Let's talk about a common mistake many new real estate investors make. Imagine a beginner who clings to a rule they've learned: Never buy a property unless it offers at least an 8% cap rate, especially with mortgage rates at 7%. This might seem wise, but it's actually quite limiting. Another investor might only buy properties below their current market value, not considering the potential for value enhancements. These examples show a narrow strategy that often prevents investors from finding great deals. So what should you do to find good real estate deals? Here’s a different approach: Don't just look at current cap rates or rely on the seller's proforma. Evaluate the potential to increase income or reduce expenses. Even a property with a 6% cap rate can become a profitable investment with the right strategy. This advice is based on over 20 years of experience and handling $250M in real estate transactions, through all kinds of market conditions. If this story makes you rethink how you evaluate properties, or if you want to learn more about effective investment strategies, let me know in the comments.

Real estate investing is always buzzing about big returns. But finding those high-reward deals isn't always straightforward. Let’s get into a recent off-market deal we're working on that's all about why who you know in real estate really matters. The Lowdown on Off-Market Deals Too many investors sleep on the best deals because they aren't on the main listings. This deal we’re talking about? It came through a solid connection with brokers who knew what my team was looking for. Here’s Why This Deal Stands Out Big Upside on Rents: Right now, rents at this property are way under market — we’re talking $500-750 below where they could be. With the right upgrades and management, there's a huge opportunity to bump up those rents and significantly increase the property's income. Sweet Financing Setup: The icing on the cake is the financing that's already in place. Part of this property comes with an assumable mortgage at a low 3.6% interest rate. In today’s market, that’s a deal in itself because it cuts down the interest costs a lot. All About the Numbers Property Units: 368 Purchase Price: $39,775,000 Required Capital: $28,300,000 Projected Returns: After a 3 to 5-year hold, we're looking at a 15% average annual return and a 75% return on investment, which is solid. Bottom line If you're eyeing real estate, don’t just stick to what’s out there for everyone to see. Off-market is your ticket to bigger gains. This deal is proof—great potential for increasing rents and competitive financing terms. Thinking of jumping into real estate or want more details on finding deals like this? Drop a comment, and let's get into it.

When underwriting apartment or hotel deals, the numbers ARE important. But, after doing HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of dollars in acquisitions over 20+ years, I know for a fact that the numbers are not enough. You gotta know the STORY of the deal. Why is the seller selling? By knowing the seller's motivation, I might be able to structure the deal creatively (little to no down). Or I might give a lower offer in exchange for a faster closing. Another aspect of the STORY of the deal is the OPPORTUNITY. Why & how will you create the VALUE in the deal? How come the current owner has not created the VALUE in the deal themselves? You say you can increase the rent in the next 12-24 months - but can you really? Can you really lower the operating expenses with high inflation right now? Is the current owner's PM (property management) team - really that bad that they couldn't increase the rent or lower the expenses - and YOU can? How's the location? Are the builders building new inventory? How's the absorption rate? Will new builds affect YOU? In what way? Can your building really COMPETE or do you have to lower the rent in order to do so? By asking these tough questions and being brutally honest in your answers, you will REALLY know the TRUE STORY of the deal. And if the deal is not to your liking or the risks are now higher vs the rewards, WALK AWAY from the deal. Not having a deal is better than making a bad deal. . . . #AISChallenge

I read Robert Allen's book - Nothing Down when I was 16 years old. It was THE book that inspired me to look into real estate. And his book taught me that through CREATIVITY and hustle, one can get a property with no money down. The truth is when I lost everything back in 2003, I had to get creative and I had to hustle. I had to review Bob Allen's book & I implemented it in a MASSIVE WAY. And I've done it all. I bought houses, apartment buildings, even hotels with NO MONEY DOWN. In some cases it was done through owner financing. In other cases, I had to get several lenders involved. In a lot of cases, I had to raise private capital. In all cases, I had to get creative and get all the capital without any cash coming out of my pocket. Here's the point: having $0 cash to invest in real estate should not LIMIT you. Instead, educate yourself on NO MONEY DOWN techniques. And then use your God-given MIND and ENERGY to look for those deals. If I can build a $300M real estate portfolio starting from $0...so can you. Do you want to know the 5 techniques you can use to buy ANY real estate - even BIG deals like apartments & hotels with NO MONEY DOWN? #AISChallenge

"You can increase the rent by $200-300/mo/u and all you need to do is put in $200K in improvements." "No, I don't want to do that...", the owner of a 41-unit apartment building we were managing replied. "Why don't YOU do it?", he asked. Before I can even respond...he said: "All I need is $1,500 a month on top of my mortgage payment". That was in essence the "negotiation" I had with the owner. He didn't want to spend any money to renovate the units and increased the rents. So I took over the property and went to work. He didn't ask for any money down so I didn't give him any. We structured the deal - owner financing and I gave him $1500 per month on top of his mortgage payments. I then used the cashflow from the building to renovate it one unit at a time. And once we were able to increase the rents on 20% of the units, we put the building up for sale. In 15 months, we closed and made a $627,000 profit on a 41-unit we acquired with $0 down, no banks and no investors. I bought tens of millions of dollars of houses, apartment buildings, even hotels for no money down. Do you want to learn how? Comment below and I will tag you so you don't miss any of my posts especially about creative real estate deals like this one. . #AISChallenge