Invest Florida - A Real Estate Podcast

With $14 billion in unpaid property taxes each year in America, tax lien investing is getting more and more attention from investors these days as a lucrative, low risk alternative to the volatility of only investing in the stock market.    When property taxes are not paid, counties are not able to fund services such as school teachers, police, and firemen and this in turn disrupts life as we know it. The solution? States have been assigning and transferring these unpaid taxes as liens to private investors which gives local governments an immediate infusion of cash with low risk.   Join us for this week's podcast as our guest, Melanie Finnegan, gives us an overview of what tax liens are as well as her investment strategies and things to watch out for when investing in tax liens.

In this week's podcast, Eric Odum and Steven Silverman share their thoughts on the Office Market, specifically the coworking space.   The coworking space has grown significantly, and it's going to continue to be the fastest growing sector in the Office Market. WeWork is a disruptor in this space, but recently is having financial issues which could cause some ripples in this arena, but would probably not be catastrophic and will most likely be absorbed.   The whole economy in America is changing as we become more of a service economy, and office space will always exist.

Everybody wants to be a syndicator but you really need to understand the back-end of the business before you go out and syndicate (what to do, when to do it, and understanding the systems that you need to have in place). Even if you get the money and the investors -- that is the easier part. The harder part is what comes afterward.    Brian discusses the best tried and true strategies to be a successful syndicator, such as asset stacking, having "boots on the ground", understanding how to operate the asset, attracting money, and judging whether an investment is considered a security (SEC). 

How to Deal with Real Estate Brokers Eric Odum reveals the key action items to take on how to get a broker’s attention and move to the top of their list. Often-times, when buyers want access and communication with a broker, the broker seems to have a lack of responsiveness. However, from a broker's perspective, he/she is trying to weed out the unqualified buyers so they can work with those investors who they think can transact and close deals. Keep in mind, brokers only get paid when the deal gets done, so they don't want to spend their time working with investors whom they would need to educate or who are not ready or qualified.   Here are a just few steps investors can take to prove to the broker they are capable of being one of those people who can transact and close deals: Be focused and specific in what type of investment(s) you are looking for Show them the deals you've looked at, and why you think it is a good deal or a bad deal (it shows the broker your underwriting process in terms of how you make

Jeff Klotz talks about multifamily investing in Florida, specifically in Jacksonville and the I-4 Triangle (Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville) and also shares his positive outlook on the real estate market given the recent negative yield curve and tariffs.    He also tells his story of how he got started in real estate in high school, and how he kept growing his business to become CEO of The Klotz Group of Companies, which is the current middle market leader in multifamily real estate investments with a portfolio valued at over $1 billion.   Discussion topics and questions with our guest, Jeff Klotz   [03:14] Introduction of our guest, Jeff Klotz [04:54] How did you get into the real estate business? [05:57] When did you start getting interested in multifamily? [13:25] Tell us about the blind pool real estate funds you launched [22:20] What are some of the challenges of operating a syndication business? [27:02] How are you finding your deals? [29:03] Give us your take on the market from a high level, taking i

Did you know that over 50% of mortgages in the USA are owned by individuals and not banks? Nahir Solis does just that. She started a family operated investment firm that buys real estate mortgage notes at a discount of the current balance due, and then works with investors who are looking to purchase mortgage notes already vetted with due diligence and clear for investing.   If you have a self-directed IRA or 401k and have some money sitting around, notes are a good match for this type of investing since you're not paying taxes on the interest. So it works well for an IRA/401k or other types of protected retirement plans. The returns are good and the downside is protected if you do it right.   Join us as Nahir shares her story of how she got started in real estate mortgage note investing, and how her investment firm can help other investors looking for solid note investments that yield a higher than average return.

Neal Bawa discusses his analysis of the current global economy including Bloomberg's recent report that $17 trillion dollars worth of world-wide bonds have now gone negative -- which means the bonds' yield has fallen below zero. Having $17 trillion dollars of negative yielding debt has never happened in the history of the world before. So how will this affect the real estate market? Is a recession imminent?    You won't want to miss the insightful analysis Neal provides, and his advice for real estate investors.

In this week's episode, we talk with Greg Bond about his take on the Orlando market as well as what he's got going on with his property management business. Greg is still finding great deals by using basic common sense and some good marketing strategies. Some of his strategies include:   Diversifying his portfolio Leveraging IRAs Going to outlying areas to get better margins Renting to retirees   Join us for this episode as Greg shares is experience and insights into the Orlando real estate market.

John Wilson worked in the corporate world for about 20 years before deciding to quite his corporate job and get into multifamily real estate full time. John shares his journey starting from his first multifamily real estate investment to the lessons learned from investing in a 17 unit apartment to what he is investing in now. He also shares advice to others who are looking into taking those first steps into the multifamily market. 

Joe Turney had worked for 20 years in computer software which gave him a great income, but very little retirement and wealth. Between 2005-2010 he had several close people pass away including his dad, and it was then he started realizing he was trading his life for dollars. He decided he wasn't going to do that anymore and he wanted out of the corporate rat race, the commuting, and the alarm clocks.    Joe wanted a lifestyle with more freedom. He asked several people with that lifestyle what they did and they all said "real estate." He decided to go into real estate and taught himself the ropes by reading, taking online courses, and just doing.   Joe's advice is to just get out, take action, and be willing to make mistakes. Join us for this podcast as Joe takes us on his personal journey of his life-style changing path into real estate.

Join us as Rob Walton delves into some quirky parts of Florida law (Adverse Possession and Unlawful Detainer) that could really have an adverse impact on your real estate ownership and real estate investing. Eric shares his own personal story of how he learned about unlawful detainer when he found somebody squatting in his house. In this case, Eric worked with Rob Walton who worked to quickly get the squatter out.   Others are not so lucky. And still others find themselves in an adverse possession situation in which another person who has trespassed on their property ends up occupying it and gaining legal ownership of the property (also known as legally stealing the property).   Rob Walton can help with these types of cases as well as with Florida land trust planning, landlord/tenet eviction type cases, and he can help with litigation if needed. 

Deven Richter identified a problem in marketing commercial real estate and set about to solve it. Sometimes there is a price barrier that is just a little bit too high for people to get involved in commercial real estate. He created a website (myelistings.com) that allows everyone to list and find commercial properties for FREE. To be specific, currently only commercial firms and agents can list commercial properties, but it is open to the public to search and view listings.    Another great feature with this commercial real estate listing service is that commercial firms and agents can distribute their listings nationwide. For example, if you're an agent in Austin, TX, but you do a lot of business in Florida, you'll be able to market listings in Florida on this website.    Join us for this episode as we explore this free solution to listing commercial real estate.

In the last 4-5 years, there has been an increase in more aggressive loan programs for investors such as no income / no verification loans, rehab loans, and stated income loans. Frank Coto III shares his view of the current lending market and deep dives into the various types of loan programs that can help investors secure their property based on their situation.

Richard Wilson joins us for this podcast to discuss his insights and updates on the family office market. He also addresses how the family office applies to the real estate sandbox, and how real estate syndicators / sponsors can best approach investors.    The family office is a wealth management solution for those that are ultra-wealthy. The wealthier you are, the more a 1% or 3% mistake -- selling assets at the wrong time, tax mistakes, regulatory fines, paying too much in fees, etc. -- can add up to a lot of money. You could have paid a full-time team to help prevent those types of mistakes and reduce chaos and stress as well as to help you more effectively use your time.

David Beshears shares some great market perspectives on the four asset classes of commercial real estate, with a focus on the multifamily market. Join us for this episode to learn why David sees a positive outlook for those interested in investing in the multifamily market.

Master leasing has been around for a long time and offers some good benefits for both the investor and the property owner. Join us for this episode as David discusses his experience and the many benefits of master leasing.

Adrian Smude discusses his personal growth in overcoming shyness and limiting beliefs in order to find a successful niche in the mobile home market.  

When people do business, they are usually always talking and selling. Frankie Herrera, however, takes the opposite approach. Frankie's strategy is to get in front of the investors and listen in order to understand the problem, and then provide them with a solution that's mutually beneficial.

The Opportunity Zone Program can provide a big financial gain for investors through generous capital gains tax incentives. Since the Opportunity Zone program is so new (late 2017), relatively few investors are familiar with it.  Steven Rinaldi, who has his own law firm focusing on business law matters and intellectual property matters, joins us to discuss the details.

Many turn to real estate investing to achieve greater freedom and flexibility in life. However, the desire for freedom often materializes as financial freedom. If you forfeit your happiness for greater financial wealth, you will never gain true life balance.