Ep #1,042 - MFRS - How To Get Your First Multi-Family Deal FAST In 2025

[00:00:03] So you know that apartment building or complex you drive by every day? Someone owns it. And it's probably someone on this podcast. Multifamily Rockstars. Join the growing numbers of real estate entrepreneurs who have made the jump to buying multifamily properties for lifetime cash flow. Multifamily Rockstars. Using OPM for an OMG ROI. Now, here are your hosts, Rod Khleif and Mark Nagy.

[00:00:28] Welcome back to Multifamily Rockstars. So as you know, guys, this is where we interview people that are just flat out crushing it in this business. And we show you the inside scoop as to how multifamily investors are creating massive success in their businesses. And we always in their lives as well, frankly. And I've got my co-host as always, as the director of our massive action team for the Warrior Group, Mark Nagy on.

[00:00:50] Good to be here back again with another one, Rod.

[00:00:52] Rod. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Well, so today we've got Wakefield Lee and he's the managing principal of Meridian Real Estate Partners. And he's actually got a very frameworkable background for this business. I mean, he spent 12 years in commercial residential real estate, really on the institutional side, worked with CB Richard Ellis, Marcus Amilla Chap, Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

[00:01:15] And so, you know, incredible framework for what he's doing now. And I want to dig into that a little bit. But Wakefield, welcome to the show, brother.

[00:01:25] Yeah, thank you for having me on, Rod. Honor, honor to be here today with you and Mark.

[00:01:31] Thank you. Thank you. So why don't we do what we always do and just have you give us a little background.

[00:01:37] You know, I massively abbreviated your bio here. So why don't you give us a little high level background of who you are and why multifamily and, you know, speak to your tenure at those other companies a little bit as well, because I want to dig into that a little bit.

[00:01:51] Yeah, yeah, definitely. So a little about me. I'm Wakefield. I'm based in a Los Angeles area and basically lived here most of my life in Southern California.

[00:02:00] Sunny and beautiful, just tough to invest in. So how I got into real estate, I come from the real estate industry.

[00:02:08] I started at a company called PricewaterhouseCoopers. I spent a few years there advising large real estate companies like your Black Rocks, like your JP Morgans, your Goldman Sachs.

[00:02:19] And I got to see their huge, huge portfolios of office buildings, industrial, multifamily apartments, all kinds of things.

[00:02:27] And so that's how I dipped my toe in the water of just this huge world of commercial real estate.

[00:02:34] And from there, I pretty much got hooked and I just stayed in the industry after that.

[00:02:41] I went on to brokerage at Markers & Millichap. I did underwriting for them, top 15 guy in the company who is doing big deals up to 500 million.

[00:02:51] Went on to CBRE. I worked in industrial there, underwriting the single tenant, triple net up to a 50 property portfolio of industrial properties and eventually got onto the investing side.

[00:03:06] Worked at a private equity company that was buying shopping malls and then I did asset management for a multifamily developer.

[00:03:13] So been in a lot of pieces of the industry and really have got to learn a lot.

[00:03:18] But along the way, I also kind of figured out, okay, what do I really want to do with my future when I grow up?

[00:03:25] And eventually I knew I wanted to kind of pursue my own financial freedom and help other people get there too through real estate.

[00:03:32] So how old are you, Wakefield?

[00:03:34] I'm 34.

[00:03:36] Wow. You've done a lot for your age.

[00:03:38] So here's a question. I know you joined the Warrior Program back in January, really January of this year.

[00:03:45] So not that long ago, nine months ago. And I know you're in 133 doors.

[00:03:49] I think that's one deal, but we're going to dig into that.

[00:03:52] But why did you join with that extensive background?

[00:03:56] It's a great question.

[00:03:57] And the reason I joined was because I wanted to find like-minded people in a community of people that were doing similar things to me or even ahead of me.

[00:04:09] Even though I came from the industry, I spent about a decade before I joined a program.

[00:04:15] I knew that the mindset of working at a real estate company was different from actually investing yourself, building your own company, adding value to people, bringing on investors, putting all the pieces together of the project.

[00:04:30] And I wanted to be part of a community that was doing something like that and also get a coach who had done five or six of the types of projects that I wanted to do at that scale.

[00:04:41] And so I went on this kind of journey to find the right group last year.

[00:04:47] And after attending your boot camp, the virtual boot camp, I liked the mindset.

[00:04:52] I liked the people that I heard as the speakers.

[00:04:55] And I saw myself being part of this community.

[00:04:58] And since I joined it has really helped me to accelerate my growth and get the largest deal done that I've ever been a part of myself.

[00:05:08] Well, congratulations, buddy.

[00:05:10] So, so, and so the community has paid off for you as it does for everybody.

[00:05:15] I mean, I know the answer, but yes, it's, it's, I know you, I know you did that deal with other warriors.

[00:05:20] If I recall.

[00:05:22] Yes.

[00:05:22] Yes.

[00:05:22] Did, did the deal with some warriors and, you know, warriors and non-warriors.

[00:05:26] But definitely, I think since joining the group that, that helped me to get the deal across the finish line, which, which was huge.

[00:05:33] I was, this was, you know, we can, we can talk about that whole, that whole deal.

[00:05:38] I can probably write a mini book on.

[00:05:39] It was a lot, but yeah, joined the program, met the right people.

[00:05:43] I had my coach who has done five or six of these and helped provide a lot of guidance along the way.

[00:05:51] Just here are some pitfalls to avoid.

[00:05:54] These are some things that might happen to you.

[00:05:55] And pretty much she was right.

[00:05:56] They all happened to me, good and bad.

[00:05:59] So, yeah.

[00:06:00] Let's do, let's dig into it.

[00:06:01] Let's talk about that deal before we move forward.

[00:06:03] I would like to dig into it.

[00:06:05] So where is it?

[00:06:06] What is it?

[00:06:06] And, you know, just kind of give us a little bit of a mini case study on it, if you would.

[00:06:11] And, and, and, you know, address the, the, the problems that you encountered.

[00:06:15] Cause there, I'm, I'm sure there were problems and, and maybe what you learned and gathered from that.

[00:06:20] So just kind of give us a little narrative on it.

[00:06:22] Yeah, yeah, definitely.

[00:06:23] So for, for a little bit of background, before I jump into that, the company that I run Meridian,

[00:06:27] we focus on value add apartment buildings.

[00:06:30] And one of our key markets is Ohio and specifically Cincinnati.

[00:06:33] And so this is where the project is that we, we worked on in my, my first syndication project.

[00:06:39] So I had this property or portfolio under contract.

[00:06:43] It's a portfolio of three properties, 133 doors.

[00:06:47] And, you know, basically it was my first large, my largest deal.

[00:06:52] And then the first one that I would be raising capital for,

[00:06:55] and really just putting the whole team together, who's going to asset manage,

[00:06:59] who's going to bring some investors, who's going to be the KP.

[00:07:03] And basically the loan guarantor.

[00:07:05] So all, all these pieces that I had to just put together and you know,

[00:07:10] every, every piece kind of came with its own, I guess, challenge.

[00:07:13] So I had to find somebody to help to sign the loan who, you know,

[00:07:17] had the kind of net worth that was required to, to get this deal done.

[00:07:21] You know, I had to find the right partners.

[00:07:23] I ended up splitting up the deal into two, a joint venture and a syndication.

[00:07:29] I felt that was the best way.

[00:07:31] Had some partners.

[00:07:33] Okay. So let me stop you. Sorry.

[00:07:34] Let me stop you.

[00:07:34] Cause you're saying a lot of stuff that people aren't going to understand.

[00:07:37] So, so, so you found a sponsor basically.

[00:07:40] That's that's by the way, guys, that's what we call the person that comes in,

[00:07:42] maybe brings the net worth and liquidity, maybe brings the experience.

[00:07:46] Sometimes brings money all the above.

[00:07:48] Sometimes they bring their resume typically.

[00:07:50] So that's the sponsor.

[00:07:51] So you've, you reached out, you found that person.

[00:07:53] And then you said you did this as a joint venture and a syndication.

[00:07:58] Could you elaborate on that?

[00:07:59] Because I'm not even tracking that.

[00:08:00] Yeah. Yeah.

[00:08:01] So the, just to take a step back, the portfolio of properties was three.

[00:08:06] And so we had three separate properties and two of them, we ended up syndicating.

[00:08:10] Oh, gotcha.

[00:08:11] Okay.

[00:08:11] So you split it.

[00:08:12] Okay.

[00:08:13] We basically split it up, which was easier to do because it wasn't just one property.

[00:08:18] So we couldn't be hard to split up one big property, but since these were three, we kind of cut it up into chunks.

[00:08:24] So, so guys, just so you know, if you, if, if you and some partners are all active in a deal,

[00:08:30] you can do what's called a joint venture where you don't have to syndicate.

[00:08:34] But, and you learn all this at my bootcamp, but, but if you're going to raise money

[00:08:38] and take money from someone who is not actively involved, you have to syndicate.

[00:08:43] So you had enough liquidity to do the one deal just between a few partners and then you syndicated the rest.

[00:08:49] I just wanted to get some clarification, but that makes complete sense.

[00:08:52] All right.

[00:08:52] Please continue.

[00:08:53] Yeah.

[00:08:53] Yeah.

[00:08:53] Correct.

[00:08:54] So for joint ventures, typically everybody involved needs to be, to be active.

[00:08:59] And so it has to be, has to be active.

[00:09:01] And so we were able to set it up that way.

[00:09:04] And with the syndication, we knew that we would have investors to your point, that would be completely passive.

[00:09:08] And we went through the legal process, got the attorney, filed it, all of that.

[00:09:13] And so that was, that was a big learning experience for me just going through that the first time.

[00:09:18] So, you know, there's, there's a lot that happened, but initially I had some partners that before I joined the program that were on board and all of that.

[00:09:29] And, and that, that didn't work out and they were going to be a big part of the deal, basically half the deal.

[00:09:34] And we were just going to have a small group of people and they basically didn't, didn't work out.

[00:09:39] And so I had to find new partners and you know, not surprisingly, this, this happened multiple times.

[00:09:46] People said, Hey, I want to be on the team.

[00:09:48] And then they just kind of disappeared after you know, things got serious.

[00:09:52] We had to put in our own, our own money as, as GPs.

[00:09:56] I wanted everybody to co-invest, including myself.

[00:09:58] And once, you know, once that conversation came about, you know, surprisingly people just disappeared.

[00:10:05] So I think it was a challenge just to get the right people on board, even though I had a lot of, you know, conviction and I believe in this deal.

[00:10:13] I knew it was a good deal.

[00:10:14] Cashflow day one, we had amazing debt, fixed rate debt, none of the bridge stuff that, you know, people are getting into trouble with.

[00:10:21] And so I, you know, underwritten hundreds of deals before, and I knew that this was going to be solid, but it was just getting the right, right team members on board.

[00:10:30] And at the same time, the seller was just continuing to pressure on this.

[00:10:34] So we, we, we did a couple of extensions and they were saying, okay, can you guys get this deal done?

[00:10:40] They're having, starting to have question marks about, about us and about me.

[00:10:45] Why did you have to extend?

[00:10:46] Why did you have to extend?

[00:10:47] Was it the debt or the equity?

[00:10:49] Um, it was, it was both.

[00:10:51] It was both.

[00:10:52] It was the debt and the equity.

[00:10:53] We had a pretty good debt quote.

[00:10:55] And, um, actually the, the interest rates, as you know, it's just, it's been a whole situation, but, um, they actually dropped for a small window of time.

[00:11:04] And our lender said, Hey, like you need to lock in right now.

[00:11:06] And so what I did is just put up my own money.

[00:11:09] And I said, okay, let's just lock it in.

[00:11:11] Let me stop you.

[00:11:12] Let me stop you.

[00:11:12] I'm sorry.

[00:11:13] So just so you guys, and I want to clarify a couple of things, just so you guys know in our world, equity means the down payment.

[00:11:18] Money, the money out of pocket.

[00:11:20] Okay.

[00:11:20] It's a little bit of a misnomer.

[00:11:21] If you're used to hearing what equity is in the single family space, that's number one.

[00:11:25] Number two is whenever you lock a rate, you got to pay a chunk of money and it's a significant chunk of money to lock that rate.

[00:11:32] So that's what he's talking about.

[00:11:33] We had to put his own money in.

[00:11:34] Now here's the thing in our business, you have what's called at risk capital and you can raise that at risk capital as well, which can be the earnest money, the rate lock money, the due diligence costs, the, the financing charges and so on and so forth.

[00:11:47] And people will get a slice of the deal for putting that money up.

[00:11:50] All right, please continue.

[00:11:51] Yeah, yeah.

[00:11:52] So you can find partners to tap it on different parts of the deal.

[00:11:56] And that's, yeah, that's, that's what I ended up doing.

[00:11:58] And so, you know, since I joined the program, I was able to find a couple of people to fit in different, different parts.

[00:12:04] And I knew some people who wanted to be part of a bigger deal or their first deal.

[00:12:09] And so this was a way for, for it to be a win for everybody.

[00:12:13] So my, my first syndication and also, you know, I, I was glad to bring the opportunity to other people who wanted to be on their first syndication too and get that learning experience.

[00:12:24] So that's, that's the power of the group, frankly.

[00:12:26] And that's, that's, you know, we're, our warriors are somewhere between 170 and 180,000 doors that we know of, which I'm incredibly proud of because it's only been five years that I've been teaching.

[00:12:36] But almost all those deals are between warriors because they support each other and build each other up.

[00:12:41] So please, sorry, I interrupted.

[00:12:42] Please continue.

[00:12:44] No, no, definitely.

[00:12:45] And, and what I liked about it is that people in the program kind of went through the same training, right?

[00:12:50] So you go to the same modules, the same videos.

[00:12:52] Those people I think have this, this idea of a community to work together.

[00:12:58] And so that, that was one of the reasons I wanted to join this.

[00:13:01] And as I was having, you know, it took, it took a lot of conversations.

[00:13:04] Nobody just showed up to me and said, Hey, I want to, I want to do your deal.

[00:13:07] But, you know, it took, it took a lot of work.

[00:13:11] And yeah, you know, I tried to add value to people and say, Hey, what are your goals?

[00:13:14] What are you looking for?

[00:13:15] You want to get on your first deal?

[00:13:16] You want to learn asset management, get into a syndication.

[00:13:20] And so I, along the way I was trying to, you know, and I learned from attending the bootcamp is just how to, how do I add value to people?

[00:13:27] That's key.

[00:13:28] Now, what you just said is key.

[00:13:29] And I love the way you approach that.

[00:13:31] How can you add value to them?

[00:13:33] Because that's the way the world works.

[00:13:34] That's the way God works.

[00:13:35] There's a law of reciprocity.

[00:13:37] And, and that's why the community is so strong because everybody's working together and helping each other.

[00:13:41] And, and, but when you approach it, like you did success is inevitable.

[00:13:46] Sorry, I interrupted again, but you're, you're throwing some really good stuff out that I want to elaborate on.

[00:13:50] Yeah.

[00:13:51] Yeah, definitely.

[00:13:51] And those, those were some of the mindset things that, you know, I'd learned from you and the people on the podcast and just other people I saw were successful in this industry.

[00:14:00] And so, you know, after.

[00:14:02] So you got it over the finish line.

[00:14:04] Yeah.

[00:14:05] You got it.

[00:14:05] You got it done.

[00:14:06] You got it done.

[00:14:07] You brought in partners and you brought in, you know, GP partners for the syndication.

[00:14:12] Well, I mean, that's fantastic.

[00:14:13] And I salute you for that.

[00:14:15] So good job.

[00:14:16] Really good job.

[00:14:17] And one thing I want to touch on here with you Wakefield is the timeframe.

[00:14:20] You did this in what?

[00:14:23] Six, seven, eight months, something like that.

[00:14:25] I get that question all the time is, Hey, what are the odds I can do a deal in under a year?

[00:14:29] How does that get done?

[00:14:30] What, what were some of the key elements in that timeframe?

[00:14:33] Whether it was, you just had to underwrite X amount of deals or you had to have X amount of broker relationships or team members.

[00:14:41] What, what were some of the key elements that helped you get that deal quickly?

[00:14:44] Yeah.

[00:14:44] Yeah, definitely.

[00:14:46] And I think, you know, I was lucky because I've been working on this for some time already.

[00:14:50] And so, but I think that it's in the industry, nothing is a given, right?

[00:14:55] It's all what, what you, what you put in.

[00:14:58] And, you know, if you, if your goal is, Hey, I want to do a joint venture, you know, 10, 20 doors, or, Hey, I want to do 50 or a hundred doors.

[00:15:06] Then I think the more that you plan that out and plan out your efforts, that the better it is.

[00:15:12] I know with people getting into the program, they have a 90 day action plan.

[00:15:16] And so I think that's, that's a really great plan because you really start.

[00:15:20] And when I joined this program, there was a, this plan of, Hey, what do you want to do a year or five years from now?

[00:15:26] And once you figure out that plan ahead of time, you can really get detailed about, Hey, I need to look at 10 deals a month and I need to make two offers a week.

[00:15:34] And for that, I need to have this big funnel of maybe one markets on enough, maybe multiple markets, or Hey, maybe I need to, I just don't have capacity for this.

[00:15:44] You know, I've got a W2 job and this and that and family, and I need to partner with somebody else.

[00:15:48] And so I think having that plan upfront, having those goals upfront is, is really key and just, just sticking to it.

[00:15:56] Yeah.

[00:15:57] And in the program, we've, like you said, we've got a 90 day action plan.

[00:16:00] You know, you can do it in 30 days.

[00:16:02] You can do it in a year.

[00:16:03] It's just, but it is an action plan that you can implement.

[00:16:06] So you're not wondering what to do.

[00:16:08] And I love the fact that you talked about taking a look at your long-term goals and then backing into, you know, what you have to do each month, each week, each day.

[00:16:18] The hours throughout the day to make that deal, to make that happen.

[00:16:21] And that's really how it's numbers.

[00:16:23] And so, you know, good for you.

[00:16:24] I mean, that is obviously your wheelhouse is numbers, but you know, that adds value to those of us who it isn't because we can back into our goals and, you know, and we make things happen.

[00:16:34] What suggestions would you have for somebody that's starting out in real estate investing?

[00:16:38] You know, we get a lot of people on the show that listen to the show, you know, that, that haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet.

[00:16:44] And, you know, I'm sure you being analytical, you'd be great to answer this because a lot of analytical people, they have to check off every single freaking box before they make a move.

[00:16:54] And I'm sure that resonates with you.

[00:16:55] And, and, and so what would you tell those that, that are like you, for example, that through analysis paralysis or, or, you know, fear or whatever, they haven't made a move.

[00:17:07] What would speak to them?

[00:17:09] Yeah, definitely.

[00:17:10] I'm yeah, definitely coming from analytical background.

[00:17:13] That's just my personality.

[00:17:14] That's, that's what I get paid to do.

[00:17:16] That's, that's my job.

[00:17:17] And so it's, it's good because I'm, I'm pretty sorrow, you know, pick every single thing apart and I'll see, you know, this thing doesn't check the box.

[00:17:25] Okay.

[00:17:25] It doesn't work.

[00:17:26] But what I learned is that when you are doing something entrepreneurial, nothing is going to be perfect.

[00:17:31] So it's better to take action than try to make it perfect because you might spend a lot of time trying to figure out what the perfect next step is, and it's probably not going to be perfect anyway.

[00:17:43] So the best step is to just, you know, don't just do, do things impromptu, but, you know, think it through a little bit and then just go for it.

[00:17:52] And that's, that's what really, that's what really helped me.

[00:17:55] I took on this deal that honestly was bigger than I could actually handle and was able to, you know, figure it out.

[00:18:03] I'm not saying take on stuff that's way too big for you, but, you know, make, make sure that you've got some kind of plan for it and just, I don't know, work, work your butt off and try to,

[00:18:13] try to make it happen, but set, set your goals high and take the action, jump in.

[00:18:18] What I learned is I've been doing this for years on my own and, you know, joining community to, to find the right people.

[00:18:24] And that's, that's one of the biggest things for me is I learned is I need to find a team, either you hire people or you partner with people and they can, they can do things that you're not that good at, or that are, they're better at than you are.

[00:18:38] And that's what I learned is I'm good at this.

[00:18:40] I'm not so good at this and find the other people to, to compliment.

[00:18:44] Great answer.

[00:18:45] And I'll tell you, you know, there is no perfection.

[00:18:48] Okay.

[00:18:49] That pursuit of perfection is, is, is, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's fruitless.

[00:18:54] And so, you know, I'm really glad that you articulated it that way.

[00:18:57] And, and, and I think one of your strengths is, is not being afraid to seek help.

[00:19:01] I mean, we're even considering doing a deal together.

[00:19:03] It looks like we may, if it comes together and, and with my team and, you know, you approached us with that.

[00:19:09] And so, you know, I think that's a strength of yours because, you know, that that's, you know, this is a team sport.

[00:19:15] This is not something you're going to do on your own.

[00:19:17] You're going to do it with other people.

[00:19:18] And so it's critical that, that you're not afraid to reach out and, and, and seek help.

[00:19:24] And, and, you know, and this really is strength in numbers.

[00:19:27] There is no question.

[00:19:28] There's strength in numbers in this business.

[00:19:31] Well, what do you think gave you that confidence Wakefield to jump from some smaller stuff that you had done before to now a three unit or three property portfolio that's over a hundred doors?

[00:19:42] What, what gave you the confidence mentally to even look at a deal like that or jump to a deal like that?

[00:19:48] Yeah.

[00:19:48] Yeah.

[00:19:49] I mean, I'll tell you, it was, it was scary.

[00:19:51] You know, I was working on the tens and the twenties and, and for, for some people that's big too.

[00:19:55] Right.

[00:19:55] So it's all, it's, it's all relative.

[00:19:57] And, you know, I, I just knew that I had these goals in the future and was I going to, when, when was I going to do them?

[00:20:06] Right.

[00:20:06] So the opportunity presented itself and I said, well, let's, let's just, let's just go after it.

[00:20:12] You know, it's, it's scary.

[00:20:13] I wouldn't say I slept great every night.

[00:20:16] I did not.

[00:20:17] But, you know, and then I just surrounded myself with, with the right people.

[00:20:21] And then my coach, I think was helpful because he had done five or six of these and he said, well, you've seen all this stuff before.

[00:20:27] And this can happen and that can happen.

[00:20:29] And a lot of it happened.

[00:20:30] And he said, he just kind of walked me through it.

[00:20:32] And so, you know, that, that to me, I felt so much better with somebody who is, who is supporting versus just me on my own.

[00:20:40] I mean, I probably wouldn't have been able to get it done on myself, on my own, actually.

[00:20:45] So Wakefield, are you married kids?

[00:20:46] Refresh my memory.

[00:20:48] No, no, no, no family.

[00:20:50] No family.

[00:20:51] Okay.

[00:20:51] So what's the why?

[00:20:53] What's the why that's driving you?

[00:20:54] Because I know you're super motivated.

[00:20:55] I mean, what's the why?

[00:20:57] And I know you've done it because you're in the program and everybody does their goals and their whys.

[00:21:01] Yeah, yeah, definitely.

[00:21:02] So just going back to my early career, I was, I started consulting 23 years old, right?

[00:21:08] So in my 20s, just eyes wide open.

[00:21:10] I'm learning and my new career.

[00:21:12] And I realized I was, I was working a lot, 50, 60 plus hours per week.

[00:21:17] And then I just saw where my boss was.

[00:21:20] And my boss was just sitting next to us nine or 10 o'clock each night.

[00:21:24] He had a family and, you know, kids and all this stuff.

[00:21:27] And he was still working that much.

[00:21:29] And then I realized, wow, is this going to be me in 10, 20, 30 years?

[00:21:34] And then I just thought there's got to be a better way.

[00:21:37] And real estate, I know, is just a great investment over time.

[00:21:41] And it's going to pay off if you put the work in.

[00:21:44] And so that was my why is just, you know, what's a way for me to secure my financial future down the road?

[00:21:51] And that's progressed to, you know, earlier this year and last year, I thought, okay, well, this goal should not just be about me.

[00:22:01] But eventually, once I get to my goal, how can I help other people?

[00:22:04] And so I want to be able to help people control, better control their financial future through real estate, which I've seen the benefits of myself, many, many other people also.

[00:22:16] And I want to be able to bring that benefit of real estate to other people who are busy or, you know, don't know how to get involved and just, you know, want to bring that opportunity to them that maybe don't know how to do it.

[00:22:30] That's a great answer.

[00:22:32] If you haven't heard me talk about this before, it's kind of an extraordinary thing that I noticed at our last live event in Denver.

[00:22:39] So we had a Hall of Fame for our warriors.

[00:22:42] And we did a slide for each one.

[00:22:45] We're doing it again here in September in Orlando.

[00:22:47] We're going to have a Hall of Fame.

[00:22:48] And we had 10 at this Denver event.

[00:22:50] We'll probably have 15 because we got so many warriors and we want to congratulate as many as we can.

[00:22:54] So we pick exemplary warriors for a multitude of reasons, not just their success in the business.

[00:22:59] And we did a slide on each one.

[00:23:01] And I started to notice something as we're scrolling through the slides, giving out these awards.

[00:23:05] Every single one of them does something to make the world a better place.

[00:23:08] You know, sexual trafficking, veteran suicide, veterans homelessness, building schools in India, on and on and on.

[00:23:16] It was like, and I pointed to the 900, I pointed to it, told the 900 people in the room.

[00:23:19] I'm like, that's what we call a freaking clue.

[00:23:21] Okay.

[00:23:22] So, you know, I love that you approached it from helping other people.

[00:23:26] And, you know, love that answer.

[00:23:28] Do you think that's part of what helped you break out of your comfort zone, do bigger deals, build teams, network with other people, is having those goals to want to help others and not just having it be about yourself?

[00:23:38] Yeah, no, that's a great point, Mark.

[00:23:40] And I think, you know, maybe prior to joining in my first early career, I was just thinking, yeah, how do I get to, you know, a lot of people have their financial freedom cash flow number, right?

[00:23:53] And so I said, okay, this is sort of step one for me.

[00:23:56] But once I get there, what next, right?

[00:23:59] Do I just stop?

[00:24:00] I mean, you know, you can't just be on the beach for the rest of your life.

[00:24:02] And how can I use my experience and my knowledge and help other people?

[00:24:08] And I think that's a more kind of long-term, meaningful journey for me.

[00:24:13] And to your point, yeah, I think that helped me to break my fear because it's not just about me anymore.

[00:24:18] It's about, you know, I'm, you know, working a lot and trying to get these things done for a bigger goal.

[00:24:25] And I'm, you know, I'm inspired by a lot of people that I see with trafficking and helping, you know, I know you give meals to people.

[00:24:33] And I'd like to be able to have that amount of resources myself to be able to do that in the future with time and resources.

[00:24:42] And I know that that's something possible through working in this business.

[00:24:47] Yeah, no question.

[00:24:49] Well, I think you're definitely giving a thumbs up to the Warrior Program.

[00:24:53] Would that be an accurate statement?

[00:24:55] Yes, two thumbs.

[00:24:56] Okay, two thumbs.

[00:24:58] Okay.

[00:24:58] Well, listen, to those of you listening, if you're considering possibly getting some guidance so, you know,

[00:25:03] you can experience the life that you're wanting this year rather than later, or maybe you just thought you could be more effective with pushing through that analysis paralysis or that perfection,

[00:25:13] you know, text the word CRUSH to 72345 and see if the Warrior Program might be able to help you overcome that challenge or any other challenges that you have so that,

[00:25:22] you know, you can accomplish what you want with lifetime cash flow, which is what the name of this podcast is.

[00:25:28] But again, so just text CRUSH to 72345.

[00:25:31] That's how you apply.

[00:25:32] Yeah, I got one I want to end on here.

[00:25:34] I mean, you're an analytical guy.

[00:25:35] You've done underwriting for many years.

[00:25:37] That's your skill set.

[00:25:38] And I always love to hear this because I know my criteria is even moving and shifting right now for deals that I'm looking at with interest rates changing and all kinds of stuff.

[00:25:49] And I know I asked you this before the podcast of what's your favorite type of deal?

[00:25:52] And you said a good deal.

[00:25:55] What is that?

[00:25:56] Yeah, you know, being the analytical, what are some of the actual things, the numbers, the specifics that you're looking for right now that make a good deal in your eyes?

[00:26:06] Yeah.

[00:26:07] Yeah.

[00:26:07] I think a good deal is just it varies by the person.

[00:26:11] Now, I would say for syndication, definitely something that has some cash flow.

[00:26:15] I mean, right now, especially in today's market with interest rates, I'm wary of a deal that has little to no cash flow, even if you do nothing.

[00:26:23] Because what if the market takes a turn?

[00:26:26] And I know a lot of people now, and Rod, I've heard you say this many times, is there's going to be this big opportunity, this wave of opportunity that's going to come.

[00:26:33] And, you know, it's better to wait out a good deal.

[00:26:38] A lot of things are just priced really high right now.

[00:26:40] So I'd say one criteria is you have cash flow, I think, you know, pretty much day one if you didn't do anything.

[00:26:47] And that's just to protect your downside, I think, is as important, if not more important than saying, oh, you know, what's our upside?

[00:26:53] What can we make on this?

[00:26:54] And getting good debt, I think good interest rates and fixed.

[00:26:58] Yeah, I feel a lot more comfortable with a fixed interest rate program, especially if you can assume.

[00:27:03] And so we're looking at some deals that have incredible interest rates right now.

[00:27:08] And so that, you know, kind of avoids the whole interest rate problem you're having right now if you can assume something that's done a year or two years ago.

[00:27:16] And that it has nice upside and a good market, good location, good incomes.

[00:27:22] And so all of that research without, you know, I don't want to give you just specific numbers, but I'll just sort of give the principles of what I think is a good kind of solid deal right now.

[00:27:33] That's a really good overview.

[00:27:34] That's a really good overview.

[00:27:35] No, that's absolutely accurate.

[00:27:37] Well, listen, brother, it's good to see you, man.

[00:27:40] You added tremendous value today.

[00:27:42] We went a little deeper than we normally do, and I think that's really helpful.

[00:27:46] Yeah, I love it, too.

[00:27:46] It was really good.

[00:27:48] Wakefield, I appreciate you coming on, brother.

[00:27:49] And I don't know if you're going to come to Orlando.

[00:27:52] I hope you are.

[00:27:53] You know, I'd love to have you on a panel or do a case study.

[00:27:56] And if not, I'm sure I'll see you at the Warrior event in Phoenix in November.

[00:28:00] Yeah, that would be great.

[00:28:01] Now, I'm planning to hit those events.

[00:28:02] And thanks for having me on.

[00:28:03] I hope this was valuable for, you know, for you guys and the audience.

[00:28:08] It definitely was, buddy.

[00:28:09] Well, I appreciate it.

[00:28:10] It's good to see you.

[00:28:11] And we'll see you soon, man.

[00:28:14] Okay.

[00:28:15] So one other quick thing.

[00:28:16] We encounter so many people that are, frankly, frustrated.

[00:28:20] You know, they're looking in the mirror and they're frustrated that they haven't been able

[00:28:23] to escape the rat race.

[00:28:24] They haven't been able to build cash flow to the point where they're able to have financial

[00:28:27] and time freedom with their families.

[00:28:29] You know, and maybe they see other people buying real estate and creating, you know,

[00:28:33] incredible cash flow.

[00:28:34] And they think, well, it's just scary.

[00:28:37] You know, buying apartments is intimidating.

[00:28:38] And I get it.

[00:28:39] See, that's why we created our Warrior Mentorship Program.

[00:28:42] They're our coaching students.

[00:28:44] And they've had extraordinary results.

[00:28:46] My students, I've been teaching about five years.

[00:28:48] And they own upwards of 140,000 units now that we know of, right?

[00:28:52] And we feel like it's just getting going.

[00:28:54] Now, we're looking to grow this group and really take it to the next level.

[00:28:57] And honestly, believe that the greatest transfer of wealth could be upon us right now with this

[00:29:02] current economic environment.

[00:29:04] Everything's going on sale.

[00:29:05] So we're looking for people who want to follow a proven framework, really like a blueprint

[00:29:10] or a map, literally step by step.

[00:29:12] And then they're able to leverage our systems and our incredible network to raise money and

[00:29:16] equity to find deals and close those deals and build partnerships really nationwide.

[00:29:21] So if you're interested in finding out more about how you can become more in our incredible

[00:29:26] network and take advantage of the unbelievable opportunities that are upon us, you can apply

[00:29:30] to my Warrior Mentorship Program by texting the word CRUSH to 72345.

[00:29:35] Or you can go to mentorwithrod.com.

[00:29:38] And what we'll do is we'll set up a call so you can check us out and we can check you out

[00:29:42] and see if it's a fit.

[00:29:43] Now, again, you can go to mentorwithrod.com or text the word CRUSH to 72345 to apply.

[00:29:49] And we will speak soon.