(00:00:01) – Welcome to Episode Five of Season 16 of the Growing Empires show. Today I’m here with my special guest, Beth Underhill, and we’re going to talk about her journey into construction, hotels, outdoor living, and how she became a GP in over 500 multifamily units and holds equity in hotels in Panama. So stay tuned.

     (00:00:25) – Welcome to Growing Empires, hosted by real estate entrepreneur and trusted investment advisor Jennifer DeJesus, Growing Empires provides insight to building wealth through passive income, producing real estate investments for those who want to build and manage a more profitable real estate portfolio.

     (00:00:46) – Well, welcome back to the Growing Empire Show. I’m so glad that you’re here.

    (00:00:50) – Thank you so much for having me.

     (00:00:52) – We’re going to kick off this episode with you, sharing a little bit about your background and the work that you’re doing now.

    (00:00:57) – Great. Thank you. So I am the founder of Lifestyle Equities Group. I reside in Cincinnati, Ohio. I’ve been active in construction and real estate for 20 plus years. I’ve redeveloped over $5 million worth of single family homes.

    (00:01:10) – I’ve assisted in the construction of over 30 million and outdoor living spaces. I am currently on over 500 multifamily and student housing units. I hold equity in a hotel in Panama. I’m currently working on my own hotel, actually in Antigua, along with a few other projects such as raffles and assisted living facilities.

     (00:01:35) – Wow. That’s amazing.

    (00:01:37) – Thank you.

     (00:01:37) – So today we’re going to talk about a lot of this specifically though how to not lose money when doing single family flips. And I want to talk more about that Caribbean investing. It’s very intriguing.

    (00:01:50) – Happy to talk about it I my face lights up every time I do.

     (00:01:54) – Yeah I’m sure I’m sure. It’s very, very interesting. So I’ve asked Beth to join me to share her wealth of knowledge that she’s gained throughout the years on these subjects. So we’re going to jump right into some questions. Uh, this one’s more about your background and expertise. I’d like you to share some insights into your journey into construction and real estate over the past two decades, how it led to your current involvement in multifamily and diverse investment projects like your hotel.

    (00:02:20) – Sure, absolutely. So, uh, a couple different avenues, actually. First off, with the construction company, my husband and I, we’ve operated this outdoor living space construction company for 24 years. And, you know, surprisingly, we still like each other after it. Um, but we’ve learned so much just about how to pivot in tough environments, right? So 2008 rolled around. We were heavily, heavily leveraged with, um, we had trucks, we had equipment, we had, um, employees, we had a building, and we had to pivot, um, you know, the everything was going south in terms of, you know, uh, business and, uh, customers were pulling our clients. I should say we’re pulling contracts from out from underneath us. Um, and so we had to pivot. And I think that’s one of the things that you can actually, um, you know, learn, especially in the real estate market, you do have to pivot. You know, not every year is going to be a banner year.

    (00:03:22) – Not every project, every multifamily is going to go as you have planned. And so you need to act accordingly, adjust and be able to, um, to really be open to that. Uh, sometimes there’s people that aren’t open to adjusting, and as a result, I think they just stay stagnant. They get in trouble. Um, but that’s one of the things that we learned in addition to that, you know, I come from a hospitality background and that’s where my love for hotels actually comes into play. I’ve been in the service business service industry for quite some time. Um, you know, in addition to the construction business, I’ve owned and operated a catering business and internet based business, um, a fitness studio, you know, so all of that with, you know, dealing with people, um, you know, that’s one of those things that really is the core of, of just any business. And I think in real estate especially, um, currently, right now, I deal a lot with investors.

    (00:04:16) – And, you know, everything that I’ve learned over all of those businesses have led me to this position or this point in my life that talking to investors is one of the most enjoyable things that that I get to do on a daily basis. And and I just love it. Most people wouldn’t maybe want to do that, but I enjoy doing that. I love seeing them get from point A to point B and, um, you know, being maybe on the fence about an investment and actually getting them to wire the funds. So, um, yeah, I would say that those are some of the things that have helped me along the way.

     (00:04:51) – That’s awesome. So if I get this right, you were actually in the hospitality and hotel business and you’re also an entrepreneur. You own several businesses. How was the construction company, one of those businesses, or did that start after the fact?

    (00:05:05) – So, um, so the hospitality was before I met my husband. So this was in the 90s. Um, I was commissioned to, to, uh, turn around a catering, um, a catering operation for a hotel.

    (00:05:19) – And as a result, this was a small boutique hotel, 100, 100 keys, which really isn’t small in and of itself. I would consider boutique, maybe something more like, you know, 50, 60, uh, keys. But, um, so this was bigger. Um, I was commissioned to turn the catering department around, of which I did, and as a result, the general manager, he really was more of a hands off general manager, like a 9 to 4 Monday through Thursday kind of guy. Um. And he said, you know what? I just I don’t want to be here in the evenings, and I know you’re going to be around. I don’t want to be here on the weekends. I know you’re going to be around. I’m just going to turn the keys over to you to run this hotel when I’m not here. So that was my first taste of actually getting into it and being thrust into it at a very early age. I was in my early 20s when this all went down, so I had a lot of fun.

    (00:06:04) – I learned a ton, and I always had in the back of my mind, like, I think I want to do something with hotels at some point, just not sure what. Um, so then I moved and I live in Cincinnati now, and that’s where I actually moved to met my husband, and he was looking to get back into something landscape related, but didn’t know exactly what that was going to be. So I helped him start the business. And we’ve, you know, operated it for longer than we’ve been married. So that’s, you know, again, very interesting that we’re still together. Um, and.

     (00:06:37) – Then through running a business together and.

    (00:06:40) – We are in each other’s faces every day and we talk, we talk about business, you know, from sunup until sundown. And sometimes it’s it’s to a fault, you know, luckily, our daughter is always putting us in check. And she’s like, hey, stop talking about business. I don’t want to hear anymore. And we, we, we we’ve gotten better over the years, but it’s taken a bit of time to get there.

    (00:07:02) – Um, but, well, having that construction business, you know, I, I, I found myself just always wanting to do something more. I do a lot of the administrative work for the construction company. So I’m not immersed in, you know, some of the, the day to day operations. And, and that’s when I started the catering business, my love for cooking. Um, then I had my daughter. So I decided, you know what? I love my weekends and, and evenings with family. So the catering business just wasn’t going to make a lot of sense. And that’s how I ventured into an internet based business. I thought, great, you know, I could do dropshipping out of my home and whatnot. Um, ended up in a, in a legal battle with someone who thought I was taking too much business away from, um, from them. They were a competitor. And as a result, um, they, uh, attempted to get, um, vendors that we both utilized to stop doing business with me.

    (00:07:57) – And so I found out about it, um, took that to a lawyer. The lawyer said, hey, you have a case here. This is called tortious interference with business relations. And you ought to think about, you know, doing something about it, which I did. So I won a small settlement. And I thought to myself, after that, you know what? I think the the universe is trying to tell me something. I need to move on. Um, but throughout that time, I’ve always been a big fitness buff, and I thought, you know, maybe I should go help women, um, with their fitness and and and and how they feel about themselves, their mental and physical strength. And so I opened up a fitness studio, um, and then during that time, I was diagnosed with cancer. And that was just another wake up call, um, from the universe to say, hey, it’s just time to to focus on death and focus on the things that you know you need to do.

    (00:08:45) – Um, stay home, be with your family more. And that’s really when my husband and I actually got into, um, single family fixing flips. So it’s been an interesting journey, you know, and some of the things, you know, you know, I think the universe works in interesting ways, right? And it gets us to the point where we’re at. And that’s where I’m at today. Um, so, yeah, you know, just a lot of, a lot of fun things that have have led me here.

     (00:09:10) – Right. Wow. So interesting. And I hope that we can say that you’re in remission currently.

    (00:09:15) – I am, yes. Thank you.

     (00:09:16) – Well, congratulations. And I hope that continues. Definitely pray for you and your family. Um, so I am interested to talk more about what made you buy so business. I get it right. You have been in all kinds of businesses. You’re an entrepreneur at heart, there’s no doubt about it. It sounds like you and your husband are the same.

     (00:09:34) – But what made you then? Or how did you actually jump into that first property? Well, what was it? Where was it, and how did you do it?

    (00:09:44) – So our very first property as single family fix and flip, and it was the result of my husband who struggles with sleep, um, he has sleep apnea. And so sometimes he just doesn’t sleep well during the night. And he happened to be watching an infomercial at 2:00 in the morning about about a workshop on, on flipping houses. And he dialed the number, signed us up. I woke up the next morning. He said, hey, honey, on such and such a date, we’re we’re going to a fix and flip workshop. And I thought to myself, what the heck is he getting us into? Um, but this wouldn’t be the first time he’s done something like that, nor the last. Uh, so needless to say, we attended this one day wonder, as I call it, which led to a three day workshop.

    (00:10:32) – Um, and that actually led to a five day bus tour out in California. And we had an incredible time, met some amazing people. Um, and we were, you know, the construction buffs. So we knew. Like what to do with construction, how to how you know what. We know what to do on the outside. So we figured, okay, we’re going to we’re going to be able to master this, this inside stuff too. And we happen to meet a couple of investors that were looking to put their money somewhere but did not want to, um, they they didn’t want the physical component. They didn’t want to get their hands dirty. They wanted to be more passive in nature. And so we decided to partner up. And I went to work as soon as I as soon as we returned, I went to work looking and scouring for houses, and we ended up with this one particular home. The, um, the homeowners had both passed away and the house was left to the kids.

    (00:11:26) – Um, the kids were, uh, none of the kids got along, so they were all fighting. They just wanted to unload this house as quickly as possible so they could divide up their monies, and and I’ll move on. Um, so we put an offer in at first, and of course, they didn’t like our initial offer. Um, so we decided to just, you know, let a few weeks go by and I continue to look for additional properties. Um, and they came back to us a few weeks later when they realized, okay, no one else is biting on this. And these are the only, you know, this is the only group, um, that has come to us with a bona fide offer. And and so that’s when we started negotiating. Um, and it wasn’t long before we were actually in our first, uh, fix and flip, um, and we had a great time with it until we encountered some issues with our contractor, which is, you know, I mean, you hear the horror stories, but but they can be true.

    (00:12:23) – And and ours was, you know, quite the interesting journey, so much so that we ended up having to fire him and finish the house ourselves. So.

     (00:12:32) – Okay, so let’s talk about for somebody that might be a new investor or somebody that really just maybe has a property or two, but really wants to scale, how do you suggest that somebody, uh, markets theirself in a way that would allow them to expand? Because it sounds like that that first interaction or that first networking opportunity that you had really had a factor in your future with real estate investing. So, and you were brand new, right? You met somebody and convinced them to, hey, give you money right on this bus tour. So how how did you market yourself in that manner? And how how would you suggest a newer investor utilizes those skills to potentially help start their portfolio or to grow it further?

    (00:13:19) – Yeah, absolutely. I think for us, you know, one of the things that was a draw is that we had the outdoor construction knowledge and so we would be overseeing these projects or, you know, if our, um, if our crews were available, they would be working on these projects.

    (00:13:35) – But, uh, but we had the knowledge and I think that was attractive. Um, we had, of course, a website with proof of concept. So it was much easier for us to go to an investor and say, hey, look, this is what we do already. So we, you know, should be able to oversee a project or handle a general contractor, um, you know, all of those things now, you know, just because we had that credibility didn’t necessarily mean it was going to lead into success. Um, but what I always, you know, I talked to a lot of new investors all the time, and they, they ask, you know, a question very similar to this. Um, and my, my answer always is the same. You have to start networking. You have to put yourself out there. You have to meet other people, find people that you can either a partner with, um, you know, be, uh, learn from, gain knowledge.

    (00:14:29) – Uh, you know, this is this is not one of those, you know, get rich quick overnight type. You know, real estate is a long play. And so I always I always tell people, you know, start just talking to people, you know, maybe it’s, you know, you have a skill that you can bring to the table, just like we had the construction background that, you know, somebody maybe is a great marketer. Maybe they can, um, you know, social media or they’re really good with, you know, email campaigns, something along those lines. I mean, that’s how I actually worked my way into a syndication is just I offered my sweat equity in order to get into a syndication, and I ended up getting 10% of a company as a result of it. So I think, you know, figure out what your skills are. And, you know, there’s nothing wrong with building a credibility package, even if you don’t have any experience in real estate specifically, you can always take what your experiences are or take what your skills are and translate that and say, okay, this is how this is translatable into the real estate world.

    (00:15:29) – And, you know, be able to share that with someone so that they see that, okay. You know, hey, this is a go getter. This is a hard worker. Um, I could see where they could bring value here. You know, all those sort of, you know, um, all those sort of pieces and. I do believe that in the real estate world, there are so many open minded individuals that want to help and want to see everybody grow and have success. And and so I do find that, you know, that there’s there’s people willing to take, you know, newer investors underneath their wings. You just have to put yourself out there. And if you don’t do that, if you don’t take action, you can’t expect anything to happen in return.

     (00:16:09) – Sure. And how did you actually put yourself out there? Was it just via networking events, or was it other forums like social media and stuff like that?

    (00:16:17) – Um, networking events, um, Facebook groups, uh, getting on phone calls, you know, connecting with people.

    (00:16:24) – Um, you know, I joined a ton of network or a ton of Facebook networking groups, and I just started reading, reading the Facebook groups. I would take an hour out of my day every morning and just go through these Facebook groups, read, see who’s doing what, um, Facebook message. Some people who I thought, hey, you know, I’d really love to have a conversation with them. And as a result, just, you know, start connecting. I ended up on the phone one day with someone who asked me, hey, can you raise capital? And I said, you know, I don’t know. I mean, I, I guess, you know, in my single family days, yes, I have raised capital, um, but I don’t know if I could do that for a multifamily syndication. And, and this person said, well, on a scale of    to 5, you know, where do you think you fall? And I said, well, I’ll give myself a three.

    (00:17:07) – And he said, great. He’s like, I’m going to give you a goal of 500,000 to raise for a deal and see where you get. Well, I raise 250. Um, ended up with an acquisition fee and a piece of a general partnership. And I thought to myself, okay, you know, but that was all through a phone call. It was just connecting with people and someone asking like, hey, do you think you can do this? And me saying, you know what I mean? If I don’t try, I’m never going to know.

     (00:17:35) – So very cool. So fast forward, you have a bunch of single families. So how long were you actually in the single family business before you moved into multifamily? Were they kind of simultaneous or was it did you just do a ton of single families initially?

    (00:17:51) – So we did a lot of single families initially. So starting in 2018, uh, throughout 2019 when Covid, you know, hit in 2020, we were still working. But what we were still flipping, I should say.

    (00:18:04) – But what ended up happening with our outdoor construction company is it went through the roof, because guess what? If anybody wanted to gather in spaces, they were able to do so outside per, of course, you know, Covid guidelines and so forth. So we ended up having in a matter of two months, we had more leads come through our website for outdoor living spaces than we had had in the 20 years, 20 plus years at that point that we had been in existence. It was absolutely insane and we couldn’t even keep up with it. We we were, you know, our auto replies, um, you know, we started creating these auto replies that are like, hey, we’re booked for one year. And, you know, and that happened to so many construction companies, of course. And so it was at that point, my husband and I took a good hard look and said, okay, you know, we’re going to have to pivot. And just what is that going, going to look like.

    (00:18:58) – So we still had some single family fix and flips that we needed to finish up. So we did that through the rest of 2020. And then in 2021, that’s when I attended my first multifamily syndication workshop, which that was our pivot. And so we decided that it was time to to take take what we knew and apply it to something on a bigger scale. Um, it’s funny though. I just had a conversation with him, an investor, and she does, you know, that’s all she does is flipping. And she said, would you ever consider, you know, going back into it, you know, maybe with the right partner? And I said, oh, absolutely. I love the creative side of things. But for now, you know, I have pivoted into this, you know, multifamily student housing, hotel space. And I’m really loving it. Um, so I think I’m here to stay.

     (00:19:49) – Awesome. That is really cool. I’m curious what you have found over the years are the most common pitfalls in, uh, let’s talk about flips first.

     (00:20:01) – Right. So you’ve had ups and downs, obviously, and you talk about pivoting a lot. So what are some of the common pitfalls and how would one looking at it from the outside now? How would you avoid that in the future.

    (00:20:13) – Oh absolutely. So um, you know it’s funny. So we we went to this bus tour and there were, you know, a list of nos. You should not do this. You should not do that. And of course, some of those we chose not to really pay attention to. And uh, two of them, um, were if if you’re just starting out, don’t do more than one flip at a time and you know. So and that makes, of course, total sense. Well, we happen to get that very first property that I had spoken of. Previously we got that under contract and then a realtor, um, friend who knew that we were getting, you know, into, um, fixing and flipping brought us an opportunity. And we thought to ourselves, oh, my gosh, you know, this is the universe working.

    (00:20:59) – It’s, you know, just blessing us. Um, let’s take this one on two. So of course, we take on two properties almost simultaneously. And we were going to use the same general contractor for both. And that was another no that we had learned that was don’t use the same contractor on the same projects if you’re doing them simultaneously. Well, of course, those were two, you know, two things that clearly we did not pay attention to. And and it came back to, to, to haunt us. Um, as a result, this particular contractor, he was um, he was so behind on his schedule, even though he kept telling us one thing. And, and of course, something else was, was happening. Um, he, he did the, the robbing Peter to pay Paul like, hey, I need a deposit down. And that was, you know, he was using funds to actually go fund something else that he needed to finish. Uh, you know, we ended up firing this, this gentleman and hated to do so because it was it was really not at the most opportune time, but, uh, but, yeah, he he came back to haunt us in a big way.

    (00:22:02) – He started, um, um, you know, stalking us. He was sending us just really crazy, uh, messages, voicemails, text messages. Ended up sending, you know, somewhere around the holidays, uh, a picture of a rifle scope to my husband and said, look at what I’m getting for Christmas. And it was at that point in time that we thought, okay, this is enough harassment. I, you know, we need to do something about it. So we ended up getting a restraining order against him, um, which is something that no one should, you know, would really want to have to go through. And that’s just additional legal fees that, you know, are completely unnecessary when you are trying to run a business. So, you know, from that standpoint, I would say vet your contractor, of course. Um, ask around, ask for references, you know, even, you know, find out what their current schedule is like, because you want to know that you’re going to be a priority on their schedule and that you’re not going to be, you know, this.

    (00:22:59) – Okay, well, we’ll get to you when we can get to you kind of scenario. So it’s really about finding the right contractor, obviously doing your due diligence on the property itself. If you’re able to get, get get an inspection, which a lot of times, you know, with houses going so quick you can’t always get an inspection. But at least if you can, maybe if you have an inspector friend that you can say, hey, look, can you walk this with me? Will I go walk this, this particular property? And, you know, just put your eyes on it, you know? And even if you end up, you know, then mowing them like, you know, a couple hundred bucks to do. So it is so worth it so that you avoid, um, the trap of, of getting and digging into a house and then finding that you have some, some things that you were not aware of, nor did you plan or budget for, um, always making sure that you’re adding, you know, maybe another, you know, 15, even 20% to your budget just to be on the safe side.

    (00:23:54) – So when you’re factoring that in, um, you know, to your, um, purchase price and what the ARV is going to be and so forth, you know, you’re padded, you’re well padded because, you know, there’s always going to be the you never know that there are things that come up and you just want to ensure that you’re you’re covering yourself all the way around. Um, and of course, not using the same contractor if you’re doing things simultaneously, doing two, two houses simultaneously, I think that’s, you know, that’s a that’s that’s certainly important. Unless that contractor, this is the only thing they do and maybe, you know, eventually I think it’s it’s great if you’re going to make a business out of flipping, um, you know, just having your own contractors, you know, that you can keep busy and are the ones that are answering to you at all times, uh, super important because then you can ensure timeliness with your projects.

     (00:24:46) – The episode will continue in just a moment.

     (00:24:49) – As an investor, we know it’s important to stay on top of market trends and real estate opportunities that add value to your portfolio. We also know that having a trusted source of reliable information to help you stay a step ahead of other investors is critical to your success. If you’re interested in having these types of resources as well as access to me and my team, I invite you to join the Empire Investment Club, a free service that gives you an easier way to make sense of today’s and tomorrow’s real estate opportunities. As a member of the Empire Investment Club, you’ll get access to relevant resources and investment focused experiences such as live interactive webinars, market trend presentations, and investor socials designed to equip you with what you need to succeed. So whether you’re an active investor, passive investor, a combination of both, or just starting out the club is where you’ll get what you need to build a portfolio you love to join. Just head over to Jennifer dejesus.com. Sign up and we’ll see you in the club where everyone’s on a journey to becoming a better investor.

     (00:25:47) – Let’s jump in to the Caribbean investing because I’m so intrigued by this. You are. You are definitely the first person I’ve ever talked to in all the podcasts that I’ve done, and just investors I’ve talked to for years and decades. Actually, uh, first person I’ve ever heard actually investing in the Caribbean. So what drew you to invest there and why Panama so.

    (00:26:08) – Well, okay, so what drew me? You know, I’ve always had an affinity for the beaches, palm trees. So any, you know, even if it were in Florida, in Saint Petersburg or Miami, you know, someplace like that, I would definitely be drawn to it. However, in the Caribbean, there presented especially when I pivoted in 20     into more of the commercial space there, there was opportunities that were presenting themselves because they’re, you know, the owners of some of these amazing properties were just tired. They were tired with what they had been through in Covid. And, you know, the more I got to thinking about it, it’s like, okay, well, you know, we’ve been through.

    (00:26:56) – Probably the worst, right? If we happen to go through this again, everyone is going to be so much more equipped to deal with a pandemic such as that. You know, we’re going to know how to troubleshoot it and so forth. So my thought was, you know, why not explore? And there were a few other people that, you know, I had connected with and we all, you know, had been talking about this Caribbean investing. And so I set to work on just networking, um, connecting with, um, you know, brokers and operators that were in the Caribbean. And I thought to myself, okay, well, I’m going to see if I can’t find something. Um, and there were a ton of opportunities, of course. And there still are, um, again, owners who are just tired. They’re they’re ready to move on. Um, they’ve they don’t want to have to go through another pandemic. And, you know, you just need some some fresh eyes, some fresh blood to come in and just, you know, take properties over and just inject energy into them.

    (00:27:50) – So what happened with Panama? Um, I actually started looking at some deals in the Dominican Republic. Um, came across a few and I was posting about, um, you know, investing in the Caribbean. And I connected with someone on LinkedIn who was also doing some investing in the Caribbean. And he and his partner, um, had this property in Panama that was under contract and they were looking for capital. Um, so we got to talking about the property I really liked, you know, all that was going on with it. Um, and this particular property, um, was was sort of a staple in the hit TV series, um, survivor. Um, so survivor would any time that they, um, they want to film in the Panamanian area, they always stay at this particular hotel. And I thought, okay, well, there’s a bonus right there. Um, so I thought, okay, this is this is intriguing. Um, so as I dug in more, I saw the opportunity and they were going to be acquiring this particular property on a master lease agreement.

    (00:28:55) – Um, but they needed capital, and they’re like, Beth, do you know of anybody who would have interest? And I said, well, as a matter of fact, I do. And this was just based off of a potential investor I had been talking with for, um, that was interested in, in, you know, either some single family fix and flips or, or other opportunities. And so when I presented this opportunity and what the return metrics look like, he said, you know what? I’m in just, you know, let me let me hop on the phone, let me get more comfortable with the operators and, and and I’d like to do this. So that’s how I ended up in that particular deal. Now, since then, I have been looking for my own deals and have come across, um, this amazing opportunity in Antigua. And we, um, we, the, the owners are again. They’re, uh, he’s in his 80s. She’s in her 70s.

    (00:29:46) – They’re not married, but they are a couple. And they are just, you know, they’re ready to move on. They want to retire. Um, although they absolutely love, love, love the hotel itself. You know, there’s there’s just other things that they’d like to do and not be tied to. So this property is open generally seven months out of the year. So it’s not even open year round. Um, they closed down for a couple different reasons. Some of it is maintenance. Some of it is because of the hurricanes, um, although they’ve never been hit by a hurricane. And then third reason is they just want to take a break. But in those in the remaining months that they’re open, the nine months or so, this property cash flows about 1.5 million of net operating income. And they owe this and they don’t owe anything on it. So, I mean, a million and a half dollars that they’re putting in their pocket every single year. And I’m like beautiful. They have a base of um, of of client.

    (00:30:49) – Their clientele, you know, is is just very loyal. Um, a lot of UK, a lot of people from the UK, they don’t have a ton of people that come from the United States. Um, Canada net some, but not enough. And, and so our goal is to really just start marketing this to the United States more to Canada. Um, we have a partner and she actually is a travel consultant. So her goal is to actually then go to her base of over 17,000 travel agents and be able to start, you know, pushing them, you know, to this particular property. It’s it’s probably more of a three star. I would give it like a three, three and a half star. Um, once we do some renovations to the property and some upgrades, it will be pushing a four star property with maybe three and a half star prices.

     (00:31:43) – Wow. That’s amazing. So that sounds like it’s a, uh, a hotel. Or is it like an all inclusive or so?

    (00:31:50) – It’s interesting.

    (00:31:51) – It’s 74 keys. So it is a hotel. They offer an. All inclusive package for, um, your meals and of course, for beverages. But, um, but then you do have the option to not, not take the all inclusive. So that’s something we’re going to dig into a little bit more to see if, um, you know, we want to continue that business model. But, you know, hey, if it’s not broke then then don’t fix it. So if it continues to work, then we’re going to stay down that path.

     (00:32:21) – So what advice would you give to people that are starting to look to invest in the Caribbean or, you know, any kind of beachy area?

  4 (00:32:30) – Sure, sure.

    (00:32:30) – I would definitely say if, if if you’re looking to invest, especially outside of the United States, partner up with someone who’s already doing it. And that’s one of the things I, I have a friend who actually, um, has a hotel in Saint Croix, and so I’ve been able to bounce ideas off of him and get suggestions.

    (00:32:52) – He actually may come into the deal as well. So we’ve talked at great length about, um, about having him as an operating partner. Um, but but I do think it is wise to actually partner up with someone who’s already doing it so that you aren’t, you know, just getting into, um, an area that that can be, you know, just, um, a bit, you know, a bit treacherous to some extent. Um, when you’re not dealing with anything that is, you know, within the United States. And, you know, I mean, because, you know, even talking with investors, for instance, um, we’ve we’ve put this out there to investors and, you know, hey, it appears, you know, super sexy and everybody is excited about it. However, no one wants to give up their money all the time, like, oh, I don’t know about wiring my funds to Antigua. Thanks are safe there too, just like they are here in the United States.

    (00:33:45) – But obviously there is a bit more of, um, um, you know, people just feel there’s a comfort level, right, that, you know, oh, I’m wearing to Bank of America in Cincinnati, Ohio versus, you know, a bank that is in Antigua. Um, there’s just a different comfort level.

     (00:34:04) – Sure. So what challenges or opportunities do these markets actually presents, like how does it differ from just investing in the US? Is it terribly different? Is it very, very similar?

    (00:34:18) – I don’t think it’s terribly different. I mean, obviously with the hotel, I mean that that’s something that is, um, you know, you have to have good management in place. Uh, the thing that probably differs. You know, with a hotel in maybe the Caribbean where tourism and travel is, is, you know, their number one way of making a living relative to something here in the US. Um, depending on where it is, of course. Now, if it’s if it’s in a highly if it’s in an area that again depends largely on tourism and travel, um, that’s a different story.

    (00:34:53) – But you know, the labor force a it’s, it’s so much less expensive, of course. Um, and B because they rely on this, you’re just going to have a level of loyalty that you don’t see here in the United States these days. You know, they they they take pride in their, their jobs, you know, in, in these markets. And that’s what I loved. You know, they’re there to take care of the take care of the customer. Um, make sure that they’re having, you know, a good time, that they’re getting everything that they need. And they do so with a smile. You know, sometimes you walk into a retail establishment or, um, you know, a restaurant, and it’s not quite the same as when you’re actually in, in some of these, um, in some of these Caribbean spaces. So I think that’s a big differential. Um, and that’s something that, you know, it’s, it’s just easier to rely on and count on.

     (00:35:50) – So let’s jump into more about your multifamily. So I’d like to talk more about that. And and your development projects, the things that you’ve been working on. So I know you said you went to your first multifamily syndication conference, and that’s how you kind of jump started that. So tell me what that looked like again. Was it another scenario where you met an investor, you guys started to partner, you look for deals, and that’s kind of how it evolved.

    (00:36:13) – So with that, you know, it was honestly it was my eyes just being open to the possibility of, oh, I can be part of a $10 million deal and it’s not going to require money coming out of my own pocket to do so. You know, I think there was this, uh, side of me that was totally naive to how this could happen. You know, I, I remember I recall one of my single family, uh, flip investors who said, you know, one of these days I’m going to buy a 100 unit apartment complex, and, like, how in the heck are you going to do that? I thought to myself, like, there’s no way.

    (00:36:50) – Um, but that’s where the syndication process. I was like, wow, this is this is really cool. So, um, I immediately just again started connecting with people. Um, and shortly after I had that conversation about raising capital for a deal, and that was, you know, getting into my first multifamily. But it was through just, you know, continuous networking that I happen to be in the right place at the right time. I was at an event down in Orlando, Florida. I had taken my husband to it. I said, hey, look, you didn’t come to the first syndication event that I had gone to. I’d really like, you know, you to come to this. It’s in Florida. We’ll take a little bit of a break from from what we’re currently doing, and let’s just go have some fun in the sun. Let’s attend this. You can get educated so that you better understand, like what it is that I’ve actually pivoted to. So we did that, and we ended up meeting this group of gentlemen who were forming a brand new company to take down multifamily properties, and they said, hey, you know, we could really use someone that could help with investor relations and marketing.

    (00:37:57) – Um, you know, and they rattled off just a ton of different things. And I’m like, I’m your gal. Raise my hand. I said, I’m your gal. I can do this. Um, you know, not knowing, you know, really much of, you know, investor relations. What does that entail? I had no idea at the time. So, uh, so we immediately got to work, and this was at the end of 2021. And in 2022, you know, I, I, I built a website, um, um, sourced a logo for, for the team and started working on pitch decks. I’d never done a pitch deck before, but I was super proud of the very first one I’d ever done. Um, and we ended up closing on this 506 B offering, which was fantastic. And that was in July of 2022. And then we had another deal, um, on the horizon. And we it was a 560 offering. So we needed a capital raising platform, you know, and they introduced me to this.

    (00:38:52) – This platform had no idea what I was doing with it. But, you know, I just dug in and and, you know, figured it out. And in most of these platforms are very user friendly anyway. So I was, uh, able to, to do what I needed to do and, uh, and, and then they’re like, Beth, you need to talk to the investors. We need, you know, subscription agreements, signed wires, you know, our wires, uh, um, uh, sent. And so all of this, and I’m doing this sort of like flying by the seat of my pants. But, uh, there it was in December of of 2000 and, uh, the end of 2022. And when we closed down this 126. Student housing property. And I thought to myself, oh my gosh, what a rollercoaster of a ride. But it was probably the best ride ever. And, you know, it was really just I loved the hands on experience because I learned more in that period of time than any educational, you know, um, any educational program out there could have ever taught me.

    (00:39:55) – Um, you know, I’m I’m one that likes to learn hands on anyway. Um, so maybe that’s why I was. I was so partial to to how I felt about it, you know, after the fact. Um, but I do believe that, you know, when you see, you know, the the ups and the downs, the victories, the the lows of, you know, are we going to close on this? You know, are we going to have enough funds, you know, who can we get to wire? Who do we still need to talk to? You know, when you’re going through all of that, you know, you’re I mean, your heart is is, you know, it’s it’s beaten, beating fast and then sometimes not at all.

     (00:40:28) – Wow. So how did you, um, get to the general partner? You know, the ELP side was that through these syndications where you’re just taking a piece of it and you’re actually doing, you know, a piece of the partnership.

     (00:40:40) – So whether it be the marketing or the capital raising or, um, getting the the property managers in the location, what is that how you kind of got from that multifamily into that GP side?

    (00:40:52) – Absolutely. So, um, you know, when I, you know, raised my hand at that event that they said, hey, they needed some help, I didn’t really know how this was going to look at first, and I don’t think that they actually knew either. Um, but it was during that first year of 202   when, you know, I was I was proving my worth. And, you know, they the principals finally came to me and they said, hey, look, we want to give you 10% of the company. And I was like, oh, well, okay then, um, I will gladly take that. And I thought to myself, okay, this is just another way very similar to, you know, how we were able to to work into multifamily. This is or I’m sorry, this how we were able to work into single family.

    (00:41:37) – This was just another way of, okay, this is how I worked my way into a multifamily. So since then, you know, we’ve closed on a 25   bed student housing property in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Um, we have another property that we are looking to close on here sometime in December, and that’s in Athens, Georgia. That’s also a student housing property. Um, so slowly but surely, just building up my portfolio, you know, um, and, and creating the ultimate, which is a legacy for my for my daughter.

     (00:42:06) – That’s awesome. So how much of your time is invested each day? What is your day to day look like?

    (00:42:14) – Uh, sure. So my day to day, um, depending on the day. Um, I train also as an I train and compete as a powerlifter. So four days out of the week, I am in the gym, uh, for anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours. It just depends. So I’m usually up around five, and I’m either off to the gym or if I’m not in the gym, I use that same time.

    (00:42:38) – So instead of the physical training, I actually use that time to mentally train. And that’s when I will, um, it’s my quiet time, I will journal, I will listen to podcasts. Um, I if I have maybe bought into, you know, a program that teaches you, you know, about creative financing strategies or something like that. I’ll spend my time doing that. So whatever it is that I can do to actually improve, um, myself, uh, knowledge wise, that is, that is the time that I usually spend from there. It’s usually, you know, a shower and then by 8:00, um, I might have phone calls, um, investor calls. And it’s it’s really just a lot of follow up, you know, what can we what can we do next for marketing and so forth. And, you know, there’s there’s a nice combination of marketing for this particular team and investor relations and then building up sort of the branding of, of Beth. Um, because the branding of Beth is also going to be the one that’s going that will attract, um, capital, um, or potential, you know, opportunities that I can bring to the team.

    (00:43:44) – And, and so that’s important as well too. Um, so yeah. And then usually depending on what’s going on, if we have webinars because we have a deal, you know, that we’re, we’re raising for and so forth. I mean, my day could go as late as, you know, 8 or 9:00 at night depending.

     (00:44:00) – Okay. Last question.

  5 (00:44:03) – Sure.

     (00:44:04) – How are you going to adapt or what are your plans for the ever talked about market changes, whether it be with interest rates or properties? What are you doing now? What do you see yourself doing in the future? How are you getting ready to just adjust to the next the next change?

    (00:44:24) – Sure. So, um, one of the things and I actually just mentioned it is I have been. Learning more about creative finance strategies. I believe that is going to be very big coming up in the next year. And so being prepared to be able to pivot if needed. And that could be creative finance strategies even for fixing flips, multifamily properties, educating sellers, you know, becoming just more in tune with how to educate sellers on the benefits of seller financing.

    (00:44:55) – Um, you know, or why that, you know, might be a good idea, you know, for them to consider. Um, so for me, I think that’s that’s really where I know my head is at. And, and, you know, obviously, um, you know, when we look to buy some of these larger properties, um, with my, my team, you know, we’re doing our due diligence, right? We’re making sure that we’re buying in areas that it makes sense that, you know, the growth is is still there and it’s continuing to grow. You know, we like and as I’ve mentioned, we like student housing. Um, obviously our last three properties have been student housing. And you know, although, um, you know, it’s been talked about that, um, that, you know, with colleges and universities that their enrollment has been down. You know, that’s typically true of a lot of your smaller colleges, but not necessarily true of, you know, your your tier, tier one schools like, like Athens, Georgia, for instance, the University of Georgia, you know, if you’re a if you’re a football fan, um, if you, you know, want to go be at a school in which, you know, you can get behind a national championship football team, that’s where you’re going to go, places like that.

    (00:46:05) – Ohio State, um, so, you know, uh, looking at markets such as those and finding, you know, the golden nuggets, um, that’s what that’s what we set out to do because we’re insured, I don’t want to say insured, but the likelihood of of anything changing there is not going to be as, as, uh, as, as crazy as it might be in your smaller areas, where, again, universities and colleges are, are finding it harder and harder to, to maintain their enrollment.

     (00:46:36) – Well, Beth, it’s been such a pleasure talking to you. Your success is just incredible. Um, and the fact that you are, you know, going out into all these different segments and trying different things and finding success with it, uh, between your GPA, your LP deals and your multifamily, your single families, your construction businesses, just, uh, I just think your story is incredible. So I wish you all the success in the world and obviously a lot of health and happiness and prosperity as well for the new year.

     (00:47:05) – So thank you so much. It was great speaking with you.

    (00:47:08) – Thanks, Jennifer. Appreciate it.

     (00:47:10) – Thank you for listening to my episode with Beth Underhill. I hope you learned what not to do when jumping into the world of single family home flips, and learned a little bit about how you can invest in the Caribbean. And until next time, take care.

     (00:47:26) – For more information about how Jennifer can help you plan, develop and manage a strong real estate investment portfolio, go visit Growing empires.com.n, hotels, outdoor living, and how she became a GP in over 500 multifamily units and holds equity in hotels in Panama. So stay tuned.

     (00:00:25) – Welcome to Growing Empires, hosted by real estate entrepreneur and trusted investment advisor Jennifer DeJesus, Growing Empires provides insight to building wealth through passive income, producing real estate investments for those who want to build and manage a more profitable.

  UU (00:00:41) – Real estate portfolio.

     (00:00:46) – Well, welcome back to the Growing Empire Show. I’m so glad that you’re here.

    (00:00:50) – Thank you so much for having me.

     (00:00:52) – We’re going to kick off this episode with you, sharing a little bit about your background and the work that you’re doing now.

    (00:00:57) – Great. Thank you. So I am the founder of Lifestyle Equities Group. I reside in Cincinnati, Ohio. I’ve been active in construction and real estate for 20 plus years. I’ve redeveloped over $5 million worth of single family homes.

    (00:01:10) – I’ve assisted in the construction of over 30 million and outdoor living spaces. I am currently on over 500 multifamily and student housing units. I hold equity in a hotel in Panama. I’m currently working on my own hotel, actually in Antigua, along with a few other projects such as raffles and assisted living facilities.

     (00:01:35) – Wow. That’s amazing.

    (00:01:37) – Thank you.

     (00:01:37) – So today we’re going to talk about a lot of this specifically though how to not lose money when doing single family flips. And I want to talk more about that Caribbean investing. It’s very intriguing.

    (00:01:50) – Happy to talk about it I my face lights up every time I do.

     (00:01:54) – Yeah I’m sure I’m sure. It’s very, very interesting. So I’ve asked Beth to join me to share her wealth of knowledge that she’s gained throughout the years on these subjects. So we’re going to jump right into some questions. Uh, this one’s more about your background and expertise. I’d like you to share some insights into your journey into construction and real estate over the past two decades, how it led to your current involvement in multifamily and diverse investment projects like your hotel.

    (00:02:20) – Sure, absolutely. So, uh, a couple different avenues, actually. First off, with the construction company, my husband and I, we’ve operated this outdoor living space construction company for 24 years. And, you know, surprisingly, we still like each other after it. Um, but we’ve learned so much just about how to pivot in tough environments, right? So 2008 rolled around. We were heavily, heavily leveraged with, um, we had trucks, we had equipment, we had, um, employees, we had a building, and we had to pivot, um, you know, the everything was going south in terms of, you know, uh, business and, uh, customers were pulling our clients. I should say we’re pulling contracts from out from underneath us. Um, and so we had to pivot. And I think that’s one of the things that you can actually, um, you know, learn, especially in the real estate market, you do have to pivot. You know, not every year is going to be a banner year.

    (00:03:22) – Not every project, every multifamily is going to go as you have planned. And so you need to act accordingly, adjust and be able to, um, to really be open to that. Uh, sometimes there’s people that aren’t open to adjusting, and as a result, I think they just stay stagnant. They get in trouble. Um, but that’s one of the things that we learned in addition to that, you know, I come from a hospitality background and that’s where my love for hotels actually comes into play. I’ve been in the service business service industry for quite some time. Um, you know, in addition to the construction business, I’ve owned and operated a catering business and internet based business, um, a fitness studio, you know, so all of that with, you know, dealing with people, um, you know, that’s one of those things that really is the core of, of just any business. And I think in real estate especially, um, currently, right now, I deal a lot with investors.

    (00:04:16) – And, you know, everything that I’ve learned over all of those businesses have led me to this position or this point in my life that talking to investors is one of the most enjoyable things that that I get to do on a daily basis. And and I just love it. Most people wouldn’t maybe want to do that, but I enjoy doing that. I love seeing them get from point A to point B and, um, you know, being maybe on the fence about an investment and actually getting them to wire the funds. So, um, yeah, I would say that those are some of the things that have helped me along the way.

     (00:04:51) – That’s awesome. So if I get this right, you were actually in the hospitality and hotel business and you’re also an entrepreneur. You own several businesses. How was the construction company, one of those businesses, or did that start after the fact?

    (00:05:05) – So, um, so the hospitality was before I met my husband. So this was in the 90s. Um, I was commissioned to, to, uh, turn around a catering, um, a catering operation for a hotel.

    (00:05:19) – And as a result, this was a small boutique hotel, 100, 100 keys, which really isn’t small in and of itself. I would consider boutique, maybe something more like, you know, 50, 60, uh, keys. But, um, so this was bigger. Um, I was commissioned to turn the catering department around, of which I did, and as a result, the general manager, he really was more of a hands off general manager, like a 9 to 4 Monday through Thursday kind of guy. Um. And he said, you know what? I just I don’t want to be here in the evenings, and I know you’re going to be around. I don’t want to be here on the weekends. I know you’re going to be around. I’m just going to turn the keys over to you to run this hotel when I’m not here. So that was my first taste of actually getting into it and being thrust into it at a very early age. I was in my early 20s when this all went down, so I had a lot of fun.

    (00:06:04) – I learned a ton, and I always had in the back of my mind, like, I think I want to do something with hotels at some point, just not sure what. Um, so then I moved and I live in Cincinnati now, and that’s where I actually moved to met my husband, and he was looking to get back into something landscape related, but didn’t know exactly what that was going to be. So I helped him start the business. And we’ve, you know, operated it for longer than we’ve been married. So that’s, you know, again, very interesting that we’re still together. Um, and.

     (00:06:37) – Then through running a business together and.

    (00:06:40) – We are in each other’s faces every day and we talk, we talk about business, you know, from sunup until sundown. And sometimes it’s it’s to a fault, you know, luckily, our daughter is always putting us in check. And she’s like, hey, stop talking about business. I don’t want to hear anymore. And we, we, we we’ve gotten better over the years, but it’s taken a bit of time to get there.

    (00:07:02) – Um, but, well, having that construction business, you know, I, I, I found myself just always wanting to do something more. I do a lot of the administrative work for the construction company. So I’m not immersed in, you know, some of the, the day to day operations. And, and that’s when I started the catering business, my love for cooking. Um, then I had my daughter. So I decided, you know what? I love my weekends and, and evenings with family. So the catering business just wasn’t going to make a lot of sense. And that’s how I ventured into an internet based business. I thought, great, you know, I could do dropshipping out of my home and whatnot. Um, ended up in a, in a legal battle with someone who thought I was taking too much business away from, um, from them. They were a competitor. And as a result, um, they, uh, attempted to get, um, vendors that we both utilized to stop doing business with me.

    (00:07:57) – And so I found out about it, um, took that to a lawyer. The lawyer said, hey, you have a case here. This is called tortious interference with business relations. And you ought to think about, you know, doing something about it, which I did. So I won a small settlement. And I thought to myself, after that, you know what? I think the the universe is trying to tell me something. I need to move on. Um, but throughout that time, I’ve always been a big fitness buff, and I thought, you know, maybe I should go help women, um, with their fitness and and and and how they feel about themselves, their mental and physical strength. And so I opened up a fitness studio, um, and then during that time, I was diagnosed with cancer. And that was just another wake up call, um, from the universe to say, hey, it’s just time to to focus on death and focus on the things that you know you need to do.

    (00:08:45) – Um, stay home, be with your family more. And that’s really when my husband and I actually got into, um, single family fixing flips. So it’s been an interesting journey, you know, and some of the things, you know, you know, I think the universe works in interesting ways, right? And it gets us to the point where we’re at. And that’s where I’m at today. Um, so, yeah, you know, just a lot of, a lot of fun things that have have led me here.

     (00:09:10) – Right. Wow. So interesting. And I hope that we can say that you’re in remission currently.

    (00:09:15) – I am, yes. Thank you.

     (00:09:16) – Well, congratulations. And I hope that continues. Definitely pray for you and your family. Um, so I am interested to talk more about what made you buy so business. I get it right. You have been in all kinds of businesses. You’re an entrepreneur at heart, there’s no doubt about it. It sounds like you and your husband are the same.

     (00:09:34) – But what made you then? Or how did you actually jump into that first property? Well, what was it? Where was it, and how did you do it?

    (00:09:44) – So our very first property as single family fix and flip, and it was the result of my husband who struggles with sleep, um, he has sleep apnea. And so sometimes he just doesn’t sleep well during the night. And he happened to be watching an infomercial at 2:00 in the morning about about a workshop on, on flipping houses. And he dialed the number, signed us up. I woke up the next morning. He said, hey, honey, on such and such a date, we’re we’re going to a fix and flip workshop. And I thought to myself, what the heck is he getting us into? Um, but this wouldn’t be the first time he’s done something like that, nor the last. Uh, so needless to say, we attended this one day wonder, as I call it, which led to a three day workshop.

    (00:10:32) – Um, and that actually led to a five day bus tour out in California. And we had an incredible time, met some amazing people. Um, and we were, you know, the construction buffs. So we knew. Like what to do with construction, how to how you know what. We know what to do on the outside. So we figured, okay, we’re going to we’re going to be able to master this, this inside stuff too. And we happen to meet a couple of investors that were looking to put their money somewhere but did not want to, um, they they didn’t want the physical component. They didn’t want to get their hands dirty. They wanted to be more passive in nature. And so we decided to partner up. And I went to work as soon as I as soon as we returned, I went to work looking and scouring for houses, and we ended up with this one particular home. The, um, the homeowners had both passed away and the house was left to the kids.

    (00:11:26) – Um, the kids were, uh, none of the kids got along, so they were all fighting. They just wanted to unload this house as quickly as possible so they could divide up their monies, and and I’ll move on. Um, so we put an offer in at first, and of course, they didn’t like our initial offer. Um, so we decided to just, you know, let a few weeks go by and I continue to look for additional properties. Um, and they came back to us a few weeks later when they realized, okay, no one else is biting on this. And these are the only, you know, this is the only group, um, that has come to us with a bona fide offer. And and so that’s when we started negotiating. Um, and it wasn’t long before we were actually in our first, uh, fix and flip, um, and we had a great time with it until we encountered some issues with our contractor, which is, you know, I mean, you hear the horror stories, but but they can be true.

    (00:12:23) – And and ours was, you know, quite the interesting journey, so much so that we ended up having to fire him and finish the house ourselves. So.

     (00:12:32) – Okay, so let’s talk about for somebody that might be a new investor or somebody that really just maybe has a property or two, but really wants to scale, how do you suggest that somebody, uh, markets theirself in a way that would allow them to expand? Because it sounds like that that first interaction or that first networking opportunity that you had really had a factor in your future with real estate investing. So, and you were brand new, right? You met somebody and convinced them to, hey, give you money right on this bus tour. So how how did you market yourself in that manner? And how how would you suggest a newer investor utilizes those skills to potentially help start their portfolio or to grow it further?

    (00:13:19) – Yeah, absolutely. I think for us, you know, one of the things that was a draw is that we had the outdoor construction knowledge and so we would be overseeing these projects or, you know, if our, um, if our crews were available, they would be working on these projects.

    (00:13:35) – But, uh, but we had the knowledge and I think that was attractive. Um, we had, of course, a website with proof of concept. So it was much easier for us to go to an investor and say, hey, look, this is what we do already. So we, you know, should be able to oversee a project or handle a general contractor, um, you know, all of those things now, you know, just because we had that credibility didn’t necessarily mean it was going to lead into success. Um, but what I always, you know, I talked to a lot of new investors all the time, and they, they ask, you know, a question very similar to this. Um, and my, my answer always is the same. You have to start networking. You have to put yourself out there. You have to meet other people, find people that you can either a partner with, um, you know, be, uh, learn from, gain knowledge.

    (00:14:29) – Uh, you know, this is this is not one of those, you know, get rich quick overnight type. You know, real estate is a long play. And so I always I always tell people, you know, start just talking to people, you know, maybe it’s, you know, you have a skill that you can bring to the table, just like we had the construction background that, you know, somebody maybe is a great marketer. Maybe they can, um, you know, social media or they’re really good with, you know, email campaigns, something along those lines. I mean, that’s how I actually worked my way into a syndication is just I offered my sweat equity in order to get into a syndication, and I ended up getting 10% of a company as a result of it. So I think, you know, figure out what your skills are. And, you know, there’s nothing wrong with building a credibility package, even if you don’t have any experience in real estate specifically, you can always take what your experiences are or take what your skills are and translate that and say, okay, this is how this is translatable into the real estate world.

    (00:15:29) – And, you know, be able to share that with someone so that they see that, okay. You know, hey, this is a go getter. This is a hard worker. Um, I could see where they could bring value here. You know, all those sort of, you know, um, all those sort of pieces and. I do believe that in the real estate world, there are so many open minded individuals that want to help and want to see everybody grow and have success. And and so I do find that, you know, that there’s there’s people willing to take, you know, newer investors underneath their wings. You just have to put yourself out there. And if you don’t do that, if you don’t take action, you can’t expect anything to happen in return.

     (00:16:09) – Sure. And how did you actually put yourself out there? Was it just via networking events, or was it other forums like social media and stuff like that?

    (00:16:17) – Um, networking events, um, Facebook groups, uh, getting on phone calls, you know, connecting with people.

    (00:16:24) – Um, you know, I joined a ton of network or a ton of Facebook networking groups, and I just started reading, reading the Facebook groups. I would take an hour out of my day every morning and just go through these Facebook groups, read, see who’s doing what, um, Facebook message. Some people who I thought, hey, you know, I’d really love to have a conversation with them. And as a result, just, you know, start connecting. I ended up on the phone one day with someone who asked me, hey, can you raise capital? And I said, you know, I don’t know. I mean, I, I guess, you know, in my single family days, yes, I have raised capital, um, but I don’t know if I could do that for a multifamily syndication. And, and this person said, well, on a scale of    to 5, you know, where do you think you fall? And I said, well, I’ll give myself a three.

    (00:17:07) – And he said, great. He’s like, I’m going to give you a goal of 500,000 to raise for a deal and see where you get. Well, I raise 250. Um, ended up with an acquisition fee and a piece of a general partnership. And I thought to myself, okay, you know, but that was all through a phone call. It was just connecting with people and someone asking like, hey, do you think you can do this? And me saying, you know what I mean? If I don’t try, I’m never going to know.

     (00:17:35) – So very cool. So fast forward, you have a bunch of single families. So how long were you actually in the single family business before you moved into multifamily? Were they kind of simultaneous or was it did you just do a ton of single families initially?

    (00:17:51) – So we did a lot of single families initially. So starting in 2018, uh, throughout 2019 when Covid, you know, hit in 2020, we were still working. But what we were still flipping, I should say.

    (00:18:04) – But what ended up happening with our outdoor construction company is it went through the roof, because guess what? If anybody wanted to gather in spaces, they were able to do so outside per, of course, you know, Covid guidelines and so forth. So we ended up having in a matter of two months, we had more leads come through our website for outdoor living spaces than we had had in the 20 years, 20 plus years at that point that we had been in existence. It was absolutely insane and we couldn’t even keep up with it. We we were, you know, our auto replies, um, you know, we started creating these auto replies that are like, hey, we’re booked for one year. And, you know, and that happened to so many construction companies, of course. And so it was at that point, my husband and I took a good hard look and said, okay, you know, we’re going to have to pivot. And just what is that going, going to look like.

    (00:18:58) – So we still had some single family fix and flips that we needed to finish up. So we did that through the rest of 2020. And then in 2021, that’s when I attended my first multifamily syndication workshop, which that was our pivot. And so we decided that it was time to to take take what we knew and apply it to something on a bigger scale. Um, it’s funny though. I just had a conversation with him, an investor, and she does, you know, that’s all she does is flipping. And she said, would you ever consider, you know, going back into it, you know, maybe with the right partner? And I said, oh, absolutely. I love the creative side of things. But for now, you know, I have pivoted into this, you know, multifamily student housing, hotel space. And I’m really loving it. Um, so I think I’m here to stay.

     (00:19:49) – Awesome. That is really cool. I’m curious what you have found over the years are the most common pitfalls in, uh, let’s talk about flips first.

     (00:20:01) – Right. So you’ve had ups and downs, obviously, and you talk about pivoting a lot. So what are some of the common pitfalls and how would one looking at it from the outside now? How would you avoid that in the future.

    (00:20:13) – Oh absolutely. So um, you know it’s funny. So we we went to this bus tour and there were, you know, a list of nos. You should not do this. You should not do that. And of course, some of those we chose not to really pay attention to. And uh, two of them, um, were if if you’re just starting out, don’t do more than one flip at a time and you know. So and that makes, of course, total sense. Well, we happen to get that very first property that I had spoken of. Previously we got that under contract and then a realtor, um, friend who knew that we were getting, you know, into, um, fixing and flipping brought us an opportunity. And we thought to ourselves, oh, my gosh, you know, this is the universe working.

    (00:20:59) – It’s, you know, just blessing us. Um, let’s take this one on two. So of course, we take on two properties almost simultaneously. And we were going to use the same general contractor for both. And that was another no that we had learned that was don’t use the same contractor on the same projects if you’re doing them simultaneously. Well, of course, those were two, you know, two things that clearly we did not pay attention to. And and it came back to, to, to haunt us. Um, as a result, this particular contractor, he was um, he was so behind on his schedule, even though he kept telling us one thing. And, and of course, something else was, was happening. Um, he, he did the, the robbing Peter to pay Paul like, hey, I need a deposit down. And that was, you know, he was using funds to actually go fund something else that he needed to finish. Uh, you know, we ended up firing this, this gentleman and hated to do so because it was it was really not at the most opportune time, but, uh, but, yeah, he he came back to haunt us in a big way.

    (00:22:02) – He started, um, um, you know, stalking us. He was sending us just really crazy, uh, messages, voicemails, text messages. Ended up sending, you know, somewhere around the holidays, uh, a picture of a rifle scope to my husband and said, look at what I’m getting for Christmas. And it was at that point in time that we thought, okay, this is enough harassment. I, you know, we need to do something about it. So we ended up getting a restraining order against him, um, which is something that no one should, you know, would really want to have to go through. And that’s just additional legal fees that, you know, are completely unnecessary when you are trying to run a business. So, you know, from that standpoint, I would say vet your contractor, of course. Um, ask around, ask for references, you know, even, you know, find out what their current schedule is like, because you want to know that you’re going to be a priority on their schedule and that you’re not going to be, you know, this.

    (00:22:59) – Okay, well, we’ll get to you when we can get to you kind of scenario. So it’s really about finding the right contractor, obviously doing your due diligence on the property itself. If you’re able to get, get get an inspection, which a lot of times, you know, with houses going so quick you can’t always get an inspection. But at least if you can, maybe if you have an inspector friend that you can say, hey, look, can you walk this with me? Will I go walk this, this particular property? And, you know, just put your eyes on it, you know? And even if you end up, you know, then mowing them like, you know, a couple hundred bucks to do. So it is so worth it so that you avoid, um, the trap of, of getting and digging into a house and then finding that you have some, some things that you were not aware of, nor did you plan or budget for, um, always making sure that you’re adding, you know, maybe another, you know, 15, even 20% to your budget just to be on the safe side.

    (00:23:54) – So when you’re factoring that in, um, you know, to your, um, purchase price and what the ARV is going to be and so forth, you know, you’re padded, you’re well padded because, you know, there’s always going to be the you never know that there are things that come up and you just want to ensure that you’re you’re covering yourself all the way around. Um, and of course, not using the same contractor if you’re doing things simultaneously, doing two, two houses simultaneously, I think that’s, you know, that’s a that’s that’s certainly important. Unless that contractor, this is the only thing they do and maybe, you know, eventually I think it’s it’s great if you’re going to make a business out of flipping, um, you know, just having your own contractors, you know, that you can keep busy and are the ones that are answering to you at all times, uh, super important because then you can ensure timeliness with your projects.

     (00:24:46) – The episode will continue in just a moment.

     (00:24:49) – As an investor, we know it’s important to stay on top of market trends and real estate opportunities that add value to your portfolio. We also know that having a trusted source of reliable information to help you stay a step ahead of other investors is critical to your success. If you’re interested in having these types of resources as well as access to me and my team, I invite you to join the Empire Investment Club, a free service that gives you an easier way to make sense of today’s and tomorrow’s real estate opportunities. As a member of the Empire Investment Club, you’ll get access to relevant resources and investment focused experiences such as live interactive webinars, market trend presentations, and investor socials designed to equip you with what you need to succeed. So whether you’re an active investor, passive investor, a combination of both, or just starting out the club is where you’ll get what you need to build a portfolio you love to join. Just head over to Jennifer dejesus.com. Sign up and we’ll see you in the club where everyone’s on a journey to becoming a better investor.

     (00:25:47) – Let’s jump in to the Caribbean investing because I’m so intrigued by this. You are. You are definitely the first person I’ve ever talked to in all the podcasts that I’ve done, and just investors I’ve talked to for years and decades. Actually, uh, first person I’ve ever heard actually investing in the Caribbean. So what drew you to invest there and why Panama so.

    (00:26:08) – Well, okay, so what drew me? You know, I’ve always had an affinity for the beaches, palm trees. So any, you know, even if it were in Florida, in Saint Petersburg or Miami, you know, someplace like that, I would definitely be drawn to it. However, in the Caribbean, there presented especially when I pivoted in 20     into more of the commercial space there, there was opportunities that were presenting themselves because they’re, you know, the owners of some of these amazing properties were just tired. They were tired with what they had been through in Covid. And, you know, the more I got to thinking about it, it’s like, okay, well, you know, we’ve been through.

    (00:26:56) – Probably the worst, right? If we happen to go through this again, everyone is going to be so much more equipped to deal with a pandemic such as that. You know, we’re going to know how to troubleshoot it and so forth. So my thought was, you know, why not explore? And there were a few other people that, you know, I had connected with and we all, you know, had been talking about this Caribbean investing. And so I set to work on just networking, um, connecting with, um, you know, brokers and operators that were in the Caribbean. And I thought to myself, okay, well, I’m going to see if I can’t find something. Um, and there were a ton of opportunities, of course. And there still are, um, again, owners who are just tired. They’re they’re ready to move on. Um, they’ve they don’t want to have to go through another pandemic. And, you know, you just need some some fresh eyes, some fresh blood to come in and just, you know, take properties over and just inject energy into them.

    (00:27:50) – So what happened with Panama? Um, I actually started looking at some deals in the Dominican Republic. Um, came across a few and I was posting about, um, you know, investing in the Caribbean. And I connected with someone on LinkedIn who was also doing some investing in the Caribbean. And he and his partner, um, had this property in Panama that was under contract and they were looking for capital. Um, so we got to talking about the property I really liked, you know, all that was going on with it. Um, and this particular property, um, was was sort of a staple in the hit TV series, um, survivor. Um, so survivor would any time that they, um, they want to film in the Panamanian area, they always stay at this particular hotel. And I thought, okay, well, there’s a bonus right there. Um, so I thought, okay, this is this is intriguing. Um, so as I dug in more, I saw the opportunity and they were going to be acquiring this particular property on a master lease agreement.

    (00:28:55) – Um, but they needed capital, and they’re like, Beth, do you know of anybody who would have interest? And I said, well, as a matter of fact, I do. And this was just based off of a potential investor I had been talking with for, um, that was interested in, in, you know, either some single family fix and flips or, or other opportunities. And so when I presented this opportunity and what the return metrics look like, he said, you know what? I’m in just, you know, let me let me hop on the phone, let me get more comfortable with the operators and, and and I’d like to do this. So that’s how I ended up in that particular deal. Now, since then, I have been looking for my own deals and have come across, um, this amazing opportunity in Antigua. And we, um, we, the, the owners are again. They’re, uh, he’s in his 80s. She’s in her 70s.

    (00:29:46) – They’re not married, but they are a couple. And they are just, you know, they’re ready to move on. They want to retire. Um, although they absolutely love, love, love the hotel itself. You know, there’s there’s just other things that they’d like to do and not be tied to. So this property is open generally seven months out of the year. So it’s not even open year round. Um, they closed down for a couple different reasons. Some of it is maintenance. Some of it is because of the hurricanes, um, although they’ve never been hit by a hurricane. And then third reason is they just want to take a break. But in those in the remaining months that they’re open, the nine months or so, this property cash flows about 1.5 million of net operating income. And they owe this and they don’t owe anything on it. So, I mean, a million and a half dollars that they’re putting in their pocket every single year. And I’m like beautiful. They have a base of um, of of client.

    (00:30:49) – Their clientele, you know, is is just very loyal. Um, a lot of UK, a lot of people from the UK, they don’t have a ton of people that come from the United States. Um, Canada net some, but not enough. And, and so our goal is to really just start marketing this to the United States more to Canada. Um, we have a partner and she actually is a travel consultant. So her goal is to actually then go to her base of over 17,000 travel agents and be able to start, you know, pushing them, you know, to this particular property. It’s it’s probably more of a three star. I would give it like a three, three and a half star. Um, once we do some renovations to the property and some upgrades, it will be pushing a four star property with maybe three and a half star prices.

     (00:31:43) – Wow. That’s amazing. So that sounds like it’s a, uh, a hotel. Or is it like an all inclusive or so?

    (00:31:50) – It’s interesting.

    (00:31:51) – It’s 74 keys. So it is a hotel. They offer an. All inclusive package for, um, your meals and of course, for beverages. But, um, but then you do have the option to not, not take the all inclusive. So that’s something we’re going to dig into a little bit more to see if, um, you know, we want to continue that business model. But, you know, hey, if it’s not broke then then don’t fix it. So if it continues to work, then we’re going to stay down that path.

     (00:32:21) – So what advice would you give to people that are starting to look to invest in the Caribbean or, you know, any kind of beachy area?

  4 (00:32:30) – Sure, sure.

    (00:32:30) – I would definitely say if, if if you’re looking to invest, especially outside of the United States, partner up with someone who’s already doing it. And that’s one of the things I, I have a friend who actually, um, has a hotel in Saint Croix, and so I’ve been able to bounce ideas off of him and get suggestions.

    (00:32:52) – He actually may come into the deal as well. So we’ve talked at great length about, um, about having him as an operating partner. Um, but but I do think it is wise to actually partner up with someone who’s already doing it so that you aren’t, you know, just getting into, um, an area that that can be, you know, just, um, a bit, you know, a bit treacherous to some extent. Um, when you’re not dealing with anything that is, you know, within the United States. And, you know, I mean, because, you know, even talking with investors, for instance, um, we’ve we’ve put this out there to investors and, you know, hey, it appears, you know, super sexy and everybody is excited about it. However, no one wants to give up their money all the time, like, oh, I don’t know about wiring my funds to Antigua. Thanks are safe there too, just like they are here in the United States.

    (00:33:45) – But obviously there is a bit more of, um, um, you know, people just feel there’s a comfort level, right, that, you know, oh, I’m wearing to Bank of America in Cincinnati, Ohio versus, you know, a bank that is in Antigua. Um, there’s just a different comfort level.

     (00:34:04) – Sure. So what challenges or opportunities do these markets actually presents, like how does it differ from just investing in the US? Is it terribly different? Is it very, very similar?

    (00:34:18) – I don’t think it’s terribly different. I mean, obviously with the hotel, I mean that that’s something that is, um, you know, you have to have good management in place. Uh, the thing that probably differs. You know, with a hotel in maybe the Caribbean where tourism and travel is, is, you know, their number one way of making a living relative to something here in the US. Um, depending on where it is, of course. Now, if it’s if it’s in a highly if it’s in an area that again depends largely on tourism and travel, um, that’s a different story.

    (00:34:53) – But you know, the labor force a it’s, it’s so much less expensive, of course. Um, and B because they rely on this, you’re just going to have a level of loyalty that you don’t see here in the United States these days. You know, they they they take pride in their, their jobs, you know, in, in these markets. And that’s what I loved. You know, they’re there to take care of the take care of the customer. Um, make sure that they’re having, you know, a good time, that they’re getting everything that they need. And they do so with a smile. You know, sometimes you walk into a retail establishment or, um, you know, a restaurant, and it’s not quite the same as when you’re actually in, in some of these, um, in some of these Caribbean spaces. So I think that’s a big differential. Um, and that’s something that, you know, it’s, it’s just easier to rely on and count on.

     (00:35:50) – So let’s jump into more about your multifamily. So I’d like to talk more about that. And and your development projects, the things that you’ve been working on. So I know you said you went to your first multifamily syndication conference, and that’s how you kind of jump started that. So tell me what that looked like again. Was it another scenario where you met an investor, you guys started to partner, you look for deals, and that’s kind of how it evolved.

    (00:36:13) – So with that, you know, it was honestly it was my eyes just being open to the possibility of, oh, I can be part of a $10 million deal and it’s not going to require money coming out of my own pocket to do so. You know, I think there was this, uh, side of me that was totally naive to how this could happen. You know, I, I remember I recall one of my single family, uh, flip investors who said, you know, one of these days I’m going to buy a 100 unit apartment complex, and, like, how in the heck are you going to do that? I thought to myself, like, there’s no way.

    (00:36:50) – Um, but that’s where the syndication process. I was like, wow, this is this is really cool. So, um, I immediately just again started connecting with people. Um, and shortly after I had that conversation about raising capital for a deal, and that was, you know, getting into my first multifamily. But it was through just, you know, continuous networking that I happen to be in the right place at the right time. I was at an event down in Orlando, Florida. I had taken my husband to it. I said, hey, look, you didn’t come to the first syndication event that I had gone to. I’d really like, you know, you to come to this. It’s in Florida. We’ll take a little bit of a break from from what we’re currently doing, and let’s just go have some fun in the sun. Let’s attend this. You can get educated so that you better understand, like what it is that I’ve actually pivoted to. So we did that, and we ended up meeting this group of gentlemen who were forming a brand new company to take down multifamily properties, and they said, hey, you know, we could really use someone that could help with investor relations and marketing.

    (00:37:57) – Um, you know, and they rattled off just a ton of different things. And I’m like, I’m your gal. Raise my hand. I said, I’m your gal. I can do this. Um, you know, not knowing, you know, really much of, you know, investor relations. What does that entail? I had no idea at the time. So, uh, so we immediately got to work, and this was at the end of 2021. And in 2022, you know, I, I, I built a website, um, um, sourced a logo for, for the team and started working on pitch decks. I’d never done a pitch deck before, but I was super proud of the very first one I’d ever done. Um, and we ended up closing on this 506 B offering, which was fantastic. And that was in July of 2022. And then we had another deal, um, on the horizon. And we it was a 560 offering. So we needed a capital raising platform, you know, and they introduced me to this.

    (00:38:52) – This platform had no idea what I was doing with it. But, you know, I just dug in and and, you know, figured it out. And in most of these platforms are very user friendly anyway. So I was, uh, able to, to do what I needed to do and, uh, and, and then they’re like, Beth, you need to talk to the investors. We need, you know, subscription agreements, signed wires, you know, our wires, uh, um, uh, sent. And so all of this, and I’m doing this sort of like flying by the seat of my pants. But, uh, there it was in December of of 2000 and, uh, the end of 2022. And when we closed down this 126. Student housing property. And I thought to myself, oh my gosh, what a rollercoaster of a ride. But it was probably the best ride ever. And, you know, it was really just I loved the hands on experience because I learned more in that period of time than any educational, you know, um, any educational program out there could have ever taught me.

    (00:39:55) – Um, you know, I’m I’m one that likes to learn hands on anyway. Um, so maybe that’s why I was. I was so partial to to how I felt about it, you know, after the fact. Um, but I do believe that, you know, when you see, you know, the the ups and the downs, the victories, the the lows of, you know, are we going to close on this? You know, are we going to have enough funds, you know, who can we get to wire? Who do we still need to talk to? You know, when you’re going through all of that, you know, you’re I mean, your heart is is, you know, it’s it’s beaten, beating fast and then sometimes not at all.

     (00:40:28) – Wow. So how did you, um, get to the general partner? You know, the ELP side was that through these syndications where you’re just taking a piece of it and you’re actually doing, you know, a piece of the partnership.

     (00:40:40) – So whether it be the marketing or the capital raising or, um, getting the the property managers in the location, what is that how you kind of got from that multifamily into that GP side?

    (00:40:52) – Absolutely. So, um, you know, when I, you know, raised my hand at that event that they said, hey, they needed some help, I didn’t really know how this was going to look at first, and I don’t think that they actually knew either. Um, but it was during that first year of 202   when, you know, I was I was proving my worth. And, you know, they the principals finally came to me and they said, hey, look, we want to give you 10% of the company. And I was like, oh, well, okay then, um, I will gladly take that. And I thought to myself, okay, this is just another way very similar to, you know, how we were able to to work into multifamily. This is or I’m sorry, this how we were able to work into single family.

    (00:41:37) – This was just another way of, okay, this is how I worked my way into a multifamily. So since then, you know, we’ve closed on a 25   bed student housing property in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Um, we have another property that we are looking to close on here sometime in December, and that’s in Athens, Georgia. That’s also a student housing property. Um, so slowly but surely, just building up my portfolio, you know, um, and, and creating the ultimate, which is a legacy for my for my daughter.

     (00:42:06) – That’s awesome. So how much of your time is invested each day? What is your day to day look like?

    (00:42:14) – Uh, sure. So my day to day, um, depending on the day. Um, I train also as an I train and compete as a powerlifter. So four days out of the week, I am in the gym, uh, for anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours. It just depends. So I’m usually up around five, and I’m either off to the gym or if I’m not in the gym, I use that same time.

    (00:42:38) – So instead of the physical training, I actually use that time to mentally train. And that’s when I will, um, it’s my quiet time, I will journal, I will listen to podcasts. Um, I if I have maybe bought into, you know, a program that teaches you, you know, about creative financing strategies or something like that. I’ll spend my time doing that. So whatever it is that I can do to actually improve, um, myself, uh, knowledge wise, that is, that is the time that I usually spend from there. It’s usually, you know, a shower and then by 8:00, um, I might have phone calls, um, investor calls. And it’s it’s really just a lot of follow up, you know, what can we what can we do next for marketing and so forth. And, you know, there’s there’s a nice combination of marketing for this particular team and investor relations and then building up sort of the branding of, of Beth. Um, because the branding of Beth is also going to be the one that’s going that will attract, um, capital, um, or potential, you know, opportunities that I can bring to the team.

    (00:43:44) – And, and so that’s important as well too. Um, so yeah. And then usually depending on what’s going on, if we have webinars because we have a deal, you know, that we’re, we’re raising for and so forth. I mean, my day could go as late as, you know, 8 or 9:00 at night depending.

     (00:44:00) – Okay. Last question.

  5 (00:44:03) – Sure.

     (00:44:04) – How are you going to adapt or what are your plans for the ever talked about market changes, whether it be with interest rates or properties? What are you doing now? What do you see yourself doing in the future? How are you getting ready to just adjust to the next the next change?

    (00:44:24) – Sure. So, um, one of the things and I actually just mentioned it is I have been. Learning more about creative finance strategies. I believe that is going to be very big coming up in the next year. And so being prepared to be able to pivot if needed. And that could be creative finance strategies even for fixing flips, multifamily properties, educating sellers, you know, becoming just more in tune with how to educate sellers on the benefits of seller financing.

    (00:44:55) – Um, you know, or why that, you know, might be a good idea, you know, for them to consider. Um, so for me, I think that’s that’s really where I know my head is at. And, and, you know, obviously, um, you know, when we look to buy some of these larger properties, um, with my, my team, you know, we’re doing our due diligence, right? We’re making sure that we’re buying in areas that it makes sense that, you know, the growth is is still there and it’s continuing to grow. You know, we like and as I’ve mentioned, we like student housing. Um, obviously our last three properties have been student housing. And you know, although, um, you know, it’s been talked about that, um, that, you know, with colleges and universities that their enrollment has been down. You know, that’s typically true of a lot of your smaller colleges, but not necessarily true of, you know, your your tier, tier one schools like, like Athens, Georgia, for instance, the University of Georgia, you know, if you’re a if you’re a football fan, um, if you, you know, want to go be at a school in which, you know, you can get behind a national championship football team, that’s where you’re going to go, places like that.

    (00:46:05) – Ohio State, um, so, you know, uh, looking at markets such as those and finding, you know, the golden nuggets, um, that’s what that’s what we set out to do because we’re insured, I don’t want to say insured, but the likelihood of of anything changing there is not going to be as, as, uh, as, as crazy as it might be in your smaller areas, where, again, universities and colleges are, are finding it harder and harder to, to maintain their enrollment.

     (00:46:36) – Well, Beth, it’s been such a pleasure talking to you. Your success is just incredible. Um, and the fact that you are, you know, going out into all these different segments and trying different things and finding success with it, uh, between your GPA, your LP deals and your multifamily, your single families, your construction businesses, just, uh, I just think your story is incredible. So I wish you all the success in the world and obviously a lot of health and happiness and prosperity as well for the new year.

     (00:47:05) – So thank you so much. It was great speaking with you.

    (00:47:08) – Thanks, Jennifer. Appreciate it.

     (00:47:10) – Thank you for listening to my episode with Beth Underhill. I hope you learned what not to do when jumping into the world of single family home flips, and learned a little bit about how you can invest in the Caribbean. And until next time, take care.

(00:47:26) – For more information about how Jennifer can help you plan, develop and manage a strong real estate investment portfolio, go visit Growing empires.com.