Episode Transcript

Welcome to Episode Eight of Season Three of the Growing Empires show. This is our trailer for Season Four. So we’re going to recap all of Season Three and let you know what to expect out of Season Four, so stay tuned.

00:14

Welcome to Growing Empires, hosted by real estate entrepreneur and trusted investment advisor, Jennifer de Jesus. 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.

00:32

So I don’t know about you, but Season Three got me really excited. I love talking about winning the money game and giving people opportunities to really be successful in investment real estate. I brought some incredible guests this season and if you did not hear most of the season, I urge you to go back. We talked in depth about winning the money game and all the things that you need to know about being creative with money, and how to be successful. Episode Two and Three was Cindy Platt Elliot from the 1031 Corporation and you will hear me talk about them on occasion. I’ve been doing business with them for many, many years, and they are absolute gurus in the exchange world. They are the intermediary that you need to successfully complete a 1031 exchange and their wealth of knowledge and professionalism and expertise is unmatched in this industry, without question, and I have trusted them with my clients for many years. I consistently get rave reviews on how much time they take to understand each person each situation and give the best advice on how to defer capital gains and really put some money back in your pocket. So please make sure if you didn’t already listen to Episode Two and Three, that you go back and do that. In the show notes of every season, you should find the contacts for the special guests. But if anytime you’re missing it or can’t find it and you want to get ahold of these people, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at GrowingEmpires.com. We also talked to Sarry Ibrahim from the Bank on Yourself organization and he went into detail on different types of investment strategies for life insurance, whole life and different things that you can do with your money in the investment real estate world to be super creative, especially when you have challenges like inventory. So I thought that that episode really brought a lot of value to my listener. And then we had a two part segment with Gary Mascitis from GSM Commercial and he is one of the creative financing brokers that I have been dealing with for a little while now. Gary’s organization definitely has some different programs out there that are definitely not one size fits all. I think that he offers a lot of programs for people to build wealth and extensive wealth. His clientele base is kind of diversified. He works with some, you know, brand new investors that are just starting out and trying to be creative with their money. But he also works with people of great wealth that are looking for creative strategies to continue to build that wealth and save some money in the process. That was Episode Five and Six of Season Three. So Season Three really shaped up to be really educational, we had a lot of special guests, and I can’t thank all of them enough for their time and expertise and in giving my listeners some creative options. Of course, we did our Question and Answer segment which was Episode Six. So if you missed that, please don’t hesitate to go back and listen to it. That is one of my most favorite episodes to record.

03:40

So let’s talk about what you’re going to expect from Season Four. So Season Three — Winning the Money Game, Season Four — Risk Mitigation. If you’re really successful at winning the money game, the next thing you need to prepare for it is to mitigate your risk. We are definitely going to have some very knowledgeable people in Season Four. So please make sure that you stay tuned. If you’re not already subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts, please make sure you do that way you can be certain you’re not going to miss any of these episodes upcoming. We’re going to talk to some tax advisors, we’re going to talk to legal professionals, we’re going to talk to insurance brokers and we’re gonna make sure that you are doing absolutely everything you can to mitigate risk. Why? Because you need to. You need to make sure that your money is always protected. If you’re smart enough to invest your money in creative ways, you’re going to want to make sure that you protect that money, no different than having a safe in your house and putting all your financial documents in there. So in our tax advice segment, we’re going to talk a lot about different tax strategies. But we’re also going to go into depth about the new tax laws. Things that came out in 2020, that you need to be aware of, because there are additional tax benefits that allow investors to save an additional 20 to 25% if they do a couple of steps, you’re going to want to know what that’s all about, because that’s a huge savings for many of the people that we work with. We’re going to talk about how you mitigate some risk in LLC ownership versus personal ownership. And if for some reason you’re in a situation where you cannot set up an LLC, or it doesn’t make financial sense to set up an LLC, you can mitigate some of that risk with commercial umbrella policies or additional liability insurance on your properties.

05:17

The episode will continue in just a moment.

05:22

As a real estate investor, understanding the nuances of the market is critical to sourcing the right property for your portfolio. Knowing what the market will support in terms of lease ability, and potential rental income is a vital part of that equation. You want your property to be in good condition, and in a location that’s attractive to high quality tenants. If you wish to acquire a property that becomes the gem of your portfolio, you’re going to need help to do it right. The good news is you have a great resource who can help you slice through the challenges of finding your ideal property and that’s me. So whether you’re just getting started and are unsure of which market to start with, or whether you know the market but can’t find the right property, I can help. Visit GrowingEmpires.com and schedule a call with me today. One simple conversation can help you avoid wasted hours, days and weeks, and also help you avoid costly mistakes that will weaken your portfolio. Schedule that call with me today at GrowingEmpires.com. That’s GrowingEmpires.com, and I’ll make sure that I help you find that homerun property to add to your portfolio.

06:25

I wanted to take a minute to talk a little bit about my strategies, my personal strategies. Certainly not saying it’s right for everybody but I get often asked what I do and how I make decisions of what to invest in, where to invest, who to use, who are my business partners, so on and so forth. And for the last three seasons, we’ve talked about other people — we’ve talked about, you know, different thoughts, different strategies, different people, different expertise, and I haven’t really shared any of my specific situations. So I thought that I take a few minutes to talk a little bit about what I invest in, and why. First thing I want to let you know is that I do not under any circumstances, compete with my clients. I just think that that’s really bad business practices. So one thing, I can assure you that if you’re investing and using my team for purchasing investment properties, we’re not going to compete against you on any level. I structured my organization to be able to give multiple options to people. So for example, people that want off market properties can invest in our fund. Our fund sources properties completely off market, therefore the fund is not going to compete with investors that are out there buying every single day. But what do I invest in? And how do I protect myself? I’m a big advocate of first of all, setting up individual LLC is for everything that I own, which means that my personal home, my investment properties, my businesses, everything that I own is owned by a separate entity, a separate LLC. Now I do on occasion, combine a couple of properties into one LLC. But only if I bought those properties as a portfolio. I certainly don’t use that as a regular course of business. Because my belief is that although you can get incredible insurance policies, and I have great policies with a lot of additional coverage and a lot of liability, I still firmly believe, and this is my opinion, that insurance companies are in business not to approve every single claim — they’re going to look for and deny certain claims. So instead of leaving myself in a position that I feel is a little too risky for my taste, I not only set up every single property in a separate LLC, but I also have additional liability policies and umbrella policies to cover my properties that I own. And that’s just a personal choice. I’m certainly not saying it’s right or wrong, but that is my personal choice. And since I get asked that question a lot, I thought I would share those details.

08:47

I also get asked what do I invest in? Well, I personally own anything from single family homes to large multi-unit buildings, small-multi unit buildings to commercial real estate, and when I set out to start investing, I didn’t necessarily have a plan. I thought I wanted to invest in multi-unit complexes. That’s what I thought I wanted to own. And I have found that I’ve been most successful in buying properties that have an incredible return on investment because I waited, I was patient, and I didn’t go after anything specific. I looked at everything from single families on up, and I only purchased when the deal made absolute sense, I needed to get the best of the best deal. And to do that I had to be open to different types of properties. I made very strategic moves in what I was going to improve when I was going to improve it and how I was going to capitalize on market rent. Some I bought with cash, some I bought with leverage, and some I bought from refinancing and pulling equity out of other properties. And because I surround myself with people that are in financial places that I respect, I’m able to bring back a lot of that knowledge and those ideas to the people that I represent, as clients purchasing real estate investments or utilizing our property management services. You’ll hear me talk about how our property management business was built around understanding the investors needs and understanding how they want to protect their assets, protect their money. So when I go into business with you or anyone else that is buying investment real estate, one of my goals is to protect your money, protect your assets, but it’s also to be in business with you. I’m your business partner. And it’s my job to make sure that you make the best decisions and buy the best properties and are successful, because I want to be in business a very long time. I hope you enjoyed all of what Season Three had to offer. And I’m super excited to share some really great strategies for risk mitigation in Season Four. So until next time, take care.

10:44

For more information about how Jennifer can help you plan, develop, and manage a strong real estate investment portfolio, visit GrowingEmpires.com.