MMM Edition: $600k Under Ask and Doubling NOI with a 12-Unit off LoopNet with Cole Farrell

Deals don’t just appear; they’re earned through follow‑ups that outlast everyone else’s attention span. We walk through how a forgotten LoopNet listing turned into a 12‑unit purchase in North Carolina, why the numbers made sense, and what it really takes to raise capital when inboxes are full and holidays steal focus. From underwriting the story behind sub‑600 rents in a market that supports four figures, to catching the hidden clues of mismanagement, every step is designed to turn operational chaos into durable cash flow.

We get specific about the capital stack and conversion reality—why soft circles fade and how structured persistence wins. You’ll hear the outreach cadence, the messaging that moves hesitant investors, and the risk controls that make a value‑add plan credible: multiple PM options, an on‑ground GC who can slash repair costs, and reserves that cover the ugly surprises. Speaking of surprises, closing without keys and waking up to a broken main water line on day one sharpened the team’s response. The fix came fast and under budget because roles were clear and relationships were set before the wire hit.

Choosing North Carolina wasn’t about hype; it was about inventory depth, demographic strength, and broker access that beats our home market’s capital-heavy competition. We tested the thesis on the ground, liked what we saw, and moved quickly: ten days to the first completed unit and leasing underway. The plan stays simple—full turns, RUBS, stronger collections, refinance, five‑to‑six‑year hold—while the mindset stays relentless: prioritize the most important next steps, believe in the process, and keep going until you get a yes or a no.

If you’re scaling beyond your backyard or wrestling with a raise, this conversation lays out the playbook. Subscribe for more real, unvarnished multifamily tactics, share this with a partner who needs a nudge, and leave a review with your biggest out‑of‑state hurdle so we can tackle it next.

VCap Real Estate Podcast

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Welcome to the VCAP Real Estate Podcast, where we talk about building physical empires. Learn from industry experts about all aspects of the business of real estate. You'll learn how to buy, renovate, manage, and sell deals by people who actually do it every day. People who build their fortune doing this. I'm your host, Cole Farrell. Let's talk. This is episode 33. We've been running this for almost three years now, which is super exciting. And so I am not your host tonight. We have a little bit of a twist, and I'm sure you know from the flyers from me texting everybody. But we'll get into that in a minute. So, first off, we have an amazing sponsor tonight that I want to do a huge shout-out to. Gary and his team are here from GM, DSM Work for Capital. Gary's a national direct lender, DSDR, fix and flip, commercial mortgage broker, CNBS, the whole nine. Gary's 33 years of experience with finance, and he came from the Wall Street world where he had 23 years. He's raised over 6 billion in capital, and he is the guy. I use Gary on all my stuff. Everybody in here that's doing crazy things is also using Gary, and so we have nothing but the best things to say about him. So all his info and programs are right there in the back. Please have a conversation, talk to him, and he'll help you out. Before we get started, a couple housekeeping items as always. We have food and drink right over here, so please grab something to eat it all so I don't have to take it home. There's sign-in QR codes and sign-in sheets and name tags over there, so please sign in just so we can message everybody and let them know when the next meetup is, of course. And lastly, our goal is to help everybody here propel their journey and to get the next step up. So please come talk to us. Let's have a conversation and see how we can help you. We have one of my favorite hosts here from the MMM Montgomery and Bucks chapter. Um, and I'm gonna turn it over to him and let him take it from here.

Guest Host Introduction And Format

Cole’s Origin Story In Real Estate

SPEAKER_00 2:16

Yeah, thanks. I'm uh Mike Stover from Next Era Capital. Uh we focus on larger multifamily in the southeast, mostly in the Huntsville, Alabama market. Uh I say we because my partner uh Ryan is home with a sick child today, so uh I he won't be able to make it. But so we really are focusing on larger multifamily. Um I'm pumped that Cole asked us to do uh this interview today because again, we focus on out-of-state, and my understanding is that Cole is closed on an out-of-state deal, uh, which we'll be definitely diving into tonight. That's our main topic for today. Um, yeah, but as Cole mentioned, uh, we also host the Bucks County, Montgomery County multifamily meetup. Uh and we're in Lansdale. We actually have our next event coming up on Thursday if you're in the Lansdale area. We'd love to have you there. Um but with that said, I want to kind of transition uh back to what we're talking about today. So Cole just closed on a 12-unit property um out in North Carolina, right? Um so we're gonna definitely talk about that. But the structure of today's interview is gonna be his story, um, a QA. We'll do uh uh an outro and then we'll focus on the last hour or so being on that perk. So yeah, so we're gonna jump right in. Um before we get to the 12-unit property, I want to kind of hear how you got to the 12-unit properties and more of your story.

From Management To Flips To Multifamily

SPEAKER_01 3:34

Love it. So it's funny because I've been hosting these forever, and I realized like a couple of these meetups ago that I never actually told my story to anybody here, and like you hear bits and pieces, but it's fun to actually be able to tell everybody like where the origins come from. Um, so I started investing when I was 18, 19. Um, I started with the seller finance duplex. I really had no idea what I was doing. I just was hellbent on becoming a millionaire, and I figured real estate was the way to do it. Um, and so I met the right guy, and he helped me get into this duplex, and I didn't know anything about real estate, I didn't know anything about management. I just dove in and he started teaching me all these different pieces. Um, and it was a learning lesson. Um I had drug dealer tenants on the first floor, I had a professional tech tenant on the second floor. Um, we're being countersued, we're doing evictions, um, trying to go pick up the rent, and the guys like don't have it, and there's five people upstairs living there. So it was a real experience. And I got through it, and we finally started making some money, and I realized the potential from it. And so I was like, okay, let's buy a couple more, let's keep going. Um so I started doing a refinance on the duplex that I had, and then I started raising uh capital from family, which sounds fancy, but it's more just like, hey, mom, dad, friends, family, I got this great thing, join me, and I'll make you some money. And uh they bought in, which was cool, and we bought 11 more units shortly after, and it took some time, but started growing that. Um and right as we kind of started closing on that stuff, I was bartending my way through college, I was go getting my MBA, and COVID hit. So the world shut down, um, and there was nothing going on. And so bars shut down, just graduated from school, and I was in real estate, and I was like, okay, time to go for the big leagues, let's figure this out. So I found a meetup locally, went to the meetup, and I met all these guys there that were super helpful, and the one guy had a property management firm, and I was like, I've always wanted to start a company, let's go do a management firm. And I thought I knew what I was doing. We went to coffee, and he was like, Hey man, with all due respect, you have no idea what you're doing. Why don't you come work for me and I'll teach you everything? And I was like, Love it, I'm in. So I went and worked with him, and uh, it was the best experience. I learned everything from professional management to construction to leasing to how to manage clients to bookkeeping, the whole nine. And that really leveled up my game. I did that for two years, but through that I learned that I absolutely hated management and I just did not like dealing with tenants or clients. So I got out of that. Um, but the guy I did it with, him and his family were amazing, we really worked well together. So we were like, okay, how do we take this thing that we're doing and amplify it? And so we started getting into the flipping and the wholesale and the wholesale, and we didn't like wholesale as it is, so we got into wholesale, which is without going super deep into it, you find a really good deal, you buy it in some form, usually cash, and then you just sell to somebody else immediately after, or you take a split. So we got into that, and we started doing really good, and we started getting into flipping, and we did good at that too, which was nice. Um, but it was never the end goal. The end goal was always to get to the large multi. It's what I always wanted to get to and to get into, but it's hard to get into that without credibility and money and experience, all that kind of stuff. So after all those pieces of management and starting and etc., I finally had like the runway necessary to jump into large multi. So I was like, alright, it's now or never. Dove in and uh I started Vulcan Capital, I started this meetup, and I just started figuring it out and asking everybody I knew what to do, how to go, and building. Um, hired a syndication coach that I met in a conference, and then it started growing. And we closed the nine unit in April, which was exciting, that's local, and then uh kept building, found a couple guys that worked well together, and then we just closed this 12-unit now. Um, so we're not you know huge by any means. I'm not an absolute expert on this stuff, but we're growing. And we have uh 35 units right now, we're just over 4 million, so it's been an exciting journey. It's been about two years, three years full-time.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

Not too bad in two, three years though. So, yeah, I want to um talk about how you how you found this deal we're talking about. Because my guess is someone had just messaged you on LinkedIn and said, Hey Cole, I got this great opportunity for you.

SPEAKER_01 7:41

So true. How to happen? It's funny because I talked to so many people here today and they say, How do you find a deal? You know, what are you doing? And it's just it's relentless outreach, honestly. It is just nonstop talking to the same people over and over again and just continually asking them, what do you have going on? What is that deal going? Did it fall through, etc.? Um, and so I found this on loopnut, believe it or not, which is like a running joke if you're in the commercial world. And uh I was just going through and finding on loopnut to actually call the brokers and see what other deals they had. And I found this one by mistake. I called the broker and I was like, hey, I saw that deal you'd listed a year ago. Um, what else do you have? And he's like, Oh, it just fill out a contract. And I was like, Cool. Like, it's listed for one six. What'd you have it under agreement for? And he was like, one one. And I was like, Oh, so what's the deal? I got the story, and we ran the numbers, and we're like, This is actually a good deal. So we offered him a million, and obviously we're just gonna undercut them because they were in a bad spot, and they were like, Look, give us a million fifty, and it's yours, we'll take it. We're like, This is crazy. So we locked it up and then we started moving forward. Um, but it was just follow-up.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

I've heard that happen a lot of times where it's if you're just persistent, maybe it's not even about a specific property, but you're persistent with the broker, at least it's good things. So uh I saw how much money you raised for this deal, because going through the pamphlet or other. Uh talk to me how you got to that dollar amount. So share that dollar amount and how you got there too.

SPEAKER_01 9:01

Yeah, so we raised$600 for this deal, and we just hit a million dollars this year with this one concurrently, which is exciting. Um, how many people here have raised money before, if you don't mind me asking? Anybody? Alright. It's just interesting because a lot of the guys I talk to, it's you know, how's raised going? And it's hard right now. Everybody knows it and feels it. Um, it's just difficult. And so we had a lot of uh challenge with this one. A lesson I learned, and I don't know if anyone will agree, but don't raise during the holidays. People don't care. They want to go and have Christmas and Thanksgiving, they don't want to hear about your deal, they don't care if it's a you know million X Christmas. Um weird lesson that I learned. They're just checked out. Um it's funny because we knew we had a killer deal and we had the returns to back it. Everything made sense. But we realized the challenge was really getting it in front of people and getting them to like understand the potential. Because most people just were like, oh, it's another deal, another opportunity. And we had to really sit them down and make them understand like this is this is why this is important, this is how it can help you. And that really made a big difference. Um and another thing that was interesting is anybody that raises or is looking to raise, how you kind of do it is you pre-raise before a deal. So you go out and you ask everybody, you know, hey, if I found this deal with a 2x, 15% IRR, blah blah blah blah blah, um, would you invest in it? And they go, yeah. And you go, okay, cool, how much would you invest? And they go, ah, 25, 50, whatever. And you just compile this list of people, and it's people that might be interested. And say you have, you know, I think we had two million roughly reserved for any of our deals that come up. The problem is that's never actually the case. You know, things come up, they want to remodel their house, they just had a baby, they're sick, something happens, and it's just life. Um, and so we were noticing that 95% of that two million that we pre-raised, this was a perfect fit for them, and they should by all means invest. They just don't, though. And so we had about 30% commitment ratio, um, and even that was kind of like tough. So just food for thought. Um, you know, if you're gonna raise or push it, a lot of people are gonna back out.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

Yeah, so um what how did you solve that problem? I mean, what how did you go back to someone that already told you no? Did you have to do that, or did you kind of just go, nope, next person.

Finding The 12‑Unit On LoopNet

SPEAKER_01 11:10

It's funny, so a lot of you have probably got a million emails from me, calls and texts, um, but that's kind of the process. So the key, and we were just talking about this, is is relentless outreach. And what I noticed is a lot of the people I reached out to that didn't respond, that I thought weren't interested or didn't want to talk to me, or whatever these like limiting beliefs are that were in my head, they actually just didn't see the deal because they're busy and they have other things going on in their life. And so a lot of them, after the fifth call and voicemail and text, I'd finally reach someone and I'd be like, hey, you just need to make sure you don't want to get in on this. And they're like, What are you talking about? I'm like, Man, I sent you 10 times, and they're like, nah, no idea. And then they invest 50 grand, and you're like, huh. So it was relentless outreach. And so the thing that I realized and kind of go by now with phrasing is they either say yes or they say no. But I do not stop until I get one of those two answers. If they don't answer, I will message them every day or call them every day or whatever it may be, go to their grandparents or their wives or whatever. But I want a yes or no. Just let me know.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

This is unbelievably great advice. Um, kind of back to the property in itself. Um, how did you know like if this was even a good asset? Uh, did you have support from like a property manager? And how did you find them?

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Yeah, so it's a great question. It's all about the story. Um, so with this property, we saw it, like I said, we underwrote it, and what that means is we looked at the income and it was terrible. But then we looked at what it should be at and it was amazing. And we're like, okay, there's a huge gap here. So if we can get it on where it's at currently and we bring it up to where it will be, it's gonna make a ton of money. And that was kind of the case, that was the story. Um, and to go into that further, the story when we talked to the owners and the agent is it is a residential agent listing this. Shouldn't be happening, not North Carolina, not with the commercial property. Yes, it's a small commercial, but it's still out of most normal agents' territory. This is like a broker's territory. So that was kind of a one piece of interesting idea. Um, two, rents were between 595, 695, without even looking at the area that I know it, but like a thousand minimum. And so that's a huge gap. Um, and then you know, once we ran it, we saw it was 1200 plus, and we're like, okay, that's crazy, we're doubling income. And then you start digging into management, you ask for reports and info, and they're sending you these crazy reports that make no sense, there's no information, they don't have any of the tenants that aren't paying, it's delinquent, and it sounds terrible, but that story, you're like, this is it, this is like a great deal.

Capital Raise Challenges And Tactics

SPEAKER_00 13:34

So it's all about the story. Okay, so you probably went into it with some like calculated risk in mind, and kind of like, ah, there might be some units that are in great shape. That's expected. What was not expected, which is three of our loop.

SPEAKER_01 13:46

A lot of the unexpecteds came at closing or right about closing. Um, so for instance, we closed it. Well, actually, it started the day before closing. We got to the PM and we were like, hey, we need the keys, come to closing, get all settled, and they're like, What keys? And we're like, all the keys for the tenants like, yeah, yeah, yeah. We don't have any. No keys. And none. So we're like, okay. Um, so it's weird stuff like that where we had to go in, give them all notice, drill out their locks, they're not answering, uh, you know, change it. It's strange. We close on uh, I think it was Tuesday, Wednesday morning, the front main water line breaks. Water everywhere. We're like, is it real? So we were getting quotes from 10 grand to 16 grand to dig it up and fix it, and it's we have it budgeted, you expect things to go wrong. We're like, okay. Um, and we'll get in the team in a bit, but like, thank God we had a guy in our team that was our GC and he's running the project. That's his job. Got it done for 3,700 bucks, his guys went out there, so it's crazy how much that stuff helps. Well, just kind of on that topic.

SPEAKER_00 14:44

I mean, how do you you weren't in the state when that happened, were you? Mm-hmm. So you fly out there and fix it yourself?

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Like, what do you think? No. Great question. So you want to have somebody on the ground, and this kind of leads into the PM side, right? So, back up a little bit. If we go into PM, uh, we went through the ringer finding a property management company for this. There's a million out there. If you look, there's singles, there's multi, there's commercials, all sorts of the stuff. When you actually try to vet them and see if they're gonna do a good job, it's brutal. Um, so we had one that was great, vetted, ran through them, and then we went out, we flew out for due diligence. Like, we are under agreement, going to buy this, and they're like, hey, we just checked it, we don't actually manage here. We're like, you just found that out? So they're gone. Found another uh group, um, they were good, uh, started looking into them, and we started building it, found out they don't have a license and that they can't do it. We're like, okay, that's a problem. So we kept going through all these different issues, and we went through, I think, four different PMs that initially signed on and then fell out before we even closed it. Um, but you eventually find the people that are good, and I guess a huge key to that is just like you need backups with everything. So we have four PMs that were supposed to be good, three of them were bad, and we had an extra, and then we still have two more in backup in case. So it's just like always have a backup and have the PM. Um but the answer question is we have a teammate that's on ground doing all the renovations, all the big stuff, everything like that, and then we have our PM. So if something crazy happens and we're finished the whole stabilization process, PM handles it, that's their job. Um, in our weird scenario where it happened right after closing, we have guys on site, they just take care of it. Right.

SPEAKER_00 16:18

I think that's the the biggest intimidation factor without a state is when something goes wrong. Do you have ties to the area? Do you have someone that can go look at the property? I think I want you to talk about that a little bit, but what other things should you keep in mind if you are gonna take that leap and go like I'm gonna go invest out of state?

Underwriting The Story And Upside

SPEAKER_01 16:34

Yeah, so the team and the the just your whole team is absolutely critical without a state. Um you gotta make sure you trust the people, you gotta make sure that they're super vetted, and it's just gotta be bulletproof. You gotta make sure that you have all resources because like you said, you can't just jump on a plane and fly down there. Yes, you could, but does it make sense? No. So you just gotta make sure the team's really on point and that the expectations are clear to be one further, um, that everybody understands what their role is and what their job's supposed to be, and that if something comes up, you deal with it. But just having contingencies, I would say, is kind of like the biggest safety against that.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

Yeah, so other than the property manager not having keys to the property, what other ways is this property like mismanaged for useful opportunity to go value add and bring this stuff to market?

SPEAKER_01 17:18

So the outdated units is a huge one. Like you go and you see classic units, they look old, outdated, and ugly. Um that's obviously like a good key. Um the income was super low, no build back, no utility bill back, the owner's paying for water, sewer, trash, everything. Um, just doesn't make sense. I would say those are the big ones off the bat though.

SPEAKER_02 17:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

There was no on the site property management before or anything. It's not a strategy now. Way too small. Yeah. Usually on the site starts at like 70-ish units.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

Yeah. I think one thing we want to hone in on a bit too is like why did you choose the specific market? Like, why you can go anywhere out of state, maybe not so much the demographics of the North Carolina market, but like why did you pick that area for you?

SPEAKER_01 17:58

Yeah, so without going super nitty-gritty and deep into it, we love the Carolinas. We wanted, well, let's back up. We love our area, right? How many people here invest in the valley? Actually own property and invested in something here. So the valley's amazing, we know that. The problem for me was I really wanted to get into the larger multi, and you need inventory available, and I don't mean like for sale on the market, but you need inventory like to purchase. That exists, that's built. And there's some, of course, around here, and you see it, you drive, but like there's not nowhere near the amount of inventory to like aggressively pursue this stuff around here and to really fight with the competition, at least not in our case. The guys that are winning these properties around here have mega money, right, and credibility, and it's near impossible to beat that competition. So if it's tight market like it is here, where it's you know like that, there's not much inventory to fight over, um, then you've got to go somewhere where there is a lot of inventory and then do it there. And obviously, you want to have the same kind of idea with you know good demographics, good population, growth, economy, etc. But having the available inventory, I would say, is stage one, and then the rest of it kind of follows suit. For this one, we wanted to be in the Carolinas, we looked at every kind of spot, um, we found it, we underwrote it. When we were doing the underwriting, we saw the average household income was 70 something, 75,000, I think it was. And for rent to be at 500 and then have a$75,000 average household income, it's just there's plenty of room to grow. Um, so just looking at the numbers, it was an awesome market.

Closing Day Surprises And Repairs

SPEAKER_00 19:26

Yeah, we were talking before a little bit just about out of state and investing. Just it should be somewhere you would want to go is yourself. Like if you want a vacation there, it turns into a business trip, boom, tax band is there too, of course, which is huge help. Or you gotta have ties to the area, you gotta know somebody localized and feel like you can become a master of the market better than people that even live there, uh, because you have the ability to go down there frequently. Um, yeah, I just think it was interesting that you chose that, Eric, because I know you said you like to travel South Carolina, North Carolina, so it kind of works out well too.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

It's funny though, because like we went to the Carolinas because we like the market demographics and the numbers, that made sense. But then I went down there obviously to tour and explore it, and it was super nice. Like everywhere that we were gonna buy property, we live by that. And I went in and I spent time there, and I was like, this is a nice market. I would live here. I would expect other people to live here, you know. If we didn't just buy a house, we would maybe move there. Like it makes sense. So I agree, I think that's huge.

SPEAKER_00 20:19

I think the other thing we were talking to is like you you expect when you call a broker from North Carolina, they're like, Oh, who's this guy in the northeast? Who cares? They actually like take you more seriously than the ones that are in our current market. I guess they just assume that you probably have some knowledge of the market or big investor base around you surrounding you. So, yeah, I think it's it's easy to be intimidated by the out-of state uh markets, but if you really just kind of dive in, you find that it's not as intimidating as you might think. But um, yeah, so let's kind of go back to this is like your biggest property and it's out of state. Um what how's it a different mindset? You can't go into it with the same approach you took up here, there's no way. So, what are the biggest differences?

SPEAKER_01 20:57

Yeah, it it was different because this isn't like a mega property, but it was a huge deal for us just because it was such a big leap. Um, it was the first property out of state, it was the first one of this size and all that kind of stuff. Um, and so the first and foremost thing I would tell people is like you gotta stick to your guns. Like, you've got to know what you want and you gotta go after it and be relentless with it. Um, a lot of people are gonna tell you you shouldn't do something and that maybe it's not a good idea, and blah blah blah blah blah. Um, but they're not a part of your plan. They don't know what you're going for, what you're doing in most cases. And so listen to their advice, I think it's good. Maybe they know something you don't, but when it comes down to it, like you know what you're trying to do and just commit and go to it. So I think that was like a huge thing with mindset that I wish I would have learned a long time ago.

SPEAKER_02 21:44

Yeah.

Building An Out‑Of‑State Team

SPEAKER_01 21:44

Um another piece of it is like you really want to believe in yourself, right? Like, it's gonna be extremely challenging, whether it's an out-of-state property or it's your first local property, or whatever it is you're doing, it's gonna be hard. So just believe in yourself and push it. Um and it's like I think one of the huge pieces to the mindset piece is like a lot of people ask me, you know, I I know I'm young, which is awesome. And they say, How'd you get started young? How'd you do what you're doing young, which is really cool to hear, but like you've got to want whatever it is as bad as you can breathe. And that's really the truth of it. Like, if you want to go achieve a career or you want to go build something, like you need to feed all in on that, and that's what you gotta focus every day, every second on. And so that's what it takes. And a lot of people are trying to build something and trying to do something, and they miss that part. It's like you gotta live and breathe it, you're gonna want it, and you gotta think about that 24-7 in your head and planning. So, definitely a huge piece of the mindset.

SPEAKER_00 22:38

Yeah, I think um we're probably in a year gonna be sitting here again talking about this property and get a recap, get an update from you. I'm really excited to hear it goes. Because I think what's the last what's the strategy with this property? I know.

SPEAKER_01 22:50

Yeah, so uh quick strategies we're going to renovate. Um, cool kind of side fact. We bought this 10 days ago, and we just finished the first unit today, uh, which is exciting. So, full first reno done. Um, leasing starts tomorrow, which is awesome. So we had another unit move out and two more coming up. So, anyways, we're hustling the beginning and we're doing full stabilization, full turn. Every unit's getting swapped, um, everything granite, floors, paint, the whole nine. And then refinance and hold it for five or six years and then sell it.

SPEAKER_00 23:20

So simple plan, but just executing. Can't wait to hear the updates. I kind of want to go to uh we'll kind of wrap it up the property. I think I want to focus more. I think um a quote that always sticks in my head, and I'll probably botch it, but every ever so there's always somebody that wants your life, right? And um, you should always be uh following advice of people that you admire, right? And I'm sure there's people in here today that are just wishing they had a 12 unit that they just closed on and the nine unit that had maple. So I want to kind of focus on the fast five. We took this with our meetup too, where we ask everyone that we bring in because they're all extremely valuable to us. Um gotta go through some mindset questions for Cole. So, um, in your opinion, like what separates high-performing investors from the rest?

SPEAKER_01 24:04

I love this question, and it kind of just touches on the mindset thing that I was saying, but it is without a doubt perseverance. Um, this property, like, we could have called it quits a hundred times, and like if I told you the story on like the Newport property we closed, like I was losing my mind. It was insanity. Um, but it's just perseverance. Again, you need to want it more than you want anything else, and you've got to be certain that you're ready to take it on. It's gonna be all gas, no breaks, and it's just like the competition is gonna be fear. So put in the work and beat them because nobody is stopping you. It's just a you thing. It's every day, you versus you.

SPEAKER_00 24:40

So, in that universe, you what's a daily habit that you do every single day that you would contribute towards your success?

Why The Carolinas And Market Fit

SPEAKER_01 24:45

Two things. One, MINS, which Justin is not here in its in Justin Brown taught me this a long time ago. I swear to God, it changed my life. Um it's your MINS, your most important next step. So everybody's got a laundry list every day of probably a thousand things that they need to do. And I always focus on picking the three things that are the most important to me, and not like I want to do them or any of that stuff, it's what is gonna actually propel my career, what is gonna get me closer to the next property, or making more money, or whatever it may be. And I get those done no matter what. Um, you don't go to sleep until you get those three things done. So that changed everything for me. And one other thing that I think helped a lot was uh does anybody here do the morning miracle? I know how Elrod. One, one, two? Um Hal Elrod's a great speaker, and etc. He does this thing called the Miracle Morning, he kind of created it, and so I do my own version of it. But every morning I wake up, don't check my phone, don't look at the news, it's all a bunch of crap. Um, and you do your affirmations, you do exercise, um, you do visualization, you do scribe or writing, um, and you read. And it doesn't have to be long for each of those, but you do each one of those things, and it's another one that like changed my life. Like, it just hones your mind in for the day, and it just allows you to kind of go out and conquer. So, what's some advice you'd give your younger self? Yeah, without a doubt, like I wish I stopped caring what people thought when I started. Um I just, you know, it's hard to you you want everybody to like you and you want people to appreciate you and all that stuff, but like it doesn't matter, is the hard truth. Um, and so I wish I would have not been afraid to disagree with people or uh just fight harder. So like just put your head down and just grind. Um, and if somebody doesn't support you, you drop them, you let them go. They don't matter. Um again, it's just you versus you.

SPEAKER_00 26:30

I think you're the first real estate professional I asked that question that they'd say, I wish I started earlier. So a real answer this time. Someone here's 17 today, so that's like that's when you should be starting. Real estate investing. So credit, credit to I think it's a 80, so credit to him. Um, what's your what's your favorite real estate book?

Mindset Shifts For Bigger Deals

SPEAKER_01 26:48

I gotta get to, because I read I love reading. Um, the best ever real estate syndication book is like my favorite real estate book. Obviously, I'm biased and I love syndicating, so that's it. But Joe Fairless, it's just uh amazing book on how to build your business. I literally built my business from reading that book, um, and then I hired somebody that did that with the same, and that's how it worked. So love that book. Um, there's so much in there about analyzing a market or doing it or building or raising or all that kind of good stuff. Um second one, which was from Gary that recommended me was 10X is easier than 2X by Dan Sullivan, and he's got a lot of really good books. If you know Dan Sullivan, but phenomenal, just amazing general business book that just helps you crush it.

SPEAKER_00 27:28

And uh lastly, what would you say is the biggest non like monetary benefit you got from real estate investing?

SPEAKER_01 27:33

Yeah, definitely, and everyone says this with freedom. Um, you know, I got into this so I could do what I wanted, when I wanted, how I wanted, and it gives you that, and I think it's really nice. You still gotta like work your ass off, but you can kind of do what you want to do, and I'm grateful for that. So definitely that.

SPEAKER_02 27:49

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 27:50

Well, Cole, this has been awesome. Uh thank you for going through the property that you're investing and best of luck to you on that as well. Um something Cole does great at these meetups as an outro to get people involved and feel a bit more comfortable talking in the networking time. So I kind of just want to open it up. Is there in this group period, raise your hand if you're a full-time syndicator or invest real estate investor? Cool. Um how about own a rental property or own more than 20 units? Great. Um contractors, property managers, insurance, I think you're insurance. Right? Okay, cool.

SPEAKER_01 28:30

Who's a contractor? Because I know people were asking me. Oh love this PM, I have to say.

Value‑Add Plan, Reno, And Hold

SPEAKER_00 28:42

Amazing. They make or break a deal, so they're the ones you want to be talking to. If you have those 20 units, maybe talk to these two here. Um anyone here like actively looking for deals? Every hand should be up. Alright. Anyone looking for investors? Yeah, okay. Uh anyone selling? Like here, you hope today sell probably. Ooh, okay. Some people might be able to make a little bit at the end. But great. Well, um, we got about an hour or two to kick us out here, maybe a little bit less. So um I think it's a great event today. I really appreciate uh also Gary from GSM Commercial Capital for hosting us or paying for us today and giving us beer and food and beverage, so the guys should be thanking. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:35

Any closing comments? No, just guys, everybody, thank you so much for being here. I love running this event, and it is like always nerve wracking. And then once I get up here and I look at all you guys, I just get so fired up, and it's so cool to be a part of this and have everybody here and learning and growing. And it's cool to see that all the people here like when we started this years ago, how far that everyone's come, and so it's just neat. So I appreciate everybody coming out and spending time and doing this with us. So thank you.