 Questions Podcast . I am your host . Mario Lamar , our guest on today's show , grew up in an attic in New Jersey to flipping over 70 properties and owning a 54-unit commercial deal . This is truly unbelievable . He is the definition of resilience and results . The CEO of Start to Finish Capital blends in deep expertise in commercial construction with a strategic investor mindset to help others build lasting legacy wealth . Welcome , joao Makavilka . Thanks , man , joao . Welcome to the show today .
Speaker 1Thanks , mario , glad to be here .
Speaker 2So , joao , the concept of the podcast is five questions either about business or real estate , and we get straight to the point . You ready , yep , let's do it . Business or real estate , and we get straight to the point . You
From Attic to Real Estate Success
Speaker 2ready , yep , let's do it . As I mentioned in the intro and you know , you put it publicly you grew up in an attic in New Jersey , raised by undocumented parents . How did those early experiences shape your mindset that you carry in today's business ?
Speaker 1So , at that time I mean , I was really young so I didn't know any better of why we're it's East Orange , new Jersey , so it was not the greatest part of Jersey and being young I just didn't know why we're doing this .
Speaker 1Being older and having back some memories and things like that , I can put two and two together . But back then it was just my parents came here trying to get a better life , trying to work and provide what they can for me . So I didn't know any better and as I kept getting older and you know , kind of thinking back on things , realizing how much sacrifice they really did to provide for me and my sister Now she came along a little later but just seeing everything they did to get work , find work and just get us food necessities , the basics , so just knowing that I had the opportunity to speak English and go to school here and do things , I just want to make sure I can pay that back and make sure my kids or my future family never goes through that . I mean , it's something you know wish on somebody else .
Speaker 2Yeah . So basically you're realized that obviously when we're young we don't realize always what's going on . But realizing now what you went through shaped your mindset to I don't wish that on anybody and let me make sure that my surrounding doesn't go through that and that pushed you or fueled you to succeed in your business ventures .
Speaker 2Yeah , that's a big eye opener so that's truly remarkable because you know a lot of successful business owners don't have always the easiest start in life . The easiest start in life and it seems like it's a common tread among you know successful people because of what you went through , it pushes you to go further . You don't want to never go back there . So truly remarkable story you have there . And it brings us to our second question
Mindset Shift: How vs No
Speaker 2no-transcript .
Speaker 1So it took me , to be honest with you . I mean , the first time I read it , I read it and finished it . It didn't really click anything . And the second time was when it hit , and I don't remember which part of the book it was , I just remember the first mindset shift . Like you said , I grew up . You know even my parents to this day .
Speaker 1You know if we want something , they say no , we can't get it , it's too much , or whatever reasoning it being and whatever reasoning it being . And the Rich Dad , poor Dad book he mentioned where we had to stop saying no , I can't afford it . No , because once you say no , your mind shuts off yeah , versus saying okay , well , how can I afford this ? Now you open up possibilities Maybe I get a side job , a weekend job , maybe I sell something I don't need , maybe I do this . So instead of automatically turning your mind off saying no , you figure a way out of it . And the same thing goes for business . I mean , there's so many times where things go wrong or things don't go the way you planned . You can't just give up and close shop . You got to figure a way out of it or find a different solution .
Speaker 2Yeah , you know , one of my mentors often says this . There's two categories of people . They're consumers and investors . And consumers will give exactly the answer that you said . You know , oh , I can't afford it . And the investor mindset it says like Rich Dad , poor Dad , and you just said how ? The word how is very powerful . How can I afford it ? That pushes your brain , like you said to . You know , find solutions to the problem .
Speaker 1Yeah , I mean that's the biggest thing . I mean there's so many times where you have a plan and then something happens and you got to change , you got to shift , you got to pivot and you figure it out , or you just go back to doing what you did before .
Speaker 2Yeah , and that's where the difference where you know the separation , where you know the investors , the successful people and the majority of other people in society in general . They will stop at . Just as soon as it requires a little bit of efforts or for you to figure out a problem , they will stop there , yeah . And then the people who pushes further . Well , guess what after that success come . It's not always easy from the start , but once you keep on pushing , that's when it happens . Exactly
Scaling to Commercial with Partners
Speaker 2brings us to our third question . Uh , now we understood where you're , where you came from . You know your mindset shifts . You had to , like you said , transform your mindset . Now you flipped over 70 properties , including 48 commercial deals . You know there's certainly lessons that you went through . What is the biggest lesson most people miss when scaling from , let's say , residential to commercial real estate ?
Speaker 1So the biggest thing in scaling wise . So I started with my own residential properties duplexes and the goal was to get the commercial down the road a few years later . And that was just my plan . I always wanted to do things on my own . What really shifted was going to real estate events , meeting other people , building my network and building other people that have experiences that I don't have , and teaming up with them to be able to get there faster .
Speaker 1So you know , I got buddies that do underwriting , capital raising , and they don't do much construction . So we fit perfectly as far as what can we do ? Where I'm good at you're not that great at , or where you're good at I'm not that great at it . If we get together , there's almost nothing we can not handle . I mean , I love the fact that on these commercial deals we're on now , there was very minimal , if any , involvement with construction from my partners , because they know once that date hits and I go , it's going to get done . So it's kind of hands off at that point and I bring that experience for them .
Speaker 2You mentioned something about another shift or another change . You said you go to a lot of networking events or you network with people and then after that you find the proper partners to partner with the proper people . That fits like a puzzle , right ? They don't do the same things as you do . You have to complement each other and I'm a big networking guy finding people that complement each other . How really important is it , do you think ?
Speaker 1I would not have any commercial properties . If I did a network , I would probably have , from when I started , maybe an extra four or five properties of my own , but I would not have been able to close on buildings or be a partner on buildings . It just wasn't gonna happen . My expertise is in construction management , things like that . So I have zero idea about capital raising for big deals . I have zero idea on underwriting a commercial deal or finding these brokers . That's where they step in , where they already had that experience , they already know people and they can fill in the gaps . So I truly feel , without them being on the team , I would not be where I'm at today .
Speaker 2And this is what I'm trying to extract . The information for our listeners is you know , you say it yourself You're part of a bigger team and different players , and a lot of time we try to do it on our own , which , in my mind and in a lot of people's minds , it's a mistake , because you're going to take longer and you're going to achieve smaller things . If you surround yourselves with the proper people around you , man , can you accomplish a lot more .
Speaker 1Oh yeah , Faster too Easier , so much less stress yeah .
Speaker 2That's great . That's great . That's good insights you gave us there Brings us to our fourth question , talking about mistakes . Mistakes are part of a journey . Obviously , we try to do the least amount possible , but can you share maybe one major misstep that you had or you made and , more importantly , how it helped you grow as an investor or a business leader ?
Learning from Building Code Mistakes
Speaker 1Wow , there's so many to pick from One mistake I made so pretty much when it comes to renovations . I mean , there's so many things you learn as you go through and as you get bigger and scale up . There's some things I wasn't aware of as far as the building codes where you know I wasn't stairs for , for example , were built . Let's say , a house I got recently , like 100 years ago . Um , as long as it's still standing , cities will respect that , it's good . But the minute you touch something and modify it , you've got to bring it up to current code .
Speaker 1Yeah , well , just imagine a stair staircase made 80 years ago . It's 28 inches wide , the risers aren't seven and a half inches tall . So , bought a house that had the stairs taken off and didn't do measurements , it's like , oh , building stairs isn't that hard , it can be done . Come to find out that house was so old and to bring stairs to current code , it's not going to meet height requirements , it's not going to meet width requirements and that's why the builder who sold the house pretty much had it empty for two and a half years . Yeah , that delayed it by months , which was thousands of a month that you have to pay . Um , the city was not working with us at all . It came down to the point we had to get engineers , architects , framing teams down there to just sit down and say what do we need to do here ?
Speaker 1like yeah , they're not accepting this , not through that . So , understanding just different levels of renovations and how much the city gets involved with certain things , I mean I even asked them . You know , if the stairs originally were here creaking and beat up , you would pass it no problem . But now that we're doing a brand new set of stairs the same way they were before , stronger than ever , it's just not going to pass . So make sure you understand what you're getting into , make sure you understand the building codes and make sure you are best friends with your inspectors . So you know doesn't I've had partners before that like to yell and scream at inspectors does not work at all . You do not want to get on their bad side . You want to make sure you're doing things by the book .
Speaker 2So you know , you said something very interesting that resonated with me is mistakes are going to happen , right , that's how we grow . You try to avoid them . But mistakes in real estate are not $10 . They're not even $100 . They're thousands and thousands of dollars and they can last for months , like you mentioned . So knowing and doing your proper due diligence beforehand is key to success . You cannot skip that step .
Speaker 1Yep 100% .
Speaker 2And , like you said , having those inspectors on your side is certainly a benefit to you . It's key . Well , joao , that brings us to our fifth and final question for today , but before we go , I'd like to ask you you've built a powerhouse network we talked about it of suppliers , subcontractors . What advice do you have for someone trying to build relationships that really moves the needle to where you are and where you want to go ?
Building a Powerhouse Network
Speaker 1Pretty much you've got to put yourself in the room where you want to be . So go to these events , find out who's done 50 flips , 100 flips , whatever you want to call them , who has buildings and just see how you can get in the same room with that person , whether it be taking them out to dinner , coffee or a drink , random texts here and there . Whatever you can do to kind of be in that same room to see how they think , how they flow , and just ask them what , how did they start ? How did they , you know , get bigger and everything . I mean the people I meet . They can give my company name to Sherwin Williams .
Speaker 1You get a corporate discount across the U S a home Depot so you can always ask for the manager and just get to know them . And they have a certain sales they have during the week . They'll call you or text . I mean I got them calling me or texting me . Hey , this is going on clearance soon . Do you want it ? And you get things really good . But it has to be networking there . I mean you've got to know what you need , where those vendors are , where the people are , because they have , you know , painters , they've got sheet rockers , they've got hvac connections , like skip those steps that they went through , cause they may have gone through five HVAC guys till they found the one that's really good . So now , by asking them , they're going to give you that person right away . You skipped all the headache and heartache because you found the person that you know I have to go through .
Speaker 2And again , you said something very interesting and I want to make it clear to our listeners networking . You get into the rooms with people and you said something key you got to ask them questions and take them out for lunch and coffee . This is way different than networking at an event , where you just do a transaction of business cards you know this is superficial really get to know the people and and before you even ask for something , right , this is a people business . Uh , the more you get to know a person on a personal level , the better your chance are at a quality relationship , rather than you just , you know , exchanging a oh , I'll give me your card , I'll call you Right . Right , so you , you said , you said it . I love what you said there because it's true , I do it every day in my business and you're a hundred percent right .
Speaker 1And you , you deal with a lot of different contractors and people , so yeah , you got to go through all the bad to get the good , but if you ask a question , the guy I'm going to give you has already gone through what he knows to do absolutely so .
Speaker 2You're based in uh , still in new jersey no , I moved .
Speaker 1I'm in the carolinas now I'm in north carolina north carolina .
Speaker 2So , uh , u contractor , you have licenses in different States , which is .
Speaker 1South Carolina . What's that North and South Carolina ?
Speaker 2Northern South Carolina . So you can uh if if some of our listeners are looking for a contractor , uh , we'll put the links in uh in the description below . You can reach uh Joao and uh he can help you with your uh renovations or construction . Joel , it was a pleasure to speak with you today . Um , lots of insights from you know , growing in a not so easy environment to turning around and uh making a success for yourself and your family , uh and your clients as well . Thank you for being on the show .
Speaker 1Thanks for having me , man . I appreciate it .
Speaker 2Thanks for tuning into the 5 Questions Podcast . If you enjoyed today's episode , don't forget to subscribe , like and hit the notification bell on our YouTube channel so you never miss an episode . Stay tuned for more insights and tips to transform your real estate and business game . See you next time .