Billy Keels  00:00

Today's conversation is sponsored by first generation Capital Partners. If you're an accredited investor, and you want to know about how we're helping other accredited investors keep more of their income, go to firstgencp.com forward slash going long.

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00:12

I think it just comes down to like, don't quit, don't hide from bad days. And just make sure you're diligent. And remember, the markets very forgiving, we're about to hit a time where you can maybe go through some murky waters. But if you're willing to put the time in and play the waiting game here, in five or 10 years, you're gonna forget about those bad ones. And you got to be really happy you have those properties. You're listening

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00:33

to the going long podcast with Billy keels, the number one podcast for long distance real asset investing.

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Billy Keels  00:42

Welcome to the go along podcast are back once again to continue to help to educate you so you feel much more comfortable as well as confident investing beyond your backyard. And guess who I am. Yep, I'm your host, Billy keels. And we're back for another amazing conversation, one that's going to add so much value to you, especially if you enjoy living in one place, and investing in another because today's guest really is living that lifestyle. So but let me get through a couple of things really, really quickly. First and foremost, thank you so much for continuing to tag us for sharing across social media screenshots. That's really, really cool, especially on LinkedIn. And we're doing that as well on the over on Instagram, which is kind of cool. Appreciate it. And also for those of you who are still interested in leaving an honest written review, as well as rating, you can do that we've got a nice little video here, just let us know what you like what you'd like more of less of, we've been doing some solo episodes every once in a while, which sounds apparently you like those two. So that's kind of cool. If you want to find any of the previous episodes, just go to first uncp.com forward slash podcasts. And you can find every single episode that we have ever done. audio, video, transcripts, all that kind of cool stuff. So with that, if you enjoy living in multiple locations, if you enjoy having assets work for you so that you can continue to live in those multiple locations, if you're interested in also, as a high paid professional want to figure out how you can either get started or have someone help you get started or do it for you, then today's a conversation you're really going to want to listen to because today's guest, Mr. Nicola Manya is going to share so much with you, he's going to share some strategies, he's going to share some tactics and actions that will help you get to living the lifestyle that you really want to lead. So we're gonna get to that conversation with Mr. Lavanya. And we're gonna get to that just after this. Are you a busy high paid professional, someone that in the previous two years has earned $200,000 and is expected to earn $200,000 this year. Or maybe if you file jointly, previously, you've earned $300,000, the previous two years and you're also expected to do that this year. Or maybe if not, either individually or jointly, you have a million dollars in net worth not including your primary residence. If you meet any of these criteria, then you're someone that the IRS considers to be an accredited investor, that probably means you're someone like an enterprise software sales executive, you may be an executive in a major corporation, you may be a doctor, you may be a lawyer, maybe a high paid consultant, you may even work for a major sports franchise, the thing I know you have in common is that you continue to do the hard work like you're doing 100% of the work. And you're only bringing home 50% of the reward because you continue to get crushed by your income taxes. If you're tired of this situation, and you're looking for a new solution, then go to first gen cp.com forward slash going long. When you get there, that's going to help you to start the journey so that you can begin to take back control of your taxes take control of your time. And then also that means you're going to be able to spend more of the time that you want with the people that you love the most. And that is the way that you're going to get the personal freedom that you're looking for. So if you're looking to take back control, go ahead and go to first ncp.com forward slash going long and see how we can help you today. So you know what? Have you ever wanted to know what it was like? Going from Golden Gloves to living the life, the golden life that you want to live in including it in their long distance investing strategies? Thing? Guess what? Today's the conversation that you're gonna want to hear until the very last second. You know why? Because today's guest not only started his investing in real estate back in 2006. I'm sure he has learned so much and I can't wait for him to share it with you. He also lived a multi-discipline life with activities like Well, New York State Golden Gloves, and also jujitsu. And you know what, I think he's even done a little bit of podcasting. And they may. Well have to find out more about that. And he is absolutely the host of the super popular podcast, the a game podcast gives me great pleasure to welcome to today's conversation, Mr. Nick Lavanya. Nick, welcome to show.

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04:30

Man, thank you so much for having me on. This is awesome. You are straight professional man. I always appreciate other professionals in the industry.

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Billy Keels  04:36

Man, you know, I just I just enjoyed the conversation, we probably should have talked a lot longer. By the way, Nick, we'll get that up. We'll get that on the back end. Don't worry. I really appreciate you investing your time with me and the entire going long family today. And I want to get the entire normal family to start to get to know you. You know, I'm going to ask you five questions I got to in the beginning, three in the end. And actually, you know what, let me change that. I'm going to ask you a lot more than five questions. But those are the five questions I know I'm going to ask you so Let's jump into the first one, help us understand where do you call home in the US.

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05:04

So it depends on the day, either Long Island, New York or some of the Chicago northwest suburbs. So that kind of on the outskirts of New York City or Chicago, depending on what they asked me.

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Billy Keels  05:14

That's music to my ears, man, this is long distance. This is about, you know, being where you want and making the investment sort of makes the most sense for you. So appreciate that. And then question number two, because I love positivity, Nick, help us understand what is the most positive thing that's happened to you in the last 24 hours?

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05:29

Yeah, I'm gonna say talking to you is the most positive thing that's happened to me within the last 24 hours, because I'll see, one of the coolest things that I've gotten from doing podcasts is just making relationships with people. And it's very, it's very rare these days that you get to put your phone down and have like an uninterrupted undistracted conversation with somebody and really just get to connect with new people. And as you probably know, that there's guys and girls and all kinds of people out there that if you just said, Hey, can I just call you and it's a stranger, they're gonna say no, but because of podcasting, I get to meet guys like you and one of my other guests, is flying into Chicago today, we're probably gonna meet up for dinner later. So I love that part of it, man, just meet new good people that are on the same level on the same wavelength and on the same track. And life is always like an inspiring thing to me. So you, sir, have made my day. So thank you.

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Billy Keels  06:13

All right. Well, thank you very much. I appreciate and acknowledge you for for that as well. So thank you very much. And yeah, man, let's get into the scope. Here's the thing, like, and I know, we're just kind of getting to know one another, Nick. But I am a recovering perfectionist. And what that means is, you know, I tend to have a really, really, or set a really, really high standard. And sometimes it makes me do things that are a little bit, some would say, outside the norm. And one of those things that I always try to do with every conversation is like, tell your entire backstory. But like, I tried to tell your backstory and like a second and a half, that was never ever, ever gonna happen. I know it wasn't gonna happen. But I try and do it every single time. So I'm going to ask you for some help. Because I would really appreciate you telling your own backstory, in your own words. And by the way, take as much time as you want to tell take to tell your backstory. And I am going to ask you for just one bit of help. That one bit of help is if you can also talk to me and share with the go along family. What are some of the major decisions that you've had to make to get to this point in your journey, and then we'll see where you're not taking the conversation from there.

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07:13

I love that man. So, so many, so many good things there. It's always weird to kind of reflect and talk about yourself. But, you know, basically I was I like to call myself a lost soul, where I didn't really know what I wanted to do in life, I didn't really have much of a purpose I was I was motivationally lazy in the fact that I would find ways that I could really like bust my butt for a couple of weeks to make money and then have enough for a few months, you know, I would kind of find those little life hacks there. And then I found myself going up to college in upstate New York just to have a good time, hang out with my friends. And then 911 happened. I remember that was like one of those those days that we look back at the hero's journeys and you think about what you have to be back and making a decision with your life and kind of full circle to your question there. That was the first time I found myself really saying, I need to make a decision. Now I'm at this point in the road where I can continue to go down this path of really having no plan and just kind of winging life, and it's all fun and games. And now I'm watching people that were like my drinking buddies and my college friends. And they're dropping out to join the Marine Corps. They're doing the rescue efforts. And I realised that I was just taking up space. And I needed to do something that was really going to serve some sort of purpose or, or do something that was going to bring some value to the world. So I made a decision that day to kind of get my stuff in line. I switched my major to Criminal Justice. And I went in full force on that my goal at that time was to be an Air Marshal was the first thing I wanted to be the guy on the plane fighting the terrorists. And then everybody I would talk to when you know, FAA would tell me go ATF, everybody ATF would say go CIA, CIA was a good DEA. So everybody was so one, basically just testing for everything that had three or four letters, NYPD, FDNY, everything you could think of. And then, over that time period, I was getting my degree in criminal justice. And I was waiting to get called into some of the academies and I was looking for something to do in the meantime. So I got into construction. And one day I was working on a machine and faulty machinery, you know, not enough training. You combine all the recipes for just mistakes that I I could reflect on a million times that have kind of shaped my life from there just lessons I learned just from that day alone, but got a really bad accident machine came down, crushed my hand. I spent the next year year and a half going through occupational, occupational physical therapy every single day. And then eventually, they started calling me back and saying, Hey, your numbers are up, you can come into the academy now. So I had a hand injury and we're like, Well, hold on what happened? So I told him, I had to reprocess for the whole thing over and over again for all these departments. I passed all the tests again passed the physicals again, just to be told that because of my hand injury, I would always be a liability on paper. And I would never get any of the jobs that I have now waited years for spent years processing for was the only reason I went to college. I racked up all the student debt now. So I was pretty upset about the whole thing from start to finish just financially, physically, mentally. It was a real blow to me, and then my mom forced me Read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad. And like so many people I'm sure you've had on your podcast I've had on my podcast, that book and thinking grow rich are like two of the catalysts for so many people. And that was just a really eye opening thing to me. It's crazy when you look back and you think about just, you know, fate and signs looking at stuff. But that day I told my mom because moms are always right. I tell everybody, you argue with them, but they're always right. I said, Hey, you know what, I read the book after I told you, I didn't want to read the book. And I see that there's always money to be made real estate, you don't need money, you don't need credit, I don't have money, I don't have credit. Sounds like it's right up my alley. And so she was like, wow, that's really interesting, because the newspaper just came like up people when we get newspapers anymore. But the Long Island news, they came, and there's this like, free two hour seminar thing. They make real estate with no money down. And then that same day, the Book of the Month Club that my mom was at, or some sort of whatever reason, a book showed up at the house, it was the One Minute Millionaire by Robert Allen. And he was the guy who was doing the seminar. So I went and decided I want to learn about real estate, my dad left me a bunch of money to take my first real estate class. And then from there, I just started making connections. And my goal was right now all the jobs that I want, I can't have. So my goal is to do so much real estate while I'm in this position that I can't work because nobody will take me. And then when they want me, they won't be able to have me and did about, I think eight deals in my first six months and learned, you know, backing up to the going long podcast, the thing that was interesting about that journey was like almost everybody else I talk to a little bit less now, but pretty much across the board. They want to invest their own backyard, they want to invest where they can see it, they feel better, even though they don't know what they're looking at, I feel better being around the corner, it's like you've no idea who can do around the corner anyway. But you know, but I was no different. You know, I wanted to invest in New York. And then I started going well, you know, it's hard, it's competitive, like on a dime, a dozen people have big money in New York, they want to make a lot less of a return, it's gonna be the higher price points, you name it. So I was forced to start to look into these other markets like Georgia, and Vegas and Michigan and you know, some of these other other other places that to me felt a little bit less risky, because I wasn't paying $700,000 For one bed. So I started going into these other markets that at the time, I was really upset and pissed off about because I was like, Look, all these things that I was being told we're going to work, now don't work, and I have to go figure all these other things out. And then you look at where I am today. And if it wasn't for me being forced to go and learn how to invest remotely, I wouldn't have done any of the real estate probably that I've done over the last 15 years. So it was a blessing in disguise. And over that time, I just got better at real estate I that accident in that whole experience changed my outlook and made me a better person, I think a better friend, a better human, and kind of really just put things in perspective. And since then, I had gotten into jujitsu got a black belt in jujitsu and I met Sarah did some MMA fighting, did some Golden Glove glove boxing, had a couple of dogs hang out with my family and just it's been real estate pizza jujitsu boxing podcasts for the last kind of 1215 years is that

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Billy Keels  12:56

last 15 years, that's not bad for focus areas. So there's so many. So there's so many different tracks, right? And I'm listening to you, Nick. And as we talk about like, I left for Europe, two weeks after 911. Right. So there was an inflection point that happened in my life I've been everyone here knows. And I know you know already as well, I've not gone back to reside in the US since then, going from France to Italy to you know, most recently Spain. Then there's also the question that you that you talked about his you found your purpose, because things were happening around you, you got into long distance investing, because while you started realising that you wanted to do something different that where you are location was what may have been a constraint to get you where you wanted to go. In the first six months, you had a lot of you said six months, and the first six months, you had the eight deals and that got you on the right track. And there's one thing that I'm really, really curious about though, because the same thing kind of happened to me too. So I'm listening to you, I'm picking Whiteman, and all these different parallels, right? Because living in Europe, I also wanted to invest because I read that same purple book, I wasn't forced to write a book, but I read the purple book. And then I was trying to apply the lessons from the purple book. And I was like, well, that purple book, and then a bunch of other stuff that I was reading and taking in. But it was it was for people that really wanted to kind of believed that you needed to see your property and you wanted to do the things and whether it was explicitly stated or just kind of implicitly stated. That's what I was was was learning and so I'm just curious because it is so I guess every day it's less and less contrarian, but it's such a contrarian thing to believe that you can have this tangible asset that you can be responsible for getting production from right ultimately and providing a service to others with but you can't actually touch it. So what was it that gave you because I'm always curious about this like that really just gave you the more than the money right but like the mental and emotional fortitude to say, I'm gonna do this, even though everything around me that I'm reading that I'm talking to people say that I shouldn't do it

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14:59

was great. point, you know, I think I tell people that when I, when I first started getting into real estate, I didn't know anybody who didn't live paycheck to paycheck. And I didn't know anybody who knew anybody who didn't live paycheck to paycheck. And then you go and you start to meet these people. And they tell you that they own these properties, or they make this money and they live this life and they don't live paycheck to paycheck. And you start to at first it's a little bit of I don't believe it, because you've never met it. You know what I mean? It's like being an alien. You're like, God, I write about these things. But I've never met one another real. And then you start to have conversations, I think, I think the biggest catalyst to me to stop overthinking and trying to just learn, learn, learn, learn, because you always say, Well, if I just leave this one other thing, and then I can do it, this one. But then when you learn that thing you learn there's 10 other things. And so the analysis paralysis kind of never stops. And then I remember I went to kind of it was kind of a crazy thing. So like tying this is a little bit, Robert Allen, who kind of disappeared for a long time it is not resurfacing again. But he was like the guy back then like that. No money down, guys. It's interesting. So I went to a book signing of his and I had like this after my hand accident, like a car accident. It was I mean, I had like a really kind of rough string. And I felt like I was in that movie final destination where I was like, something's coming from me. I keep barely missing it like any day. Now. I'm a gardener. So I went and I met him. And I went, I bought his book and his book signing for cracking the millionaire code. I remember it was at a game a letter and I went, Hey, man, I wrote a letter about like, the kind of year I've had hasn't really been the best year for me. I'm just looking for a little bit of advice. I'll read your book, if you read my letter. And he goes, Look, man, you don't, you don't need to make a deal with me. Like, I'll read your letter. You don't have to buy my book. And I was like, I appreciate that. I bought your book for short now. So bought his book. And he took the letter, I figured I never hear from him again. And then a few months later, I get this like email. And it was from somebody on his team. And they were like, Hey, he read your letter. He's doing this huge conference in Chicago, which is kind of funny now that I kind of hear all the time. He's like, but he's gonna fly you out there, like, you know, you don't have any money, but he'll pay for your hotel plate for your flights. And you just got to kind of make your own for meals and stuff. And so I went out there. And that was like my first like, really big real estate experience. And the thing that happened was on Saturday night, whatever night it was now, one of the nights throw in there, they did like an award ceremony for like, hey, if you've, if you've put your first offer out, come on up here and get yourself a ribbon if you've done this, and then they started getting into first deal. If you made 25,000 50,000 100,000. I remember I was talking to this, this one couple next to me and this other guy named shark who was like this big, bald headed bouncer looking guy with like a baseball hat and a wallet chain. And like jean shorts on. He looked like he should have literally been with like work and security. And he goes, Oh, hold on a second, I'll be right back. And he gets on stage. And he gets an award for making a million dollars that year. And I remember I was like, what, like that guy was just talking to is a millionaire. Like he's not this thing on TV, this imaginary, like he was a real normal person, that I would have had no idea. And I remember, like the whole principle, The Millionaire Next Door. But that's when I realised like, Oh, these are all just normal people who just do incredible stuff by being tenacious and persistent, not quitting. And if that person can do it, I can do it. And then I started seeing other people get awards that I was giving advice to, because I knew more than them technically. But they were doing twice as much for me, because they were like, we don't have to know anything. We're just out there doing it. And I was filling in some of those holes, because I was being so diligent, and I realised you don't have to know everything, you have to just take action. And at that point, I just, I it made me feel more comfortable that if somebody else could do it, I could do it. And then I've always been good at forming relationships and just getting information. So I put enough people in that I had enough systems of checks and balances, that as much as you try and talk yourself out of a deal when you have three or four or five different reports from three or four or five different people all telling you like these numbers are these numbers. At some point, you just pull the trigger, you trust the numbers, and you forget all the crazy stuff you tell yourself in your head.

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Billy Keels  18:57

Yeah, so. So yeah. And you you eventually you surround yourself with people like that, you get different points of view. And then eventually you you you pull the trigger. So how many times when you actually pulled the trigger, and you got those different points of view? Did a huge mistake happen within the first six months of you pulling the trigger?

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19:18

Um, I mean, a lot more when it was new.

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Billy Keels  19:23

Well, that's perfect. So this is this is where this is exactly right. So even though in I've talked to myself, because once again, I'm a recovering perfectionist, and a lot of times, many of us believe that, hey, listen, Nick's telling us, you know, get three different points of view from people and then you pull the trigger, and then it's going to be perfect. Well, no, he never said that. Quite the opposite. He said that in the beginning. It still things happened even in the first six months. But a lot less is happening now than when it happened in the very beginning. Maybe you can expand a little bit on that because I think this is one of the things that can really help us to realise like it's never going to be perfect. It's just Gonna get better, we're gonna progress. But could you talk to that a little bit? Nick

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20:03

100%. So I think people, when we first started out, what we all try and find is, how do we find a deal that has no risk, and it just doesn't exist? You know. So that's where, at some point, you just have to understand, like, things are gonna go wrong, is there enough cushion in this, that these unknown things, whatever they come out to, they're not going to kill my deal, they might hurt my bottom line a little bit, but I'm still going to be okay. And that risk tolerance is different for everybody. So at some point, my thing was, I just want to deal so bad, I probably should have had more of a risk, I'm sorry, less of a risk tolerance, I was taking a little bit too much risk. But I think the biggest lessons I learned there were even when you get numbers that are good. For Well, first off to the two biggest lessons, I would say there were mistakes I made is one, wanting the deal more than you want the reality. So you start to convince yourself or tell yourself a story. Please say that numbers.

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Billy Keels  20:53

Okay, say that again.

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20:54

So you want the deal more than you want the reality?

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Billy Keels  20:57

Thank you. Expand, I'm sorry, it was such a profound statement that I just wanted you to say it twice. Because it was very profound. Sorry,

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21:05

go ahead. I appreciate that. I don't know if that's the best way to say it. But the you know, the basic principle is just that I wanted to deal so bad. So some of the red flags or signs, you tell yourself, it could sell for this, it could read for this? I could get the rehab done for cheaper, I could get this done for less? Yes, the guy has a criminal background, but he's gonna be okay. I trust you know, so you start to, you start to justify these bad decisions because you want stuff to work so bad. And one of the things I tell everybody I talk USA, have bad days, not bad deals. It's one of my favourite things. I don't know if I came up with that or not. But the thing I mean by that is, you figure out that this deal that you thought was gonna be great, you come back, the appraisal didn't check out the inspection has a lot more stuff than you thought, the contractor you look them up and you scammed a bunch of people and you go, Man, I thought I had this great deal. Now I'm having a bad day, I'm upset. I'm mad, because I thought I had this deal. I was so excited. I maybe post it on social media, but I told my friends about it. I'm gonna make this deal work, because I've already committed to it, I want it. And then I find out four or five months later, in the middle of the deal, that those numbers are out right now. How do I get another contractor? How do I fix this rehab? How do I might not be able to get out of the deal. So if I just want to have the bad day, and been upset for that day and said, that stinks, I'm gonna be mad that I thought I had a deal. And now I don't, I thought I have a contract. And now we don't and move on, I can find another deal, I can find a better deal. I can maybe even go back and renegotiate that deal in another week and get that deal. And it's even better. But instead I forced the deal. And now instead of having a bad day, I have a bad deal. A bad day, I can get past a bad deal. You might not be able to get out of

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Billy Keels  22:40

that. So have had bad days. Not bad deal set. Yeah, definitely profound. So you said it once I said it the second time, which is, which is which is hopefully reinforcing the message. So Nick, one of the things I'd love for you to expand on this point as well. Right, because you, you started in your long distance investing in different places, and you're building your lifestyle, and you're, you know, you're living in different locations, and, and you have assets that are that are helping to afford the lifestyle that you want to, to live. One of the things that maybe just because I believe we have this in common that, you know, because I was living here in Barcelona and the assets were back in the United States. One of the things that happened for me was, it was really about having this recovering perfectionist gene, like had the had the actual assets, the properties been in my backyard, I would have focused probably very much on the properties every single day going there checking all the checking the boxes and things like that. But what I found was, I was able to use that same energy and focus instead of focusing on the property, I was able to focus on the processes and the processes that are helping to increase the service levels for the residents that were living in our facilities or the you know, or investors now, but really, instead of focusing on property focusing on process, could you talk to us a little bit about that, and what that what that's been like for you sit with such a focus on on assets in different locations.

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24:03

Man, I love that. So focusing on processes, not properties, I think is a beautiful way to phrase that. And I didn't think about it until you just said it. But one of the things that I feel I'm good at is putting teams in place very quickly and getting a really good gauge because of making the mistakes and figuring those things out. I recognise red flags pretty fast. So I don't necessarily know who to use, but I know who not to use. And I think because of exactly what you just said that because I couldn't see the properties. I was more focused on building a process of getting people to to be my eyes and ears on the boots on the ground in those in those markets. That's probably why I became good at that because of exactly that thing that I didn't have to worry about driving the road all day and looking at the pink colours and all that kind of stuff. So part of my processes that I have built from there is basically the I call it a market saturation. So if I'm opening up a new market, because again, if you already have people there, it's a lot easier because a players know a player's Rockstar was over rockstars. But starting out, I'll just basically saturate the market. And I'll reach out to as many people in each of the industries that I need, whether it's a contract or a realtor, or a property manager and inspector and appraiser, a lender, whatever it may be. And I'll make as many calls as I can for a day or two. And I'll find out very quickly, who calls me back quick, who doesn't call me back quick, who's professional who's not professional, and I give them little tests and little systems of checks and balances for like, when to show up when to call to see can they even honour the time that they were supposed to text me or call me? Or send me an email within a day? And then when they do, what does that look like? Is there a professional signature? Is it written on crayon? Are there spelling errors, you know, is like, are they using slang? Are they cursing, like, because this is this is your first day, that's what I always look at it as is, it's never gonna get as good as this, this should be their best representation. And if they're already not showing up, if they're already not being professional, if they're already making excuses, I can't go into rehabbing a remote property or managing a remote property with somebody that I can communicate with and trust and be on the same page with so people discount themselves very quick. And that I wind up with my 345 A players for each of those things. And then I obviously have to pick one. So I'm a big believer there at that point of when on paper, you have people that are getting you the information you need, because that's really what it comes down to at the end of the day is I need somebody first and foremost, that's going to be able to give me eyes data that I'm looking for, because then it's really up to me, none of those people need to be experts on anything. They're all just giving me the information. And I'm the decision maker, I'm the one who's analysing the data making the expert, but I need people to retrieve that data, what does the house the will canal sell for send me the comm send me the rental analysis, somebody sent me them working conditions. So I need to see those things and make those decisions. And then it becomes who's going to be my go to so I set up initially like especially let's say it's a rehab, I get my contractors in there. But when I when I pick the one that I want, once they're all the same one paper, and everybody can basically fix the property for the same price, same amount of time, same everything, then it becomes a person thing. And I think too many people ignore that factor that although yes, it is a business relationship, it still is a personal relationship. And if I'm going to be dealing with this property manager, or this contractor or this realtor almost daily or weekly for the next six months, maybe 234 years, you can't ignore the fact that you guys don't get along, you don't trust them, you communicate in different ways. I like to text he likes to call, I need stuff online, he's got a flip phone, it doesn't work you so you have to find the person that I make the joke of everybody has somebody in their life that they just, they can't stand, they don't. They see they're gonna be there, they're gonna go somewhere else, they see the person who calls, they blocked the number, they're not for that person, I don't care how good a house they can build, they're never going to be a good person for you. And then you get the people that you're like, man, you know, Billy reminds me of my friend dome, I just like him, I feel like a man, I'm already it's like we're finishing each other's sentences, I feel like we've known each other for years, that's going to be the person that you have a much better experience with. So pick that person. And then managing it is the biggest thing, you can have a great number, everything looks great on paper, if you're not on top of it, and you're not literally having conversations and managing it, I have a 72 hour rule, you should never go more than 72 hours without talking when your team members. That's the biggest mistake I made when I started out. That's why it's a lot less now. And it was a lot more than because I didn't want to hear bad news. I didn't want to hear that something went wrong with the property, or the guy didn't show up or the rent that didn't get paid. Whereas now I'm like, I'd rather hear it today than tomorrow because I can still fix it. Because now the problem is this big instead of this big

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Billy Keels  28:21

you can get through the day, if it's a bad day, but it's tougher to get through the deal if it's a bad deal. So if you get that information early on, it is one of those things you know, in I appreciate you saying that because it is such an important thing. And there are some people, you know, you said, Yeah, some people like email other people like me, I like to talk to people I like the phone, I like to see I like to be face to face and this kind of stuff. So and those are things that really do have an impact over the long term. Anything you can get through on the short term. And there's certain things that you have to formalise, you have to put in writing and things like that. But if you're someone who prefers to just to text, well, if someone likes to talk, that may be something you're gonna have to work through. So I appreciate you keeping it real and bringing it down and to like a real like real tactical level. Trusting that you're enjoying today's conversation. And you know, if you're tired of getting crushed by taxes, and you're looking for greater freedom, to be able to choose what you want to do when you want to do it, make sure that you go to first ncp.com Ford slash going long and see how we can help you today. Let's get back to the conversation. I do want to ask you one other kind of tactical thing, because you do have this superpower with being able to build teams build a teams and things like that. But for that person who's kind of thinking alright, well, yeah, this This really sounds great. Nick and I, you talked you mentioned a lot of different people, when you're going to go into a new location, ie a lot of people say a market when you're going into a new location. Typically what is the key team member that you feel like you've got to have this person on your team and be aligned with this person before you start building out to others? If you have that one kind of key player in the key location, who would that be and why?

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29:58

If I'm going to be selling my and being persons initially, my first point of contact and like my sphere of influence is going to start with my realtor. If it's going to be something I'm holding long term, it's probably going to be a property manager.

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Billy Keels  30:10

Love that. And I appreciate you clarifying even on my question, because it does depend on what you're going to what you're going to be doing. So it absolutely makes sense. And I appreciate that. And so if you're feeling a little bit like, Hey, listen, you want to get started. And you decide that you want to do this with yourself, rather than doing it with someone else, like listen to like just the way in which Nick answered that question, because there's one type of person that you're going to want to be with when you are on the buy side versus being on the sell side. So appreciate you. Appreciate you, you hitting that was the other thing I wanted to ask you. There was one other thing? What have you seen change because you've been doing this now for almost two decades. And seem that a couple years ago, kind of life started changing? Because a lot of people were not moving as freely in this thing called the pandemic happened. And people were going here and there and and maybe sometimes not. What have you seen that has actually been that you were able to respond to in a positive way that it's helped to add even more value post pandemic than let's say that that was happening before?

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31:15

So two things I think happened that are interesting one, everybody before the pandemic thought I was completely crazy for investing long distance, you know, so, and that's become a lot more normal. Like when people would go, Well, what do you do? I'm like, I jump on zoom with a contractor. And I watched what he does and a recording. And they're like, oh, that's crazy. And now the whole world runs on Zoom. And I'm like, Well, yeah, now I'm not so crazy, right? So it's an interesting about people that when they're forced to do stuff, they'll adapt, they'll change, you know. So that was a really a really interesting thing that some of the tools when people were like, well, how can I invest remotely. I'm like, Man, I did it when you used to put stuff on like Zillow and Google Maps. And the car hadn't been through that state yet, like there was none of that. So if I would have had the things that you can have now where I can literally hit an app on my phone and watch the contractor at the HMI like, it's gotten so much easier. But I think the biggest thing that was that was eye opening, if I could like give a point of value, is we're all crazy like all of us have, you know, my jujitsu, blackbelt. Every day, I still walk into the gym, no matter where I go on I go, everybody's gonna beat me up. And then at the end of it, I go, Oh, that's right. I don't suck completely, you know, I'm not bad. I do know what I'm doing. And I think I get that way in real estate now, because the pros and the cons of masterminds and groups and social media, and podcasts is you meet all these other people that are just doing so awesome. And then it makes you feel like it's like, Man, I thought I was doing good. And now I watch what you're doing. And I'm like, I'm just a white belt. And so I think we get in our heads and we second guess stuff and kind of getting back to your question. When the pandemic happened, some people stepped on the gas, and some people stepped on the brake, I wish I would have admittedly been more gas because I feel like we all forgot the very first, you go back to the first real estate investing book you can think of, and they go back to death, divorce, disaster debt, like disease, all those things, like when there's disaster, when they're when the media in the world is selling you fear, it's always the best time to buy. And then after the pandemic, those properties that people bought at the beginning did amazing. They sold them with the cap rate compression people became millionaires that were to the Warren Buffett, quote, being greedy when people were fearful and fearful when people are greedy. And I think I forgot the fundamental principles of where success comes from in real estate. And now that we're back into this recession, prices, interest rates, I went slap myself inside the head and went, Okay, you got a second chance at this step on the gas don't make the same mistake, because we just got a second buying opportunity in a three year period that most people don't see in a 20 year period. And this time, I'm not going to waste it.

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Billy Keels  33:49

No, absolutely makes sense. And I appreciate you keeping it real once again, and, and sharing that, that what you've seen or what you experienced. Speaking of which, and before we get into going on final three, because this is kind of talking a little bit about that, like lessons that you're learning. And I know that also one of the things that is important for you is to continue to share your learnings with other people, whether that's through coaching, mentoring, things like that. Can you talk to us a little bit about what is it that you are doing and how you're helping to bring others forward helping them to progress in the way that that makes the most sense for you through your through the way that you're coaching and mentoring?

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34:23

I like doing it through podcasts. And I like doing it through other people telling the stories because I say things and then sometimes you hear somebody else say the same thing. And then it clicks and they're like, oh, okay, sometimes, you know, you watch social media, see somebody post something you're like, Yeah, that's the same thing. I said, what that person just said it better or different. So I feel like there wasn't enough when I first started and I was going to these classes and taking these courses and, you know, having these mentors, there wasn't enough reality in there of what could go wrong and what like the real stresses of being an entrepreneur are and people get frustrated and they quit because they're given an unrealistic expectation. And I feel like the biggest service I It can give people is like, yes, you might have a bad year, yes, you might have a bad couple of years. But real estate is very forgiving. And as long as you set the expectation that like any business or anything you do in life or relationship, a job or business a career, there's going to be bumps, there's going to be bruises, there's going to be ups and downs. But if you stick with it, and you commit to it, you'll be okay. But if you're gonna say, Hey, I'm gonna go get rich in six months, and it's not reality. So I like kind of having other people get on. That's why I love talking about like the a game podcast, just people that bought their A game and they nobody that you see that successful, had a straight line there. It's that old cliche of like, the road to success is like spirals and ups and downs, and all those things. So I feel like I always want to get that story out. And if people hear that, okay, this isn't gonna be as easy as I thought. But if I stick with it, it'll be worth it. Those are the people that I want to talk to. And when they reach out for me for help, I like to help them with things like for instance, if they're looking for a commercial do like a lot of the people that have reached out to me, they'll either have properties in markets like an Austin, where they're gonna have so much equity My house is, but even if I pull it or sell some of these houses, I can't really buy anything that makes sense anymore. In my market, I don't have enough time or enough experience to buy something in another market. Can you help me trade this through for like a small to midsize multi unit mobile, mobile home park, and I'll help them set up the people in that market, I'll help them run the numbers, I'll put videos together. And I'll say, to the best of my knowledge, here's where I see this being a good deal. Here's the places that are the pitfalls, here's how I would handle it. Here's the best and worst case scenario. And I do the things that I would do for due diligence to think give them the information and I feel like arm them with a realistic expectation. And then if they want to pull the trigger on it, I set them up with a lender. And then my fee is already worked out into the deal. And the numbers still work for them. So I feel like making them feel like they have somebody on their side or that go between to just be a kind of innocent bystander for bringing the information and markings that they might not feel comfortable and give them a realistic expectation of what they can plan on for that property for the next six to 12 months is the biggest value that I have been bringing over the last year.

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Billy Keels  37:02

I appreciate you sharing those different ways of how you are both coaching and or mentoring as well as just adding value and providing service. One last question, I noticed I was gonna ask one last question. But I gotta ask you this question, because of course, you know, we have a lot of people who are high paid professionals. Right, I was in this conundrum myself, I'm just curious what you see, because you, you are helping and aiding and supporting so many different people. But think about that person who's that? That high paid professional, they're accredited investor, and they're thinking, wow, you know, I know I need to do something, I like my job. But at the same time, like there's a lot of different things that are happening, I'd like to be able to create my own runway, similar process that I went through what has been your experience for that person who is a, you know, mid to high level executive at a company, like I said, accredited investor, and they want to get involved in the real asset game. And what I mean by that is, they know that they want to do something, but in there, they're kind of stuck. They're like, Okay, do I want to actually do it myself? Or do I want to find somebody else that can actually do the service for me? Because I want the result? Maybe talk to that person who is feeling a little stuck, maybe what you've seen what typically, typically is probably not the right word, but what you've seen how things play out whether someone does it by themselves, or or actually, does it has it done for you service?

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38:18

Well, I think that's a great point. Because I think lack of confidence breeds in action. And I think when something's new, especially a if you don't like I learned the biggest thing, it's like, when the pandemic happened, and I had time to actually sit home and focus on things I was like, I can't believe how much I was not focusing as much as I should have, and could have been on some of these things. So if somebody's a high pre professional, and they don't really have time to reinvent the wheel and do the due diligence, they're probably going to make a mistake, if it's not their, you know, their best friend that's been doing it for 20 years, like you really have to be careful. And even that, like I hear people go, Well, I got a friend. It's like, Yeah, but how busy is your friend like this, you really have time, because I know how busy I am. And I don't have time to really all my friends. So on that side of it, I think that they need to a look at what again, what's their risk tolerance? And what do they really want and be realistic with what the expectation is for return for that, because they'll say, Well, I want something that's a 10 cap, or I want something that's, you know, 70% on the dollar. So So you want to buy something in like an A class neighbourhood that doesn't really need a lot of work or have a lot of headaches, and you want to be in it for like 70 cents on the dollar, right? Like, that doesn't exist. So if you really, really want like a great deal that you can build some sweat equity in, you're gonna have to deal with like, it's going to be ugly and scary when you buy it. And you're going to have to put a lot of time into stabilising that rehabbing that getting new people in there. So if you have the time and the experience to do that, great sounds like you don't so if you don't, that means we have to look at something that's already stabilised, which means you have to be more realistic because it's less of a headache, which means it's less risk, which means it's less return. So there's always that fine line that people want everything and you can if you're getting less headaches because somebody's already taken those headaches on be realistic with the return there'll be happy with the six and a half of this Ever whatever it is, don't expect a homerun deal with no risk, because that's not how business works.

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Billy Keels  40:05

I love that you broke it down perfectly. Don't I mean, if I had a mic? Well, I do have a mic here. But I can't, I can actually drop it in front of me. So, you know, we'll go with that. No, I appreciate that, Nick, just in general. But before we go into the going long, final three, was there any any comments or any anything that you you feel like that you wanted to share that maybe it shouldn't, should have asked you already?

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40:26

Nah, man, I think it just comes down to like, don't quit, don't hide from bad days. And just make sure you're diligent and remember, over the markets very forgiving, we're about to hit a time where you can't, you can maybe go through some murky waters. But if you're willing to put the time in and play the waiting game here, in five or 10 years, you're gonna forget about those bad ones, you got to be really happy, you have those properties. So just do it. But do it carefully. And you don't have to be rich on Monday, I think that's the biggest thing. wealth is created. This is a get rich, slow business. And if anybody says it's not there, it's not realistic, because that's where, you know, the whole analogy of the guy who won the homerun title every year also led the league in strikeouts. You don't want that, you know, let's nice even playing field.

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Billy Keels  41:12

Like that. I like that. So I'm also too, by the way, I will just mention so your your podcast, the a game podcast, with Mr. Nick namanya, talking about these exact same types of things and helping to provide value to others. So I know you're gonna talk about it a little bit, but I just want to kind of talk about the podcast there. And these are the types of things that you that you continue to share with people. So Nick, the thing is, man, we got to get into go along final three. And the thing is, you're our special guest today. So and I never asked anybody. And I'm not going to start today. That especially when you're a special guest, not going to ask you to go along final three, unless you tell me that you're ready. So my question for you is, are you ready?

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41:50

I was born ready.

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Billy Keels  41:52

I kind of knew that was gonna be the answer. I was pretty much waiting for that exact answer, by the way. So cool. So listen, I'm going to do something that's a little bit selfish. Because we started with where you are today over and over in Chicago, I'd like to bring things back to this side of the pond. Because even though I'm originally from Columbus, Ohio, I've been calling Europe home for the last 21 years, at least at this point. So the thing is, because I'm bringing it back to this side of the pond, I really would love for you to share with us your favourite European city that you've either visited Nick, or is still on your bucket list to visit. So help us understand what is your favourite European city.

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42:26

So it's hard to pick one, if if I went bucket list, we'd be here forever. But I recently went to Italy. And I hit Rome, Florence and Siena. And I loved every single part of it. If I had to pick one, I'm gonna say right now for today, I'm gonna say Seanna was probably my favourite one. Because it was the end of the trip, we had already done the wrong thing, which was friggin incredible. We had already done Florence, that was incredible, too. But Seanna allow me to have a slower pace. I wasn't like running through churches and sites and all that kind of stuff. And I got to spend some really good quality time with some family that was there. And it was just more of like a relaxing into the trip. And it was such a really cool, quaint small town, that you really just got to wander around. And it was just a slower pace. And I felt like I kind of got to digest what I had done a couple of weeks before. And I remember that that was one of the places that gave me the epiphany where you're sitting there in front of the, you know, some of Michelangelo's greatest works, you're sitting there and St Peter's or, you know, you're you're at the Pantheon on Easter Sunday, or all these things. And you're looking at this, like incredible piece of work that this person did, whether it's a sculpture or architecture or painting. And then you basically look down into like, and they're buried right there. And that's when you remember, like, that was just a person. And like all these extraordinary things that we see across this entire country that have lasted for decades, were done by people just like you and I, they probably had self doubt and insecurity. And people tell them that they were crazy. And I remember like, man, everybody's capable of doing incredible things. And Italy was just a constant reminder of it. And Ciana was where I was really able to sit there and digest that. And it made me want to go out and do incredible things.

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Billy Keels  44:07

Awesome, man. So we will we'll take that I appreciate the backstory as well. And yes, you know, it's really cool to all three are very great places. And I like the also the experience that you wrap it up with. So moving on from Siena to question number two have a go along final three. And this really has a lot to do with the things that I have been very fortunate enough to learn Nick from, from people that are very successful, right, and I consider you to be somebody who's very successful. You know, even prior to what you've been doing over the last 15 years, you're consistently adding value to others looking to learn to grow focused on on things that you want it to be able to do and now expanding that to also helping others to be able to do that. And so one of the things that I have actually recognised from people that are successful and I'm sure you've probably seen the same thing, like one of the reasons that they tend to be much more successful than most people is that they like most When they put a plan together successful people, they tend to get everything in the plan right the very first time, which is the thing that allows them to go so much faster and someones maybe a little stage fright. I'm kidding. Don't worry, Nick. Nick's gonna what in the world is happening? That was just a joke. I like to have a little bit of fun here. Of course, like people that are really successful. They don't get things right every single time and go faster than everybody else. That was just a joke.

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45:32

Like, I was thinking I was like that, but I get this wrong.

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Billy Keels  45:36

You're so gracious. You're like, you're really nice. Like, oh, my God, what do I do with this? No, of course not. So I like to do like to have this little bit of fun. But the thing is, people that are really successful, they normally don't get things right the first time or the second time or the 19th time in the thing. And the reality is, Nick, I'm sure you've seen this as well, like people that are successful tend to make like 20 to 50 times more mistakes than most people, right, because they're doing a lot more. The first part was a joke. This is definitely not a joke, because this is serious. And this is something that I have seen. And I've recognised in terms of a pattern that people that are successful do every single time this is really every single time. Because whenever there's a relevant mistake, call it a learning opportunity, call it whatever you want, like something was supposed to happen and didn't happen every single time. It's a relevant one. Those people that are successful every single time they stop. First of all, they learn from the mistake. And then secondly, what they do is really, really what sets them apart is they different, they tend to put or no, they always put different strategies, tactics and actions in place to minimise the probability of that exact same thing happening again. So I don't want you to think about or dwell on the mistake that you made, or the learning opportunity that you had. But it's more what was the lesson that you took away, because that's where we can learn a lot from the lessons so that you know that someone here in the going long family needs to hear it today, so that you can help them to minimise the probability of that exact same thing happening. What would that be?

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47:04

I would say the biggest favour you could do yourself is that being not shying away from tough decisions and not shying away from tough conversations? Because I think that that's where a lot of mistakes happen. If you think about you go back to relationships all you know, it's, it's not really work. And I might want to break up with so and so you put it off and you put it off, I might want to fire this guy. But what if I don't find somebody better? What if it gets worse, you put it off, and then you fire that contractor or that realtor or whoever it is that's working for you. And you get somebody great you go man, I wish it did that months ago, we all we've all been there. And I think in business, you're killing your your bottom line, the longer you put that stuff off. So I would say the biggest mistakes are putting off having those bad days and those bad conversations. Because the longer you put those off, you put your head in the sand because you don't want to hear the bad news, the more that deal becomes harder and harder and harder to get out of. And that's time and time again, if I look back at like I should have sold this sooner, I should have fired that person sooner. I should have backed out of that deal sooner, I should have walked away from that buyer quicker and gotten another buyer like those are the lessons that I keep coming up with of pull the trigger faster be be slow to hire and be quick to fire cut ties and be realistic as fast as possible. I want to quick, you know, real quick, yes.

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Billy Keels  48:17

Okay. Basically, once again, it comes back to that principle you're talking about, you know, being able to go through the bad days, not the bad deals and sort of continue to Lean forward, lean into those difficult conversations, take the action that needs to be taken so that you don't shy away from these types of things in our our lessons that you've learned, and that you paid full price for and you're being extremely generous by sharing those with me and the Guanlan family. So I appreciate you doing that, Nick. Lastly, man, this is the last thing. Third of the going long final three. It's about helping us to fill the mind with knowledge. And we'd love for you to know you've already talked about a couple of books already. But we'd love to know what is the one book that you would like to recommend to the hormone family today.

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48:57

So this is what I just read. I wanted to pull it up. So to mess up the author's name. The mountain is you. It's transforming self sabotage into self mastery. Mastery. Shout out to Sonya Ray, she is an you should have her on. She's incredible. But she recommended this book to me. She has been one of my mentors. It's by somebody named Brianna wiced And that was an extremely eye opening book to me that I would never have found on my own that I read it immediately was like man like that. That was such a huge game changer for me. I'll probably read that one a few times a year.

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Billy Keels  49:25

Will you repeat the title again? Please?

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49:27

It's called the mountain is you

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Billy Keels  49:29

the mountain is you Okay, perfect. Perfect. The mountain is you first time I've heard of it so appreciate appreciate you sharing that and I appreciate you giving Shouts out to Sonia Ray as well. So that's really awesome. Kevin, I don't know I you know I every single time and I'm sure this happens to you too, man. Like every time they click you're in these conversations and all of a sudden you're like oh my gosh is the time up already. Are you seeing like I think about you know we started the conversation and you're talking about you felt like you were you were being lost so lost soul and You know, you didn't really have your purpose and your as you were going around and going around, you finally got to a point where you recognised, you know, right, not sort of similar to me, you were looking to find your purpose. And shortly after 911, and you recognise that other people that were around you friends, that they were finding their purpose, they were moving in to do the things that they wanted. And so you realise that it was time for you to start to do the exact same thing, you got really focused, you recognise that you wanted to be able to serve and serve in that capacity from what had recently happened in in New York, and well, and in the US in general, and how you could serve and look for your different applications. And every three letter agency that was available, you were really focused on being able to do that. And then real life happened, right, you had a real life event happened and, and you had a, you know, I had had an accident happened. And that was something that you could have decided to basically collapse and not do anything about it. But you know, you decided to, hey, listen, you're gonna fight through that. And you're gonna get to the point where, hey, listen, you want these agencies to want you back. And, and you got to the point where they were they did take it back. But then they saw what had happened to you as a liability. You said, You know what, let me figure out something else. Mom came into the picture, gave you that little purple book. And it also helped to just really transform the way that you were approaching and say, Hey, listen, I'm going to make my area in my space here to the point so much that you're impacting lives at those agencies, we're going to come look for you. And at that point, well, you would have been up to you to decide whether or not you wanted to go in that direction or not. Since then, not only did you were you able to in six months, get to these deals that that got you on the path to where you are today, 15 years later, you continue to, to invest in locations that make the most sense for you, you continue to have what I like to call as a long distance lifestyle between New York and Chicago, and also being able to impact positively impact the lives of others. And being able to do that through investing in real assets. And so I know that I'm talking too long, because the entire gone long families like yeah, Billy just asked him the question, just ask them the question, because here's what everybody really wants to know, Nick, help us understand what is the best way for the growing long family to find out more about what it is that you're doing, how we can engage with you, and also extract more value from from your experience.

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52:09

Man, you recap my story better than I could that shows what a great host you are, man. So thank you for that you've, you've very much been listening and you're you're a pro man, I really appreciate you having me on I appreciate you give me a chance to plug so my podcast is the a game podcast that make it really easy for people to find myself and the podcast. If you go to Nick, Nick, Nick three, Nick's dot com slash Lynx, Li N Ks, it'll link you to everywhere that you can get the podcast and all of my social media. If you specifically want to talk to me about buying, selling or partnering on some deals, if you text me directly, 516-540-5733 That is my direct line to discuss real estate stuff. As far as partnerships buying and selling, but everything else, Nick and nick.com/links, you'll be able to find all my social media all the way through the podcast. Alright, fantastic.

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Billy Keels  52:58

So it is Nick, Nick nick.com, forward slash links. And they also have the numbers. So we're gonna include those in the show notes. So don't worry, everybody don't freak out. Like all you have to do is click the link. All you have to do is number of course it's in themselves. But we're going to make it really, really easy for you. So with that, Nick, listen, I just want to say on behalf of the entire going long family, I really do appreciate you deciding to invest your time. Share your story, your experience with us today. And just thank you very, very much. Really appreciate it.

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53:23

Thanks for having me on. I can't wait to have you on the other side. And I get to interview you.

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Billy Keels  53:26

Alright, sounds good, man. We'll make that happen. We'll make that happen. Listen, if you give me like 510 seconds, just want to wrap things up probably 1015 seconds, wrap things up, and then I'll get you out of here. Go along family. Listen, Nick really brought it he gave me the strategy. He gave me the tactics. He gave me real life stories. He talked about the things that not just on numbers, but also that can be the emotion that drives you and get you to the position where you want to be able to not just think about things, but take action. So what I'm going to suggest is that you take today's conversation, share it with your family, share it with your friends, you know other people that really need to hear what Nick shared today. As you all are talking about it you have the concepts Nick's even given you the opportunity to reach out to him directly if you have follow up questions. So while you're doing these taking these actions, I'll be here preparing for the next conversation. So until then, gotta make it a great day. And thank you very much trust did you enjoy today's conversation and once again, today's conversation was sponsored by first generation Capital Partners. If you're an accredited investor want to find out more about how we're helping accredited investors to gain their personal freedom even faster. Go to firstgen cp.com forward slash going on

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