EP225: Why Intentional Investing Beats Chasing Every Real Estate Opportunity - Dani Lynn Robison

Speaker A: Are you like most sales and other professionals who want to grow their wealth faster than what they are currently doing through their company 401k? Even with that company, match the stock market or just plain saving money? Would you sleep better at night if you had the financial freedom to be job optional in just three to five years through investing in real assets? Maybe you don't want to stop working, but wouldn't it be cool if you could retire a decade earlier than most and do the traveling you and your family have planned for years while you're still young and can enjoy it? Let's face it, most busy professionals don't have the time or desire to take on more work outside of their W2 to grow their wealth. On the Wealth Flow. Each week we share the stories, the investments, and take a deep dive into the various asset classes that can deliver that accelerated growth to your portfolio passively. That's right, no extra work for you. Instead, we'll put your money to work, learn what the 95% aren't talking about, and join the top 5% of earners today on the Wealth Flow.

Speaker B: All right, welcome to the Wealth Flow. My guest today is Danny Lynn Robinson. Robinson. She is the founder and CEO of Freedom Family Investments. Uh, Dany specializes in helping high income professionals transition from being operators of their own business lives to allocators of capital into durable needs based assets. Her team has collectively managed more than a billion dollars in assets and raised 250 million in capital, maintaining consistent distributions across multiple market cycles. Dani is also the author of the Amazon bestseller Calm Money Never Panics and she has been featured on Dr. Phil's platform, uh, the Wealthy Way podcast with Ryan Pena and also dropping bombs with Brad Leah. So Danny, I am looking forward to our conversation today.

Speaker C: Me as well. Thank you so much for having me, Keith.

Speaker B: Absolutely. I love to always start with everybody's background, where you grew up and what eventually led you to this world of investing and managing money.

Speaker C: Yeah. So, um, I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. Um, dry heat is the joke for everybody that's been there. Um, and I love it because I now live in Florida and I'd rather be stepping into an oven than to the shower of humidity that I'm in right now. Uh, but I do love Florida. Um, but uh, I went to college, I was a musician, played, ah, trumpet and I got a scholarship, uh, to go to college in Florida. And uh, after I went to college, well, while I was in college I worked at Walt Disney World. And then after Walt Disney World, I got invited to play trumpet. On cruise ships. And after cruise ships, while I was on cruise ships, I met my husband, um, my now husband. And, uh, he was also a trumpet player. Funny enough, he also went to college in Florida. Also worked at Walt Disney World. Also went, uh, got on cruise ships. And he was getting off a cruise ship when I was getting on. Like, our story is really crazy.

Speaker B: Oh, wow.

Speaker C: That is crazy. Yeah. So while we were on cruise ships and we were musicians, um, we only worked a couple days a week. Um, you know, maybe practiced a couple hours a day. It's just, you know, it's a pretty easy life for a musician on a cruise ship. And so we had a lot of spare time. And so I worked for an art auctioneer on cruise ships. And, um, just for extra money and just to keep myself busy. And one day he said, danny, go to my cabin and pick up some paperwork. And so I said, okay, no problem. I ran to his cabin, got the paperwork. On his bed was his commission check. Right where I was getting the paperwork. I wasn't snooping. Um, and his commission check was big. And for a musician, um, we do not make a lot of money. Uh, I was like, what? And so I ran. My husband's name is Flip. Um, it's short. Ah, for Philip. And so I ran to Flip's cabin, and I swung open the door and I said, you're going to be an art auctioneer. M. And so, uh, that's what led us to that path in part of our lives. And we became art auctioneers. We stayed on cruise ships. We're in on cruise ships for a total of 10 years. And, uh, um, after that, we, um, we got promoted onto land. Started, uh, flying around the United States, uh, every other weekend to still do VIP art auctions. And eventually we were just tired of travel. Flip will always joke and, you know, when you wake up and say, I'm in St. Thomas again, like, that's time to, like, stop traveling. And so, um, um, I decided that I was going to be the one to find, uh, my next career, my next move, while he stayed doing the art auction so he could, you know, financially, uh, support me in my next, um, career move. And so I didn't know what I wanted to do. And so I knew I really loved money. And so I wanted to be in financial services of some sort. So I tried financial services and insurance at first. Gave it a year. Um, um, didn't love it. Then I went into mortgage. Gave it a year, didn't love it. Then I went into mergers and acquisitions. Didn't even give it a year. I loved the business side of it, but I didn't love cold calling, which is where I had to start. Um, and so the next move was real estate. And so I got my realtor's license. It was during COVID so it was eight months of not doing a deal. Didn't have a network because we've been traveling and been on cruise ships this whole time. And most people start with their, uh, family and friends, which we didn't have. Um, so I was like, when I did have the deals, it was the crash. Right. And so you were dealing with these sellers who just thought, my house should still be worth what it was. Like, this can't be happening. And they would just be so unreasonable, and I couldn't do anything. And so I was so frustrated that I felt like the control of my life was in somebody's else's hands as a realtor. And so I talked to my broker, and I said, hey, I want to learn the investing side of the business. I want to have more control about what I'm doing. And I. I'm sure I didn't use those words, but I use them now to describe what I was looking for in that transition of realtor to investor. And so interviewed, uh, or reached out to three mentors. Only one replied. And it happened to be a perfect one. Um, he was active in the community, ran, um, a real estate investing club, um, was a multimillionaire, um, was a tech guy, so really kind of came ground up in real estate. Um, um, and he taught us 12 ways to buy and sell real estate. And in that market, we were learning short sales, we were learning sub 2, we were learning mortgage assignments. We were learning all the things that you would do in 2008 for it to work. Um, well, and so that is, uh, my journey to real estate.

Speaker B: Wow.

Speaker C: Okay.

Speaker B: No, that's, uh, fantastic. And so. And. And you got onto the. The real estate side from an investment standpoint, started to learn about that. Tell me a little bit about, um, you know, about just kind of where that. Where that was. Obviously, you said the market. You know, obviously at that time, subject, uh, to. And, um, you know, various things like that seemed to be a good path. Uh, why was that? And, you know, what did you learn from that experience?

Speaker C: Yeah, so those strategies were good for that time because people were underwater. Um, I was living in, um, Round Rock, which is just north of Austin, Texas, and a lot of new communities being, um, uh, built. And so everybody who had recently purchased a new house, um, maybe bought it at 200,000 and now it's um. And yeah, maybe had a loan of $200,000 and now it's like worth 150. Right? There is no way out. They can't do anything. And so it was that market. Uh, so during that time, the best strategies were how do you help those sellers? Like you do a short sale and that, you know, that's why I didn't love being a realtor, because they're trying to sell it, they're trying to recover. They didn't want to do a short sale and they didn't want to be a foreclosed on, but they had to. And so, um, when I learned subject to, uh, the other part. So you know real estate well enough to know that you can, uh, you can wholesale a subject to. So essentially, uh, though the phrase it was back then by my mentor was a mortgage assignment. Um, and it's all it was, was wholesaling a subject too. So I would talk to you, Keith, and I'd say, hey, Keith, you've got this house, you've got this mortgage for $200,000, but right now in this market, it's only worth $150,000. I've got this buyer who can't get a loan in this market either, but he wants your house and he's willing to pay a premium for it because he knows that over time it's going to go back up in value. And so he's willing to pay say $210,000, $220,000 for it. He's going to give me a, uh, down payment. That's what's going to pay me for my services. He's going to take over your loan. And that's how this marriage essentially works. And so we would find sellers who just had no other choice. Like that was their least worst option. It was either that or a foreclosure or a short sale. Right. So what other choice could they make? Um, and so, and we offered them all of them. It was their choice what they did. Um, and so this other buyer, um, doesn't mind paying the premium because they can't get the loan, doesn't mind the down payment. So we matched those together and that was really our entry into real estate. And uh, you know, we did everything in a scrappy way. You would, when you're in that market and you don't exactly know what to do and you're just starting out, and we would, you know, uh, go through the neighborhoods and use bright neon colored paper and put it in the door jambs, like, because you could just go to one new home community and you'd have hundreds of deals. Right. Anybody in the community that was trying to sell needed your solution. Um, so that's how we got started.

Speaker B: Okay. No, that's awesome. And so you didn't have to necessarily focus. We've worked those before as well. And we focused a lot of times on like, pre foreclosures and foreclosures at the end. And they were obviously desperate at that point to move forward. But you're right. In a market where things aren't moving and there's an opportunity for them still to be able to move, um, and be that one, um, house or piece of inventory within that neighborhood that actually sticks out because there's a, there's a different way to do it than that can sometimes make sense. So that's great.

Speaker C: Yeah, 100%. And I will say that, um, people laugh when I say I got started in 2008 in real estate. Right. But I would say it's the best, biggest blessing, um, because I got started in a down market. So I had to figure out how to succeed in a down market, which makes it a whole lot easier as you start navigating the good markets and you're like, whoa, this is awesome. Okay, new strategies. You know, we can figure out what we can do here. We don't need to do subject to. We don't need to do these mortgage assignments anymore. We can, um, do different things. Um, and when the market goes back down, you've got the knowledge and the experience to tap into creativity in how do you make deals work and how do you have those conversations with sellers?

Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. No, that's, that's awesome. I, I was started in real estate a little bit before, um, in 2000, um, five and is when I opened up my brokerage. Uh, so it was just right before perfect timing, right before the market just completely stopped on me. So I had to navigate through that as well. And it was, it was an interesting time. And it taught me as well how to do short sales and those kinds of things. I. I hadn't even heard of a short sale before, um, you know, 2007, 2008, so.

Speaker C: Right. Yes, man. Those, the market changes teach us all something.

Speaker B: For sure. For sure. So. So that's where you started. And then where did you go from there? From, um, you know, as far as your real estate journey?

Speaker C: Yeah. So, uh, I'm going to fast forward to turnkey because that's what I remember the Most. We learned 12 different ways to buy and sell real estate. So we were really navigating the market and what was going to work. And eventually we had moved to Arizona because my mom got really, really sick. She went in the ICU and I didn't know how much longer that she was going to be with us. So I wanted to spend some time there. Um, and so we moved to Arizona. And it was a point in time where I was still doing some subject to deals, but the market was better. So I was learning how to wholesale. And so I, um, got online into, in Facebook and I went and found people who were doing volume because I am just a very big thinker. I think that there is no ceiling and I think I'm unlimited and I can do anything. And so I was like, let me find the people who are doing really big things and let me learn from them that circle and figure out where I can take it. And so I found people who are doing a lot of deals and they were doing the wholesaling. And so one of them was also doing turnkey real estate. And so in that process they learned about turnkey real estate. And that's essentially a done for you rental property. You as the investor are going to go find it, you're going to rehab it, you're going to tenant it, you're going to manage it, and you're going to sell it to, uh, an investor who might be a physician or attorney or some high net worth position where they understand the power of wealth building through real estate, but they don't have the time to do it themselves. So you give them on a platter that done for you rental so they have cash flow. Um, and it was crazy. My husband was out in the backyard in Arizona selling a house that was in Ohio, um, to a cash flow investor that was in California. And we're just like, this is cool. I love this strategy. And so the guy that we were working with, um, he was working off of email and a whiteboard and he's like, Danny, I love your operational brain. And so I would love for you to, you know, come to Ohio and let's just build this thing together. Um, and so we ended up moving to Ohio is a longer story. It's not really relevant to the conversation, so I won't add why we ended up making that decision. But we moved to Ohio and we partnered up with him and did turnkey real estate. And that's where my freedom family of companies began.

Speaker B: Okay, all right. So it sounds like it took off from there, um, which is great. Ned is an awesome, uh, platform to be able to do. Like you said, there's a lot of people that are interested that have heard about doing real estate. They don't want to necessarily do the fixer uppers. Um, and so in these cases, a lot of times you've already done the rehabs and kind of brought it up to speed so that it's accessible. Probably made some money on that piece of the puzzle as well, um, because you obviously increase the value of it. Uh, and then, um, you know, once you've got a tenant in there, uh, that's it's ready to. To go for a new investor, so.

Speaker C: Exactly right. You described it perfectly.

Speaker B: All right, sounds good. And so was this always still in Ohio and what part of Ohio?

Speaker C: Yeah, um, all of our turnkey real estate was in Ohio and, uh, right in between Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio. So our offices are. Centerville, Ohio, um, is actually. We're in between leases at the moment, but, um, you can imagine we had a 15,000 square foot, um, uh, office space and.

Speaker B: Oh, wow.

Speaker C: Through everything going on, we vertically integrated. So that's, that's the thing about turnkey real estate. If you outsource any of it, you're going to learn really fast how much other people have control over your ability to succeed. So renovations, property management, acquisitions, like, one by one, and we just grabbed it and pulled it in house. And so eventually we got to that 15,000 square foot. So we had materials, we had, you know, we had everything in house. Um, and it was so much better because we did have control. And I would tell my investors, look, now I can walk down the hall, we're going to screw up. We're human. Like, it is not going to be perfect. But don't, don't even think that. But now when something happens, I can run down the hall and knock on my property manager's door as opposed to relying on somebody else. So we love that piece of the vertical integration. But we are in between leases right now, uh, because that was just ended up being too big because, look, we're all working from home, right? I've got, you know, so many people, and we're all, you know, across the United States.

Speaker B: Yeah, that's the beauty of real estate. You don't all have to be right boots on the ground there.

Speaker C: So.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, that's great. So, and so that's what, uh, you mentioned the freedom, um, you know, group of businesses. So tell me a little bit about each of your businesses that, you know, what's the picture? Look, like now.

Speaker C: Yeah. So I'll tell you what we did and where we scaled back and why. Um, so we vertically integrated as the turnkey company. So we started off as the turnkey company. That's what we were doing. We are going out buying the property from a wholesaler. Then we are hiring contractors to renovate it. Then we are hiring a property management team to manage it. And then we would sell that property to somebody in California, somebody in Texas, wherever they are. Um, uh, as a cash flowing property. Renovations was the very first thing that just now, what a nightmare. Depending on other people. And so brought renovations in house. Um, that was the first thing. And then property management was the second thing. We went through five property management companies before we said, forget it, I'm going to build that in house. And two of the hardest companies, like, I don't want to be in that business. And I'll tell you why, I'm out of it now. Um, but, uh, renovations was first, property management was second. Because we were bringing property management in house, we might as well have a brokerage so that any deals that we were flipping ourselves, we could also list ourselves. So we, uh, had the brokerage as a third company. Then acquisitions, all the wholesalers in our area dried up. And I was like, I've got this, I've got multiple companies, I have to support and team members, and I have no deals. So, catastrophe. Ah. So we brought acquisitions in house, and that was the fifth company. And so now we had the whole entire thing, start to finish, to be able to do. Um, and then there was a day that, uh, we had a seller who had 12 single family, three duplexes and a 56 unit apartment complex. And, uh, and so we didn't do apartments. And so we said, yes, we'll buy these. We're going to go ahead and wholesale the apartment complex to somebody here in the area. We found our buyer. We were going to get a $200,000 wholesale fee. And, um, it was right when Covid hit. And so obviously lending tightened up. And so, um, the first loan didn't work and so we had to go to the next loan. So we're waiting. The seller will not sell us the 12 single family and three duplexes without closing on the apartments too. Is it going to be the entire package? So we're like, this sucks. Okay, we're going to wait. And so we're pushing, pushing, pushing. Finally we get to the finish line with a second lender and the buyer tries to cut us out of the deal completely. Um, and I Was just like, oh no, not going to happen. I'm just going to buy these myself. I'm just, I'm just going to not let anybody like make me wait and screw me over like that. Um, and so I at the time didn't know what funds and syndications were. And so I had private, my private money lenders. And I said, hey, I'm buying this 56 unit uh, apartment complex. There's four buildings. I'm going to put you one per building on these. And this is, here's the business plan, here's what we're going to do. So got those private money lenders on board, did all of our due diligence in two weeks and closed because the seller was just like I'm tired, I'm backing out. And I was like, oh no you're not. We're going, we're closing. Um, and so that was my uh, first apartment complex because that went so fast. We call that apartment complex drugs, thugs and bugs. And that perfectly described drives. What that deal was. It was a nightmare, but ended up being a huge home run. And what a business lesson for me to be doing single family across Dayton and Cincinnati versus a 56 unit all in one place. The economies of scale was like ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Okay, I want to do this, I don't want to do the single family anymore. And it wasn't even that I was fine with single family. But the rest of the story is we ended up um, scaling back turnkey, um, and closing down renovations, selling our property management company, keeping enough of those people in house and moving it over to what Freedom Family Investment, ah, investments is today so that we could still be vertically integrated but without the companies that were also externally doing work for other people. We just wanted to serve ourselves. And so that's the vertical integration that we have now. Um, we're now not doing single family anymore because we did shut down turnkey. Um, we're doing senior um, housing multifamily and self storage. So needs based real estate. That's something that we can talk about. That's really like I'm preaching that to the choir. I'm sure you know exactly why. Um, uh, and so uh, that's what we do now. We also have our wholesaling company still alive, national um, houses. We kept that because I believe that's going to be a powerful source for Freedom Family investments. Because a lot of our clients are landlords. Our investors, they're landlords and they realize after time this is a second job. Like this is something where um, we, we don't just call them tired landlords, we call them, we call them tired and broke because it takes some time to actually see the value that comes out of those properties. So we wanted National Houses to be able to take the properties and help them sell, uh, the properties and then bring them over to Freedom Family Investments. So we kept that company alive. We also started a lead generation companies because we are so good at um, uh, SMS marketing, um, to find deals for the wholesaling company, um, that we decided to do that lead generation for like roofers and H vac people and stuff like that. So we've kept that uh, company that was company, um, number probably seven. Um, we kept that company in house and we have a small hard money lending company that we've kept but we don't advertise it because it's only used when we have excess capital and I need to keep the money working. So I just use people I know that are close to me and I say hey, we have extra money. Does anybody have a deal that you want us to do? Um, but we, we intend to eventually intentionally scale that company.

Speaker B: Okay. Okay, now that's, that's great, that's fantastic. Um, to hear, you know there's just so many different avenues and you vertically integrated quite a bit there, um, you know, with these different companies and you saw some that you said hey, this was working really well for what we're doing. Um, and then you also pivoted uh, from time to time. So that's a, just a fantastic journey, uh, to hear about. Hey everyone, sorry for the quick interruption. I wanted to personally let the Wealth Flow audience know that we've launched several unique investment opportunities for accredited investors through my company, Slipstream AI Infrastructure. Our first is a data center land fund that focuses on acquiring strategic sites with power and creating value through entitlements before selling to one of our data center developers. Also, we've created a dual fund strategy which combines cash flowing commercial real estate which is already performing and adding modular AI data center through a triple net lease to create multiple income streams and provide a targeted 3-5x LP investment return by boosting the net operating income. If you're an accredited investor and you'd like to learn more, visit Slipstream AI. That's again Slipstream a I I dot com. You'll find fund information, details on each opportunity and you can schedule a call directly with our team. Now let's get back to the wealth flow. Tell me a little bit about how you're finding multifamily deals now. And are you focused still in kind of the Cincinnati, Dayton area? Or you with that? Have you branched out to other, you know, other parts of the U.S. yeah,

Speaker C: so we're always brought the deals. We have such a big network that the deals get brought to us and then we underwrite them, find them, and then ultimately partner with whoever brought us the deal. Um, um. So it is pretty rare for us to find a deal ourselves anymore. Even national houses, eventually I want them to start finding our own deals and start actually looking. But we've never trained them on commercial. They are trained on single family. So I don't have the people in seat right now to really do that for us. Um, so all of our deals are, um, partnered with somebody else who, who brought us the deal or, um, we pay them like a wholesale fee. So they essentially. Wholesale. That's pretty rare. Um, something that I've learned. So I told you that, like, I have this unlimited mindset. I just want to keep on going and growing as much as I can. Right. Um, one thing that I learned when in this business is especially commercial, like, it really does take a team and a team of experts to do a really, really good job. Um, and so there's many parts, you know, to, you know, bringing the deal, actually managing the renovations. Asset management versus property management. Um, and so I decided that I was going to figure out how to play with the best because there was no way, um, to answer your question about where my deals are. They were in Ohio because that was my backyard. That's where I'm vertically integrated. So that's where I can control all the pieces of the puzzle. But there was deals brought to me in Columbus, Ohio. I'm not there. It's only an hour away. I said, no big deal. But we did find a property manager, you know, out there to be able to do it. Fired one, found another one. He's good. Um, uh, we have another one in Menor. Um, I think is. Is how you pronounce it. Ohio. Um, so we spread across Ohio and started realizing, hey, we can, you know, actually manage people to a level if we find somebody good and find do the. Our appropriate due diligence, um, to be able to partner. And if I really want to scale, there's no way I can be operator and allocator at the same time. I can't raise capital and do all of the other work too. So we intentionally have decided to sit in the allocator seat, meaning we are really good at raising capital. Um, and it's because of our track record. It's because we've maintained distributions. It's because we write in all of our contracts that if you screw up then we get to step in. And we have stepped in and kicked people out of a deal so that it didn't go bad because we all know what's happened over the last two years. So you have to have somebody in seat that has the character to be able to fight because some people are going to run and some people are going to fight and make sure that they protect the asset, protect the investors. And because we're the ones raising the capital, nobody's going to fight harder than we, we are. Um, so that's how we've really shifted and modeled um, our business. And like, uh, now we just work with best in class, um, operators and we're getting to the stage where we're really looking at um, bigger opportunities so that we can uh, we've got institutional people and family offices that are now just like, hey, we like what you're doing, we like what you're investing in. We want to invest too. Okay, well how do I do that and be able to put that much capital to work but still serve my retail investors?

Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Okay, sounds good. And uh, and so are you doing all of the raising through some type of a syndication or some type of a fund? How, what's the structure behind it?

Speaker C: Yeah, we have ah, two funds we're actively uh, raising for right now. Um, one was intentionally for a hard money, uh, ah, fund. So the company that I said we're not fully launched but we're leaving that fund in place because it was structured and meant for the hard money lending company. So we still use that for people who want liquidity. It's like you can get your money back out in 90 days. Um, I think it's a, there's a lockup period for six months, allows us to put the money to work, but then after that you can give us notice and get it out in 90 days. Um, but the fund that uh, uh, Freedom flagship fund, their Freedom Notes, um, so they're structured a bit differently than a typical syndication. We can get into that. But to answer your question specifically, we do both. We're raising for our fund primarily. That's what's going to deploy capital into the deals. But there are investors who want um, the depreciation and our Freedom Notes are more of a fixed preferred return and you're going to get a 1099. So if you want depreciation as an investor, then you're going to do, you're going to be in a sidecar. So almost every single time we do have like an spv, um, on the side that allows investors to go direct to deal while our fund then also invests.

Speaker B: Okay, no, that's a great way to structure it for sure. And maybe for the audience, explain that just a little bit. So special purpose entity or special purpose vehicle, tell, tell everybody exactly how you can have, you know, multiple, um, ways to invest in, in a particular deal and kind of what the distinction would be and why. Why would you want one, maybe?

Speaker C: Yeah, that's a great question. So in the fund, the reason that people love the fund is because we've built it in a way that's very simple. Um, and we did that because a lot of the investors that at least were coming to us where they've been burned in some way, shape or form, um, before, and they wanted to understand who they were investing with, what the tracker was, track record was, and exactly what they were going to get. Not a, I'm going to get a 6% or 8% preferred return and maybe this. They wanted to know exactly some predictability, reliability. So we built the fund to be 8 to 14% returns. An income track if you wanted income, a growth track if you wanted it to compound and just let it grow like crazy. And so the people that are in, uh, our fund are there for the simplicity, the predictability, the reliability of whatever path they chose and the diversification. They understand what asset classes that we're investing in and they want to be diversified across all three asset classes. The people that are going in the sidecars, the special purpose vehicle is, this is a different entity that's specific to the asset itself and allows them to invest in that entity only for that deal. So they're not getting, um, they're getting a different return structure perhaps because a lot of, uh, people that go in the SPB are what we call eagle investors. So they've got a million dollars or more and they're saying, hey, I need X. And it could be a custom return schedule, it could be a custom goal. Whatever it is, we're going to tailor that, uh, return inside that SPV specific to them and what they need. And they're a big investor, so we're fine doing that. And it's going to say, here's the property. Um, our fund is investing and then our SPV is also investing. But our fund investors are getting one return schedule and our SPV investors are getting a totally different one many times. Why you're Going into the SPV is because of different goals, specifically tax benefits.

Speaker B: Right, right. And on the, um, on the fund, uh, investments where they're doing the eight, to call it 8 to 14%. Are they participating in the gain at the end or is it set as a structure case? Yeah, that's. So you set, set almost like set debt, um, from, from your standpoint, you know, you're, you're able, you're just saying, hey, this is how much we have to pay them on the money that they've invested within. Um, and then I would imagine the SPV investors, um, do have an opportunity to participate, uh, once the sale happens, whenever they decide to, to sell 100.

Speaker C: So the people that are going into the fun are specifically going in there for that. Hey, I want to know exactly what I'm getting and I want to rely on it. It is a preferred return. They get paid before we do. Um, so all the way up to, you know, the tops, the 8 to 14%. Um, and so the people in the SPV, they have different goals. They're also usually more sophisticated investors and want the upside and they're okay with, uh, I might get it, I might not get it. They understand all the, um, you know, waterfalls and hurdles and they understand that language and they're comfortable with it. And that's really what we talk to investors about is, you know, invest in what you understand. Right. And um, so sometimes at the beginning it is the fund. And as they learn, sometimes they're like, okay, now I understand what I want this bucket of money to do, and I would like to do an SBV and have those tax benefits or a different structure.

Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. Regarding the tax benefits, um, are you specifically talking depreciation? And maybe for the audience, uh, can you kind of explain, you know, what that looks like for, um, a potential investor?

Speaker C: Yeah. So it depends on the deal and every single one is a little bit different. But depreciation, obviously is the big one. Bonus depreciation too, um, is a big one. In fact, we're actually going to create a fund or we're talking about it, we'll see, um, for investors because, you know, this is like a big, big need for a lot of investors who have W2 income and they just need to write, ah, write it off. Um, uh, and so we are creating a fund that's like, big on. Just every deal in there is going to be bonus depreciation and so that you're getting a big write off in year one. Now here's the catch. And not a lot of people understand, um, uh, depreciation recapture. Right. And so we have structured some of our deals so that we actually stay in them. I would love to hold on every single. Hold every single deal that we buy. Like, we took the time to buy it, rehab it. I just want to keep it, let that cash flow keep running. And the fact that we do them, uh, we do that allows the investors to stay in it too, so they don't have that depreciation recapture. So there's a lot of, like, things that we're thinking about who's investing in this, what is the goals of us, what are the, what are the goals of those investors? What are the things that we can do in order to, to, you know, focus on preservation of capital, um, and just, you know, make it as simple as we can for everybody.

Speaker B: Yeah, no, I think that's great. I mean, you're, you've, you've been dealing with so many different investors. And like you said, some people want something in for one season of their investment life, right? And, and then, um, others. And same thing with operators. Um, you know, uh, a lot of times, you know, it, it's essential to be able to provide the investors the liquidity event at some point. But if you've got enough people that you've worked with for, you know, a period of time, um, there's going to be some of those people that say, you know, I don't really need that. You know, I would like just to, you know, recognize that cash flow and, you know, you're familiar with the asset. You know, you've been taking care of the asset, you've been keeping it up. And um, you know, there's no reason why it's some at some season that you need to sell necessarily.

Speaker C: Yeah, 100%. I, like, I always, uh, um, say every, every dollar should have a job. And when you invest, it should be done intentionally. And you should have conviction around what you're investing in and why. Because we all know building wealth is a long and strategic game. And it's not, you know, any, uh, get rich quick, um, is a joke. Everybody who's in, you know, the, the actual game. Um, uh, and so if you have conviction about what you're investing in, you don't get emotional, you don't move it around. Um, um. So I would say that, uh, Most people, probably 80% or more are on the growth track. Like, they understand I'm going to invest in this because I trust the team. I understand that what they're investing in, I understand what job I want this bucket of money to do for me, and, um, I'm going to set it and forget it and I'm going to add to it. Um, and, uh, you know, I think that's what we, um, try to educate people about the most because I think, um, many times people that I heard this from somebody else and I'm going to repeat it. Um, uh, sometimes it's not a real estate portfolio, it's a financial drunk drawer. Junk, junk drawer. So what I mean by that is you're just randomly like, you know, investing in whatever. Oh, this sounds good. This, you know, this, this operator sounds good. I want to be diversified across operators too, because I heard that's a good idea. And so they hear all of this stuff and they just, they throw their money out in all these places and they don't actually know what they invested in or why. Um, and so I really try to, um, educate people that, hey, understand what you want, you know, out of life. Um, there's a ROI and what you make on your money, but there's also rol and the financial peace of mind that you understand what you're doing and there's a strategy to it.

Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. I would love to hear, you know, because of this, this is an amazing journey that you've had so far and all these various, you know, you know, going from single family, going from the cruise ship, you know, to meeting your husband and, you know, everything else. But along the way, when it comes to the real estate investing, what are some of the biggest lessons that you've learned that have kind of helps, you know, uh, mold your, your current strategies and, you know, your current philosophies when it comes to investing.

Speaker C: Yeah. So, um, I would say the thing that I've learned the most is that passive income is misunderstood, um, because it's why I shut down my turnkey company. Because I really thought I'm not only going to build wealth for myself, I'm going to build it for other people. And when you think top of the funnel and you think real estate, when people come top of the funnel, they think, I need to become a realtor, there's my way into real estate, or I need to become a landlord. Right. And that's the two ways that they come in. They, they come in because they think that's the only way to come in. And some people still to this day think that you have to be incredibly rich to even get into the real estate world. So you're still having that conversation. Um, and so the rental property game, so Many people have gotten into it and just realized this is part active, you know, real estate. You're not receiving passive income. You're not receiving a check in the mail that you don't have to pay attention to. Um, and so when I learned that I, ah, was looking at my turnkey investors and seeing this, seeing what I tried so hard to do is set them up for success and explain what it's like to have a rental property and what it does for you and the different variables and what you can expect. Well, it doesn't matter if you're, if you're a physician or an attorney or some other high net worth, um, uh, job. When you start having spent so much time on this stuff that you thought was going to be passive, you're getting frustrated and you're getting frustrated at tenants being gone and you having to pay for, um, the turn. And you also have to pay for your leasing agent to actually, you know, lease up the property again and you've got nothing coming in. Um, and so that frustration made me go, this is not how I want to live my life or build a business. Like, I'm trying to help these people actually build wealth. And so I looked at my private money lenders and they were just so happy. They're just giving me money to buy the property. I renovate it and when it's done and sold, they get their money back and they get to do it again. And I was like, that's true passive income. Now I understand the difference between why this business seems so hard. Not just because I had to vertically integrate it to make it successful, but just from the investor point of view, um, and them not understanding, them thinking a landlord is what I want and me thinking a landlord is what they want to be too. And finally understanding these guys are just passive investors. They just want to do what they love doing. They want to heal people, they want to help people, they want to do what they're passionate about. They don't want to be in real estate. That's what they trusted me to do. So that is the biggest lesson I learned in real estate is understanding what your goal is and being, um, very intentional about what you're doing and why. And there was, I don't know what book it was. There was a book that I read that gave this piece of advice. And I think it's really, really smart. And it's to. When you think you want to do something, go find the person that's doing that. So if you think you want to be a landlord, go talk to a landlord with 10 properties or 20 properties and say, you know, what do you think now that you've done it? Like can you tell me what's a day in the life? And they're going to start telling you a day in the life of a landlord with that, with those many, that many properties. I was just doing an interview the other day. He said my brother in law's got like $12 million and he went and bought a rental property. You know what he does every Saturday? He goes to the rental property to fix something and that's not what he wanted. Um, and so I think that that was just uh, again it was just a gold nugget to, for all of us in life, whenever we want to do something, go find somebody that's actually doing it and hear their story and then decide, do I actually want that life?

Speaker B: Yeah, ah, for sure, for sure. That's great. And then so tell me a little bit about over, call it the next three to five years. Where do you see um, you know, freedom, family, investments going? Um, are there some things that you want to double down on that you're currently doing? Are there some things that you haven't quite done yet where you're thinking, you know, this is, this is an area I see some potential in. I just need to figure out how to structure it?

Speaker C: Yes, 100%. So uh, I talked about needs based real estate um, earlier and how I define needs based real estate is somebody needs it no matter what. Economy's up, economy's down, somebody needs that particular thing. Um, and so there's real estate asset classes that are not needs based and we do not invest in those. So primarily we're in multifamily senior housing, um, self storage, um, and I was just on a um, a call with a broker dealer um, earlier today and he was talking about something that he's under NDA about. But I got enough insight that I was like, oh my gosh, that changes the game. And it totally falls into needs based real estate. And it's about to go like um, on the public um, uh, um, market. And so he's got like $500 million uh, behind him. It's going to go up to another billion. And those are the conversations that I'm having around needs based. And everybody's saying it a different way. They're saying recession resilient, they're saying essential real estate. Um, I'm using needs based because it's just, it's very easy to understand. And I do have a lot of conversations with people that are saying I want to get into real estate but I'm not exactly sure that I understand everything that's being said. And you know, a confused mind says no. So I'm trying to help people get in there by using very simple language. And that's something everybody understands that no matter what's going on in the economy, we need a roof over our head. Right? So multifamily, even though despite the last two years there's blood in the water, everybody knows there's blood in the water and there's deals that we could actually go capture and help and turn those properties around and get investors involved. Um, so I'm not discounting multifamily but senior housing, we all know senior housing and the need that's there and that needs going to be there for 10 to 15 years. So um, to have that kind of belief in an asset class and be able to explain it very plainly to the investors that are confused and they don't know where the world's going, they don't know what's going to happen in the market, they don't know how AI is going to change their life or their job. They just want certainty. Right. And so needs, um, based is the primary conversation that I'm having. So um, um, that's what I'm focused on. There are some needs based assets besides those three that when people bring me deals I'm like, oh, that's not, that's not even something that anybody's talking about right now. Like and that is absolutely something that is going to be uh, an advantage if we get in early. So um, that's, that's where I just, I evaluate everything across needs based. And if it doesn't have needs based to it, I'm not knowing it.

Speaker B: Yeah, no, it makes sense, makes sense. There's gotta be that demand for it for sure. And you're right. Senior housing and uh, you know, multifamily, like you said, multifamily has gone through a little bit of a rough deal and the pricing is still a little bit wonky. Uh, you know, trying to get where, where is the true price of everything and where the seller is going to come to a realization that they, you know, things have adjusted. Um, but it will happen. You know, it's just, just a matter of time and it's always been a good, good um, asset class.

Speaker C: So for sure.

Speaker B: So okay, so you've got those. Um, and what about the self storage? Tell me a little bit about that. Do you have some self storage right now? And you Know what is, what does that look like? And what do you like about self storage?

Speaker C: Yeah, so when we were studying asset classes, um, in the needs based category, I was actually surprised at self storage and at the time of our research it was outperforming multifamily year over year over year. Now right now I think it depends on the market because I'm talking to a lot of operators and self storage that are like I am not doing good right now. But um, supply uh, is going down, demand will go up, uh, you know, so I, I still, I'm sticking to this asset class. I know it'll go up over the next couple years, um, but they slow down, you know what they're doing. Um, so what I like about it is actually the new conversations that I'm having. So self storage is starting to expand in its use and it's because of what we've all turned into. Like we all work out of our house and now more and more people are getting out. Right? So there are some asset classes that are having some more demand because people are starting to go back into an office. But self storage still has this opportunity that people are, if you find the right operator, they're tapping into things that hasn't been done before and they're seeing the demand and they're filling up these, these uh, these um, self storage, uh, facilities. So what I am doing in self storage is not looking at what are they like cube smart or you know that like the typical uh, self storage, um, I'm not looking at those. I'm looking at who's operating in the self storage space and who's doing something new and unique. Right now that they're seeing it hit and they're seeing they're finding traction. What markets have they done so far and is that sustainable through um, you know, the next 5, 10, 15 years based on where we see the economy going. And so I'm specifically looking in the self storage class for um, out of the ordinary uses for the property if you will. And like I said, I can't say it on the podcast but um, you're going to see something come that you're going to be like, holy cow, let me get in. And then I hope you call me because I just got uh, out. I said I want in on that and I said just put me in line as soon as you can. You can let me talk about it. I want to be an operator, I want to be a capital allocator, I don't care. But I want, you know, on that asset Class because I would have jumped on that opportunity like two or three years ago and I didn't even think about it. And it's a brilliant idea. So I would, that's, that's where I would say if you're looking at self storage, start looking at, you know, all the new things starting to happen right now.

Speaker B: Yeah, that's, that's interesting. Now you've got my, my curiosity for sure on that one. So I'll be, I'll be keeping my eyes up. Um, how can people find out more about you, more about, uh, freedom, family, investments and um, and follow you and invest with you as well?

Speaker C: Absolutely. So go to chatwithfreedom.com um, and actually we do doing something special for your listeners. Um, uh, so chatwithfreedom.com once you go there, you can book a 15 minute, um, discovery call on those calls. It really is, we're not gonna, we're not gonna tell you about our offering unless you ask. We're really there to understand your goals, like what job do you want your money doing? What's missing? How can we help you fill the gaps? And we feel like, if we feel like we can serve you, we're going to let you know what that looks like and you can make a decision from there or have future calls and continue. So it's 15 minutes, it's short. Um, uh, to see if we're a good fit for you, feel free to schedule one of those calls. Um, but also if you type in, there's going to be a box. Um, and we're giving away. I, uh, just released Calm Money Never Panics. You mentioned it in the bio, number one Amazon bestseller. Um, and it really talks about some of the things that we talked about today and about intentional investing and about the long strategic game, um, of building wealth. And so we're giving that book away for free to your listeners. They just have to type in Wealth Flow so that we know it came from Keith.

Speaker B: Sounds good.

Speaker C: Uh, so yeah, go to chatwithfreedom.com, type in Wealth Flow. You'll get a free copy of the book. And if you want to jump on a call, we'd love to learn more about you and see how we could help.

Speaker B: Perfect. Love the name of the book too. Uh, that's a great name. Um, so, and then how about, uh, I've got two other questions. First, this has been really good, so I appreciate it. I've really enjoyed our conversation today. Um, I do have two other questions. One is just any advice you would give somebody who's maybe just starting out in their investment journey.

Speaker C: Yeah. Um, I'm gonna say find the person that is doing exactly what you want to do. I think it's that book's advice. I've always got coaches and master, uh, um, coaches, mentors, masterminds. I've listened to podcasts like yours. I find the people doing the thing, and I find people who have aligned values, who I actually trust. Right. And today, as AI continues to fool us more and more and more and more, where we don't know what's real and what's not, it's so important to be aligned with the right people. So, um, I would say if you're starting out, um, figure out where you want to go, ask the right questions, follow people that you know, um, are real and that you trust and, um, get their help. Because everything that is worth doing is better done with a team and around people that you actually align with and are going to support you on the path.

Speaker B: No, for sure. Exactly. And me too, I, I, I, I kind of second that. As far as getting around the right people, the masterminds, all the good stuff, uh, you know, it, it helps you grow. Uh, you're seeing people that have already paved that street ahead of you, and, uh, you can kind of see what it looks like. And also, like you mentioned, uh, something, you know, you can also see the, the good, the bad, and the ugly. You may think that you want to do something and then you're like, okay, never mind.

Speaker C: Exactly. Right. Wow, that saved you some money and time.

Speaker B: Exactly, Exactly. All right. Besides, calm, uh, money never panics. What, uh, is a book recommendation? Doesn't have to be real estate related. Certainly can be something you've read, though, that's been impactful.

Speaker C: Yeah. My absolute favorite book is who, Not How. Um, and that book is so important to me because I believe when you're on a journey, you can't expect yourself to be the expert at everything. Right. Keith, There, there are experiences and knowledge that you have that just far exceed what I'll ever have and maybe ever have a passion for having. Um, and so I really believe in finding the people who can help you on your journey. And they, uh, it's vice versa. Right. Because I'm going to be good at one thing, they're going to be good at another. So, um, you know, investing the time, um, and money into people, uh, who want to ride the ride with you, you just go to bigger places, you get to help more people, you do more things. Um, I love that book.

Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. Great. Great recommendation. All right, well, this has been fantastic. I appreciate you being a guest on the Wealth Flow and I think we'll call it a show. Thank you so much.

Speaker C: Thanks, Keith.

Speaker B: Yeah, thank you. Thank you for spending part of your day with us here at the Wealth Flow. If today's conversation gave you new ideas or perspectives, the m best way to support the show is by subscribing and leaving a quick review and sharing the episode with a friend or a colleague. It truly helps us continue to bring you great guests and valuable conversations each week. And if you're an accredited investor and interesting in the future of AI infrastructure, be sure to visit slipstreamaii.com There you'll find information on our current investment opportunities, including our, uh, Data Center Land Fund and our innovative dual fund that combines commercial real estate with modular data center. You can also schedule a call with our team to see if one of these opportunities is a good fit for your investment goals. Thank you for listening to the Wealth Flow and we'll see you in the next episode.

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