\n<\/p>\n
When the Great Recession hit, Andy Gil lost his business<\/strong>. Suddenly, he was forced to start over. But the fear of losing everything again was the driving force behind what would come next.<\/p>\n Andy got serious, raising his young kids in an 800-square-foot house, driving 10-year-old cars, <\/strong>and funneling every spare dollar <\/strong>into savings so he could start <\/strong>buying rental properties<\/strong><\/a>. These were the types of sacrifices the average investor probably wouldn\u2019t<\/em> make, but they became the catalyst for scaling to 58 rental units in just four years!<\/strong><\/p>\n What\u2019s more, Andy has never had the benefit of 3% mortgage rates. He got into real estate investing<\/strong><\/a> at the tail end of 2022<\/strong>, meaning he\u2019s been able to grow his large<\/strong>, cash-flowing <\/strong>real estate portfolio<\/strong><\/a> in a tough<\/em> housing market with high interest rates<\/strong>\u2014all while using very little of his own money<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Today, he manages his own rentals<\/strong> and<\/em> other people\u2019s properties, deploying a unique <\/strong>investing strategy<\/strong><\/a> that has even helped him acquire a 30-unit property<\/strong>. In this episode, he\u2019s sharing exactly what that strategy is (and how YOU can implement it), what he\u2019s learned in over 20 years of contracting experience<\/strong>, and how to use AI to gain an edge in today\u2019s market<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: Andy: Dave: \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Help us reach new listeners on iTunes by leaving us a rating and review! It takes just 30 seconds and instructions can be found here<\/a>. Thanks! We really appreciate it!<\/p>\n Interested in learning more about today\u2019s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email <\/em>[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
When the Great Recession hit, Andy Gill\u2019s business went under. The future he thought he\u2019d created disappeared overnight and the fear of being in that position ever again became his new obsession. So he grinded, he hustled, he faced major setbacks along the way. And in 2022, he got serious about real estate investing. While most people around him upgraded their lifestyles, Andy took extreme measures. He downsized his house, he drove old used cars and he pinched pennies so he could funnel every extra dollar he had toward buying rental properties. Most investors aren\u2019t making these types of sacrifices, but for Andy, it was a temporary trade-off for a more secure financial future and it is already paying off. In just four years, he\u2019s scaled to 58 rental units and counting, and he\u2019s done it all in today\u2019s high interest rate environment without a super high paying job. In many ways, Andy is just the average investor, but he also knows his superpower.
He uses his creativity to cut through the noise, to spot opportunities that fly under most buyers\u2019 radar, and he solves problems for hesitant sellers. Today, he\u2019s even going to pull back the curtain on a genius strategy you\u2019ve probably never heard of, but it\u2019s one that helped him take down a 30 unit property with very little of his own money.
What\u2019s up friends? I\u2019m Dave Meyer, chief investment officer at BiggerPockets. Today in the show we have Andy Gill, an investor in Connecticut who was previously on episode 803 back in August of 2023. And he\u2019s also been one of our most popular speakers at BPCon the last few years. So excited he\u2019s going to be back on the show and hear what he\u2019s been up to. Let\u2019s bring him on. Andy, welcome back to the BiggerPockets Podcast. So good to have you here, man.<\/p>\n
Thank you. I\u2019m always flattered to be asked and always pinch myself a little bit that I get these opportunities.<\/p>\n
Well, it\u2019s always great to have you here, Andy. This should be a lot of fun. You have been on the show before, but for people who haven\u2019t heard your previous episodes or didn\u2019t attend your wildly popular session at BP Con last year, tell us just a little bit about yourself, where you are in the country and what you do in real estate.<\/p>\n
So my name\u2019s Andy Gill. I am on the East Coast in Connecticut, directly between Boston and New York. And we own and operate a portfolio of about 58 apartments currently, all within about 30 minutes of our house. So I\u2019m also a contractor and we\u2019re building new homes, new renovations. I\u2019ve been doing that for basically my whole adult career, so 25 years, but I didn\u2019t start buying real estate. I didn\u2019t understand that owning the asset was the goal until about five years ago. So we\u2019ve been in about four years.<\/p>\n
Oh, wow. Okay. So you were just doing contractor work for other people, homeowners, real estate investors, I assume, for 20 years. What clicked? What happened that made you realize now is the time for me to start trying to hold onto these assets?<\/p>\n
I had a really bad business experience that I learned a ton from that taught me that I didn\u2019t understand finance and I didn\u2019t understand a P&L. I didn\u2019t understand any of that. And so I had to get smart. And then I had another opportunity, another mentor and learned how to manage. If you can\u2019t measure it, you can\u2019t manage it. And so being able to project costs and walk it in. And after I kind of developed those skills and people skills, I realized that owning the asset, not just improving it was the path. So we started looking for flips and that didn\u2019t work out. And our first purchase was 12 condos here in Connecticut.<\/p>\n
So you just went for it.<\/p>\n
Went for it. I got a partner to go fifty fifty. And yeah, my contracting career, being able to do rinse repeat work, 12 identical condos spoke to me so I could understand. And once I understood one, I understood them all. And regarding the tenants, understanding how rent would move, what the improvements would be, all that stuff, I was comfortable with that. So we jumped in the deep end.<\/p>\n
What does your portfolio look like now?<\/p>\n
So we have 58 apartments in various different structures. Amazing. Some we own ourselves, some we own them single partners. And we got into a 12 family with two other partners and they\u2019re all spread. We go as high as Putnam area in Connecticut and low as about Norwich in New London County. And so we manage all of those but 12.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a lot. That\u2019s scaling quickly, 58. How did you finance it? Sounds like with partners, but did you have money saved up from contracting?<\/p>\n
I grew up pretty with limited means and early in my marriage we didn\u2019t have a lot. And my son has cystic fibrosis, which is heavy financial implications. And so it took us a while and I took a real hard hit with that business loss during the Great Recession. So it took a while and we learned to live below our means. And then slowly we realized that we were starting to save. And so we stayed minimal and we drove used cars and we moved to a smaller home and then we had a little bit of cash and we were able to get in with a partner and learned commercial financing. And so that was originally how we went in. We got a commercial loan with a five-year arm and it was a value add. And we created quite a bit of equity in that just by coming in, stabilizing the property.
And then we were able to move some of the equity into other deals. But along the way, once you prove you can do the thing, so if you stay singularly focused on what you\u2019re great at, then people will loan to you. Most of all the financing we do now or most of the loans we get now are private. And so we\u2019ll talk about this deal that we have taken down over the last 18 months and will continue. So like a three-year plan is privately financed.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re going to turn our attention and talk about this awesome, very cool, unique deal that Andy is doing that I\u2019m very eager to hear about. But I just want to ask you a little bit about that financial sacrifice you made. You said you downgraded, you lived below your means. How did that impact your ability to be a real estate investor? And how do you look back on it now? Was it a big sacrifice? It sounds like it was worth it, right?<\/p>\n
Yes, it certainly was worth it. At the time, I think it was more out of fear at the time. I was afraid of debt. And now debt being good versus bad and how you define that is different for everyone, but I really just wanted to\u2026 I didn\u2019t want to owe anyone anything. And so living below our means was freedom for us. So I didn\u2019t want to have to work to pay for a car that other people viewed as us being well off.That didn\u2019t mean anything to me. Good. So we downsized the house and I raised my two kids in an 800 square foot house. It was still 850 square foot house. And we\u2019re still here now. And so was it a sacrifice? I mean, I guess, but it was how I felt safe at that time. And then I realized that we were growing a net worth with equity and savings.
And then when it was appropriate, then we shifted that into investments. So yeah, I think that living below your means, I think understanding what your overhead is and everyone should look at their personal as overhead and being able to clear that. And I don\u2019t mean everyone, not everyone has the ability to do that, but if you do have the ability to live below your means, you should.<\/p>\n
You mentor a lot of people, right? You talk to a lot of real estate investors. Do you find a lot of people are willing to do this to sort of reduce their lifestyle even if it\u2019s just temporary to pursue real estate?<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think everyone sees the value from a social media high level, okay, this is the life. You buy these things, people pay rent and you make money, lots of money, but it\u2019s not passive. So when you start talking about what it actually takes and the amount of grind and the different steps, so to get through acquisition is a marathon. And then you start and then you meet your tenants and then you have to figure out how to screen tenants and collect rent and do maintenance and what value add you should do and how do you do all this stuff. So there\u2019s a ton of education with it, but a lot of people do not follow through or they don\u2019t see the value in it. I think you really have to want it. And I think that you have to dig in and put some of your wants and desires in the parking lot for later.<\/p>\n
Yeah. I think that is true. It can become passive, but it can\u2019t be passive upfront. If that\u2019s what you want, you either have to be already really rich and so you can go and be a lender or go invest in syndications or something, or you should just invest in the stock market. It\u2019s very difficult to say, I simultaneously want an avenue, a path to accelerate my financial situation that\u2019s better than every other option out there, like real estate, I believe it is, but I also don\u2019t want to do anything.That is a really hard thing to ask for unless you are fortunate and are already really wealthy. And I just think not everyone has to downsize their house or drive a used car, but you got to find something that you\u2019re willing to give up to pursue it. It\u2019s not free. You have to put something into it.
And I\u2019ve found a lot of younger people are willing to do what you\u2019re talking about. When I started, I was 22. I lived in my friend\u2019s grandma\u2019s basement for three years. I didn\u2019t even think twice about it. It was fine. I was like, \u201cYeah, whatever. It\u2019s a bed.\u201d
But I do think doing it at the age you\u2019re at when you had kids is something that I hear of less. How long ago was that?<\/p>\n
We\u2019re in our fifth year now. Fifth year. Yeah. Yeah. We started, I\u2019ll be 49 this year, so I was 44 when we bought our\u2026 I mean, we\u2019d done flips earlier. I\u2019d been a contractor a long time, but the first buy and hold, I was 44.<\/p>\n
Wow. And so five years later, I would assume with what you\u2019re telling me, financial situation trajectories completely changed by making those sacrifices about your lifestyle, but also putting in a lot of work and just sticking with it.<\/p>\n
Yeah. I didn\u2019t have a 401k. We were just paying for trying to pay mortgage, keep food on the table. And so I knew I had to do something. And so we went for it. I didn\u2019t know I was going to get in when it was still going up. Interest rates were already spiking and I didn\u2019t think it was going to be like this, but I had a belief in myself. I got good at something and I identified the specific metrics that I needed to monitor and watch and it\u2019s gone well. And now when we buy things, we have a good plan and we go to execute it, but if it doesn\u2019t go as well, we know when to let it go.<\/p>\n
Well, awesome. Good for you, man. I love hearing your story. It\u2019s super inspiring and relatable. It\u2019s something that really everyone can do and just happy for you and all the success you\u2019ve had. Thank<\/p>\n
You, man. But<\/p>\n
You haven\u2019t stopped, obviously. And you told me you\u2019re doing a really cool, interesting deal that\u2019s going to really expand your portfolio. And I want to dig into that, but we got to take a quick break. We\u2019ll be right back. Welcome back to the BiggerPockets Podcast. I\u2019m here with investor Andy Gill. Before the break, we talked a little bit about Andy\u2019s background and how he got to where he is today with a sizable portfolio in Connecticut. But Andy, last time you were on the show, you said, I think you told us that you were ready to do something new, but you didn\u2019t know exactly what it was going to be. Now you know what it is, right? So tell us about it.<\/p>\n
Yeah. So I had an idea. I figured that if I could take under management of properties that I didn\u2019t yet own in older landlords that I knew would be selling that were a bit frustrated, I\u2019d be already controlling the property and be able to be in the first position to make an offer and acquire that property. So I sent out a bunch of mailers that I designed with AI and they were really cool. And it basically said, \u201cBeing a landlord sucks, you should sell to me. \u201d Something along those lines. I don\u2019t remember. It was like cartoons and stuff. And I hit one of my longtime friends and builders that I didn\u2019t know owned properties or I forgot that owned a bunch of apartments. So we talked and I was like, well, he\u2019s like, \u201cMy wife is all over me. She wants me to sell.
She wants to travel more, blah, blah, blah.\u201d And I\u2019ve been working with this guy for 20 years. Fast-forward a year and then he\u2019s like, \u201cI think I\u2019m ready to start talking to you about that. \u201d And so we kind of curated this deal where he didn\u2019t want to pay the capital gains and he wanted to be careful about the depreciation of capture, but he bought a long time ago, so it was pretty minimal. And so I created a proposal where we would transfer properties to me staged over time and he would hold a note and we\u2019d put a small amount down. But I wanted to manage them upfront right away so I could see under the hood and get comfortable just because we had limited capital to take on something this big without partners. So we started doing that and it took a while, took a year to put all together and it was a phased acquisition where we bought some, managed others, and then over time transferred the rest of those into our ownership, into our portfolio.
So we\u2019re about halfway through that now and plans of transferring the remainder in the coming 12 months, I guess.<\/p>\n
This very cool. All right. We got to talk about this and dig into this. So first and foremost, your thought was if I basically become a property manager for other landlords, I assume you can make some money in it, but you weren\u2019t really doing it for that. You were doing it for deal flow. As those landlords potentially want to sell and offload, they\u2019re going to come to you first and you\u2019ll have early access. I love that strategy. Did someone tell you to do that or did you just think of that on your own?<\/p>\n
No, that was me. That was my thought process.<\/p>\n
Wow, it\u2019s genius.<\/p>\n
Thank you. Yeah. Don\u2019t tell anyone about it, all right?<\/p>\n
Yes.<\/p>\n
Tens<\/p>\n
Of thousands of people are about to hear that idea and copy you.<\/p>\n
It is. I mean, but it really comes down to would these people hold financing for others? Well, you need to develop the skills so that they would. And so yes, they will if you prove yourself, if you add value. So I take care of problems and I let that be known. And it has become more safe to transfer it to me than anything else as time has gone on.<\/p>\n
I love that strategy. It makes so much sense. So tell me about the mailers because a lot of people send mailers. I as a landlord get all of them all the time from wholesalers, from people who want to buy my properties. What were you saying that was different than just a normal mailer that goes out?<\/p>\n
You want to be relatable and approachable in the real world as well as in the perceived world. So I designed a cartoon character of myself and what I do. So I use all the images of\u2026 I wear flannels. I\u2019m a very tactile hands-on person. I do my own lawn mowing and snow removal as much as I can. I have to hire a lot of it out, but I\u2019m very hands-on. So I wanted to relay that in who I am and what I do. And it worked. It was like a flannel and a tool belt and a dog and a pickup truck. And it basically said, I\u2019m a landlord too. It sucks. It sucks. You\u2019re probably done anymore.<\/p>\n
I get it.<\/p>\n
Yeah. People call you and it must be annoying. Must suck. You should sell to me. So something like \u2013<\/p>\n
Do you actually think being a landlord sucks?<\/p>\n
No, I love it. I actually<\/p>\n
Love it. I don\u2019t either. I don\u2019t think it sucks. All these things are like, \u201cOh, be a landlord sticks, do passive.\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cReally?\u201d There are annoying parts, but there\u2019s annoying part of every job. No, I know. I love it. Yeah. Okay. But you\u2019re selling it, so I get it. And especially too, if you\u2019re hitting someone who\u2019s been a landlord for 30 years, maybe they\u2019re over it. And that I could see. And you\u2019re fresh, man. You\u2019re five years in. So yeah, you\u2019re ready to go. I got fresh legs. Yeah.<\/p>\n
Yeah. Yeah. 49-year-old fresh legs, but yeah.<\/p>\n
Super fresh. Yeah.<\/p>\n
And it worked. I got a bunch of calls. I actually got a bunch of calls on that one mailer. I think we sent out like 600 mailers or something like that. And I got 100 calls about it. Wow.<\/p>\n
What? That\u2019s very cool. I just want to say too, because you\u2019re a big AI user and we\u2019re going to talk about that in a little bit. But I just like that you used AI to be unique in an individual. Because I think if you just go on and use AI and use the template, like you said, that anyone else uses, you\u2019re not standing out. It\u2019s no different than just hiring another company to do it, but you sat down and though about, who am I? How can I showcase myself? And then you use AI to do the execution. That to me, I assume you attribute the success of that mailing campaign and the response rate you got to just by doing something a little bit different.<\/p>\n
I did a follow-up to that too with a handwritten squasi handwritten letter and it said being a landlord stinks. And I got scratch and sniff snickers of dead fish. And I put them in\u2026<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the most New England thing I\u2019ve ever heard.<\/p>\n
Yeah, I did. I bought them on Amazon. It was like scratch and sniff stickers. Yeah.<\/p>\n
Okay. All right. So anyway, your friend, this guy you know, he calls you. How big is his portfolio? 30<\/p>\n
Units. 30 units. Nice. It\u2019s a mixed spread. Yeah, it\u2019s spread out over seven properties.<\/p>\n
Okay. And close in your target area. He\u2019s been doing this for a while, it sounds like his wife wants to travel, but he doesn\u2019t want to sell it today, right? And it sounds like you didn\u2019t want to buy it today.<\/p>\n
I mean, I would\u2019ve had to bring in partners so I didn\u2019t have the cash to take this whole down all at once without giving up significant equity, which would\u2019ve been fine too, but he didn\u2019t want that.<\/p>\n
And so what\u2019s the structure? Let\u2019s walk through it. You figured out a way you take over management, that was the first step?<\/p>\n
Yep. So it was two contracts. So the first would be the management contract for duration of time. The second contract would be for the purchase and sales. Yeah.<\/p>\n
Did you agree on prices for the sale upfront or was it just kind of like a right of first refusal where if he decided to go sell, you had the first shot at buying it and making<\/p>\n
It off? Yeah. So the first one we did the appraisals and it went based on that. The remaining ones were with prices to be agreed upon at current market. We actually just agreed on a per unit price because we\u2019re like, \u201cLet\u2019s stop paying for apraisals.\u201d So<\/p>\n
You just basically said, \u201cYou have 30 units, I\u2019m going to pay you. I\u2019m going to make up a number, $100,000 a unit and we\u2019re not going to go and get eight appraisals right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Right. Because then you\u2019re like, \u201cIt\u2019s fine. You win some, you lose some, but some are three bed, some are two beds, some are in better areas than others. But if you\u2019re taking the whole thing, it made sense.<\/p>\n
Well, I imagine a big part of the appeal of this to the seller is simplicity. He doesn\u2019t want to spend half of his days right now with appraisers and title agencies and make it simple. And so how far are you into this deal structure?<\/p>\n
We\u2019re about halfway. Yeah.<\/p>\n
So you\u2019ve been managing the properties for how long?<\/p>\n
Coming up on a year now. Managing the property. Yep. It\u2019ll be a year soon and we\u2019ve transferred three of the seven properties<\/p>\n
And<\/p>\n
We\u2019re working towards the remainder. Yeah.<\/p>\n
Awesome. That is so cool. And how are you feeling about the structure? Is it working well for you?<\/p>\n
It works really well in that for management, it works really well because I\u2019m already in control of the property completely. I already know the tenants. I already know what the problems are. So good. I\u2019m already collecting rent. So essentially I basically just go into rent ready and move it from his account to mine.<\/p>\n
And do you think the seller\u2019s happy with the arrangement too?<\/p>\n
Oh, he loves it. He loves it.<\/p>\n
Yeah.<\/p>\n
So he\u2019s a builder also. And so now we\u2019re talking about going into development because as he wants to retire, he wants to stay involved and doesn\u2019t actually want to retire. He wants to work less. So we\u2019re talking about developing other rental properties. There\u2019s a thing called an 830G here, affordable housing. And so he\u2019s getting into that developments where we can essentially disregard the zoning regulations and increase density. So he\u2019s into that. So we\u2019re working on some developments that we would partner on also. So we get along really, really well. He\u2019s an awesome guy.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s so great. Did you follow up with other investors who responded to your mailer? Or once you found this, was that sufficient?<\/p>\n
I did. There were some in, but they all were just like every other that you get a call from a postcard. So some of them, hey, maybe later, whatever. And so I was keeping a spreadsheet, but then once we got into this, I was like, this is all I can\u2026 I\u2019ve bitten more than I can chew right now, so we need to stagger this. I basically stopped. I don\u2019t chase down any deals. I get phone calls on them a lot. Yeah. Oh, good for you. Stuff that if you singularly focus on being good at something, you will get referrals and things will come your way as you develop and grow.<\/p>\n
That is such good advice and so true. You don\u2019t have to be good at everything in real estate, but if you can be good at one thing and people can count on you for that one thing, it\u2019s going to help your career. Well, congrats, Andy. It\u2019s super cool. I love the approach that you\u2019re taking here. Something I would try to emulate. Maybe not doing the property management, but buying a portfolio. I love the idea. And as you said, Andy is good at this. You mentioned that you manage your properties with RentReady. If you are a BiggerPockets Pro member, you can get a discount on RentReady. It\u2019s an incredible deal. It basically pays for the BiggerPockets Pro membership. If you want to check that out, go to biggerpockets.com\/perks. All right, Andy, I want to turn more towards just some advice because I know you mentor a lot of people and help a lot of people with real estate.
I want to hear the advice that you\u2019re giving people to navigate the unique market that we\u2019re in right now. But we got to take one quick break. We\u2019ll be right back. Welcome back to the BiggerPockets Podcast. I am here with investor Andy Gill. We\u2019ve heard a little bit about his background and story and about the very cool, unique deal structure you came up with to really supercharge your portfolio building. You mentioned, and you and I have talked about this, but you help a lot of people build their real estate investing careers. What are some of the things you\u2019re seeing people struggle with? And maybe what\u2019s some of the advice that you\u2019re giving to help people move forward with financial freedom through real estate?<\/p>\n
The advice I\u2019m giving currently is to be persistent. You have to make a lot of offers. My son is actively trying to buy his first property. Oh, nice.He moved into one of his\u2026 He\u2019s 20 years old. He\u2019s got pre-approved for an FHA loan. He\u2019s doing great. And when I watched him make his first offer, you\u2019re emotionally tied to it. So he wanted to get that deal because we picked it apart and it\u2019s not going to be that deal. It\u2019s probably not going to be that deal. It\u2019s probably going to be the 15th or the 20th or the 30th deal that you\u2026 And so kind of scan them at a higher level and be persistent and make lower offers. Underwrite without the price in mind with what works for you for cashflow.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just about sticking with it right now.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s<\/p>\n
Just good. I saw Michael Zuber from One Rental at a time, his community. He was saying that this is the era for low ballers. I like that. And it\u2019s not like you\u2019re necessarily trying to screw people over, but you\u2019re just showing them what you\u2019re willing to pay. And someone will agree to that. At some point the sides will align and there will be mutual benefit, but it\u2019s not going to be everyone. So you just really need to be patient with it. Do you find that\u2019s hard for new investors to accept?<\/p>\n
Yes, I do. So it\u2019s two part. Be persistent, but also believe in your own abilities to figure things out. So your first deal doesn\u2019t have to be a home run. It just has to get you on base. So if I know that when I get into a deal, if you miscalculate something, if some conditions are discovered afterwards, you\u2019re going to fight through it. And you have to be able to believe in your abilities to get yourself out of jams. So don\u2019t hide behind like, \u201cOh, well, I need to have X amount of cash flow in order to do this. \u201d Figure out what would you pay? What would you buy it for? And then find the mean of that and just do it. Get on, get enough, get around people that will validate that, get in the right rooms and then go for it, create a network and swing the bat.<\/p>\n
That makes sense to me. You said cashflow. Are there any other minimum thresholds that you feel a deal needs to hit these days?<\/p>\n
For these multifamilies that we\u2019re buying, we have cashflow. We\u2019re already looking for\u2026 I mean, cash on cash is\u2026 I want to get my money back as fast as possible. I also want to be able to\u2026 I want to buy in a place that gets 3% organic appreciation historically. I\u2019m not looking for a place that\u2019s going to just parking money, but that\u2019s not going to grow.<\/p>\n
I know, but that\u2019s not asking. 3% is pretty normal. So you\u2019re not saying I need to be in Austin in 2020. Yeah, it\u2019s just, I<\/p>\n
Get it. But when there\u2019s no deals, the deals that are available are typically in the area that you can buy areas that sit flat. Yeah,<\/p>\n
That\u2019s fair.<\/p>\n
So stay out of that.<\/p>\n
And then what about condition of property? Because New England, there\u2019s a lot of old stuff around there. So are there any things you won\u2019t touch or what kind of properties do you look for?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s funny you say this because the things that are acceptable to me and the things that I see other investors being like, \u201cOh, I\u2019m afraid of that. \u201d I mean, I don\u2019t like knob and tube wiring. I want to do that. I like to get a good roof on the place. I want to know structural problems. We have a lot of stone foundations here. I mean, you get out in our basements in New England and you\u2019re like, \u201cSomeone was killed here for sure.\u201d Then like, oh, there\u2019s weird stuff. So there\u2019s limited amount of things. I mean, if you look at bad roof structural problems, et cetera, knob and tube wiring, things that cost a ton of money to\u2026 I also like sewer laterals. We have old infrastructure here. So there\u2019s your electrical service, your sewer and water. You want to make sure you get that inspected all the way out to the street.
That\u2019s a very, very expensive find later. So there\u2019s a short list of things that I say, stay away from this, stay away from that, or at least get it resolved when you\u2019re in contract.<\/p>\n
Okay. But would you give that advice for people who might not have your background in construction and contracting? Do you think for people who don\u2019t have that background, you would change the criteria of what to buy?<\/p>\n
No, I wouldn\u2019t. I mean, like you said, we started this. This is not passive income. If you\u2019re going to come in, you\u2019re going to have to work. And so you\u2019re going to get calls on Saturdays and Sundays and there\u2019s problems that are going to happen. Someone else is not going to come in and buy something better than me at a price better than I can buy and not have the problems that I have. So you\u2019re going to have to figure it out. You\u2019re going to have to go through the renovations, you\u2019re going to have to go through the heavier CapEx problems. You\u2019re going to have to figure it out if you want to be in this game.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s good advice, man. I like that. Figure it out. You can. That\u2019s being an entrepreneur. You don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen, but you can figure it out. You<\/p>\n
Absolutely<\/p>\n
Can. Thousands of people have done it. That\u2019s literally the whole point of BiggerPockets too. You run into a problem you can\u2019t solve, go on the BiggerPockets forums, ask a question. Someone will help you. Come to BPCon and you can meet people who can help you. That\u2019s the whole value of having a network. I mean, look at Andy. Having a network landed him this sweet deal with 30\u2026 It\u2019s just like you can absolutely do this. Speaking of BPCon, Andy, you had a wildly popular session on using AI with real estate last year. And I understand you\u2019re coming back this year and doing more on AI.<\/p>\n
Yeah.<\/p>\n
I think it\u2019s super fascinating because I\u2019ll be honest, I use AI a decent amount, not that much for real estate investing. So tell me what you\u2019re talking about at BPCon and what investors might learn.<\/p>\n
Well, last year I documented how I use AI, so the different frameworks and how I use it. It was an incredible opportunity. I\u2019m incredibly grateful for it. I never thought I\u2019d speak on a stage with so many people. There was<\/p>\n
Like 800 people there.<\/p>\n
Yeah. It was crazy.<\/p>\n
Andy went viral at the conference basically.<\/p>\n
Thank you. Yeah, it was pretty cool. It was an experience I\u2019ll always remember. And so this year I was asked to host a AI focused networking session. So the networking sessions at BP Conner, if you haven\u2019t gone to BPCon, it\u2019s absolutely incredible. This will be my third year speaking, I think my fifth show and I won\u2019t miss it. I love the networking stuff and I like how every year it gets more focused on networking. So I\u2019m going to be doing a 20-minute talk on AI and how I use it, but this time focused on other people talking to other people about how they use it. I want it to be of value in the last two years. I really spend quite a bit of time making sure that I want it to be digested really well and people don\u2019t walk away with being like, wow, that was incredible value.
And I beat the hell out of myself to get there. I was super late last year in submitting it. I\u2019m like, \u201cIt\u2019s not ready. It\u2019s not ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
I do the same thing. I\u2019ve always It\u2019s like tinkering till the last<\/p>\n
Day<\/p>\n
Of my speech. But yeah, it was super popular, one of the highest rated sessions that we\u2019ve ever had. And yeah, I love the idea that you\u2019re obviously sharing what you do, but AI is so new. It\u2019s interesting always to hear what other people are doing with it. No one has the one right answer right now
And people are super creative about it and I\u2019m super excited to come to this and hear how other people are using it because even just in regular life, I sometimes hear how people are using AI to automate tasks or things they do in their day. I\u2019m like, I never would\u2019ve thought of that. So that will be a lot of fun. If you want to grab your ticket, go to biggerpockets.com\/conference. Join me and Andy, Henry and thousands of other investors learning and sharing with one another. As Andy said, it\u2019s a can\u2019t miss event. I look forward to it every year. Super excited for this one in Orlando, October 2nd to 4th. Well, Andy, thanks for joining us again, man. Always enjoy talking to you, learning from you. Congrats on all your success, cool deals that you\u2019re up to. We really appreciate your time.<\/p>\n
Thanks, Dave. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me.<\/p>\n
If people want to connect with you outside of BPCon, where can they do that?<\/p>\n
I am primarily on Instagram. I\u2019m not on the other platforms. Coach Andy Gill, G-I-L A \u2013 N-D-Y-G-I-L. And I try to answer all my DMs and I\u2019m an idiot on there and post all kinds of surgery things.<\/p>\n
No, I like your content. It\u2019s fun. Well, check him out there, Andy, there on Instagram and at BPCon. That\u2019s our show for today. Thank you all so much for watching this episode of the BiggerPockets podcast. We\u2019ll see you all next time.<\/p>\n