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Commercial Real Estate Pro Network

Commercial Real Estate Professionals who work with Investors, Buyers and Sellers of Commercial Real Estate. We discuss todays opportunities, problems & solutions in Commercial Real Estate.
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Now displaying: 2019
Oct 22, 2019

Darrin:  Jodi Nielsen and David Deshotels, what do you see is the BIGGEST RISK? [00:00:15][6.9]

Jodi: [00:00:18] I'll start and I'll let David finish if he wants to add. I'd say the biggest risk is you're sitting basically if you own a building you definitely owe it to yourself op to look at. Because you're sitting on cash that you don't have to sell another widget. You don't have to make another widget. You don't have to find another contract. It's your money that you're just basically sitting on by owning a building that you could use now. And so why not at least look at the look at the numbers to see if it makes sense for you at this time instead of letting more time go by just straight lining. And then also with the partial asset disposition I would say it's very important to take advantage of it. Even if your business let's say is not even making money this year but you're doing a bunch of renovations. If you don't take advantage of it this year you're going to lose it. So if you're not I mean you're not going to take advantage of the opportunity of taking personal asset disposition. You will get the money and you won't lose it. So next year if your business is making more money or the year after whatever, it is going to be sitting there waiting for you. So you know, time is always you know time value money. That's kind of what we're about. And so the sooner you look at what makes sense for you as a business owner or building owner the better off you are. David, anything to add? . [00:01:43][85.1]

David: [00:01:43] Sure it's one of the advantages of having a cost segregation study that we don't usually talk about since we're. Since you're an insurance broker, Darrin. Is we've had plenty of companies that have called us back years after having done their study. And they suffered catastrophic loss be it a tornado or fire or whatever it is and they won't say, do you guys still have those 500 pictures of my building that you took when you did the study? It's like sure we've got those and it's so we have they're building just completely documented from top to bottom one in the other. We'll come out and take hundreds and hundreds of pictures depending on the size of the property to completely document that. So if there is catastrophic loss it's it's a documentation to say hey here's what the building was. Here's all the furniture fixtures and so forth. And it's been very helpful to people in times of crisis.

Oct 17, 2019

How to extend your building roof life is a value add topic for all real estate investors.

Building owners with composition shingle roofs, Dennis Ghormley with Roof Maxx explains how to extend your roof life and receive a 5 year transferable warranty. 

History of Composition Roof Shingles

The history of composition roof shingles begins with the raw materials.  The shingles are a petroleum based product. Originally, they were made from waste product of the oil refining process.  Over time, oil processing has become more efficient and so has reduced the amount of waste byproducts. That’s good for the environment and the oil business profits, but not for the composition roof shingles.

The improvement in oil refining lessened the quality of composition shingle, so much that the roofing manufacturers had to start with raw crude oil in order to create a finished product that would last as long as prior products.  

Unfortunately, the concentration of raw material used for roofing shingles is lessened when unable to start with the byproduct.  Because the new roofing raw product started with a pure raw material instead of a waste product, the cost of the material and the end product naturally increased.  

Cost of Capital Improvement

Capital improvements are just a part of owning property.  The substantial cost of capital improvements requires property owners either inject additional capital into the property or reduce cash flow distributions to pay for the improvements.  

How to Extend Your Building Roof Life

Roof Maxx is the manufacturer of the all natural, soy-based, environmentally safe product that is sprayed onto your composition roof.  The product penetrates your old shingles and gives them improved flexibility and the ability to keep your building’s roof free from leaks. 

Depending on the condition of the roof, age, pitch, etc, will depend on the potential outcome from a Roof Maxx treatment.  Ideally, a property owner treats their composition roof in the first 5-7 years. The expected roof life of a composition roof can be extended from 5 to 15 years depending on when the roof is first treated and the number of subsequent treatments.  The treatment comes with a 5 year transferable warranty.   

Cost to Extend Building Roof Life

The cost to extend the building roof life when applying a treatment of Roof Maxx is significantly less than the cost of a new roof.  Typical treatment cost between 10-15% of the cost of a new roof. The product is relatively new to the market, but has been very well received.

Roof Maxx will not save every roof, but for those that qualify, the 5 year transferable roof warranty will provide the buyer confidence that the roof will last at least 5 years from the date of application.  The cost savings of a treatment versus a roof replacement can buy the property owner time to budget for a replacement, or to transact the sale of the property.

Environmental Benefits of Extending Roof Life

The environmental cost of re roofing is not small.  By extending the roof life of your building, you are reducing the consumption of wood and petroleum products required to reroof a building.  Additionally, you are eliminating the disposal waste that is added to landfills when you reroof. Annually, it is estimated that over 10 million tons of roof material is kept out of landfills by the usage of Roof Maxx.

BIGGEST RISK 

Each week I ask my guest, “What is the Biggest Risk Real Estate Investors face?”  

BIGGEST RISK: The longer a roof is on the structure, the more risk that that property owner has. If we can keep the roof on the property longer, and mitigate the risk of leaks and other issues that come from the failing roof and also the risk to the environment where we can keep the roof waste out of landfills.  

For more go to:

https://www.roofrc.com/

dghormley@roofmaxx.com

(503-766-3729) and (360) 207-4572

 www.roofmaxx.com

Oct 15, 2019

Dennis Gormley what is the BIGGEST RISK? [00:00:11][0.0]

Well that's a great great question because. Basically from from my perspective from the from the Roof Max perspective is the longer a roof, is on the structure the more risk that that property owner has. And I'm going to answer actually in two different ways one from the property owner and then also from my perspective is. If we can keep the roof on the property longer, that mitigates the risk of leaks and other issues that come from the failing roof and also the risk to the environment where we can keep the roof waste out of landfills. That's a huge risk to our environment that we don't we keep on throwing stuff away. We're going to run out of. And from a from a Roof Max business perspective, you know, I really believe in this product the service adds add something that just it's never existed before. And the longer that the BIGGEST RISK I have is not being action oriented enough having mass massive action to get the word out to educate people then that just means that more people are running a risk of making decisions that you know they just don't have all the information. I'm all for having all the information possible. Eventually have to make a decision, but there's,. there's just that perspective of having information that helps make informed decision.

Oct 10, 2019

Passive Investing in Multifamily Syndication is ideal for any investor who lacks the time or interest in dealing direct with the challenges but seeks the benefits of real estate. 

James Kandasamy was trained as an engineer, but is now a full time real estate investor.  He started investing in what he knew, single family homes. But, soon he realized the difficulty to scale when investing in single family homes.  First, the lenders cap the number of loans you can have at 10. In order to grow beyond this arbitrary limit, you have to get creative and either put some loans in your spouse’s name, or get a commercial loan.  

Then you have multiple locations, which require multiple regular trips to check up on your properties.  Don’t forget your insurance policies, which typically will have a separate effective date and bill for each property.  All of this makes it difficult to grow and scale your portfolio. His desire to grow and scale caused him to give up on single family and pivot to multifamily.

Markets

Real estate has a physical location, so determining where to invest is important.  Some investors make a science out of determining where to invest, while others invest in their backyard, because they know the neighborhood.  

James is physically located in Austin, TX, where the current growth rate is 150 new people arrive each day.  Texas has no state income tax and is attractive for employers. The pro business attitude is attracting tech companies and start-ups, which hire and attract millennials.  The question of where to invest was a simple for James to answer. He knows the local area, and that it is growing, which equals demand for housing and specifically, multifamily real estate.   

Value Add 

 Value Add strategy is when you buy a property and positively change the net operating income, which increases the value of the property.  There are many different ways to increase the value of the property, from simple to involved.  

The strategy you chose is usually determined before you purchase the property during due diligence.  This is where you are able to look at the sellers numbers and operation and determine what needs to be done to increase the value.  A simple case may be just raise the rents to the current market rate. The more involved strategy will likely include significant renovations, or rebranding to breath new life into the property and attract residents willing to pay more.    

There are multiple real estate investment strategies you can employ.  One benefit that commercial real estate has over single family is the ability to directly affect the value of your property, regardless of your neighbors.  Repositioning a property to increase its value, is the strategy that is referred to as “Value Add”. 

Operational Expenses

Operational expenses are key to determining the value of your property.  James company, Achieve Investment Group has a distinct advantage as a vertically integrated company.  They provide property management, asset management and construction management all in house. The three disciplines allow them to quickly identify opportunities to add value. 

Property management is able to quickly review the operation expenses and identify any numbers that are suspect.  Suspicious number are most evident when the seller uses a third party management company. The vertical integration model provides James and his investors with additional, direct control.  James has found that inside management typically saves him and his investors around 10% on expenses.

If you are not vertically integrated, you can partner with other providers like a property management firm to help analyze the operations of a property you are considering for purchase.  

Mismanagement is very common, and easy to fix with the right team.  For the management professional who is familiar with the asset class and market, they can easily identify expenses that are either unnecessary, or out of control.  This can significantly improve your net operating income.   

Capital Expenses

If your value add strategy involves significant renovations, these will require additional capital.  How much capital is determined through your contractor estimates based on what your vision for the property is.  It is critical to have a well defined plan, budget and timeline so that you can raise the amount of money you will need to create the value you are projecting.  Your passive investing investors will expect you to hit your numbers.  

Passive Investing

Achieve Investment Group controls over 1300 units in central Texas.  All of these units have been acquired through syndication. In order to acquire so many units, James has networked with accredited investors.  

James wrote  Passive Investing in Commercial Real Estate to help educate investors on what to look for when selecting a passive investment.  Selecting the deal sponsor is key, and finding one that you can trust is the most important.

Passive investing with accredited investors provides the syndicator, Achieve Investment Group, with needed capital.  The investors get the opportunity to reap the rewards of real estate without having to be actively involved in the acquisition and daily operation of the property. 

The typical hold time for an investment property that Achieve acquires is 5 years.  This allows the time needed to improve the property and positively affect the improvements.  A year of market rate rents in the improved property provides the financial proof of value needed for sale.  When investing passively, investors look for capital preservation, positive return, and the return of their investment capital. 

Keys to Successful Value Add

The keys to executing a successful Value Add strategy start with the purchase.  It cannot be stressed enough, that in order to have a successful deal, you have to “Buy Right”.  Failure to buy right will make your impede your success. You have to buy right.

Next, you must operate the property in a way that maximizes the value.  If your due diligence revealed, low rents, or high expenses, it is up to the property management and asset management to correct and improve the property value.  

This includes training your tenants.  If prior management allowed slow payment, and did not enforce the lease, your management will have to set the new tone early and guard against the tenant training management.  

A successful track record of acquiring, repositioning, selling and providing positive returns to passive investors will attract additional investors.  Passive investing for the investor is based on the ability to trust the deal sponsor. A sponsor with a proven track record, will be more appealing than one without success.  

Benefits of Passive Investing in Real Estate

Passive investors can lower their tax liability when investing in real estate.  The US tax code is pro real estate investment.  

Tax Benefits of passive real estate investing are impressive.  Positive cash flow from a passive commercial real estate investment is off set by the three deductions; depreciation, mortgage interest and the loan cost.  

  • Depreciation is an annual percentage of the building value that is lost through use.  This is an accounting exercise that is calculated and claimed when you file your taxes.
  • Mortgage interest currently is an expense that can be deducted when filing taxes.
  • Loan fees you pay when obtaining a mortgage are an expense you can deduct when filing your taxes.

At year end, the sponsor, or syndicator, will provide you with a K1 to use when filing your taxes.  The K1 will show both income and deductions. Most likely, the deductions will exceed the income in the early years of your investment.  The unused deductions are not lost, but rather carried forward and can be used to offset the capital gain and depreciation recapture due at sale of the property.  

BIGGEST RISK 

Each week I ask my guest, “What is the Biggest Risk Real Estate Investors face?”  

BIGGEST RISK: I think the BIGGEST RISK, is not doing due diligence properly either on the physical property inspection or even on the you know the business plan right. To make sure your business plan is correct. Because when you buy a deal we always have to make sure that we understand everything about the deal. We're buying multi multi-million dollar deal that we are syndicating we have passive investor money in the line. Our money is on the line and we want to make sure that we do as much due diligence as possible. So, that because it is our list that I fear is always likely did I miss out something. I'm always checking and checking and checking and double checking triple checking and making sure that I know everything that I do.

For more go to:

Website: Achieve Investment Group

Email: james@achieveinvestmentgroup.com

Podcast: Achieve Wealth Podcast

Face Book: Multifamily Investors Group

Linkedin: James Kandasamy 

Book: Passive Investing in Commercial Real Estate

Oct 8, 2019

Darrin: [00:00:08] James Kandasamy, what is the BIGGEST RISK? [00:00:11][3.6]

James: [00:00:11] I think the BIGGEST RISK, is not doing due diligence properly either on the physical property inspection or even on the you know the business plan right. To make sure your business plan is correct. Because when you buy a deal we always have to make sure that we understand everything about the deal. We're buying multi multi-million dollar deal that we are syndicating we have passive investor money in the line. Our money is on the line and we want to make sure that we do as much due diligence as possible. So, that because it is our list that I fear is always likely did I miss out something. I'm always checking and checking and checking and double checking triple checking and making sure that I know everything that I do. And and a lot of times this is being mitigated by our lender because we usually get like Fannie or Freddie and they do another round of checking. They do another on underwriting and they do another round of inspection on top of we are doing right. But that's also risk when you go and take other smaller loans like community bank loans and normal loans because they're not as thick as what the agencies are. And because they're not being straight they may keep out things and we as a sponsor may be maybe stuck with something that we should have done. I mean you are alone in that case right. The lenders are not doing their due diligence you are alone. So I think people who have no known agencies loan or a lender which doesn't really stress on the on the inspection side of it and you want to be very very careful and you wanted to double triple check on your own. Because, you can you can end up you know with a big loss if you found something that you didn't expect.

Oct 3, 2019

Change your mindset, build your network and grow your multifamily portfolio.   Simple, right? Learn how Jens Nielsen did just that and grew his multifamily portfolio to 600 units in less than 4 years. 

Jens Nielsen immigrated to the US from Denmark and plugged into the economy doing all the prescribed things responsible adults do; get an education, a job and save for retirement.  He and his wife currently reside in beautiful Durango, CO, where he is able to pursue his passion of cycling. Jens had a good IT job, but was not satisfied with the returns from the stock market.  He realized he was building wealth for others, but that his own financial future seemed less certain.  

His questionable future, led him to consider other possibilities.  Where could he change the outcome and improve his future so that he could be assured of the financial freedom he sought?  His search quickly lead him to real estate. Then he found the power of multifamily real estate.   

But how Jens the IT guy attract investors to invest with him in multifamily real estate?

Building Your Network

Building  your network is key if you eventually expect to invest with others.  You may think you want to go it alone, but quickly you will realize that in order to truly reach your goals, you will need others.  So if you accept that you will need others to help you grow your real estate portfolio, the next question is are you building your network?  

If not, why not?  Are you stuck? Where should you start?  These are the conscious questions you have to ask yourself when you decide to build your network.  

Why Build Your Network

Why build your network?  If you are a person of action, and you are truly committed to actively investing, your actions will lead you to real opportunities.  When that day comes, will you be able to take advantage and close the deal? If you have built your network, and you are trusted, you are halfway home.  

How to Build Your Network

The easy way to start building your network is to tell others what you are doing.  Jens had a group of friends he cycled with. It was in this group, where he shared about his investing experience.  Each time they got together for a ride, the opportunity to share what he was doing in real estate just happened. As the group members followed Jens journey, their interest and curiosity grew.  Jens asked members of the group if they would be interested in investing with him when he found a new opportunity. The conversation naturally lent itself. If followed a progression of enthusiasm generated interest from supportive friends because he was sharing what was going on in his life.    

Next, he reached out to his network, and started scheduling coffee meetings, etc,  In each meeting, he would ask if the person was interested in hearing more from him about his investing journey.  The meetings made him realize that others he knew could be interested as well in learning about the opportunities in multifamily real estate.  

So, he emailed his list, and offered the opportunity to receive his periodic updates as he learned more.  He sent the email, and over time, the subscriber list grew. Each month, he learned something new and shared it with his list.  His consistent action demonstrated to his readers over time, that he knew the topic well. All of this sharing gave his readers a level of trust in him. 

Is There Anyone You Know That I Should Know?

You are working to build your network and meeting with a lot of people.  Before the meeting ends, ask the question, “ Is there anyone you know that I should know?”  This makes them think, and will plant a seed for later to connect you with others providing the best warm introduction, referral.  

His Network Answers: Where to invest?

Where to invest your friends and family’s money is not a question to take lightly.  A member of Jens cycling group referred him to a commercial real estate broker in Albuquerque.  The introduction led Jens to visit and confirm that Albuquerque was a good opportunity, which he shared with his network.  Each time he purchased a property, he shared the details with his network, which continued to feed their growing curiosity about the investment opportunity in real estate. 

Location, location, location is rule number one for real estate investing.  Most people think this means the street address, or which side of the street the property is located on.  Experienced investors will start with the market fundamentals.  

The market is a reflection of jobs, population growth, median income, crime, etc.  In the market, you need to be aware of the path of progress. If all the location questions are not answered in the affirmative, it can be the difference between an average investment and a home run.  

Investing with Others

Investing with others is a journey.  First he invested passively in other sponsors deals.  Next he invested on his own. Then he did a joint venture with others.  Each new successful deal, built his resume of credibility. Now his investors, know him and his story, and are comfortable with the idea of investing in real estate.  

Today, Jens works with a mentor and regularly attends real estate investor conferences where he networks with other like minded investors.  His network has allowed him to raise millions of dollars for multifamily syndication. And now Jens is ready to sponsor a syndication.  

It took some time, but he was able to change his mindset.  He got educated, and shared with others what he learned. His willingness to take control of his financial future required that he look at the world differently.  Yes, there were some missteps, but soon others saw Jens and recognized he was different. He was no longer just Jens as just the IT guy. Now they know him as Jens the Real Estate Investor because he did the work and shared his journey with others looking for the same thing he sought; a secure financial future.   

Remember, it takes time, so don’t wait to start.  The sooner you start sharing with others what you are learning about real estate investing, the quicker you will be able to find the financial freedom you seek from real estate investing.

BIGGEST RISK 

Each week I ask my guest, “What is the Biggest Risk Real Estate Investors face?”  

BIGGEST RISK: Not taking action.  If you live in fear, and never take action, you will never grow.  Life is about the journey, take the risk. There will always be reasons to not move forward.  Find the reason to go forward.

For more go to:

Email: jens@opendoorscapital.com

Website: https://opendoorscapital.com

Schedule a call: https://opendoorscapital.com/call/

Oct 1, 2019

Darrin: [00:00:08] Jens Nielsen I'd like to ask you, What is the BIGGEST RISK? [00:00:12][4.3]

Jens: [00:00:14] Yeah. And I know we kind of talked about before we start recording you know obviously all those real risks out there that you have to deal with. And I don't think I don't necessarily want to go into that. I like to kind of maybe a person from a more esoteric standpoint. I think the biggest risk that anybody, we all have our lives is not taking action. We are afraid of the unknown. We are afraid of what can possibly go wrong. So we just stay with what's comfortable in our lives. And we just never change. We like, I'm gonna go to work every day. I'm gonna go home and gonna to watch TV and I'm gonna go up and do it tomorrow again. And if that's all you do, your risk is you don't take action you're never gonna break out of that and you never grow as a human being. And I think if you aren't growing you are dying or what are we gonna call it right. So taking action is just the biggest thing. Yeah. You're gonna get your nose bloodied you're gonna make mistakes you're gonna you're gonna maybe lose some money. But in the end, right, the life is about the journey about the experiences we have and moving forward every day. And that's that's kind of I think that's the BIGGEST RISK we all have is not taking taking action when we see that there is an opportunity out there. And without seeing a path, the time is never gonna be right. There is always be something that some excuse you can find but just take action you know. Today is the best day to take any kind of action. So that's my answer to that question. I know that's similar to this you've gotten. [00:00:14][0.0]

Sep 26, 2019

You must be Ruthless to win in Commercial Real Estate, or so Jonathan Keyser thought.   

Jonathan Keyser, founder of Keyser, and author of You Don’t Have to be Ruthless to Win is changing the way commercial real estate business is done in Arizona and beyond.  

Raised by missionaries, Jonathan was shocked into reality when he entered the commercial real estate brokerage business.  He learned how others played the game, and because he wanted to be successful, he abandoned the lessons learned as a child, to look out for number one, regardless of the cost.   

Ruthless to Win

Jonathan knew early in life that he did not want to be poor.  As a child of missionaries, his life was about service. He was surrounded by people without means, and therefore, having little did not bother Jonathan.  Upon returning to the states, he realized he was poor, and he equated serving others as the source of his being poor. Therefore, if he did not want to be poor, he thought, he had to look out for himself only.  If he looked out for number one and could be ruthless, he would win and he would make a lot of money.  

It worked.  He worked for a large CRE brokerage, and was quickly recognized as an elite performer who was destined to climb the corporate ladder.  He admits that his success came at a cost. Determined to be successful, he was willing to be ruthless to win. He did whatever it took to make the sale that benefited him the most.  While he enjoyed the success, he was conflicted with who he had become. 

Then he heard about a different way of doing business.  He learned that if he returned to serving others, that eventually people would want to do business with him, because they knew he could be trusted. If he committed to service, the mentor assured him, the money would take care of itself.  

This new philosophy fit with the morals from his youth, and that made him feel good.  Jonathan liked what he heard, but asked the mentor, why others do not follow this method?  The answer was simple, people were not willing to invest the time it takes.

The Long View Towards Success

Sales has always been a numbers game.  To make more sales, talk to more prospects.  When the results driven culture manifest itself, the numbers emphasize sales, not service.  This lack of service rarely leaves the customer with a good experience.  

In order to change the experience for the customer, you have to give without expectation.  Why don’t companies do this? The answer is simple, cost.  

To create a better experience that allows a relationship to develop between the salesperson and the client takes time.  Time that produces no immediate results.  

The Keyser Way

Jonathan made the decision to become a person of service.  No longer was he worried about making the sale. He wanted to truly help all those who he came into contact with.  For five years, he focused on service, convinced that things would work out. He admits that before things started to role, he was tempted to go back to what he knew worked, but he resisted.  

At the end of five years, he realized the abundance his mentor promised.  So much so that he and his group of like minded entrepreneurs who experienced the fruits from their service, made the leap and formed Keyser.

Today, Keyser is more than a commercial real estate firm.  It is an organization committed to doing what is right for the customer, its motto: “Relentless client champion.   

BIGGEST RISK 

Each week I ask my guest, “What is the Biggest Risk Real Estate Investors face?”  

BIGGEST RISK:  For me the biggest risk is cultural dilution. 

It's something that I'm very actively aware of daily. There are so many times that I'm tempted to choose revenue over culture. Whether it's because I have to let somebody go which are some of the biggest lessons I've learned in the past. Somebody talks a good game. You think there's somebody that's wired for service. Then they get in and you realize that that was just it was just a really good sales job they used to get in the door. And making sure that people are living it right it's easy for people to get busy and forget that we are committed to these 15 cooperating principles and that's what makes us special so cultural dilution as we scale I think is the biggest risk. Because if we if we dilute our culture then we're just another real estate firm and ruthlessness springs up and everything that I set out to change goes away. And that's part of why this book is so important to me right. It's like in it we describe the three levels of reinvention which is an inside out reinvention. It's start with yourself and you reinvent your company culture around service and then you reinvent your relationship with your stakeholders. And it has to be that inside out thing.

For more go to:

Website: keyserco.com

Book: https://ruthlessbook.com/

Sep 24, 2019

Darrin: [00:00:08] Jonathan Kaiser what is the BIGGEST RISK? [00:00:11][2.9]

Jonathan: [00:00:11] I think for me it's a it's not an insurance answer even though what you do is extremely valuable and without it, companies put themselves at risk which never seems like a big deal until you need it and then you need it badly. [00:00:28][17.1]

[00:00:29] For me the biggest risk is cultural dilution. [00:00:33][3.1]

[00:00:34] And it's something that I'm very actively aware of daily. There are so many times that I'm tempted to choose revenue over culture. Whether it's because I have to let somebody go which are some of the biggest lessons I've learned in the past. Somebody talks a good game. You think there's somebody that's wired for service. Then they get in and you realize that that was just it was just a really good sales job they used to get in the door. And making sure that people are living it right it's easy for people to get busy and forget that we are committed to these 15 cooperating principles and that's what makes us special so cultural dilution as we scale I think is the biggest risk. Because if we if we dilute our culture then we're just another real estate firm and ruthlessness springs up and everything that I set out to change goes away. And that's part of why this book is so important to me right. It's like in it we describe the three levels of reinvention which is an inside out reinvention. It's start with yourself and you reinvent your company culture around service and then you reinvent your relationship with your stakeholders. And it has to be that inside out thing. And one of the things that we've done here recently is as we've built this firm people come through our space and say oh my gosh this is amazing. How have you guys done this? How can I do this in my own organizations? So we've launched the Kaiser Institute. And the Kaiser Institute is designed to train, empower and certify the next generation of selfless leader. In the future, there will be a Kaiser certification or just like somebody gets an MBA or a black belt in Six Sigma or the Kaiser certification which means they know how to go in and affect change around culture within organizations. We'll also have one for the organizations themselves. So companies come to me and say I want to be Keyser certified. I want to show that our that we live these values. And so again at the end of the day it's my biggest risk is that we get away from what got us here. That we get away from the vision of changing the business world through selfless service and proving that you don't have to be ruthless to win. I mean my whole mantra is success to service. Not serve and go broke. But succeed through service. Not in the short game necessarily but in the long game. And if imagine a world, I can just envision a world so clearly, where to best and the brightest spend their days selflessly helping other people. Not because they think it's the right thing to do but because they get at a deep level that is in their own personal best interest to do so. That world excites me. That's a world I want to be a part of. And that's a world I wake up every morning and try to help create. [00:00:34][0.0]

Sep 19, 2019

Virtual Assistants can make your real estate real estate business truly passive.  

There are only so many hours in the day.  If you want to grow your real estate business beyond a casual side hustle, you need to work it.  You can either work every working hour, or hire help. Where do you go to find the help you need?

Nicole Grinnell and Liz Goddard are the daughters of entrepreneurs.  Growing up, they were regularly called on to work in their family business.  

The two met in Atlanta, GA where they became friends.  With their common past, they recognized the growing entrepreneur culture that struggled to grow to the next level.  These entrepreneurs needed help from someone they could trust like a family member. While they recognized the entrepreneurs needed help, Nicole & Liz also saw that there was a whole network of people like the two of them, who had skills but did not want to do the corporate 9-5 while raising a family.  

This recognition of two groups, entrepreneurs with a need, and part time professionals help who wanted flexible work looked like a match, and this was the start of ccmyadmin.    

Real Estate Entrepreneur 

Real Estate investors and professionals are entrepreneurs.  Most start out small with one property in addition to their full time W2 work.  Most of these real estate entrepreneurs share the dream of somehow growing their portfolio to a point where it will provide true financial freedom.  What holds them back from growing to this dream of financial freedom?  

It’s usually a combination of money and time.  The money can be raised from others, but the only way to get more time is to add help.    

Hiring Direct vs Virtual Assistant

You recognize you need help.  Do you hire direct or work with a virtual assistant?  

You need help in all areas; marketing, sales, bookkeeping, management, the list is never ending.   If you decide to hire someone to work directly for you, where do you turn? The following are questions you must answer:

  • What is the task you need help with?
  • How much time do you need help for?
  • What skill set do you need to help you get the job done?
  • Do you fully understand the task you need help with?    
  • What are the laws around hiring an employee?
  • Do you have enough space to bring an employee in house?
  • Where will you find this employee?
  • Who is going to train the employee?
  • Who will manage the employee to make certain the work is getting done?
  • What if you get the person all trained only to realize the person is not going to work out?
  • What happens when the employee needs time off?

If these questions are overwhelming, you have a second option: Virtual Assistant.  .

Virtual Assistants

Virtual Assistants can be the solution to your growing business and the needs for help.  The benefits of using virtual assistants through ccmyadmin are many including:

  • Recruiting: one call is all it takes to get the help you need.  No more placing an add and waiting for people to call, interview and eventually hire.  Ccmyadmin has a list of qualified candidates ready to take on your work.
  • Screening; the VA you work with has been screened for their skills, and ability.  You don’t have to hire an employee only to realize they are a better interviewer than actual employee.
  • Training; Liz & Nicole work with you to determine the exact steps needed to accomplish the work you need completed.  You pay one fee and the training is taken care of.   
  • No additional space needed.  The VA will work remotely and thus require no additional space in your facility. 
  • Employment laws are not your problem.  The VA is under contract with ccmyadmin, and you contract with ccmyadmin direct.  
  • Pay only for what you need.  Unlike a direct hire where you pay for full time, but only have part time need, using a VA, you only pay for what you need to get your job done.  

Virtual Assistant Skill Sets

What are the type of tasks a virtual assistant can perform?  Here is a short list of the types of tasks provided by ccmyadmin  VA’s:

  • Bookkeeping
  • Answering inbound calls
  • Making outbound cold call /prospect calls
  • Marketing
  • Podcast transcripts
  • Training
  • Operational
  • Administrative
  • Schedule appointments
  • Manage your calendar
  • Write and send correspondence
  • Process orders 
  • Communicate with tenants, property managers and service providers

It is clear there are significant associated with hiring direct that can be avoided or minimized by utilizing the talent provided through a virtual assistant.  

BIGGEST RISK 

Each week I ask my guest, “What is the Biggest Risk Real Estate Investors face?”  

BIGGEST RISK:  There's a lot of risk that comes with employment. If you are not prepared to hire somebody or don't understand everything you need to be doing as an employer in the state that you are working in, there's risk. The risk is great, especially with all the employment laws. There's a lot of little things that you just have to know if you're going to employ people. If you do not know the laws, you need to find somebody that does, or you to hire a company like ours, who can help you stay legal. So there is a lot of risk that comes with employment. And all that risk comes with working with contractors as well. And you really need to know those very clear cut and defined lines because it is an expensive mistake to make.

For more go to: www.ccmyadmin.com

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