Long term rentals are not passive income. I know you want to prove all these people wrong by buying 100 doors that "cashflow" $300 per month, but don't do it. Take the money you were going to use to do your BRRRR method acquisitions and focus on active income. Build your active income until you have so much cash, you have no choice but to buy real estate to reduce your tax liability. I know you're in a rush to get out of your W2. I get it...it sucks. Clients are not fun to deal with, you're not happy with the direction of the company and you want to be able to do what you want, whenever you want, with who you want, exactly how you want to do it. Don't rush. Take all that extra money you were going to dump into buying houses and save it instead. Save it until you figure out what you want to replace your W2 income with. For now, figure out low cost ways to get started, either by working for someone else, bird dogging deals or white label someone else's products. There are low risk ways to get started. Focus on those routes. Read Ego is the Enemy. You may feel like you're humble, but you have parts of your personality that need to be put in check. Yes, you want the credit of owning 100% and being in full control. You'd much rather be a minority partner in a wildly successful deal than 100% owner in a stressful one. You don't know everything and that's ok. You may be willing to take on risk, but decisions you make now can end up slowing your growth in the future. You may learn a lot, but you can learn those lessons by bringing value to someone who's doing what it is you want to do in the market you want to do it in. You haven't figured out what you want to do yet and that's ok. You're going to save yourself a lot of headaches if you work backwards. Figure out what your strengths are. Take an audit of your current work experience, your education and what you enjoy in your day job now. Figure out what activities give you energy. That'll save you from throwing money at problems you're not willing to solve.

I meet with a former SVP from one of the largest banks in the world on a monthly basis. We usually catch up on things we're working on and explore different ways to work together. During today's call, I mentioned that my plan was to expand the types of deals I raise money for. Instead of just raising for lending opportunities, the plan is to get into larger deals. With excitement, he explained the process of setting up a fund and then went on a tangent. He mentioned a specific, non real estate related deal that was sent to him, that raised a lot of red flags. Nothing was done illegally. The fund was structured within the confines of the law, however, many Reg D offerings are less standardized and lack transparency. Proformas are assumptions, not proof. You have limited exit options once you're in. 1. Illiquidity Is the Norm, Not the Exception Most private placement investments are highly illiquid by design. • Restricted securities are typically issued, meaning they cannot be freely sold or traded on a public exchange. • Secondary markets often do not exist, leaving investors with no practical exit until a liquidity event occurs, if one occurs at all. • Issuer-controlled exits are common. If redemptions are allowed, they may be subject to lockups, redemption gates, or company approval, and may occur at a discount to the original investment. Investors should assume their capital may be tied up for years with limited ability to exit on their own terms. 2. Disclosure Standards Are Not the Same as Public Markets Private offerings are exempt from many of the disclosure requirements that apply to public companies. • Form D filings are notice filings, not approvals. They do not imply that regulators have reviewed the deal, the projections, or the fairness of the offering. • Financial projections may be optimistic, forward-looking, and not independently verified. Valuations are often based on assumptions rather than operating history. • Audited financial statements are not always provided, which places a greater burden on investors to verify the company’s financial condition.

Hi All, We've been so focused on due diligence on short term loans in the real estate world that we feel pretty comfortable with the system. Everything is asset based and underwritten with the worst case scenario in mind. However, I've had a few people ask about how to evaluate equity positions. These are going to be riskier, because you have to underwrite the deal as well as those who are going to be running the asset. While doing some research, I ran across another capital raising company who offered their due diligence framework as a lead magnet. It, of course, is biased and uses language to push you towards working with them but I stripped it all out and created a generic template. I wanted it share it with you all: Investment Due Diligence Framework A high level checklist for evaluating operators, funds, and passive investment opportunities. 1. Firm History and Leadership Founding date and evolution of the firmExperience of key principalsTotal transaction volume and assets managedEvidence of learning and refinement across market cycles 2. Investment Strategy and Edge Primary investment focus and target asset classesCurrent asset allocation approachUse of vertical integration or in house managementDeal sourcing strategy including off market accessDurability and scalability of competitive advantages 3. Market and Acquisition Criteria Clear acquisition triggers and value creation thesisGeographic focus and supporting demand driversPopulation and job growth trendsVacancy rates and competitive supply analysisDepth of market research and underwriting discipline 4. Operations and Asset Management Planned value creation initiativesCapital improvement and operational optimization strategyReporting cadence and performance review processCost control systems without quality degradation 5. Financial Structure and Debt Strategy Typical leverage levels and LTV targetsDebt philosophy conservative versus aggressivePreference for fixed rate and long term financingRisk management approach for interest rate changesAdvance planning for refinances and maturities

Hi All, I’ve been digging deeper into self-directed retirement accounts lately to better understand the tools people are using. One topic that comes up a lot is the checkbook-controlled IRA. It’s a setup where the IRA owns an LLC, and the account holder (as manager) writes checks or wires directly from that LLC. The appeal is clear: faster transactions and fewer custodian delays. I recently spoke with an industry veteran who’s seen this structure play out in practice. Here’s the summary of what I was learned: Why some people use it - Bypass custodian delays and fees - Move quickly on deals like private lending Where the caution comes in - Because the account holder is both owner of the IRA and manager of the LLC, it can look like too much direct control. - Different custodians treat it differently. Some won’t allow it; others do, but it’s still a gray area. - If it were ever questioned, the “fix” would usually be administrative (re-titling assets back into the IRA) — not catastrophic, but inconvenient. Other considerations - Some folks try to get around the control issue by naming a third party as LLC manager. That reduces one risk but creates another (trusting someone else with your funds). - For slower, one-off deals (like a single syndication), a standard custodian-processed IRA can be just fine. Bottom line Checkbook-controlled IRAs do exist and people use them, but they sit in a compliance gray area. For some investors the speed is worth it, for others the simplicity of a custodian held self directed IRA (or a Solo 401k if eligible) is a better fit.

Hope everyone’s staying safe and warm through the storm! ❄️ I’m Chris, Jon’s partner here — long term real estate investor in CT and private money lender. Excited to network, share insights, and support the group. I’ll also be broadcasting quick wins, like how we’re funding fast fix‑and‑flips and helping capital partners deploy capital effectively and safely. Looking forward to connecting and growing together — drop a comment or DM anytime!