102. The Impact of Mentorship and Coaching on Scaling Up with Vlad Arakcheyev

Connect with the host:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-e-jenkins/

Website: https://www.birchprosper.com/

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Connect with Vlad Arakcheyev: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladarakcheyev/

Episode Highlights:

✔️The role of mentorship and coaching in real estate investing

✔️Networking and building connections

✔️ Scaling up your portfolio 

✔️ Market selection and criteria 

✔️ Investing in self-storage

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

My mindset is to have true wealth, which is freedom of time. So if I want to step back from real estate, I just want to step back for six months and nothing will change because I have passive income coming in, which is replacing my expenses.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

How successful would you be if you had the blueprint for building wealth as a real estate investor or as someone who acquires small businesses? If you want to move the needle financially in your life, then you need to understand one thing the capital stack. I'm your host, Brandon Jenkins, and this is where your journey to financial freedom begins. Hello, everyone. What's up, and welcome back to the Capital Stack. I'm your host, Brandon Jenkins. Super excited to introduce our guest today because one of the things that we talk about on this show a lot are about um scale, right? Taking advantage of the economies of scale that are inherent to the multifamily business. Also, talk about the importance of seeking mentorship, okay, and then taking action on the things that you've learned from your mentors, from your coaches. And so our guest today has successfully done both of those things. He's successfully scaled up his portfolio in a relatively short amount of time, which is very impressive, but he's done so methodically. And so that's one thing that is also very important. And he is also taking the advantage of a coaching and mentorship that this industry offers. Okay. And so um a lot to discuss today. So I'm very, very excited to introduce our guest, Vlad Araksiev. Vlad, how are you doing today?

SPEAKER_01 1:30

I'm doing great. Thank you so much for having me on your show.

SPEAKER_00 1:33

Absolutely, man. Thank you so much for being here. So we'll get into it. Vlad is an active and passive full-time, okay, full-time multifamily real estate investor. He went from being in graphic design to growing a portfolio of over 700 multifamily units in just a few years in this business, which again is very impressive. Vlad is the CEO of Zontic Ventures, which focuses on helping people achieve their dreams of financial independence through real estate. He's based out of New Jersey, which is right up the street from me uh from being from here in DC, um, and currently owns properties in New Jersey, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, South Carolina, and Florida. So um, listen, there's a lot to discuss here today, just as I mentioned there in the intro. Vlad, once again, thank you so much for being on the show. Why don't you kind of share a little bit of your journey and your background with us?

SPEAKER_01 2:19

Yeah, absolutely. Listen, I I was I did something completely opposite of real estate. I I mean, I was a graphic designer, I worked in the advertising agency, and the only thing about real estate I knew was to buy a house, and I bought it with a residential agent, and uh that's it. I didn't know anything else. And then uh how everything started is COVID hit, right? And I got furloughed since it's non-essential business, graphic design. I got furloughed and I didn't know when the next paycheck is coming from, right? And I have a house, mortgage, kids, uh, you know, the whole my whole family family and my wife was like, hey, listen, maybe you should try doing something else. Something that uh it's kind of you know, you can control your own uh destiny, let's just say. And I'm like, Well, what can what can I do? And she's like, Well, try real estate. Hey, listen, why don't you become a real estate agent? Because people gotta live somewhere, right? It doesn't matter what what's happening outside, people people have to buy houses, they have to rent. So uh she she kind of persuaded me for I don't know, a few months. I started taking my classes at night, it was COVID, so I I was I was doing them at night and at home and in front of a computer, uh, passed the test, and then I got called back. So I'm thinking, hey, listen, I got called back, then you know everything is fine. And then I saw the potential of real estate. I saw even selling a house, being a regular agent, um, and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is awesome. And then that took me on a path of uh wholesaling and doing a few flips here in New Jersey. And uh I'm like, there's so much opportunity here, you can pivot every every which way. Um, but the ultimate goal is to have passive income. So we got a rental here in Cherry Hill, which is down by Philly, and it was uh it was cash flowing very well. It was like a thousand dollars in net uh a month, and it was wonderful. Yeah, we we we got it, we got it at a great deal. And also, we got it with a regular agent. I didn't do any creative stuff to buy it, just re really just bought it on MLS, just got lucky. And um, but still we just thought there was something more out there, right? And uh my wife said, Why don't we uh consider going bigger? Like, I'm like, what duplexes and quads or something? She's like, No, no, no, just like multifamily. And I I was I was very safe, and I go, Well, but we don't know anything about this, what are we gonna do? And she's like, Well, let's go to a conference and then see how everything is. So we got tickets to a multifamily conference in Houston. We flew over there, come back, and my eyes were just completely opened. And I'm like, oh my gosh, look at it. It's it's like a different world, uh, where people are so welcoming and so friendly and willing to share and uh be like, hey, listen, if you wanna, if you want to help us, please help us underwrite, help us call, help us, you know. So I I was so blown away with the with the community, and when we came back, the thing that we needed was education and of course uh connections. So for that, we started looking for mentors, and there's a bunch of them out there, and we interviewed a whole lot. We interviewed, I think, eight of them, and we um got Jake and Gino. Jake and Gino is a multifamily community, uh, they're all over the country, and uh they're they're expensive, as all of them are. Hey, listen, they are expensive, but you get what you pay for, right? You can pay a thousand dollars, and you might think, hey, listen, well, a thousand dollars, uh I'm just gonna try it, but there is no trying here. You really have to do, so you really have to commit. And when you pay a lot of money uh to these mentors, you really you'd be like, Oh my gosh, I paid so much. I'm I'm just gonna go full force, and that's exactly what happened. It was like drinking out of a fire hose. Uh, everything is coming at me at all directions, all this education, all this terminology, uh abbreviations, and all this. And mind you, it's not like single family space. Now you're dealing with business people, you're dealing with people that own millions of dollars of real estate and assets, and uh you're speaking with brokers, you're speaking with lenders and insurance agents. So it's a different almost level because they're business people, they're not just a regular person trying to sell a house. The the time is is very expensive. So if you're gonna waste their time and not know what they mean or how to speak with them, they're just not gonna take you serious. That's why education is very important in this case. And uh I started educating myself, it took me approximately eight months or so to really be comfortable. And then, of course, I connected with fellow Jake and Gino members in Texas, that's one of my markets, including Kansas City as well. And that's when I started looking for properties and buying them eventually. Yeah. Oh, and I resigned from my W-2 because I I started losing deals. I started losing deals. Um, I didn't I could not pick up the phone in the middle of the day, right? And in real estate, as in pretty much everywhere in business, things move very quickly. And if you're not gonna pick up that phone or you're not gonna make that extra phone call, and you can call only after five, you might lose that opportunity. So I lost three, and I said, I I don't know how much money I lost, maybe a thousand, maybe twenty thousand. I don't know, but I lost three opportunities and I said, Hey, listen, that's it. You know, for me, burn the bridges or the boats, whatever you call them, and that's it. Full-time real estate now.

SPEAKER_00 8:38

Oh man, listen, that thank you so much for sharing that background. I love I love what you ended off uh with there. That's right, burn burn the boats, burn the ships, and then take the hill, you know, or the island or whatever it is. And um, there's a lot to to kind of dig into what you just mentioned there. Um, you know, Jake and Gino is a great, a really good group, and I and and you're right, they're they're all over the country and doing some really good things. And I think you certainly landed into in a good uh ecosystem there, you know. So it's okay. So let I want to kind of step back for a moment because the listeners, I want to really focus on something here. This this all took place within the last three, four years. Is that is that correct? Okay, and so the point that I want to really highlight for people is what you can achieve when you really put some focus into it and you seek out mentorship and coaching. Because I I always like to tell people, hey, listen, you know, you're gonna pay one way or the other. You're either gonna pay on the front end or you're gonna pay much more on the back end. Okay, and so if you think about the conversations that you've been able to have with people and the connections that you've made, they've saved you money, literally. You know, you've had conversations with someone that said, Hey, should I do this or this? And I say, Oh, I don't do that because that's gonna, you know, cause your deal to crash, go go this, go in this direction. And so that's one thing I tell people, listen, um, the level of, and I think you mentioned it as well, right? Because you had to pay a certain amount of money um into the mentorship program. So immediately your commitment level is elevated because that's just how we all work. You know, once you have to uh spend some some money to toward something, toward an uh education, you're going to be more committed. And so um that's what happens. But also, you know, in in general, the information is out there, but what's not out there is the community, what's not out there is the experience, right? Um, and and being around people who have done it. You know, that's those are things that just you don't see and just uh available in a in a single concise format. So you have so coaching and mentorship, in my opinion, is something that is essential, I think, uh, to success in a business, even if it's just because of the uh the connections and things that you make. So um, I really just you know, love that you harped on um on that piece. And I also want to talk even sooner than that. I really applaud you know your wife for kind of giving you the kick in the butt to say, hey, listen, let's you know, let's let's get that, let's seek the uh, you know, go after being a a realtor, get that real that that license, and then also seek out some mentorship. So are you both um in this uh kind of more as a partnership? Or what's what's kind of the situation there? Because I think that's really impressive.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

Yeah, yeah. My my wife, she uh she still has her W2, but uh she really helps me uh with this because her background is in finance, so she knows she knows uh underwriting, she knows models, she knows her uh how value real estate, and uh she really helps me with this. Um, so yeah, she her personality is uh you know, she has to be moving forward. If you're just kind of cruising, you're falling behind. So she's a great accountability coach where she's giving like 150%, and if I'm falling behind, I just feel almost guilty. I'm like, hey, listen, I have to catch up because you know it's not how many hours or how many days you work, it's it's the quality of work that you're putting in. Uh in many cases, we just um it's just how humans are built, right? They're like, um, I'll do some work, but as long as I do it for nine hours, I'll be okay. But not really, you can work for two hours, but go really deep. Um, go like a hundred percent into that into that zone which takes you to the next level, and that's gonna make all the all the difference. I it it's all the books, if you read business books and things like that. So really concentrate on the quality versus the quantity. Like, I'm what I'm trying to do now is instead of working more, I'm trying to concentrate on what's gonna take me to the next level. So I'm trying to combine or condense all my hours into let's say three hours and just no distractions, put that focus mode on or whatever it is on my phone, no distractions, no appointments, nothing, and just knock it out because that's the most important thing. Um, and and uh just to back you up when you said about education, when you pay for education, it makes you more valuable to others. For example, I'll it's it's it's a really good example where somebody was looking for a loan, right? And uh they got you know a very high amount, like seven percent now. It's it's August. So they got seven percent loan. They called an experienced operator and they said, Hey, let's in Jake and Geno community, and they said, Hey, listen, we're looking for a loan, you in the space. Can you introduce me to your loan guy? They they did an introduction, his his loan is like five and a half percent. Wow, just because of that warm introduction. So ultimately, let's say you pay twenty thousand dollars for mentorship, but this loan reduction that you received, or let's say um uh you can put on Facebook, oh, I'm looking for a good property manager in I don't know, uh Cincinnati. Yeah, but if you have a person in Cincinnati, let's say in your community, they it it they they will be like, Hey, listen, you know what? I'm gonna call my property manager and make a personal introduction. Do you think that property manager will be like, hey, I really have to take care of this guy? You know, so it's really worth paying. It it and I also do this example. You can learn how to ski yourself, right? You can go up the mountain, you can fall down a hundred times, it'll take you like a week to learn how to ski, or take a lesson, take for two hours, pay whatever, 200 bucks, and then you're gonna ski within a few hours. So it's the same thing, it just depends how quickly you want to accelerate, or you just want to kind of cruise and learn on your mistakes. So that's that's just my thinking.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

That that that's an excellent, both are excellent analogies. And I think um really the last one there is extremely important because what you also added in is that you can compress your uh learning curve so that you know what could because it's a great point. So technically, if someone sits down and they studies it, study the business, and you know, sure, it can take them I don't know however many years to actually grow a multifamily, uh, an appreciable multipan uh multifamily portfolio. But if you have a few conversations with people who are in these communities, you you join a community that uh that where you have trusted advisors who've been there, done that, you have a few conversations, you're talking about compressing that to just a year, two years, you know, or or maybe three years. And so um you're right, the value that you and you're instantly more valuable, but your your knowledge, your network is extremely more valuable because these are now people who have done what you're trying to do. Um, and so yeah, it's just the difference there there's such a huge difference between in my opinion, and what I've seen, there's a huge difference between like the sort of the free real estate community where you know you might have people who are taking action, you might have people who are not taking action versus a community of action takers because they've already taken the huge the first first major action of investing in themselves. Um, and so that can't be understated, you know, it's it's just um you know, just it's really powerful point there. Um so okay, so let's so let's talk then about the the deal where um because you mentioned that you went from having a property where you netted a thousand a door, which is it which is incredible, and then um scaling up. So so what what was sort of your next your next step? So you started education, and then what what happened maybe from there?

SPEAKER_01 16:19

Yeah, so like I said, I had a a single family house here in New Jersey, but ultimately I started receiving calls from, of course, the tenants. Oh, uh listen, this is leaking. This is and and mind you, Cherry Hill is almost two hours away from me because I live in North Jersey. So um uh this is leaking, that is leaking, there's a pipe clogging, and there's this emergency, and and and and you have to really think where if somebody is leaving, you have a downtime of two months. So it uh where you have to turn the unit plus, if you rent it again, you have to pay, let's say, an agent a whole month of rent. So ultimately you're not collecting 12 months of rent, it's just 10 months of rent. Um, and uh nail in the coffin was on Friday night, it always happens on Friday night or Saturday evening or like Christmas Day or something like that. Yes, I got a call where they said there's a raccoon on a roof, and I said, Okay, uh, why don't you come and chase it away? They said, and I'm like, Well, you basically live kind of in the woods. You really want me to chase raccoon? I mean, it's gonna run away. Oh my god, rodents, we can't hand. I'm like, Well, it it's it's there's nothing really I can do here. Because I mean it's like a squirrel, right? It's gonna run away. So that was that was the end because I was constantly receiving calls and uh it was just it was just horrible. Additionally, if you look at New Jersey, it's it's uh it's um it's not landlord friendly, it's a blue state. Let's go with blue versus red, like Rod Cleve says. If he can say it, I can say it. Yes, so so I I I like to go with red states, they're more landlord-friendly. There's a lot of activity going there. That's why I picked Texas, that's why I picked Kansas. You know, I really like those areas, and I see a lot of people here in New Jersey, they're like, oh my gosh, it takes us years to do an eviction, oh, people are not paying, and it everything just kind of moves slower here. Not to say that it's a bad market because it's not, it's just not for me. So that's why I picked and scaled there, and it's just it works, in my opinion, for me, it works better. Um, so I did sell that house successfully, I made money on it, so it was great, and I reinvested it into multifamily, but I uh I didn't care to be a landlord and getting calls of of broken toilets and things like that. I uh you know that the that's the idea. We will what we would need tenants and roaches and rats and calls like that, right? There's a property manager for that. So you pay property management company and they take care of everything, and then you have calls with the property manager once a week. That's exactly how we do now, and we see how they're doing the performer, the turns, what the what the rents are, you know, who's complaining what, if there's major issues happening, and that's exactly what it is. So I sold that house, I do real estate work here in New Jersey. So I I sell residential houses as a regular agent because it's really fun where I'm at a brokerage that that and they have people really experienced in let's say troubled cases like foreclosures, probates, violations, liens, and a lot of people don't want to take those on. Now we do and we help people with those problems. So and it also goes where I learn it here in single family space, how the whole process works. I can apply it to multifamily because they kind of interconnected. I mean, one lesson here applies to another one in multifamily. So I really like helping people when it comes to, let's say, foreclosures, they miss a payment, they receive a letter, and they start, you know, they get really upset and freaking out. And we help people either to stay in a house or do loan modification, things like that. So a lot of agents don't want to take that on because it takes too long, but we do. So it's uh that's that's another positive thing that um I still do here.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

For sure, for sure. And I think I think one point that you made there is really uh a really good one, though, that the lessons that you learn in in that role, although it is on the single family level, you can certainly then scale that lesson up to be very applicable to a multifamily. And one thing that's interesting, though, that I find um is that professionals who are in the real estate um business, um, it's not it's not as common as you would think for them to also invest in real estate. Um and and I've I've kind of been curious to know why why that is. Like, have you have you seen that as well? Or is that or am I off base on that?

SPEAKER_01 21:13

I I don't know. A lot of people, I I all of my agent friends, not a single one has properties, they just don't care to be a landlord. Uh they that I guess they consider it as just a job, right? Yeah, uh that's what they do. My mindset to be a business person, my mindset is to have true wealth, which is freedom of time. So if I want to step back from real estate, I just want to step back for six months and nothing will change because I have passive income coming in, which is replacing my expenses. So if if let's say there's a downturn in the market and I'm not producing as much, let's say, or not selling as much, or whatever the reason may be, right? But that's okay, I don't have to worry because I have passive income coming in. That's what I'm trying to tell others that are like, hey, listen, buy a duplex, but do house hacking, right? You technically live for free because your tenant is paying for your mortgage. So and at the same time, you have a growth, you have equity coming in. I mean, you can take HELOCs against your property and use home equity line of credit and use that to uh to invest more. I mean, there's so many opportunities and possibilities, not even talking about tax uh uh uh advantages here, depreciation. I mean, come on. So I'm telling I'm speaking with two my friends who actually in IT space, uh the engineers, doctors, attorneys, I have a few. And they're like, Well, yeah, we have money and they're sitting in 401ks. I'm like, 401ks? What do you what do you mean? They're sitting in savings accounts uh at like what 3%? And and and and uh I don't know what the uh the official numbers of uh of uh inflation is, but I think it's like seven or something. So technically they're losing five or whatever it is. And I'm like, hey, listen, you invest in multifamily, you're looking at I don't know, 20% growth of five years. Uh come on, it's a it's a win-win. Yeah, it's a win-win.

SPEAKER_00 23:15

And that's even that's even before you consider the impact of um like the like you mentioned, the tax advantages, right? Because you've got that's your just just your upside um in terms of value. But then when you factor in, hey, it's also a tax advantage to asset class, you know, you have even more um upside, you know, kind of so it just yeah, yeah, I've I've I've seen the same thing. It just it is it is challenging. I I think for some people, so uh, you know, especially the more technical someone is, I believe that there's something in their minds to where they they they it prevents them from realizing that although, yes, real estate at its core is um not rocket science, it is still one of the best ways to build wealth. And so I think I think that if you're someone who is very, very technical and you know, technically proficient, you think that the wealth, the the better the vehicle to build wealth, the more technical and the more, you know, um the more difficult it must be. But that's just not the case. You know, now real estate it is challenging, certainly once you step up to like the game that you're in now, which is the syndication space. You know, yes, it is definitely more challenging. Um, you know, but but it just it's still it fundamentally the principles are easy to understand. So I think that's that for some reason that I think that gets in people's way. So it's like, well, it's not that complicated, so it can't possibly be as good as people say it is.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

Yeah, you know what? Some people even said, oh my gosh, is that like a Ponzi scheme or something? I'm I haven't heard of this. And and I'll give you another example. Who's the biggest biggest landowner? McDonald's. They're not making most of their money by selling hamburgers, they're owning all that land, all that real estate. You see where the money is moving. Yeah, you can make money, let's say, in stocks or something like that, but then you see where people are reinvesting that money, right? In real asset. Yeah, it's not in dollars. If if the government prints a billion more or trillion, however, they printed a few years back, you see what's happening with the value of the dollar. But you can't really build that much real estate, right? They're trying, but there's still shortage everywhere. In addition, it's a real asset, it's right there. You can go and touch it. I I always go to my friends, I'm like, hey, listen, you invest in my building, fly over to Dallas, you can touch that building, it's partially yours. It's really impressive, I think.

SPEAKER_00 25:31

Yeah, I think so as well. And by the way, they can also get in direct contact with you, ask a question about it. Hey, I what's your what's the next deal you're working on? What's going on with this property right here? You know, you can have a conversation with the person who owns the building, you know, or who is that at the very least on the team, a part of a team who owns the building. And so um, to me, the the value of that is huge, you know, instead of just going and putting your dollar into a black box, not knowing who's in there, who's handling it, not knowing, you know, what which levers they're pulling to make it, you know, to give you a good return. With real estate, you know exactly which levers they're that they're pulling. And so um, yeah, I just think it's you know it it's it's one of those things that although it is simple, it's it's a great example of simple being um better. Okay. So um you briefly mentioned your I think you mentioned your IT friends just very briefly in a comment you made. So I was gonna ask you, what type of graphic designer uh were you? Was it I was it you like UX design or something like that?

SPEAKER_01 26:24

Or what kind of what kind of no no I I used to uh I used to just do um uh posters, flyers, billboards, uh just anything that's printed, books, yeah uh magazines. I used to do things like that, labels at one point. Uh it was fun. It's still good business if you want to be uh if you want to be at in W-2 space. But you know, after that shift, um when COVID hit, I mean, my mind completely changed. Um and I wanted to work for myself and make myself money. Um and ultimately create wealth for me. So that's why I'm like, hey, that's it no more.

SPEAKER_00 27:06

But no, for sure, for sure. And I'm I'm curious now, have you uh because one thing that typically happens, you know, in the multifamily space is you uh rebrand and you get new signage and that kind of thing. Have you have you had any hand in in that aspect of it or or not really?

SPEAKER_01 27:19

You know what? I I got completely so turned off to uh doing design, I actually went on Fiverr and uh hired this uh other people to do branding and logo design and everything. Because I'm thinking like this: if I'm gonna work on logos and branding and things like that, then who's gonna work on my real estate? That's an extra five calls I can make, that's extra underwriting I can do, that's uh another deal or another networking event I can go to and potentially meet an investor, uh a future partner, uh you know, a great lender. So I'm I'm valuing my time completely differently, where if I if I have to do something and it's not gonna bring me value, or that value, I can I I I wanna get somebody else to to help me with it. So I'm trying to really value my time as much as possible, where like um you can, for example, do things or you can create a website, but yeah, how long it's gonna take you, all the errors. But think about this. What could you be doing instead that's gonna elevate you to the next level? Think as a business person. You have to think yourself as like I always give this example. You don't see Jeff Bezos driving a UP, I mean, uh truck, right? He has people for that. Yeah, he's he's he's on a top level, so he's he he has an umbrella of people that he's controlling, and those people are filtering down. So you think yourself as a business person because ultimately we're buying failing businesses, we're bringing their value up, and in five years we're selling it, and uh our investors benefit and we benefit. It's a win-win, right? And of course, the buyer benefits uh as well. So it's it's wins across the board. So if you just don't think of it as you're buying real estate or investing in real estate, think of it as you're buying failing businesses, then that might shift your mind a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 29:22

That's an excellent um point. I I like the way that you phrase that. Um and I think that um I think you're right. It's one thing that I'm really getting from you is that you uh you you mentioned it, pay you pay very close attention to what's the best use, the highest and best use of your time. And I think that that's in my opinion, that that really is the only way to effectively scale, you know. So if you if you you start down a path, certainly in in real estate, you start down a path um and you want to achieve a certain goal within three, five years or whatever it is, you have to then figure out how you can maximize your time doing the stuff that matters. And it sounds like that's what you've been able to really uh focus on and and and have success in. And so I think that's it, it it is. I mean, well, because you know what it is. Ultimately, I think that when you say it it comes from realizing that when you say yes to something, you're saying no to something else. And so you have to be very careful with what you say yes to, because if you do say, like I just I kind of brought up to think about signage and some other things, if you say yes to that, well, you're saying no to some of the calls that you can make, which is uh an excellent response. So um, no, I think I think that's really good. So let's so let's talk then. I want to uh get uh two things from you. And and the first one is something that their listeners could really benefit from. So you mentioned that you interviewed, I think, eight different um um coaching and mentorship programs.

SPEAKER_01 30:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:39

What what kind of went into your decision to say Jake and Gino is the one? And and maybe more importantly, what went into your decision to turn down some of the other ones? You don't have to name them by name, but just what what were the factors that said that's maybe not for me?

SPEAKER_01 30:52

Sure, yeah. Um, one of the things that just jumps right at me is where we we we know we needed a mentor, right? So immediately you don't have to sell us mentorship, we wanted to be in one. So as when we when we were calling them, instead of asking us questions and really listening, they were like, Oh my gosh, our mentors are the uh our mentor group is the best, and they're all over the place. And if you join us, it's amazing. We're like, we got it, we want to join. You don't have to sell us on the the good things or the advantages of being in a in a group. Tell us what the group offers. Well, you know, but hold on a second, and they were almost following a script without really asking us questions, just really like, what are we about? Um, do we really click with that coaching style? Let's say few few coaches uh said, Um, well, we're gonna take it slow, we we, you know, we have a curriculum, um, you know, stuff like that. And then we're like, well, can we skip a few steps? Let's say if we're not interested or we know them. Well, no, it's best, we follow, we're gonna give you guidelines. We're like, okay, so that's gonna delay us already. And like I mentioned, my wife doesn't like delays, she doesn't like to cruise. If she knows something, she's gonna skip it. So, so but when we jumped on the call with Jake and Juno, the first, the first uh basically the first question was, so what are you guys looking for? And we had a list, a list of things that we we were looking for. We need underwriting coach, we can we need accountability coach, we need this and this and this, and if something's not easy or like too easy, can we uh change it to more difficult level or can we replace a coach or how's the how everything is and instead of selling us the program, they asked us what do we need, and they adjusted their program to our needs, right? So they almost made it custom. And that's exactly how it happened because our underwriting coach is Bill Hamm. Uh he's written several books, and uh uh uh he he has this teaching style where he goes really quickly and he he's like, Hey, listen, this is no good and this is why, so catch up quick, but he he's not gonna waste a lot of time on this. He's like, hey, listen, when we jump off the call, if you have any questions, let me know. So he's he's really good at teaching things, and also when we jumped on a call, he's like, You guys know this already, right? So I'm gonna skip the beginning, you don't need this, I'm gonna go to the next level. And additionally, uh, you know, we kind of didn't want to be too patient or we're not that patient. So we go, listen, uh, instead of having one call per month for six months, can we call you every week for six weeks and really accelerate it? And he's like, Absolutely, I don't see why not. As long as you do the work that I give you, yes. So, because he, for example, on the first call, he gave us a T12 and a rent roll, and he said, Find us red flag, don't underrate anything, just look through these numbers and find red flags. And on the next call, you point them out and you tell me why are they the red flags? Why do you think something's off here? And we did it in just a few days because we were so excited to just you know get going as fast as possible. So when we called, he's like, Okay, that's perfect. So let's move on to the next uh uh kind of level. So and that's exactly how it happened. And also, I don't know what it is about Jake and Gino, maybe it's the Italian thing in him. They have they have uh um if you if you if you if you kind of summarize them in one word, it's family. They have family type of um community where everybody's together, everybody's uh joining together to take down deals. Like if I can take down deal myself, I'm not gonna be like, oh my gosh, you know what? I'm gonna keep it quiet or something. No, no, no. Ask two, three other people, JV together, take down deals together. Because ultimately, yeah, if you cannot have a hundred percent the deal, but it 30%, let's say it's better than zero, right? So share the deal, and they're gonna do the same with the the same uh when they get a deal. So it's it's it's it's this not only take, take, take, it's it's share. So that's what it's all about. I really like the community and um very happy to be in this community.

SPEAKER_00 35:38

That that is just an excellent kind of uh overview there of really what I and I would advise anyone, I think, um, if you're looking for education mentorship, um you you have to make sure that they're listening for first of all, because who wants, you know, even if you were on the it's interesting, you you you are in your wife, you you are already committed, you already knew that you wanted it, but they didn't even kind of listen and hear you out. And um, you know, there's nothing worse than sort of being talked at, but without someone sort of taking in, you know, you're hearing, hearing what where you're where you stand right now. They so they can't really they can't really offer a solution because they haven't asked you, hey, what's the what do you need? What's the problem? What you know, what's what have you tried?

SPEAKER_01 36:21

So um and I'm that was just my experience. Uh others' experience might be different, but my advice is this interview with at least three. With a just just pick them. Uh the there's a lot uh out there. I I I can call, I don't know, eight from just top of my head. Interview at least three and make sure your personality clicks with theirs. Because I I I I gel with Jake and Gino. Others might gel with you know Cleve, Samrak, Cardone, whoever. You know, just make sure you interview because you're investing not only your time but money into it. So and you quote unquote stuck with them for a year, maybe two years, however you get up to speed. So interview them, take your time.

SPEAKER_00 37:09

Yeah, absolutely. And and also, um, one thing that I would even advise is to ask them, hey, can I speak with the few people who are you know members in in the program? Yeah, because they'll gladly tell you, oh, yeah, you know, here, you know, here's kind of hey, here's the culture of the program, you know, here are the things that here are the here are the unwritten rules, you know, you know, and so you have to find those things out because um it's like you you're you're gonna you're in one of the programs for a year, two years. Um, but but the the real thing is that this is it's an opportunity to really change your financial life and your family's financial lives. And so it is that important to where it it warrants, you know, some some time to make sure you understand what the program offers, how they are what their culture is like, and whether it's a good fit for you, you know, because like you like you mentioned, I mean, you can you can find programs where you get into it and you're partnering on deals, um, and and um and you feel good doing it. You feel good working alongside the people who are on your team as opposed to sort of there being this tension and friction, and then you feel like you have to do it because you just don't have the capital to take it down yourself, you know. So um, so yeah, I just I I love the like I said, the way that you have methodically gone about doing it, I think is is super important um for people to hear and understand. So the the other thing that I wanted to ask you about, and this is very important as well, you're in New Jersey and you have several markets that are not in New Jersey. And so what what's your kind of approach? And and and I would also agree with you, what you mentioned earlier, right? Uh a business friendly, landlord-friendly, for me, that is those two things are near the top of the list uh when I start. I weed out markets based on that. So I'm here in DC. DC is not a landlord-friendly state, uh city, it's not a all that much of a business-friendly city either. So um, so usually though, and they're good, good, they're good deals here though, but um, I most of my deals are in the Sunbelt. Now, what are some of your reasons though, or or your your your uh uh approach to sort of selecting a market?

SPEAKER_01 39:03

Yeah, uh one of the things is that of course you have to be business friendly, landlord-friendly, um, and also you see where uh the the the path of progress is moving. You see, for example, you can pull reports that there's online uh reports, online data, you see where the businesses are going to. Um, like for example, everybody knows Florida is booming, right? So it it Arizona, crazy good markets. If you if you look at them, a lot of people from California shifting to Arizona, then you have a lot of people from here from Northeast going to Florida. I mean, the houses there just exploded in in value. Um, now it's kind of cooling down, of course. You have your natural cycles, but if you look at the path of progress, like I'll give you an example, uh why like, for example, Dallas. A lot of people saying it's hot. It is hot, yeah. But you have to you have to leverage your connections to start off in that market because other players will definitely beat you out. You because you you're not just gonna go to Dallas and be like, hey, listen, I'm buying a hundred doors. Because you know, you have all other players that been in the game for years now, and brokers will give them tree preferential treatment. That's why it's takes it takes some time. Connect with them first. But why why do I think Dallas, for example? Well, number one, you have Fortune 500 companies moving there. Uh, in fact, I think uh they have uh Wall Street of the South or something, they call it in Dallas, where all these companies are shifting there, there's no taxes, right? So it it's great to do business in the state, then you have all these chip manufacturing companies coming in. I think Tesla is building a gigafactory. Of course, you have the whole petrochemical business there. Uh if you just look uh from uh and I just read that I think Goldman Sachs is building another headquarters with at least 5,000 employees in Dallas. So these are just some of the few things that I look at when I pick a market. I see huge growth potential. And uh um ultimately um I'm looking for something because it like I said, everything has a cycle, right? So you have up and down cycle, and everything is cooling, and people are saying, Oh my gosh, hey, everything is cooling, real estate is coming down, you you have you know all these uh news reports and stuff like that, people are scared. Everything will come down, of course it will. I'm just looking at the market, at the market that's gonna come down less, if that makes sense, right? Like if something's gonna crash, make sure that it's not gonna crash and there's still gonna be a natural growth. That's why, for example, when I look at apartment buildings, I look at something that's 20 per that their rents are 20% below average market rent. So I have 20% upside, plus you have natural growth of let's say three percent. Well, Dallas is higher, but I I underrate conservatively at 3%. So I know I'm gonna hit my performer as soon as I get my 3% rent. So this is just some of the things that you look at. Um and anything that you do, you can just ask people as well, right? You can ask operators, or you can call brokers. And and there's they're just people just like us, they're super friendly people. You know, before I was afraid of calling them, but you call a broker and be like, what are you thinking? You have you you're there, you boots on the ground, where are people moving? What's happening in the industry? So they'll be more than happy to share. So that's a few things that I look at. Another quick point is if you look at big cities, right? You just pick anywhere, let's say um, you know, in Florida, for example, you look at these corridors or paths between the big cities, right? You look at smaller, and then you find smaller pockets like I don't know, Lakeland or something like that. That's that's smaller. So uh you if you look at the big ones like Tampa Orlando, but then you look at the the corridors. So those are few emerging markets that you want to consider too. Um, you know, it's it's something that you just gotta, you know, feel out, see growth, read reports. Uh good. There's a lot of various online uh uh materials that you can do. So yeah, and talk to people. That that's another way.

SPEAKER_00 43:28

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. One of one of the one of the best ways to to get some kind of uh fresh information there. And and I think you're right um about that last strategy you mentioned, right? Where you where you find once you kind of narrow down a bit and you find your your markets, usually they're going to feed off of larger MSAs. And so, you know, even if you're looking for, you know, say if you if you're right in the in the middle of a market that is uh uh uh you know, if you feel that the values are high or whatever it is, you know, it usually if you just go to a secondary market of that, it'll still feed off of. The job growth, population growth, but the price points might fit within your criteria, as an example, you know, and so yeah, I always find that you usually if someone is saying, I'm thinking about this MSA, but it's too hot, you know, and and I would agree with you that it's usually relationships that are going to make the difference. But if that statement is still is true, you can still say, okay, well, let me look, you know, say 30 minutes outside of that, but I want to make sure that I'm on one of those corridors. Um, there's usually growth that's going to head in that direction, like you mentioned. And so it usually just takes that extra step to then identify maybe a secondary market of that MSA to where the numbers will still work in your favor. You can still find some really good deals. Um, yeah, I think that's a really great approach there. It's it's kind of having the landlord-friendly, business friendly, looking for a path of progress, job growth, population growth. I think that's that's definitely um a great sort of formula to find an outstanding market there. Um, and so so I have to ask you now um about Zontic Ventures. And for the people who are listening on the podcast, you know you can't see this, but you have a really cool logo, first of all. I like to people like to kind of ask, what's the is there a story behind that uh logo there?

SPEAKER_01 45:06

It it is. It's basically it's like a play on word, right? So what happened is if you really want something to happen, it's like if you believe, let's say, in karma, um, doing good things for people, just being a good human. Um, and um it if you really want something to happen, it will happen. Because if you really truly believe in something, it it is, and it's kind of a play-on word where um, like for example, you know, you go to a uh you're thinking, oh my gosh, you know, I'm I I have a party to go to and it's gonna rain. But if you really, really, you know, just you think it's gonna be sunny and great weather, it'll happen. Like you know the universe is almost talking to you. So this is a kind of a play-on word where uh because my background, I was born in Russia, I came to this country 30 years ago, I lived in Brooklyn for 25 years, and now I live in New Jersey for uh six, so I guess it's 31 years now. Um, so it it's kind of a play-on word where it was like, oh, uh, you don't want to terrain, it's okay. Uh Zontic is basically umbrella, but it's not like a physical umbrella, it's more of a like energy, like energy umbrella or something like that. So that that's what that's where it came from.

SPEAKER_00 46:27

I like that. I like that. That's awesome. It's about having a mindset, it sounds like is that a little bit of that in there as well? Very good, very good. So, so okay, so what's what's next then for um for for Zontic? What which direction are you guys heading in?

SPEAKER_01 46:39

Yeah, it it great question. Right now, it's we we're trying to basically acquire uh quality properties. Right now, we're not going after quantity um because we're in a different market cycle, um, and of course we're going for growth. So um right now I'm looking for uh deals that are higher quality, uh A B class, uh newer builds um in major MSAs like we kind of exiting or not as active in Houston anymore because of the insurance, so we kind of we want to step back a little bit and uh exiting coastal areas, going more Midwest, looking for things there. And uh I connected with somebody who's heavily looking in um storage, right? So um I'm like, oh my gosh, that might be something that we want to explore. Listen, everything is a hot market, everything is oversaturated. They're like, oh my god, self-storage, there's so many people there, there's so many people everywhere. Just find partners, that's all you gotta do. Listen, if you if you if you think about it, just to give you just to give you an example, there's 40,000 real estate agents just in New Jersey. So, how can a new agent do business? Hey, you just partner up, you grind it out. Same thing in multifamily space. I mean, there's not a lot of big multifamily out there, right? But there's not a lot of players, but people are still doing deals, right? I know a few people that are closing eight deals a year, even in this uh in in this market. Why? Because they're partnering with people, right? You don't have to have the whole pie. The peace is good. Yeah, right. That that's what it's all about. Like, for example, if I'm gonna find storage, I'm not gonna have the whole thing all but all to myself. Um I'm gonna piece it out. I'll take and and I'll have the experience and knowledge of being in that space. Plus, I'm a multifamily guy, I like my apartments, right? Basic human need. What do we need? Food, clothing, apartments. People gotta live somewhere. Number one focus is apartments. Now secondary, I'm kind of considering uh self-storage.

SPEAKER_00 48:51

Well, that's awesome. So self-storage is an is an incredible asset class, in my opinion. Um, I think it's you know, especially if you find a good uh property where you have the ability to add some value. I think I think one thing that's kind of unique about it too is that um oftentimes you can go into a deal where the current or previous owner has not really added some of the additional revenue streams that you can add in self-storage, like you, you know, packing and you know, you can sell things out of the office there. Some places even offer their own insurance. I mean, you can do all kinds of things that really add some value, or you can have some climate, you know, some add uh uh what is it, um climate control versus climate control, yeah. Yeah, so I mean there's a ton of levers you can pull to really add some serious value in self-storage. So uh best of luck um in that path, because I think there's a lot of um value there for sure. So um, no, that's outstanding, you know, to to hear and and uh glad, you know, we're kind of getting close to to uh wrapping here, but um again, just really have appreciated the conversation. So we're at the actionable tip um uh portion of the show. And so if someone's listening to this and they like everything that you've said, everything they've they've heard, um, but they they want to take action, but they're hesitant. Like, what's something they can do to kind of take action um today and to get in getting into this business?

SPEAKER_01 50:04

You know what? What really changed my mind is uh just going to a conference. That really changed my mind because I thought that if you you know, people that are buying million-dollar you know apartment complexes, are they gonna talk to me? What kind of people are they? Go to a conference, even if it's a local conference, they have they have them everywhere. Even like I'm in New Jersey, it's not let's say it's uh a big multifamily market as uh let's say Texas. But go to any conference and just speak with people, and that that really did it for me. That ignited my passion for it because people are just just the same, and they're like, hey, listen, we started completely with nothing, just like just like you were starting in the beginning, and we're here to help, we're here to guide you. Here's my phone number. I mean, I'll never forget it. Where this guy who had at that time 7,000 units, and he's like, Hey Vlad, I I was a flipper too. Here's my telephone number. If you need anything, let me know. And I still have his number, and now we I'm not gonna say we're like you know great friends or something, but we definitely chat all the time and we know each other, we see each other at conferences. It's like, oh my gosh, hey Vlad, oh wow! And it it just it it it it took off pretty quickly because, like I said, it's a small community. Once you're in it, everybody knows you, everyone. Like right now, there was a conference in in California. Um it just literally, I think August 7th or something. I'm looking through the pictures, I know like 80% of people. It's the same people. So so that that really ignited me going to a conference and being in with with with those people that are doing deals. So it might be something else for you. Maybe somebody needs a kick in the butt where they really hit rock bottom and they need you know a change or something like that. But uh that that happened too. That you know, when when you hit rock bottom and you have no work, you'll be like, oh my gosh, I gotta do something. Right. So, but those are the two things that you can do for sure.

SPEAKER_00 52:12

Absolutely. I think that's excellent advice. And and I I would agree with you. It's um, you know, one thing that people don't may not realize is that the vast majority of the people who are in the multifamily investing syndication space, they weren't um, you know, they came from other industries, you know, they came from other sectors. And so, and they got got into this space through various means, but they are now multifamily investors or full-time like yourself, uh full-time in the business. Um, and so like like you know, when I go to conferences and seminars and meetups and the whole nine, most of the people that I that I've met and built relationships with over time, they all came from other backgrounds. I came from, you know, oil and gas. And so so it's just that's that is more the uh the the rule, that's the norm. Um, and so maybe it doesn't feel like that for people who who have not sort of gotten into this space, but that's the reality of it. And so it's like you said, we're just we're all just people, you know, and so we just now have this passion for um for this business. So I think that's excellent advice.

SPEAKER_01 53:10

Um and another thing, hey, listen, if anybody wants to at least try it out, be a passive investor first. You don't have to dive in and go deep and start spending thousands of dollars and educating uh uh yourself. And you know, some people's lives are a little bit different, right? They have different responsibilities or they like their lifestyle, but you can still take advantage of it, right? Because you know us. So you can come, you go, you go to us and be like, hey, listen, I'm looking to invest, I have some extra capital. I know others that are looking to invest as well, so you can still have the opportunities to invest in something real. You don't have to change your whole lifestyle because it's not for everyone. Not anyone can just drop what they're doing, um, you know, and just you know, dive into this. But they they have great jobs, they love it. Like I said, a few of my friends, they have business owners, IT people, um some engineers, a few doctors. I mean, they they they're not gonna they spend what eight years in medical school, they're not gonna drop it to be you know in real estate. But they can still invest, they can do it part-time, or they can be passive investor and still get those distributions, get that you know, depreciation, still get the benefits that real estate has to offer. So give it a shot.

SPEAKER_00 54:31

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Great point, great point. Well, um, listen, uh Vlad, so once again, man, look, I I really, really appreciate the conversation and your time. And so, for the listeners who want to hear more about you or get in touch with you, how can you do so?

SPEAKER_01 54:44

Oh, I'm everywhere. Listen, I have a very unique name, Vlad Arakchev. I'm I'm on Facebook, on LinkedIn, on Instagram. I do pretty cool videos because you know, a lot of people do like real estate, uh, but I like motorcycles too. So I do both. I do like real estate and motorcycles. So every appointment I go to or something like that, I have like find Waldo type of thing. I put my motorcycle somewhere in the shot. You know, I do something really cool, something fun. Um, and uh, of course, I do educational videos as well, because that's what it's all about. So connect me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram. Um, you know, go to my website if you like. I'll I can send you a newsletter, you know, or uh just give me a call. Hey, listen, I'm a residential agent, right? My information is public. It's it's that's what it is. And yeah, I'm one uh one of the realtor guys. So, you know, you can just Google me.

SPEAKER_00 55:38

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, I'll put some of those links um in the uh show notes. And like I said again, man, this has been very, very powerful. I really appreciate uh, you know, you the value that you've added here to the listeners, to myself, and thanks again for being on the show. Thank you. Of course, thank you so much. As always, thank you so much for tuning in to the show today, brought to you by Bridge Prosper. If you enjoyed today's episode and you'd like to learn more about commercial real estate investing, please like, subscribe, and share. And we'll see you again next week. I'm Brandon Jenkins, and this is the Capital Stack, where we help you learn, apply, and prosper.