The best investment I ever made wasn't in real estate, but it led me straight to it. Looking back, the smartest thing I ever did was invest in myself. That decision made me adaptable. It forced me to develop new skills. It gave me the courage to take risks I never would have taken otherwise. And it opened my eyes to possibilities I didn't even know existed. It's the reason I got into fitness. It's the reason I built a six-figure business. And ultimately, it's what gave me the confidence to walk away from that business when I realized something important. What I thought was success in the beginning really wasn't. Working for myself. Making good money. Being able to support my family. But over time, a few things became more obvious. If I wasn't working on the business, things would start going backward. I also realized my kids weren't going to take over, so it would've ended with me. And because that path wasn't leading me where I wanted to be, the overwhelm kept building until I burned out. That was nothing like what I initially thought I wanted. What I actually wanted was freedom. More time with family. Being fully present. A life that didn't depend on how many hours I could work in a day. The skills I had built and the experiences I had were all preparing me for a different path. Real estate investing. But the best investment I ever made wasn't actually in real estate. It was in becoming the person who was finally ready for it.

It was the end of August. We spent about 6 months working on a deal. Got it under contract. It looked like a home-run. $18M purchase price. 104 doors. Great submarket in Phoenix. Numbers lined up. We toured the property in person, walked every building.  Everything looked good. But during due diligence, we found out the roofs the seller said were "brand new" weren't.  They were shot. Full replacement needed. That changed everything. We went back to the seller and asked for a credit to cover the cost. They said no.  We tried to make it work, but at the end of the day, it just didn't make sense. Moving forward would've meant putting our investors' capital at risk and hoping we could make up the difference later. That's not how we operate. So we walked away. Was a tough pill to swallow.  We'd spent hundreds of hours on that deal and paid for all the third-party reports.  But it was the right call.  Sometimes protecting capital means walking away from a deal you really wanted. Here's what that experience reminded me of: - Don't fall in love with a deal. Fall in love with your standards. - Due diligence isn't just paperwork. It's how you protect your people. - And when in doubt, choose discipline over emotion. We lost some time and money on that one, but honestly it made us sharper. Our process is tighter, our team's stronger, and our conviction in what we stand for is even clearer. Sometimes the best deals are the ones you don't close.

Excited to share that my team and I are officially under contract on our next multifamily property!

Hey! Just joined the community and wanted to introduce myself. I'm Garret, originally from the east coast but now living in Southern California with my wife, 4 kids and a zoo of pets. Excited to connect with others here who are raising capital and scaling in real estate. A little about me... I've always had an interest in real estate. At 16, I worked for a gold buyer in Philly (who also owned real estate) and learned the precious metals business. Around the same time, I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad and realized owning assets, real estate and businesses was the path to freedom, however at the time it felt like it was out of reach. So I wound up going into the fitness industry. Built my own fitness business, ran it for over a decade and grew it to 6-figures. Between the pressure of always staying in tip top shape, missing out on family time, and realizing my kids weren't going to take over the business, I knew I needed to pivot into something that would outlast me and leave a legacy. That shift led me into multifamily syndications. Today I run a multifamily syndication company with a couple of partners. Together we manage $200M+ AUM< over 1100 doors, and nearly 3 decades of combined experience in acquisitions and operations. Excited to be here and always open to connected with motivated people. Let's connect!

First, a huge thank you to this community 🙏. The strategies, insights, and advice shared here on multifamily investing are invaluable for anyone serious about building wealth in this space. A bit about my journey: I was stuck in a 9–5 job, trying to figure out how to create financial freedom. I started a YouTube channel as a side hustle, sharing content and uploading consistently—but growth was slow, and I wasn’t seeing results. Everything changed when I connected with a YouTube growth specialist. Within a few months, my channel grew from 400 subscribers to 4,000, and today it has over 400,000 subscribers, generating passive income every month. The real game-changer? I used YouTube as a platform to scale my multifamily investments. By treating it like a business, I could: 🏢 Share content that reached potential partners and investors 🏢 Fund new deals with passive income from the channel 🏢 Avoid costly mistakes by learning from the audience and experts 🏢 Build systems that made investing and operations more efficient The biggest lesson: multifamily investing, like YouTube, is a business. Treat it strategically, implement systems, and leverage the right guidance—and your growth multiplies. For anyone here: combining online platforms with smart multifamily strategies can accelerate your path to financial freedom while minimizing risks.