From House Flips to Multifamily Millions with August Biniaz

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Speaker B: Uh, all right. August Biniaz. How'd I do? Well on the last name, pronounced well, perfect. Binyas. Wonderful name. Uh, what background is that real quick?

Speaker C: It's Iranian.

Speaker B: Nice. Okay, so, uh, this is. I already know. This is going to be a great origin story. So let's go back. We want to know what built you. So let's go back. Were you born in Iran or like, you know, tell us a little about yourself, where you're from. You're talking from Naples now. We're going to get into, like, you know, real estate. We're going to get into Harvard Business School. We're going to get into, you know, street knowledge. We're going to get all that. Right, August? So, but let's go back to the origin of things. Want to know what built you? Tell us a little about yourself.

Speaker C: Yeah, no, absolutely. I, I was. Interesting enough. I was born in India from all places. I am Iranian. My background is Persian Iranian. But, uh, I, uh, was born in 1981. There was a revolution that took place in Iran in 1979 which resulted in, um, I mean, result in a lot of different things. Resulted in the country going back to the dark ages, but it also resulted in a lot of people leaving Iran and a huge diaspora, um, you know, in the millions, living, uh, all over the world. Actually, a lot of Jewish Iranians left Iran at that time as about pre 79. But, um, my parents, uh, had made a decision to, uh, move to India and, uh, pursue their education there. Because what was taking place in Iran at the time, uh, and me and both of my sisters were born in India. Soon after that, uh, we. When I was four years old, we moved back to Iran, uh, and lived there for. Till I was 14, for 10 years.

Speaker B: 1985.

Speaker C: Uh, 1985, we moved back to Iran. That's right, yes. And, uh, and then from there, then we left Iran in 95 and moved to Canada, uh, and lived, um, there for a while. And, uh, and. And yeah, and then. And then I. To move to the US I always felt more American at heart, really. I mean, even, uh, when I was a kid in Iran, I mean, Hollywood does. Does its work, right? A lot of times. So. And I think being an American Is you know, aside from this nationalistic ideas and being born there, it's an ideology in a way, right? Being, being American. So uh, so I felt more American. I mean it made a lot of sense in business and what have you as well. Uh, but uh, but yeah, that was kind of my origin stories when it comes to real estate. Some interesting story about real estate as well. My maternal um, grandfather, he was in real estate. And um, in like I was telling you about the 79 revolution, uh there, there's a lot of Jewish Iranians, a lot of people because of what's happening in media these days and because the Islamic Republic is pretty much at a cold uh, war type of style with Israel now for uh, over 40 years. Uh, people don't realize that there is a lot of Jewish Iranians and that Iranians have had a long history with the Jewish uh, tribe. And ah, Cyrus the Great, one of our kings, he's really mentioned um, in the, in the Jewish books. And uh, uh, the anointed one is called because he saved the Jewish tribe from the Babylonian king and what have you. So Iran and Israel were very close. A lot of uh, Jewish Iranians who lived in Iran for thousands of years, uh, lived in Iran pre 79 revolution. Uh but uh, they heard the initial whispers, uh this is in mid-70s that something was going to happen. So they started actually uh, the exodus started at that time for a lot of Jewish Iranians and a lot of them moved to the U.S. california. Over half a million Iranians live in Southern California alone. And um, my grandfather was in real estate. So a lot of his Jewish uh, friends and associates are coming to him and saying hey, we are leaving. We want to sell everything we have. And he was surprised. So those were the type of stories that I would hear about as a child about real estate and people moving and what have you. And then the revolution took place. There was a war that happened with Iraq. Iran and Iraq were in an eight year bloody war. Uh, but Iran was also dealing with hyperinflation. Inflation in Iran is one of the highest around the world. Uh 30% inflation per year. So imagine that. Right? So a flight to safety for a lot of people is investing in rail. You know there isn't a real stock market in Iran. There isn't options for different asset classes. So a lot of people invest in real estate uh, in Iran. So I, I, if real estate was a language, I learned it early on uh, as an adolescent about how real estate worked and what have you. And I understood the language. But yeah, that's a quick background.

Speaker B: Yeah. Wow. Lots to unpack there. That's what a wonderful thumbprint. So basically, uh, you go back, I want to know, you know, because this is, you know, part of your story. So. And I want to know how it segues into your achieving and going to Harvard Business School and then also in real estate investment. So when you go back in 19, uh, 85 and you're going to spend 10 years there, what was that journey like? Was there volatility? What did it teach you? Tell us a little about that part of your life.

Speaker C: Yeah. That time Iran was going to a war with Iraq. Uh, one of the memories I have on first grade was, uh, I was sitting in class, but in first grade and our teacher. And at that time the Iraqi jets were coming to Tehran because, you know, Tehran is pretty far from, uh, southwest, uh, Iran, where the war was happening in that region, Persian Gulf region. But the Iraqi warplanes were coming to Tehran and dropping bombs on civilian targets. So uh, our, uh, teacher was telling us that, hey, you know, the sirens might go off, so everybody just be relaxed and we're just going to gather together and we're going to walk to the bomb shelter. She was just kind of downplaying what was happening. We were kids, right? We had no idea what she's talking about at that time. And uh, in middle class, the sirens go off and her face just goes completely white. She's completely in shock, freezes. And all of our US kids were just laughing and jumping around. We don't have any idea what was going on. We're just happy. We're getting out of class and we're all laughing and joking and running in the street towards the bomb shelter, which is just an underground parking lot of a high rise. Um, that's what bomb shelter was. So, uh, those are some of the memories. I mean, growing up at that time in Iran, Iran and complete, um, loss of civil liberties, uh, when it comes to people. But I was living in a very bizarre place because my dad was. My family was very Western. My dad drank. He drank alcohol, which is illegal, illegal in Iran. And they have cruel and unusual punishments. If you catch you drinking, they would, uh, actually, um, uh, flock you, or flock whatever it is. They whip you, flunk you, whip you in your back and what have you. So. So I grew up in a household where, um, my dad was a complete anti theist. And when you're getting religion pushed down your throat, that's kind of a rebellious thing that happens to most people. And making jokes.

Speaker B: Were you Jewish or like, you know, are you Jewish?

Speaker C: No, no, we were not. I mean I'm a born Muslim and not practicing. But, um, in Iran, um, it's a cultural thing. Uh, so religion is respected. Iranians are Shia Muslims. So it's a bit different than, uh, than Sunni Muslim already. But uh, yeah, the house that I lived in was almost would make fun of the religion. So if any of the stuff my dad would talk about, his friends talk about, his family talked about, if I repeated that in school and somebody would hear that the uh, morality police would be at our house. So, uh, we got, I mean we also had so many stories of family or friends who got, um, you know, in trouble with that type of morality police and those situations. So I lived in a very bizarre times in that 10 years living in Iran. So, um, yeah, yeah, that was.

Speaker B: What was the tipping point? Why 10 years later you're there from then to 95. What was the point where dad or you guys said, hey, yo.

Speaker C: I think he was working on it for a few years. It was pretty difficult for Iranians. Uh, I mean, my wife, now, my wife is third generation Canadian and I talked to her about how people have to get a visa. She doesn't understand that she's held a Canadian passport, so she's traveled anywhere in the world she wants without a visa. So she didn't understand this concept that some people have to get a visa to leave their country. Um, uh, because she never had to deal with it. But Iranians did deal with that. They can't just get up and wanna leave one day or immigrate someplace very difficult, particularly for Iranians to immigrate. So, uh, my dad made attempts to uh, apply for immigrations to different places, Australia. And uh, he didn't get approved. He finally got approved, um, to immigrate to Canada under the, uh, one of the categories they had for immigration. So it was, it was somewhat of a process. It didn't just. It wasn't spontaneous. He, he knew that wasn't a place he wanted to raise his kids and his family. So he made the smart decision to move us eventually.

Speaker B: Oh, if I'm doing the math correctly, are, uh, you 14 years old?

Speaker C: 14. 14, yeah. The worst, the worst age for immigration as well, because, uh, when it comes to languages, if you learn a language pre puberty, you will not have an accent. If you learn it post puberty, you will definitely have an accent. In my case, it was right at puberty as I was learning English. So my, my accent is not your classic Iranian accent. That A lot of people have, uh. But yeah, it was, it was 14, at 14, cultural shock, moving to the west at that time. Uh, and uh. And yeah, it was, um, it was, it was very difficult, difficult for me and my family, uh, because we went from being upper middle class. And in Iran, when you're upper middle class, there is a lot of, uh, different demographics below you. It's not, it's not like the west where there is working class, middle class and high, uh, income. Uh, there's probably 10 other um, demographics below you if you're upper middle class. So my parents own their own property, they own uh, villas in the north of Iran. We own a bunch of cars. So we were definitely upper middle class. But when we came to the west, my dad was having a difficult time finding a job and uh, you know, restarting his care career. So he went from being an academic, highly educated guy to not being able to find a job. And um, it was very hard for us and our family.

Speaker B: Yeah. So then where'd you go? Toronto?

Speaker C: Vancouver.

Speaker A: Vancouver.

Speaker B: He was afraid of the cold, so

Speaker C: he took us to the warmer side of Canada.

Speaker B: Very nice, the California of Canada. Uh, very nice town. And that's, uh, in 1995. It's still very fresh and new at that time. And uh, what was the school, uh, like for you? Obviously, something just tells me you're a great student. I mean it's not a, you know, you don't have to be a, you know, Sherlock Holmes to figure out you end up going to Harvard, but, but uh, you know, you did have to probably learn the language, you know, and everything. So, like, tell us about that.

Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, school was terrible for me. I was not, not only not a good student, I had some possibly, um, learning disabilities that was realized later on. Uh, and uh, and yeah, the language barrier. My parents soon after got a divorce, um, probably a year after we moved to Canada. And they were back and forth between Iran and Canada because they still had properties there and so on. So it was a very difficult time for me. Um, I actually never got a chance to finish high school. Um, I had to go back when I was 23 years old to finish high school. And um, uh, so a lot of my dreams, uh, for excelling in academia, which on the Iranian culture is very important. Right. Uh, similar to the Jewish culture and some other cultures out there. Uh, you know, you either have to be a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer. Otherwise you're, you're pretty much a, um, you know, ah, you're pretty much, you know, Perceived as being uneducated. So, um, yeah, I could never, uh. I never got a chance to pursue, um, academics the way I wanted to, and dreams, uh, of being in Ivy League schools and what have you. So, um, so I pursued, um, construction and real estate. Um, and that's what really brings me to where I am today here.

Speaker B: Did you maybe. Did I read it wrong because. Did you end up going to. Going to college? Going.

Speaker C: Yeah, I did go to college.

Speaker B: For, For.

Speaker C: I. I never finished college. I did a few courses and programs. Um, so, uh, I never went to college either. Yeah. Never got a degree, so.

Speaker B: Okay, good. Okay. So I don't know where I got Harvard Business School from.

Speaker C: No, Harvard. I did go to Harvard Business School. That is a. So to be able to get into Harvard Business School. I did this for this year, but, uh, it's a program. I did the Ven. Capital and Private equity program in Harvard Business School. Uh, and, uh, so if you can show, uh, if you show background in business, uh, they actually will accept you as long as you. You've had success in business. So it doesn't have to be only, uh, educational background. It could be business background to be accepted.

Speaker B: What age did you do that?

Speaker C: I just did it this year.

Speaker B: See this. This says a lot. You're constantly still learning. And that's, that's, you know, it's like a. It's, you know, I know a lot of, you know, people on the show and people I met, they go to college and they feel like, well, unless you're a doctor, you have to get reacquainted with new things. But I say, well, it's kind of like there's a cliff that comes off with learning because college is so intense that they're just like, I want to relax and just do my business now and all that. But certain people just have a wave of constant learning. And that's really interesting that you did that because you could have just rested on your laurels with your business and say, look, I'm not going to go back and be proactive, you know, so that's interesting.

Speaker C: Yeah, no, I mean, it's such a competitive industry. I mean, real estate, private equity. So I always have to kind of update know what's happening with the, with the market cycles, what's happening with real estate, what's happening with the economy. And, um. And yeah, it's not like a, A, uh, situation where I'm, I'm a, I'm a license holder of being a doctor or lawyer where I have to do my, uh, Ongoing educational upgrades, uh, continued education. It's a, it's a situation that if you're not, if you're not completely continuing, uh, uploading information to your brain, um, you're going to be left behind, uh, competing against others you compete with who are, uh, at a very high level.

Speaker B: Right. Plus in the fact that if you're not growing, you're dying. So you want to be able to feel like you're growing and your consciousness levels are rising. So how do you go from Naples to you eventually become, you know, obviously you're living in, uh, how do you go from Vancouver, you're living in Naples now. How, what does that look like?

Speaker C: I mean, I've always wanted to live in the U.S. um, I've convinced a few of my friends to move to the US Uh over the years as well. So, uh, when I met my wife just over six years ago, uh, co founded CPI just over five years ago. CPI's uh, mandate was to allow Canadian investors to have access to US commercial real estate through a syndication model where um, they could invest in these project specific deals, um, and have exposure to those types of asset classes like multifamily and what have you. And it just made sense to be in the US right at least part time. And that's what we've done over the last three years. Uh, we've lived in the US part time between Vancouver and Naples. Uh, both of our sons were born in the US Uh so um, yeah, hoping for them to grow up here and build uh, their future here.

Speaker B: How old are your boys?

Speaker C: Uh, just over two years old and the other one is just about to be one. So they're 13 months apart.

Speaker B: You see, that's why your hair is still so dark and that's why mine is so gray. Because I have a 19 year old and a 16 year old daughter. But boys are boys, you know, they break stuff, they don't break your heart, so you'll probably be okay. Um, so now let's get into skill set. Now what type of properties is it? Uh, you know, flex or you know, commercial or what do you, uh, what's your sweet spot?

Speaker C: That um, we have two verticals. One is multifamily value add. Where we buy these apartment communities, uh, garden style apartment communities in Texas and Florida. Uh, we do some small upgrades, renovations on the exterior, interior, um, update the tenant profile, do better marketing, increase the occupancy, increase the net operating income, in turn increase the property value and then divest the property, uh, you know, know three to five year kind of plan, uh, and profit share with our investors. That's the really the model. And then on day, the other vertical is Built to Rent where we uh, it's ground up development of purpose built rental communities. Uh, we're building a rental community in San Antonio, Texas. 30 duplex, 60 unit rental community there. Those are the two focuses that we have currently with CPI. But yeah, our main focus is multifamily. Uh, the build to rent is a partnership we have at a local developer in Texas that we're looking, uh, to continue and grow our footprint in that asset class.

Speaker B: You know, I'm from Southern California. Growing up, you know, we're just talking about a lot of, you know, Iranians coming, you know, California, you know, can go to Jerry's Deli without, you know, have like, and say hey, you know. And we're talking about good, some good restaurants. But I, you know, talk about real estate. There's um, you know that was, you know, in the 80s and 90s, Louisiana was a great place for real estate. But I hear so many people now I live just outside of Austin, Texas. Right, so you're investing a lot in Texas. I mean, what's, what's the difference? Why not, why not this area? Why not Southern California? Why Texas? Why not anywhere? Uh, why not Canada? Like what, what, what's the algorithm here for that?

Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, great point. So uh, why Texas and Florida in particular? But yeah, putting the focus on Texas. Texas has a larger economy than the whole country of Canada. It's got a larger GDP than Canada does. Uh, if Texas wore a country, it would have the 8th largest economy in the world. Um, you know, and you have um, more than half the population of Canada lives in Texas. Uh, 30 million people uh, approximately live in Texas. Uh, it's huge oil rich country, oil rich, uh, state. It's a uh, industrious state. A lot of Fortune 500 companies are there. Um, the population growth is unbelievable. Uh, it's very business friendly as well when it comes to businesses and tax friendly. Uh, for example when we talked about multifamily value add, a business model where an investment firm buys an apartment community and does uh, certain upgrades to the units and upgrades the tenant profile and what have you. Business model wouldn't work in Canada because there are similar to California and even more, uh, more punitive than California. Uh, in Canada, in most provinces, almost all provinces, there are strict rent control laws where um, if a tenant comes in and they have a, um, you know, a tenancy agreement for a year, the landlord cannot increase rents Even though the tenancy agreement has expired after a year. So m. And they cannot ask them to evict because they want to renovate. Uh, uh, on the surface those laws seem that they will support uh, that demographic who does rent because it is a big demographic both in Canada and the U.S. but long, uh, term it actually results in property, uh, owners not investing back in their property because they're just not getting the yield they want. And it results in dilapidated properties and so on. So a lot of uh, you know, a lot of experts uh, have uh, discussed how uh, rent control is detrimental to uh, tenants themselves. So that's some of the reasons. I mean just as far as the population as well. US is 330 million population, largest economy in the world, uh, very business friendly. Um, I did a development project in Vancouver, a townhouse development project. Uh, it was a for sale product, not like the for rent product we're building in San Antonio, but the entitlement process, we call it rezoning to uh, take this piece of land and rezone it so we can build townhomes on it. It took us nearly four years. Uh, in San Antonio we just completed that process. It took us less than four months. So now imagine the cost of carry. You buy a piece of land, you have to uh, pay interest on that. Imagine the cost of carry that's going to be erosive to your returns, which, which really the consumer pays for that. If it's the rental consumer or their purchaser, uh, they pay for that. Other m. Aspects, I mean, I don't want to get too granular, but in Canada you also have the rent burden and the cost burden on the consumer being a renter or ah, an owner, uh, if you want to. When you compare the medium income to a medium home price, it doesn't make sense at all. The median income in Canada in Vancouver for example, is just over uh, just over a hundred thousand is medium income. But medium home price is $1.7 million. Uh, you know if, yeah, it's just, it's mind blowing. I mean, yeah, if you look at like a place like San Antonio, medium um, home price IS, is around 350,000 and medium income is uh, you know, it's uh, close to a hundred thousand. So you can see the ratio there. Now it's the same thing for tenants. We do a study uh, on our tenant demographic to see what the median income is in that area that we're purchasing an apartment community. And we're saying, hey, can the people living in this area afford a rent because their shelter cost has to be one third of their income. And that is the case. Uh, they're even making more than they need to be able to rent, uh, in the area that we're purchasing. So those are some other issues. It wouldn't come for Canada and the U.S. right.

Speaker B: Much lower cost. And then as far as anywhere else in the United States, how do you navigate through. I have a couple flex buildings that I, you know, lease, uh, out, um, here in Georgetown, Texas and um, just north of Austin. You probably know the whole area because you're always shopping for, you know, places. But uh, I um, always get shell shocked, you know, when the county sends that uh, property tax because property taxes are so high in Texas compared to California at least, but the properties are lower. How do you navigate through that and how do you mitigate it? Just higher service to come in, you know. How do you navigate that situation?

Speaker C: I mean property tax is just part of a cost that that's associated ah, with. So we underwrite that. We know what the property taxes are now. We know if the property taxes are going to be increased. And in Florida actually there is an option to uh, dispute the property, the property taxes through a third party law firm.

Speaker B: You could do that here too.

Speaker C: Okay. Yeah, yeah. In Texas as well. Yeah. So, uh, there are strategies we utilize, but we underwrite uh, in our pro forma to what the uh, property taxes are going to be most problem, you know, most likely. And then if we can reduce those uh, taxes then uh, you know that's just, that's just cherry on top for our deals. But that's just, that's just part of the business as far as uh, expenses associated with management with, with um, renovations, with other uh, other costs like taxes and what have you.

Speaker B: Right. All right. Some skill set, you know, for people listening. You know, it's like somebody wants to jump into real estate game. They got a little bit, you know, they, they got, they work on their job or they have their business, they're ready to go, you know, to the next level. They, they've invested in the NASDAQ and the S and P and they're ready to go off for some real estate. And they want to hear what August says and like, how can they enter? You know, what, what would be a good move? You're in their shoes. You know, let's go through some steps and, and maybe a second or third or fourth, uh, or fifth step after that. What does that progression look like? But entering into the real estate market.

Speaker C: Yeah. Step one is, do you believe in real estate, you should invest in something you believe in. And real estate has proven itself, you know, uh, over centuries to be a great asset class to invest in. Now uh, is there a way to lose money in real estate? Definitely. So uh, if you are looking to uh, diversify or be more of an active investor, buying a rental property is probably the best way to go and achieve that. Long term rental property, uh, I would say the next step after that, the evolution really for being a real estate investor is uh, purchasing a short term rental property. Because a short term rental, there's a lot more, uh, you need a short term rental property manager, there's more moving parts when it comes to short term rental, uh, properties. Then you should think about possibly investing in multifamily like a fourplex or, or an eight plex, something larger, um, outside of residential commercial real estate. Under the commercial real estate umbrella there are all these different asset classes. So multifamily is one, you uh, have industrial, uh, you have office, uh, hospitality, um, so um, there are all these different asset classes. So you got to see what you believe in in real estate. But the best way to go about is buy rental property, long term rental property, then try a short term rental property and then try to get into um, commercial real estate, be it multifamily or others. And then at some point it might make sense to try to raise some money and uh, to do it compliantly and possibly raise some money through friends and family and try to do bigger projects. Uh, but at some point it becomes it's not something on the side no longer. It's going to eventually take most of your attention and focus. So you got, you know, people investing in real estate have to be cognizant of that as well. So there is a lot of people that leave their careers and get involved in full time real estate investing just because the returns are much higher on what they make on their regular job or their regular career. But uh, you know, it's something that you should definitely not jump into but take your time. But yeah, I've seen been uh, a lot of success for people coming into real estate investing space.

Speaker B: Where are you at today with your business and what's going on with you topically, you know, as you this point in your life where you've reached as far as business, you know, what, what's your portfolio kind of what up? You know, you don't have to tell us, you know, anything you don't want to tell us, but you know, like where are you at right now?

Speaker C: Yeah, I Mean uniquely about cpi. When the company started we were leveraging and uh, we, our, our mandate was to allow Canadian investors access to uh, these multifamily deals in Texas and Florida. Uh, there weren't a lot of firms allowing Canadians to have that access. If there, if there was, there was public REITs, you could have exposure to US multifamily through public REITs, but the yields were very low. Um, and uh, the type of investing was a lot different. Where you invest with a boutique investment firm is very, is uh, very one on one is very kind of intimate in a way that you know exactly who you're investing with. You know just a number in a public reach. Uh, but we felt that there weren't a lot of uh, groups offering uh, this type of investment. So that was our focus initially, just Canadian investors. Soon after uh, we realized there were US Investors reaching out to us as well. So we opened the door for US Investors to partner with us. Um, um and yeah, the company has uh, definitely grown since then. Uh we brought in this new vertical which is development. Uh and we are building ground up development deals as well as currently 70% of our investors are Canadian, 30% are U.S. we m have recently launched a fund in Canada which allows Canadian investors to use their retirement accounts to invest in our syndicated deals. Now in the U.S. u.S. Uh investors can use their retirement accounts to invest in syndicated deals. Uh, uh, it's a pretty streamlined process but in Canada um, there is some complexity. So if you want to self direct your retirement accounts and invest in a syndicated deal like CPI's deal, the deal has to be structured in a certain vehicle. I don't want to convolute the conversation but it took us a couple years to create the right vehicle which allows Canadian investors to use their retirement accounts and then uh, for us to be able to funnel those funds into our syndicated deals. So that's been a fun journey for us going through all the compliance and uh, other aspects of launching a fund in parallel with our syndicated deals. Um, yeah, I mean uh, excited. I mean the real estate market is also in a very interesting um, current cycle. It's going through uh, you know interest rates are uh, relatively high speaking uh, I mean you've hear in the news recently that the Federal Reserve is lowering the Fed's funds rate rate but that doesn't have a direct correlation to uh, the interest rates that uh, lenders uh, provide on commercial loans because commercial loans are really uh, pinged off uh the 10 year treasury in most cases. And 10 year treasury is really Organic uh, the Fed can reduce uh, the Fed's funds rate but that's not going to affect something that's uh, in an organic market and it kind of sets its own price. So you've seen the 10 year actually increase over the last while not decrease even though the Fed has been in a more um, of a um, in a lowering rate kind of cycle. But yeah, so and then it's also somewhat of a post Covid era where uh, Covid came around, interest rates were dropped, a lot of liquidity rushed into the market be it value add investors or developers borrowed a lot of cheap debt and started building a lot of product, buying a lot of deals and um, it resulted in something that Canada never faces which is oversupply. So Texas and Florida both are going through somewhat of an oversupply uh cycle. Rates are a bit high relatively speaking. So um, the occupancy is being pushed down, rents are being pushed down a bit. So it's somewhat of a difficult market currently uh, for commercial real estate. Uh but the future looks bright. Uh one third of American population rents um from that over 100 million Americans who rent. Approximately 40 million Americans live in apartment uh communities types uh, uh properties and approximately 35 million Americans are renters by necessity. Around 5 million Americans are renters by choice. So uh, that's almost 10% or more than 10% of the American population that lives in apartment communities across the U.S. so we are very bullish on uh this asset class and this demographic. We think that's going to continue to grow. America is going to come more and more renters nation and the new generation are uh, they're more mobile than past generation. They don't subscribe to this idea that they have to buy a home and live in it for rest of their lives. Uh they like to sometimes live in Texas, sometimes live in uh, other states in Florida and what have you. So uh, we think at time they're more of a subscription based generation than new generation. So we feel that, that uh, the rental demand will continue being there. Uh so yeah that's a kind of quick background and what I'm seeing in the market currently.

Speaker B: Yeah I was just listening to, was it NPR or something. They were talking about how like so many people are renting because they, they're like hey look I'll just put my money in the market you know and be able to like you know be able to invest and, and have that revenue stream coming in and, and um, they you know the Gen Z, they just don't, they're not spenders, like, uh, you know, boomers. You know, maybe. I don't know, where would they stand? That's me. But stand as far as spending is concerned. But Gen Z is very, uh, very, um, uh, you know, uh, minded on, on where their money's going and uh, a lot of renters, from what I understand. And that, you know, a wave of renters. So that's good. Uh, now you also do a podcast. You know, just hearing you, it's like, okay, I could just imagine, like if you need to, the, uh, Real Estate Investing Demystified podcast. I'm looking at the, uh, the screen, uh, right behind you. Beautiful artwork, you know, nice scene of New York, downtown Manhattan with the, uh, you know, it's a great screen. That's why it took you a while. You're like, hey, look, before we logged on in the pregame, he's like, I gotta get the screen up here. It looks great. Um, so, uh, now tell us about the podcast. You know, what's, you know, what could people expect, you know, as far as real estate, what are they gonna find out when they listen to it?

Speaker C: Yeah, it's become more diverse than just real estate initially was just real estate has been, uh, going on now for over five years. We've had, we've had over 300 guests on the podcast. So it's been, it's been, it's been a great journey. I mean, it's not only creating content and staying relevant, it's also the fact that every time we have a guest on, you know, it takes an hour, an hour and a half to do research on the guest. And you get on a call, you talk to a guest, an expert for an hour. So you get a crash course on whatever that expert guest speaker is. Uh, you know, they're focused on. And uh, it creates great dialogue, but it's also an educational for us and my partner, my co host to host the podcast. So it's been great. Um, love it. Ah, keeps us focused and we know what's happening with the market. Not only our asset class, but other asset classes. We've had guests who talk about, you know, um, scientists who talk about longevity. We've had people who talk about, um, you know, um, trading, like futures trading and what have you. Something that I wasn't familiar with at all. Um, we've had guests talking about franchises. So it's been very diverse now these days as far as. But again, somewhat real estate focused, but definitely investing focused. Uh, yeah, I mean, I highly recommend it. I think a podcast, an Average podcast lifespan is 42 podcasts. So a lot of people start podcasts, but it doesn't go, uh, go the way it does. So it's not all about going viral and having millions of views. It's about, you know, having a place and it, and it works as well. I use it for, um, if I need to get in touch with someone, um, let's say through LinkedIn or what have you. I use my podcast as a, as a, um, you know, as a way to break the ice that, hey, I'd love to, for you to come on on podcast and by the way, I want to chat with you about this other idea. So it's been a icebreaker as well. Brokers that deal with us. I invite some of the brokers to come and talk about, um, you know, that region that we're investing in brought in Texas brokers, Florida brokers. So it makes that close, more close relationship. It also kind of, when you do have, have a media, uh, point where you can speak your mind, it also kind of lets people know that, hey, I'm not going to try to rip off August because he's got an audience. He might just jump on his podcast and say that, you know, I ripped him off or I screwed him over. So it gives you a bit of, um, you know, it gives you some strength there as well. From that direction.

Speaker B: I think everything's related. You know, you're talking about longevity. I'm looking at August. He's wearing a nice suit and everything. It looks like he's a, he's the. What are you doing? Fit dude, you know, like, you know, cold, plunging, working out. You know, what's, you know, everything's 360. You know, you do one thing well, usually do another things. What's your regimen? Like, what are you doing over there?

Speaker C: Yeah, I mean I, I love being active. I think, I think uh, old Persian adage that healthy mind lives in a healthy body. So I go to the gym every single day. I was clashing with, has been my wife early on, uh, this idea of going to the gym every day. And it was recommended by experts not to go to the gym every day. But I said, this is the culture in my home. We go to the gym every day. And now she's a bigger gym goer than I am. Uh, I remember she was, uh, pregnant to our firstborn and uh, somebody came up to the, and she was doing squats and somebody came up to the tour and was like, when are you due? She's like, I'm actually Due today.

Speaker A: Wow.

Speaker C: She worked out at the gym every single day until she, the day she gave birth. And she, she had a knock on wood. She had a perfect birth. So, yeah, I go to the gym every day, no matter what, seven days a week. Because the idea there is if you say you're going to go to the gym five days a week, things come up, you miss a day, you end up going three. If you go every single day, it becomes a culture. Uh, our gym here in Naples has a daycare. So our sons come to the. They see, uh, their parents going to the gym. So that's the culture we want to create. And you really, you, uh, really stack from there, right? If you go to the gym, you already been there for an hour or, uh, you watch your diet a bit more. Uh, you try to get to sleep early because, you know, you gotta be at the gym early in the morning. Um, you know, people around, you know that you're structured. So I think it really is something to build on going to the gym. Um, uh, so I highly recommend it. Uh, I try to do other, uh, sports activities as well. I'm an avid skier, so this year I'm going to be skiing, uh, Colorado for my first time. I have my partner, Paul Hopkins, flying down because he's from Denver, so he's going to be showing me around, around. They're going to be there for the first two weeks of March. Um, and, um, skied Canada most of my life. And, um. And yeah, I do road biking, I do, I jog. Um, just try to stay as active as possible.

Speaker B: Yeah, no, I love it. You know, it's funny, you could, you know, relate to this. You have people on your podcast that maybe, you know, usually, you know, that like, uh, attracts, like, you know, so I work, I work out every day. I work every day, you know, know, Sundays, you know, because it's, it's just a lifestyle that you enjoy. You know, uh, if you're hitting on all cylinders, everything's connected to everything else as far as your relationships. You know, you're being a parent, you know, diet, exercise, uh, business. I think that I see that in you, you know, and I think it's wonderful, uh, your future. You know, when you talk about 10, 15, 20 years down the line, what do you see yourself, you know, shifting into anything different? Uh, what does that look like?

Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, with our, with my business, I, uh, feel that, uh, I've been in real estate most of my career and I, uh, feel real estate, private equity is a, you know, it's a business where there is no real ceiling. So I really want to continue to grow and build cpi, uh, as a real estate private equity equity firm, you know, maybe having other verticals in the future and continuously continue to grow. So excited about that part of things. I really want to get my kids involved in, in my company as well. So I think that's an important part. Um, so hoping uh, for them to get great education, go to Ivy League school and then come and support cpi. Um, I'm also learning as a parent as far as a balance between uh, my work baby which is a company I co founded but also my children. So creating the balance between the two because um, I want them to excel as well. I have a dream for my sons to get involved in politics at some point. So I want to be able to build great men. Uh, so uh, um, is there any particular set plan? I mean we use the Entrepreneurial Operating system for or cpi, uh, from the book Traction Gina Wickman. So we do have our 10 year big hairy, audacious goal and kind of how to achieve that. And then work your way back to have your three year goal and one year goal and your quarterly rocks which allows you to achieve your 10 year goal. So um, I look at life in the same way as well, kind of planning for the future but if there isn't any particular milestone, I mean we're still in some of the uh, process of immigrating to the U.S. even though I live at home with two Americans, my sons who are born here, but I'm still not an American myself. So I think that's, that's a process we have to go through. Building cpi, uh, focusing on my children, making sure I'm building great, great men. Um, so yeah, that's um, that's what the future hopefully holds.

Speaker B: Well, it was not going to be hopeful. I mean, you know, I'm totally confident that your bhags will come to fruition. So I think it's awesome. Awesome. Uh, August Binya is a great name. Guy looks great, you know, great, great thumbprint. I love your origin story. I love how you know, you've, you've come, you know, out of the ashes of you know, Iran, uh, and then you've been to India and Canada and uh, what a wonderful story you have. And it's just you're still a young guy and it continues to grow. So enjoy and thank you so much for sharing today Michael.

Speaker C: Thank you for having me. Great conversation.

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