WS1437: How to Get Into RE Investing Faster | Amy Sylvis

EPISODE 1437

[INTRODUCTION]

Amy Sylvis (AS): Even if I had appreciated and understood what being on a team and how that could have benefited me, I didn’t fully see how someone would want to necessarily be on my team because of my lack of experience and knowledge. So I wish I would have had somebody in my ear talking about limiting beliefs and helping me expand my mindset around that concept. Because talk about going further faster, even with the health struggles I had, I think I would have cracked in the industry significantly sooner.

Whitney Sewell (WS):  This is your daily Real Estate Syndication Show. I’m your host, Whitney Sewell. Today, our guest is Amy Sylvis. She just shared an amazing story yesterday of overcoming an amazing challenge. I know you are encouraged by it. If you didn’t listen, I hope you’ll go back and listen to yesterday’s show. Prior to working in multifamily real estate, she spent 13 years in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. And she was attracted to the real estate industry because of her previous health challenges and wanted to help others navigate illness. And today, she’s the founder and principal of Sylvis Capital with apartment investments in Alabama, Indiana, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas. She’s going to help us to think through today some beginner things that we all wish we had known when we were first getting started in this business. 

[INTERVIEW]

WS: Amy, welcome back to the show. Honored to do some segments with you and focus on some of your specialties and even getting to hear the challenge that you overcame. It’s encouraging to me and I know it is for so many of the listeners as well. But we’re going to jump into some things today on what’s going to be helpful for the beginners, people that are getting started in this space, and some things you have learned. Many of us were told at one time that it takes, you know, a lot of money to get started in real estate. But I just wanted your take on some of these things and helping maybe the person listening who is brand new. And they see real estate as maybe you did ten years ago or longer, maybe they just read that purple book that we talked about. Give us some insight into that. How much money does it take to get into this game? And we’re gonna dive into some of your tips on getting started.

AS:  I love that. Yeah, so you think of large apartment buildings, we all just assume of millions, right? That’s only for people that are multi-multimillionaires. But in fact, $50,000, as little as that can get you in the game to be a passive investor. So, about half of our investors use self-directed IRA funds. That’s another thing that not many people realize is accessible to them. So, I just love talking about it. Because of the light, you know, how people’s faces light up when they see how accessible this space can be for them.

WS:  Yeah, especially the self-directed stuff. I mean, a lot of people have some of that somewhere from another job, or sometimes, years ago, it’s just sitting somewhere and they’ve not done anything with it. And even if you don’t have that much cash available, oftentimes, that’s just sitting somewhere and you could use it to get started passively, you know, $50,000.  What about on the active side? Did it take a lot of capital to get your business, your real estate business started?

AS:  I love that question too. Yes, and you know, one of Robert Kiyosaki’s favorite tropes is to use other people’s money, right? OPM. So you know, there really is a way for you to have investors, have folks invest in your deal. So you don’t have to utilize a ton of your own money. So, you know, it may take some coaching, it may take some mentoring if you want to learn the space, get some experience. But truly, even earnest money, you know, there are ways where you don’t even have to put down your own capital when you give a letter of intent to a broker. And so yes, the barriers to entry are significantly lower than I think most people realize, which is exciting.

WS:  Speak to how you educated yourself to gain the confidence to move forward in this space. You know, whether that’s through coaching, mentoring, or books, or what did that look like?

AS:  Yes, I read quite a bit. First, Robert Kiyosaki’s books, and then several other folks that were in this space just to get a general idea. And then yeah, I did enroll in a coaching and mentoring program that I found to be incredibly helpful. I know some people have various opinions about that but it’s really what you make of it. I found it to be hands-on. It was great to have someone who have again, been somewhere or was somewhere that I wanted to go and to be able to lean on that experience as questions came up, because, you know, it’s impossible to read everything from a book. So, that was quite instrumental. And then the network that actually came with that coaching program was another aspect that I found to be incredibly helpful. Finding other people that were on the same journey, that had different skills, and were going to the same place that I wanted to go. I’m still business partners with some of those folks today that I met within that program. So many benefits, at least on my end.

WS:  Yeah, the network is oftentimes something I feel like is so undervalued. When people see the big price tag to be part of a mentorship program. When I signed up for a mentorship program years ago, it was 12 and a half thousand dollars. I mean, literally, my wife and I were like, should we do this? This is more money than we’ve ever spent on anything, you know, why should we do this? We were so hesitant, I’ve never hired a mentor for anything. It’s kind of brand new to the entrepreneurship thing and the best money we ever spent. I mean, it was, hands down. And that same mentorship now I think is like $60-some- thousand with this individual and so, you know, in hindsight, if it had been $60,000, we couldn’t have afforded it at that time but I would have had to have found a way if I knew then what I know now, you know. But the network, it’s so important. People don’t think about that; you’re getting a piece that takes years to build.

AS:  That’s exactly it. It is all that compressing years or months into days or weeks that’s spot on. I think it’s tough to kind of visualize and see that especially, Whitney, I really related to what you said about this. I was a first-time entrepreneur. So it’s a different way of thinking from that maybe W-2 mindset or maybe even just from an inexperienced mindset of how can such a huge investment pay dividends? What does the network really do? How tangibly could that help me in my business and enable me to help others in terms? So I love that you brought up that point?

WS:  Yeah, I mean, to the point now, I have numerous mentors for different things, right? And I’m paying a lot more than that, than even $60,000 for mentorships on an annual basis. You know, it’s like, I know the value in it. And so, if you had to look back, Amy, ten years ago, what would you tell yourself that you wish you had known? That if you could talk to yourself and say, hey, Amy, you know, ten years ago, this is what you need to know about real estate or anything? What would that be?

AS: Get a team. I really had no concept of what that could look like, and how they could benefit me. And maybe other people are kind of type A-ish like I am, where, you know, if you’re gonna get something done, I can do it, I can get it going, I can really, I thought I could. And you know, what really value what I have, even more importantly, to a team being so new, I think even if I had appreciated and understood what being on a team and how that could have benefited me, I didn’t fully see how someone would want to necessarily be on my team because of my lack of experience and knowledge. So I wish I would have had somebody in my ear talking about limiting beliefs and helping me expand my mindset around that concept. Because talk about going further faster, even with the health struggles I had, I think I would have cracked in the industry significantly sooner.

WS: Who were the first people on your team? Or who would you encourage, you know, that person that’s trying to build that team now or thinking about getting into the space? Who should be the first people on there?

AS:  I really think people that are established in the space. If you can find a way to add value to folks that are successful, that have complementary skills to you, everyone has something that they can bring a value to, even if it’s just time or something in your corporate background or another skill set. Or maybe you’re in a location where other, you know, folks are looking to establish or invest. Yeah, but I think having, again just reiterating that common theme, we’re talking about, Whitney, but being around folks that are already where you want to be, to have that experience is invaluable beyond words.

WS: How did you get around those people?

AS: It was part of the mentorship program. It forced me. It was really a nice built-in concept. And one thing that was really surprising to me that was different than single-family, with multifamily that it’s not enough to simply have a downpayment to be able to get into this space. So, to be able to have the amount of money the bank requires for you to get the loan, you need to have the balance sheet and you need to have the experience most often so kind of built into this process was having to find a sponsor, having to find someone with that balance sheet and that experience to get the loan for my first property. So yes, it was definitely the network from that coaching mentoring program that forced me into networking and really was the catalyst to help me get my first deal.

WS: So why would somebody partner with you with no experience? As you know, somebody that has the balance sheet and experience and I mean, I’ve lived that as well when needed that early on right? Now people are asking me for that. What does that look like though? What did it look like for you to for this person to trust you in that way? To say okay Amy, I know you haven’t done a deal yet but I’m going to partner with you and sign; I’m going to sign on the debt with you.

AS:  Yes. I passively invested with them prior to wanting to do a deal with them. I would love to say that that was strategic; it wasn’t. I didn’t think that far ahead. But it did provide the groundwork to build this great relationship where you know, this partnership, this passive investing was actually a joint venture where I wasn’t part of the general partnership team. But I was a JV that had some roles and responsibilities and starting off small like that and doing the things that I said I would do and being prompt and being professional and you know, going above and beyond my roles and the scope within that team to find ways to help everyone. Again, not with the expectation of getting anything in return but simply living that kind of go-giver life, if you will, to quote that Bob Berg book that I love so much. You know, time and building trust is a tremendous way to have someone view you as a strategic partner moving forward. So, that was very beneficial.

WS:  Any other thoughts on just what it takes to become a real estate investor?

AS:  You know, there is this concept of taking strategic risks, really building a belief table, if you will, to quote one of my great coaches, Trevor McGregor, of realizing the education that one has gone through or you have gone through, the people you’re surrounding yourself by and knowing that if you’re going to take a step, what feels like a step into maybe oblivion, the road is going to rise to your feet, and you’re gonna be able to figure out how to make something work. There is a real aspect of taking action even though something isn’t perfect that I think we all need to come to grips with as real estate investors. And surprisingly, it’ll serve you very well and be exciting. I promise.

WS:  Love that. Can you give us an example of maybe how you did that?

AS:  Gosh, you know, I think, buying my first property. It’s easy to think of all the things that can go wrong. It was during COVID, we all remember GDP was plummeting, unemployment was sky high. We were hearing, you know, little bits and pieces about an eviction moratorium on a national scale. Those are a lot of reasons to say, hey, you know, maybe this isn’t the ideal time to do this for the very first time. But again, on the other hand, there were many things that were in my favor. A lot of people were scared to invest. You know, there were still residents that needed safe, secure, affordable housing, and from kind of a moral and spiritual standpoint, you know, there were reasons in that column for me to take action even though I was a bit scared. So yes, thankfully, I did take that step and things have turned out tremendously well not only for our residents but for our investors. But that first deal, especially during such an uncertain time, was quite frightening. There’s no doubt about it.

WS:  Yeah. And I know Trevor pretty well, great guy. And I often use the phrase, you know, “done is better than perfect”. And we want to be as perfect as we can be which will never be perfect. But oftentimes, you know, we delay, because we’re waiting for it to be perfect, right? And then we end up taking no action. And so I just think about that often. So, I love that. Just a good reminder for us. What about any other steps that you would recommend to jumpstart somebody’s career in real estate? I mean, ten years and many setbacks for you, anything else that we haven’t talked about that you could say, hey, this is going to help you to jumpstart your career?

AS:  You know, I think aside from the educational piece, getting coaching, you know, getting into a coaching program is applicable, reading books, passive investing, I think, is always a great way, and just taking action, getting experience even if it’s on that tiny scale. I think those are all really exciting ways to gain the knowledge and experience that will help you build that foundation to get into the industry.

WS:  What about, was your husband on board with the real estate business?

AS:  Yes, one of my biggest cheerleaders.

WS: Love that. 

AS: Yeah, it defies logic, if I’m quite honest. Because he works for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. He’s an electrical mechanic. He’s got a safe, secure job, and isn’t necessarily entrepreneurial-minded. But you know, he married this woman that thinks she can defy the odds and build a real estate empire. And again, similar to my parents, one of my biggest champions, and I don’t know that I would have been able to overcome all the obstacles I did without his love and support. And he sometimes sees the vision more clearly than I do. I’m in the weeds, and he can, you know, see the overall picture and the overall strategy. And, you know, of course, our faith journey, as well, as it relates to all this. So he’s amazing. I’m so blessed.

WS:  That’s incredible. I know I could not have done it without my wife, you know, just the support. But how was he educated in real estate at the same time that you were like, pushing towards this thing? And obviously, he’s working, you know, all this happening, trying to figure out how we do this but, you know, how was he educated in this and come along beside you as well?

AS:  This is gonna make you laugh. No one’s asked me this. This is a great story. Our second date was at a real estate bootcamp. I’m not kidding. I was so determined. This was gosh, back in 2014, or 2015. I was so determined to continue my education and push into this space that I let him know that one weekend when he wanted to hang out that I was actually spending it at a boot camp and I thought if this guy is interested in this, this may be a good sign that we both have similar desires and plans for our lives. So, he did attend that three-day boot camp with me which is a great way for us to get to know each other.

WS:  Smart move on his part.

AS: Right? Smart man. But yes, you know, he’s continued to attend conferences with me, read books, even the coaching programs that I was a part of, he participated to the best of his ability. You know, things during the day and all that, he’s got a regular W-2, but yes, having him join on the journey and having that be part of our marriage and our relationship has been a lot of fun and has kept us aligned I think on this vision,

WS:  Amy, I appreciate you sharing that and really diving into more of your story of getting started as well and helping so many others to do the same. Before we jump to the next segment because we’re gonna dive into some market research and even some acquisitions type details and how you’ve done that, tell the listeners how they can get in touch with you and we’re gonna continue tomorrow.

AS:  Perfect. So SylvisCapital.com. Again, Whitney, I know you’ll put the funky spelling last name in the show notes; pay attention to that and if you’d like to hear a little bit more about specifically what we’ve done and how we think about real estate investing SylvisCapital.com/webinar is a great way to reach me.

[END OF INTERVIEW]

[OUTRO]

Whitney Sewell: Thank you for being with us again today, I hope that you have learned a lot from the show. Don’t forget to like and subscribe. I hope you’re telling your friends about the Real Estate Syndication Show and how they can also build wealth in real estate. You can also go to LifeBridgeCapital.com and start investing today.

[END]