From Homeless to Owning 100 Doors of Real Estate

0:00Well after I got that that first,000 check I I said you know maybe I can repeat this and sure enough I I found another sketchy wholesale that found me a property for 25,000 and I numbers were exactly the same spent another 25,000 renovation and it rented $4,000 and these are single family homes these are single family homes at the time and I was like man now I'm making $2,000 a month you know I remember the business that the business that I had at the time it was a bar business and it was a building that that bar business was in the bar was on the bottom floor it's a restaurant on the middle floor and six apartments and at that time I knew the building cash flowed if I if I got it it would cash flow $10,000 a month and I thought to myself if I can get this building that's it I'm off to the races this is freedom and eventually I

0:48Did end up buying that building and and I turned around and never looked back and and that's how it started for me in real estate so you said that was the bar you were working in I had I had owned it I started actually just as an employe at the bar okay it's a great story I started as an employee I actually had the opportunity to buy it on what was seller finance which I had no idea how that would even come into play in my life in the future I bought it on seller finance terms with no money down the guy believed in me and he took a risk on me and I actually did exceedingly well with the bar business and I again I was just working though at that point I didn't own the real estate yeah so I was paying rent and I saw how much I was paying I knew like if I could take this building I could really turn into yeah wow that's cool so it's a mixed use building then it was commercial and and residential yeah

1:37It's funny I talked to a guy who is a financial planner older gentleman and he works his his financial planning business focused primarily on small business owners and he was telling me that his the clients that at the end of their career he had been doing it for a long time the clients at the end of their career you know they would work on a plan to to retire and and sell their business and he said it was kind of sad because a lot of them realized at that point that they own this job that wasn't really marketable but he said the ones who actually retired and went off into the sunset and like had a great retirement and and money were the ones who own the building under their business he said nine times out of 10 that was the only thing of real value even though they put all their Blood Sweat and Tears in their business for 30 years they

2:26It was the real estate the people who bought the building 30 years ago they just paid it off over time now they sat on this huge asset that was worth a whole bunch of money so it sounds like you kind of had that same thought process I want to own the the real estate underneath this thing so what what did that deal look like oh man it's actually even that deal in it in itself was a story so I had a a great relationship with the the current landlord at the time and he always told me his name was Bill he always told me Ray when I die I want you to have this building I want you to have this building and I told I said said bill you know I don't really have the money for this building I think the building price was about 5 600,000 at the time I'm like Bill I don't have that I didn't even know that I only needed 20% down I thought I had to come up with the full amount yeah you bought two other ones for 25 grand out of pocket so yeah and I said bill

3:14I don't have that type of money so I'm like Bill would you sell a finance to me he said no I won't sell a finance never do it never do it well eventually this is about four four years of me you know working there or owning it and I tell Bill you know I got some other properties I'm starting to get into real estate and he says you know what Ray you're a hard worker you took care of my building I'll give you the opportunity to sell a finance bill and Not Shake Hands Bill dos the next week oh my gosh can't make this up Bill do the next week we got nothing in writing it goes to the family it goes to the uncle Uncle Ernie Ernie says there's no way Ray I'm G to let you sell a finance this asset I know what this building's worth 500 600,000 that's what I want for it so I started to talk to Ernie Ernie you know I'm starting to you know do really

4:03Well in real estate I got a couple assets no way no way finally it's a winter I remember it was like in December Ernie finally agrees to say hey Ray I'll give you a shot I'll give you a shot at this Ernie and I shake hands snowstorm comes in Ernie do shoveling snow no way can't make it up that's insane two back to back and at that point I was like at the point of like you know what it's just not meant to be not I want but a tenant on the top floor so it goes back to the family the family's not willing to sell a finance they care nothing about it it goes to the family attendant on the top floor of this this sixun building or 8 unit building top floor decides one night to go out for drinks takes a hammer to the back of the toilet

4:52And floods the whole building oh the whole building gets condemned I then have the opportunity to buy the building from family for $250,000 oh my gosh that was the opportunity in lifetime the insurance check actually helped me pay for the building and pay for the asset for the down payment and I use money I had saved to do the renovation we just refinanced that building and I think the value appraisal value is about 850,000 on it oh my gosh that's awesome did did you keep that tenant or did you get rid of that guy no no the tenant was on going no no somewhere out there I'm great I'm grateful for them somewhere out maybe some cash for keys or something that's that's aw wow what a yeah I mean it's crazy how these things happen I tell people that

5:41All the time too about like you know they're like I missed out on this deal I'm like no you did like there's a good chance six months from now they're coming back to say well we didn't get a a better offer we'll take your offer now so you know real estate it's just like an ongoing process it's not like just transactional it's it's it you know things can always come back and and happen later I'm curious after hearing this I'm really inspired and I there's a lot of people who would be in your shoes who wouldn't take actions like this especially if you didn't have that background like nobody was teaching it to you you just kind of overheard some guys having a conversation at the bar and most people wouldn't go out and put their own money on the line do you feel like there's something that about your you

6:29Or your situation specifically that made you actually take action yeah I think it was just I want to be successful I don't want to go back to the point of where I was at when I was younger you know and what does it take to be successful it takes massive action it takes risk you know when I when I started that first food truck I remember specifically you know I called my mom I told my mom hey mom I'm going to drop out of school and I want to start this food truck and she said no way everyone around told me no don't do it and you know action is about having a plan too you know school for me was always going to be around I could always go back to school but it became you know what happens if I don't take this opportunity that I have right now and this food truck I think it was

7:18I think I spent like four or five grand on it it was it was like down to beer bones food truck barely could be called I'm happy the engine worked as long as it did but you know I was going to school to be Industrial Engineer and the average Industrial Engineer at that time made about 60,000 and I was working about 40 to 50 hours a week and you know I got that food truck and I was working Thursday Friday and Saturday night and I was clearing about that 50 to 60,000 a week and that was when it was like wow I've got my my time back now if I can just scale this and continue to keep my time maybe that's what true wealth looks like yeah yeah and what's what's your goal right now like what why are you doing this what's the what what's the outcome that you're after so in real estate right now you know I

8:06Have a lot of units right now over 100 units and right now I've gotten to the point of giving back and developing the community so right now I'm working with for example my newest project is a grant project we're building a 12 unit complex for veterans and people with disabilities or facing homelessness you know but that in itself is is a great you know has great value it faces you know and shares the adversities of things that I've been with and and been through but again it's helping the community and it's also fully funded this is something we need you know affordable housing is is a thing that people need desperately so we're actually helping as well yeah yeah absolutely that's awesome and and how did you go so once you got that

8:548un building that you were operating out of did you then decide to to close your your restaurant or did you keep that open and how did that grow into over 100 units then yeah so the restaurant I never stopped working man I always had that attitude of like I'm gonna keep working like what else is there to do yeah and I kept it I kept the the restaurant space actually sold the restaurant space I kept the bar space that was underneath oh okay and I had the six doors we we got it renovated got new tenant in and I still had the the other two places in Pittsburgh as well a couple other units that I had just grabbed randomly as time you know kind of went on and I remember I hit like it was almost a depression it was a point of like man I have money now you know what's the point of

9:42Life like I I I have money I can travel all the time and you know I can pick what car I want to drive and and do what I want but what's the point and I remember that same cousin that told me firefighters don't drive Ferraris he came to me and I told him that he said you're being selfish he said you're comfortable but the people around you comfortable are your kids going to be comfortable are your kids kids going to be comfortable he said you owe it to them that you have this opportunity now to make more people successful around you and at that point it was something that the way he said it it was so simplistic but it got me off the couch and I say you know what I got to help more people I'm not having a big enough impact I'm good but I need to help more people and that's something that shaped my life in it and continues to inspire and help me now yeah yeah that's so true we we my wife and I kind of had that same thought

10:31Process like initially you know Financial Freedom is a great thing to get to like it changes your life it gives you opportunities that you just never would have had otherwise but then what is the point of life to just not do anything the rest of your life is that like the goal you know so obviously I don't think that's it that's not why God designed us so to me it's impact then and and I think you discovered something similar it sounds like this cousin's like an oracle like you need to you know he says simplistically but it just it's just like well man that that was well said and and this guy he he works he works at W2 and he works 90 hours a week and I try to help him but I can't help him but he's helped me tremendously and I I tell him all the time I'm appreciate it yeah sometimes you can you can help other people that outside perspective even though

11:19You can't see it in in your own situation but so you also have started coaching other people and you're a business coach and a life coach what inspired inspired that and how did that come about so it became a lot of people asking somewhat of the same question okay right and I think some people and what I've seen some people just need guided right or they need somebody that can be or help them be accountable somebody that can push them along the line in real estate we have this thing analysis paralysis right people just analyze Deals they analyze deals and they keep analyzing it you know I go to you know I speak at conferences and when I go to conferences sometimes I'll see the same people and I'll say hey man have you done a deal yet and they'll say nope I'm still looking for one I'm still analyzing one

12:08You know take action right and some people need people around them that can help them take that action so you know that's what that's what opened the door for me is that I'm an action taker right if there's an opportunity what do we need to do to figure out how to make the most of that opportunity and so right now I'm at the point where I'm able to help other people take that that major action and I'm thankful for that yeah yeah no that's awesome and are the types of deals that you're doing now has that evolved and changed over time yeah and it learned I learned it the hard way I was at first I was originally you know single family but I decided to switch into U mixed use so usually you know storefront on the bottom with residential up top I've

12:56Decided to switch to that just because it has a bigger impact on a community I've noticed you know when you bring business into a town you also impact the people around it you know so the businesses that are coming in I'm actually helping shape the community that's forming around it got it so I I've I've taken that route and like I mentioned I also am doing you know some of the Grant and and partnership route where we're building affordable housing for others as well so I still I still divvy up into both areas got it okay how do you find I'm curious just personally about mixed use because it's something I've been interested in as well how do you find the right commercial tenant for those spaces and does that you know I imagine it's probably smaller startup

13:45Type businesses do those turn over a lot do they struggle to make rent or can you find pretty solid tenants the easiest advice I would give to people one vet them just like you would a regular residential tenant right do your background check do your credit check we pull bank statements if we need to depending on a tenant what their reputation is we want to know that they can secure this location you know that they will have a lasting impact fortunately and I think this we're in a Great era right now where we have a lot of people who want to open mom and pop businesses you know so this is a great opportunity if you can partner and I look at my res or my commercial tenants as Partnerships more than anything you know so what are you going to be bringing how can I help you grow your business because your growth affects

14:34My real estate I want to see my my commercial tenants grow yeah right I want to see them establish because if I go get another space sure come on you want to open up store number two I love to have you there yeah you know and again it affects the community so if you can help and this the goal in Real Estate is to help right we're here to help yes we make a profit but we're helping yeah so if I can leave an impact whether it be residential or commercial I'm happy with with that but I would say vet your tenants just the same way that you would a residential tenant and what type of tenants or businesses are you renting to and are they all in West Virginia there so we have like I said we have Pittsburgh we have some in Ohio but they're all pretty similar there are the mom and pop shops which typically you'll see like Barber Shop restaurants but then we have

15:22Even you know more creative ones like we have a a dance studio actually like a a lady teaches ballet dancing that's one of our our newest clients we have a a new pretty much craft bagel place coming in you know these are things that people really want in the community and so when I'm vetting my tenants I'm also looking for would this have an impact does this align with my community as well you know I wouldn't put a a a church next to a strip club it just doesn't make sense you know and so I always keep that in mind of how will this impact the community you know we see like a lot of smoke shops that open up here and there what's going to be the impact on the community if I was to allow one of them to come into you know this mall right here I wouldn't put you know a a coffee shop two doors down

16:10From Starbucks I don't know if it's going to be beneficial for the long term of it you know I want to make sure that it's beneficial make sense throughout the community oh