WS1099: Success Stories: Overcoming Adversity with Real Estate | #Highlights

EPISODE 1099

[INTRODUCTION]

[0:00:01.6] ANNOUNCER: Welcome to The Real Estate Syndication Show. Whether you are a seasoned investor or building a new real estate business, this is the show for you. Whitney Sewell talks to top experts in the business. Our goal is to help you master real estate syndication.

And now your host, Whitney Sewell. 

0:00:24.5

Whitney Sewell: This is your Daily Real Estate Syndication Show. I’m your host, Whitney Sewell. Are you in need of confidence boost in your real estate journey? Remember behind every success story is a failure and getting up again. Draw inspiration from these real estate success stories that we’ve heard on the show.

[INTERVIEW 1]

0:00:42.5

WS: Our guest is Bryan Chavis. Thanks for being on a show, Bryan.

0:00:45.8 

Bryan Chavis: Thanks for having me, Whitney. 

0:00:47.5

WS: Bryan is a brain tumor survivor, and he says, “not a survivor, but a thriver!” Bryan, thank you so much for your time. I’m looking forward to this to give the listeners a little more about who you are and what you’re up to in the syndication game and let’s dive in.

0:01:03.4 

BC: Yeah, a little bit about who I am. I think you touched on all the key topics, I would only add that I’m just, I’m an average guy, average high school student, barely graduated. Some people mention these accolades, I like to always let people know I started it from humble beginnings, and a lot of hard work. So, I got into the US Library of color and having these businesses and successful brands, it’s possible for anybody to do. Obviously, my school teachers back home, I’ll probably definitely second that. But yeah, just an average Joe.

0:01:35.6 

WS: What is your focus in the industry right now? What type of buildings are you buying or are you focusing more on coaching? What are you working on mostly right now?

0:01:43.5

BC:  Yeah, I love coaching. I focus on it because I feel like education and training is my calling. However, there are two parts of who I am. There’s Chavis Capital, and then there’s Bryan Chavis Coaching and Consulting. 

Bryan Chavis Coaching and Consulting is always out there providing education, training and consulting to housing authorities and other REITS and private equity firms, just your average investor. So I always look to bring the best in education and make that available to everyone. And then Chavis Capital, my focus there is definitely multifamily, that’s kind of what I do. That’s all I’ve ever done. So yeah. Our latest acquisition in downtown St. Pete, last year, just focused on finding more opportunities out in the marketplace. So putting deals under contract, you know, raise to 5,000 builders right now. 

0:02:36.6 

WS: Nice, nice. I love that. Goal 5,000. Let’s dive into that deal a little bit. The deal in St. Pete, could you elaborate, tell us a little about that.

0:02:45.3 

BC: Yeah, I’m really excited about that. My partner, Mark Willis, the former CEO of Keller Williams, will retire. We went in and knocked that project down, but it was a project that was off the market, and I was able to get it through techniques that I use, whether that be direct mail pieces, and of course, are just getting out there and building yourself a praying, social media someone read that to me about this project, and I felt like it still was under value. Most people thought it was priced, writing everything down there is trading where the high formed five gaps, and I think most now are training towards the high force right now.

And most people that I paid cash for it and probably thought I’d probably paid market, but I thought there was a lot of meat on the phone, and I think a lot of people make a lot of mistakes because they look at buildings and look at pricing, they really don’t understand prospect tenants demographics and psychographics. And because I study, not necessarily buildings, but I study my prospect’s tenants demographics. Demographics tell you who the tenant is, psychographics tell you why.

And so when I understand the who and the why, I’m able to really create a rent schedule, people call it pro forma, but I’m able to build a pro forma. I’m able to build and have an idea of who a prospective tenant is. And then I can see what type of improvements I can do to the building and how far I can take those improvements. Every Improvement I do has a dollar amount associated with it, so I knew exactly where I felt like I could push these rents, understanding who my posten and demographics were I felt like I really knew where I could take these rent and that they were really undervalued. 

So I’d gotten into that market. I was on… I think I was the only one that really pushed, went past 900 mark there, and then now we’re well above the $900 mark in the $975, $985 or some slight us and a little over $1000 with the amenities like the parking. So some units I’m getting $1100 for. Like I said, either I was crazy or I was crazy like a fox, I let it just kinda figured that out, but I think for me, I take the guesswork out of it by understanding that I’m not buying buildings, buildings have never paid me rent, people pay me rent.

So at the end of the day, my main focus is always on that prospect tenants, their demographics and their psychographics. Then I can kind of find a product in the marketplace that fits those means, and then obviously do the management, the property from the operational standpoint, being able to put it in the right type of systems that it all comes together. 

0:05:13.6 

WS: I wanna change gears a little bit, I know before we started recording, we were talking about coaching and talking about how different industries you have to have a certification, and as far as for a syndicator, I never heard of a certification course for syndicator.

0:05:22.3 

BC: Right, yeah. 

0:05:23.6 

WS: So I wanted you to elaborate on that a little bit. Like, why is that beneficial? And what does that do for us?

0:05:28.8 

BC: There’s a ton of things. So when I first, of course, got back into the space after 2012 being sick for five years, I kinda came back into this space and now it’s just like everyone’s talking apartment. You could go back well before you do, as of course with my books 2009, I was sitting shorter, I’ve been talking about this for a long time. I’ve been doing this for a very long time before I became really popular. Boot camps, and it seemed like it was a Boot Camp every week or Investor Summit every week about multifamily. And once I liked that when I first got out and when I stepped back in, I noticed that, and this is great for our industry, we love growth.

However, the problem with growth is, if we don’t hit the pause, but I wanna say, “Oh hey, we’re creating all these syndicators, but are we creating educated syndicators?” You’re talking about raising money. Other people’s Money. Other people’s livelihood. What credentials do you have? What experience do you have? And I know how to understand that not everybody’s gonna talk from the industry like me and have this experience, so how do I create a program or a certification that’s gonna give these individuals the experience that they need and the confidence that they need? At the end of the day, if all hell breaks loose, I know I can run the property, I have tons of YouTube videos of me actually having to let the entire staff go and run a 130-unit apartment building for a hedge fund by myself, figured out the staff for stealing and they are in confidence, my father taught me long to know, I can do bad, I’ll hear myself. I let the staff go and ran 133-units for a couple of days and I staffed it by myself, but the idea is that as a syndicator if you can’t do that and you don’t have that confidence. It really should be raising people’s money? I’m raising money from individuals outside of friends and family. Friends and family are probably the worst, and they know where you live. 

So should you be raising money… Period is the question. And so I just felt like there was a need to really give people training in education, I felt like I wanted to do it at a price point that made sense where they didn’t have to go to school and learn how to become an underwriter and learn to take all these finance courses and spend money, tons of money in years that they probably don’t have…

I just wanted to create a certification for individuals to put on their resume, lenders could look at and say, “Okay, well, I see you’ve got some kind of training and education,” and notice that these individuals have been certified and keep up with their education and they’re training on a continuous basis. So, my team and I decided to fill the need and really for myself as well, so we start with what I’m gonna do for my team. And then of course, it just takes off to how we can offer that certification to others.

0:08:03.7 

WS: What’s been the hardest part of the syndication journey for you?

0:08:07.0 

BC: Man, after conquering a brain tumor, brother, it’s kind of tough to say that anything business-wise or business-related is tough for me. So, I just think with discipline and the right amount, the right approach to anything, cautions to say that the industry has been tough. It’s been an industry that has lent itself to give me a lifestyle and I hope I’m not dodging the question. I just really feel like I’m grateful.

Even if I have a bad day, I’m not raising money, we’re not finding deals, my worst day, is it worse than that day when I was diagnosed with a brain tumor? IS it worst than dealing with chemo? Is it worse and having seizures? No.

0:08:44.2 

WS: I appreciate that outlook, I really do. Your worst day is not near as bad as somebody else’s worst day, somebody’s got it worse. And so what is your best advice for taking care of investors?

0:08:56.1 

BC: Wow, really just mastering your craft. Taking care of their money is the number one principle, educating yourself and training yourself and just always, at the end of the day, I think that’s the number one thing, that’s the principal thing is making sure that we as syndicators are well-versed and then we’re iron sharpen in that we’re all helping each other out and we’re all seeking out the best training and education possible that is available to us. And just making sure that you’re just keeping sharp in the industry.

[INTERVIEW 2]

0:09:20.4 

WS: Our guest is Nick Prefontaine. Thanks for being the show, Nick. 

0:09:24.2 

Nick Prefontaine: Thanks for having me, Whitney. I’m excited to be here with you and your listeners.

0:09:29.0 

WS: Nick, I know you have a remarkable story, something that significant that happened to you when you were much younger and just how that got you into real estate. And I’m looking forward to hearing this story. I know the listeners are gonna learn a lot and be encouraged as well, and so why don’t we just jump right in and you just get us started way back…

0:09:47.0 

NP: Sure, going way back, I was like sharing the story of my snowboarding accident because I feel that it can help so many people out there that are going through something similar, whether it’s a health challenge or struggling in their day to day business.

Going back to when I was in eighth grade, when I was 14. I was with my school, with my ski club and every Wednesday, we would have a ski club. So usually, there was a small hill that I used to go to every day and when I say every day, definitely every day at one point, I had gone there from when they opened all the way through Christmas, even including Christmas.

But, whenever I went there, I wouldn’t wear a helmet because it was small, it was manageable, and I knew the terrain. However, when I went to the ski club, it was always at a bigger mountain, so I wasn’t quite as used to it so I would always bring my helmet. On this particular day, I had forgotten my helmet. I really didn’t think it was a big deal, in fact, getting ready, because we always – my friends and I would bring our stuff on the bus to get ready.

In getting ready, I realized that I had forgotten one thing. My helmet. That I do usually — I’m not going to say to you that I’m a saint or anything but I usually made an effort to bring it whenever I went to go mountain because it was a little bigger. Just thought I would be safe, I’d be careful, nothing ever happened, you know, I’d be fine. We got to the mountain and because we were ready, we strapped in right away and headed straight for the top. On the way to the top, we noticed that it was very icy, Whitney, because it had been raining.

People were wiping out everywhere, however, needless to say, we got to the top and it wasn’t – my friends and I, it wasn’t our first time on a snowboard and they were all talking about how – whoever hit that jump, in the train park would be crazy, you know, it’s a huge jump and the conditions and everything and of course, like anything, I still take anything like that, not necessarily a slight but I use anything to my advantage like that. I took it as a challenge.

Of course, I headed straight for the biggest jump with all my speed and going out to the jump, I caught the edge of my snowboard and it kind of threw me off balance. Now, I was going way too fast and I was way too close to the top to stop so I was forced to go off the jump. In the air, I was off balance and I landed right on my head. I was later told that I landed on my head and I wasn’t wearing a helmet. I had to be rushed to the hospital, to the ICU.

When I got to the ICU, the doctors told my parents that I probably wouldn’t walk, talk or eat on my own ever again. After I was stabilized there, because it did take a little bit of time, I was in a coma for three weeks so it did take a little bit of time even after I came out of the coma to be at a point where I was stable enough but just going, even when I was in the coma, I came out of the coma and I’ve even seen videos Whitney of myself with my eyes open and looking around and everything.

I don’t remember any of that. I was in a partially induced coma, because they had to induce me because the swelling in my brain was such that they were – if I woke up and I panicked, what happened, what’s going on, that I would increase the swelling in my brain and I would die. There were definitely a few lucky breaks for me at that point that I definitely point back to but once I was stable, it was about a month after my accident, I was stabilized at the ICU, intensive care unit at UMass Memorial Hospital in [inaudible].

I was transported to Franciscan Children’s Hospital in Boston. That’s where I had to regain – I started the journey to regain learning, getting all my muscle back because I lost a lot of weight when I was in the coma. I went from 160 pounds, all the way down to 137 and if you can imagine that for a 14 year old to lose that much weight, I mean, I had lost everything, I see videos of myself at the hospital and it’s like I was a ghost because obviously, I wasn’t getting any sun so I was definitely like a ghost.

All the color and all the weight and everything had just come off of me but when I was transferred to Franciscan, that’s where I had to learn how to walk, talk and eat again and I remember very early on in my recovery, having to learn how to walk, learn how to talk and they just would constantly be feeding me so I would gain my weight back.  That was a big point, especially early on in my recovery but I remember learning how to walk again.

Just taking it one step at a time and even to this day Whitney, I say all the time with associates of ours, people that were working within the trenches to do deals. What if this happens and then that happens and then I ask to do this and that. Don’t worry about that, just worry about one thing at a time that you can control. Very early on in my recovery, I still wasn’t even walking yet. I was still in a wheelchair and I remember sitting there in between therapies because what it would be was every day, I would get up and I would need help getting showered and get ready and everything like that but then, once I was able to get ready and have breakfast, I would have physical, occupational and speech therapy, then I would go back to the room to have lunch and then in the afternoon, I would have another physical occupational and speech therapy.

Double sessions, I remember on this one particular day, very early on in my recovery, I was still in a wheelchair and not fully supported wheelchair which I did start out with but excuse me, just a regular wheelchair with no extra support and I was sitting in my room after having lunch in between my therapies. I just kind of looked down at my situation. I don’t know what it was that made me like take a step back but I was just kind of having trouble figuring it all out and I looked at my mom and I’m like, who is with me every day during the day in my recovery in this.

Am I ever going to be able to walk again? She did not hesitate, she goes yeah of course you are, why do you think we’re here at Franciscan? That’s what you’re doing, you’re learning how to do everything again and then you’re going to be back to school with your friends and your life’s going to be the same as it was before so that sense of confidence and that having that no hesitation was a big part of what I was able to – one of the things why I was able to recover so well.

0:17:20.3 

WS: I am thankful that you were healed and that you came out of that and I just contribute so much of that to your mindset and I’m sure that through the real estate business that’s just paid dividends forward. Just the mindset alone, so Nick, what about just taking that mindset — can you guys have any examples say in real estate how just growing a business and a brand and how that mindset has helped you to push forward and to be successful in real estate like you all have?

0:17:48.1 

NP: Yeah, there is something I can point to and that’s whenever someone, whenever a new investor that we’re working with encounters a challenge or a setback or things aren’t going as fast as they want them to, the thought is always at the back of their head that, “This isn’t working. I’m going to try something else.” That’s probably the worst thing to do. You have to keep going. You have to keep taking that next step and now, I say that Whitney. I always say to our associates and to people that we work with and to even buyers like don’t worry about all of that just focus on this.

All you have to focus on is the next step and I have been saying that for years. I did realize the irony around that because I had to learn how to walk again. So when people like yourself just said that you’re glad I made it and glad I am here talking to you and everything, me too. That is what I always say, me too. I am glad I made it too.

[END OF INTERVIEW]

00:19:40.0 

Whitney Sewell: We hope that you enjoyed the Highlights show today. You can always listen to the full episodes that were featured today by clicking the links in the show notes page. And in the description box, let us know what you’ve thought of this episode or you can go to lifebreidgecapital.com/podcast and click the feedback button. Let us know how we can add value to you. Thank you and talk to you tomorrow.

[OUTRO]

0:20:05.0 ANNOUNCER: Thank you for listening to the Real Estate Syndication Show, brought to you by Life Bridge Capital. Life Bridge Capital works with investors nationwide to invest in real estate while also donating 50% of its profits to assist parents who are committing to adoption. Life Bridge Capital, making a difference one investor and one child at a time. Connect online at www.LifeBridgeCapital.com for free material and videos to further your success.

[END]