Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Welcome to the Investor Agent Podcast. I'm Steve Seymour, your host, where we help transform the human mindset from scarcity and lack to abundance of wealth, one conversation at a time. Welcome guys. Steve Seymour here with The Investors Agent Podcast. Today we have Brady Carroll Brady, thanks for being on. Hello
Speaker 1 00:00:19 Everyone. <laugh>. I'm just kidding. This is my second podcast.
Speaker 0 00:00:24 Second podcast, ever, ever. Nice. Well, thanks for being on. We're, uh, we're honored to have you. Can you
Speaker 1 00:00:32 Hear me okay? Yes.
Speaker 0 00:00:33 Okay. Um, so Brady, uh, I know that big announcement coming, uh, you joining the RA Realty. And again, we're honored to have you as an agent as well, not just on the podcast, so definitely wanna talk about that in a little bit. But before we do, why would anyone even wanna listen to Brady Carroll? Tell us a little bit about your background. You know, you asked
Speaker 1 00:00:57 Me, you're the first person in a long time to actually ask that, so, um, you wanna know my background?
Speaker 0 00:01:03 Yeah. A little, little bit about you and real estate and this podcast all about transforming the human mindset from scarcity, lack to abundance and wealth. And we'd like to do that through a conversation. So why would someone wanna tune in and listen to this conversation? Well,
Speaker 1 00:01:20 I am, uh, very grateful for the opportunity up for the challenge, uh, to join v r a commercial here. Um, build something really special with you. Been a fan. We've been talking about this for a while. Um, and your, your vision is very much in alignment. I'm a big picture guy like you. Uh, absolutely love what you guys have done here. The vision of, uh, empowering human potential through, uh, pathway, through financial freedom, through investing in real estate. Um, Benning being, being in commercial real estate for 11, 12 years now. Um, seeing a lot of young investors grow from nothing to, uh, having sizable portfolios, um, you know, seeing millionaires created along the way. Uh, something that I've been very passionate about for 11, 12 years. And I feel like this is a, a amazing fit, uh, to join your team and to, uh, collaborate and do something really special here.
Speaker 0 00:02:26 Yeah. You know, when there's, you have that feeling something big is gonna happen. I have that feeling. Yeah. And I like it. I'm very, it's exciting. First time I've been re-energized in the business in a couple years, so, I mean, really honored to have you. Um, and then with what you just said, it's like, it's not about us and, you know, just building a real estate commercial division, but what you saw, you saw people creating real wealth, life changing generational wealth in commercial real estate. And that's what this is all about, is transforming that, that mindset of scarcity and lack to abundance of wealth. Because really it's not about the money. It's more about how do, what is an abundant life? What is a wealthy life? What is, you know, life worth living authentically and true to yourself where you're not restricted by the financial constraints in the modern day, uh, system of basically, I don't wanna say that's a strong word, but it's like modern day slavery with, with money and how pe the, you know, people are stuck in this whole system. There's not a lot of opportunities to get out of it. Commercial real estate's one of the, one of the actual ways to make it happen. Not that everyone can do it, not that it's easy, but it's, it's a actual, it's like a key to get outta prison. It's a real pathway, right? It's a real pathway to wealth.
Speaker 1 00:03:48 Yeah, it's true. It's, it's all about freedom. So I'm, I'm a father of four young children, and I learned, uh, really quickly when they were young and the first couple were young, that my priority wants to, is to be around them as much as possible for the window that I have to raise them. And you need passive income to do that. You need to build some type of machine in order to do that, to be able to coach their little league games and go to their concerts and graduations and everything like that. And, um, why I've always been into commercial real estate as opposed to any other investment is, uh, I just, there's no ceiling from my perspective. You know, you, you eat what you kill, and there's no limit to how large you can grow it, uh, what approach you can take to do it. Um, and, and that's what I love about it. And, and I've seen a lot of successful people along the way. So,
Speaker 0 00:04:53 And I, I like that. You know, you're, you've always, every time I've talked to you, you've always shared how important your family is and your kids, and, you know, being there at the events, being there, you know, for your son, um, for, for your whole family. And yeah, you work hard. I know, I know you put your hours in, uh, you wouldn't be able to do what you do without putting the time in, but you prioritize and don't lose sight of what's most important. So I just wanna acknowledge you for that because it's a big thing. And ultimately that's the bigger success versus being really immensely successful in one area, but then having, you know, your family life completely Yeah. Decimated. Right. So, um, anyway, uh, let's shift back to your back. Your, your background and your experience in commercial real estate. So you said 11 plus years in commercial real estate. Yep.
Speaker 1 00:05:46 Uh, started my career, um, 11 or 12 years ago with a small boutique brokerage, five agents in an office. We covered Delaware County, ventured into Chester County in Monko. Uh, but it took me not too long to realize that that animal is a lot of the same people stepping on each other's toes. And, um, I wanted to expand geographically and KW commercial ended up being the platform, uh, the national platform to do that. So, uh, 10 years ago, this is actually my, my, this month is my 10 year anniversary, uh, at KW commercial. So for a decade we went and we, um, built a team in the Wilmington office right along I 95, got licensed in Delaware, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, and started Crown Stone Investment Group. Um, if you, are you familiar with what a crown stone is?
Speaker 0 00:06:41 No. Tell me more.
Speaker 1 00:06:43 Um, so the story behind Crown Stone is, um, before modern technology, and they're still there to this day. Uh, the Mason Dixon line has these crown stones. I could show you a photo of it. Uh, it's kind of what our logo looks like. Actually, they are along the Mason Dixon line. Um, our business model, um, was to have a team based right along I 95, um, and introduce all the investors from New Jersey and New York who are used to buying assets at a 2% return, 3% return, you know, lower than the market down here. Introduce them to Delaware, introduce them to Pennsylvania, introduce them to Maryland, where they can get a seven, eight, 9% return. Uh, and that was our business model for, for a long time. And still to this day, a lot of our investors are from New York and New Jersey, and they invest, um, in these more southern states in the mid-Atlantic region. Um, so that's where the crown stone came from. Nice.
Speaker 0 00:07:44 Yeah. I didn't know the meaning behind that, so I appreciate you sharing that. Um, and
Speaker 1 00:07:49 You connecting the north and the south.
Speaker 0 00:07:51 Yeah. That's awesome. You, I know you're very intentional with your, you're well thought out in pretty much every, every aspect and us doing a deal with you, what, I guess two years ago, uh, a partner mine, uh, we bought an 11 unit from Brady, and one of the biggest things for me was like, everyone in this business, I don't wanna say everyone, but it's, it's almost status quo to, you know, not really have any trust in people <laugh>. And like, you gotta have your paperwork tight, right? But there's a certain level of like, you wanna do a handshake deal with someone? Well, you can't do that in this business. And I was like, working with Brady, I feel like I could do a handshake deal. It was like, if he says something, I know what's gonna happen. And I felt like that was, that was the biggest thing to me.
Speaker 0 00:08:35 I was like, I wanna work with this guy from two years ago. I knew that. And, uh, it's, it's just, it, it's the best way to do business. And in the long term, when you do what you say, people recognize that, and you deliver on your promises. I think that's the number one thing in any business, but especially in, in real estate and commercial real estate can be very cutthroat. So you need someone with integrity that's gonna follow through on their word. And, uh, just wanna acknowledge you for that because I think that's at the foundation of your business.
Speaker 1 00:09:05 Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate that very much. It is, my, my core values are very much in alignment. And, you know, I'm here today because you've, you've spelled it out, you know, and it's, uh, integrity is very, very important, especially in this business.
Speaker 0 00:09:21 Uh, real quick for the listeners, you know, because commercial real estate's a whole array. I know you guys really niched down and, you know, tell us a little bit about how you narrow that focus into multifamily. Yeah, great
Speaker 1 00:09:35 Question. Um, and to this day, to be clear, I still am diversified. Um, you know, we've sold some warehouses this year, um, sold an office building and media and the last three deals, I think were leases actually. So we, we, yeah, we do do it all land development. Um, we've sold and leased shopping centers. Um, the, our core business, you're right, has been multifamily 'cause it's been such a stable asset. And earlier on in my career, when we were really building our database and getting to know the players, uh, we focused on it because we had some really solid opportunities. And it just organically grew from there because those were the people we were talking to. Those were the assets that we were going after. Uh, so we're most knowledgeable in that, uh, department, that asset class. And, um, it, it's just been really solid. Uh, you know, we've always had the belief that no matter where the economy goes, um, that people are always gonna need a place to live. Um, you're always gonna have the workforce housing need. Um, so we just saw it as a stable, uh, asset class to stay focused on.
Speaker 0 00:10:50 And what, uh, geographic region do you cover and then what, what, you know, what's kind of the size, scope of the deal that, you know, minimum size to, uh, on the, on the larger end?
Speaker 1 00:11:01 Uh, so depending on the diff for multifamily, we are within a few hours from the Westchester area, Philly area. Um, we've sold, uh, multifamily in Maryland, Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania. And
Speaker 0 00:11:21 You're licensed up in New York too, right? Yeah,
Speaker 1 00:11:23 Licensed in New York as well. Uh, but if you wanna talk about, um, single tenant net lease retail, uh, then I've sold in many other states.
Speaker 0 00:11:33 Gotcha. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:11:34 So geographically that expands a lot of the clients are on 10 31 exchanges, neither I or they ever even visit the property or see it because you're buying an investment grade lease. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> that just gives you monthly, uh, cash flow. So we've sold Texas, Ohio, Virginia, Illinois, um, Florida all over.
Speaker 0 00:11:55 Uh, what, and you worked on a hundred plus unit multi-family deals, correct? Yeah, yeah, yeah, of
Speaker 1 00:12:01 Course. It's, uh, the smallest, uh, would be a triplex. Yeah. Um, and don't get me wrong, I have sold a couple homes just for friends and family over the years, but really the smallest investment real estate would be a triplex, uh, up to a couple hundred units.
Speaker 0 00:12:14 Yeah, that's, that's a big range right there, you know? Um, I know that's a crowded space to work in and somehow, some way you've found ways to position yourself and attract, uh, owners to work with you. And I knew when I was looking at multi-family, your name came up multiple times. People were like, you gotta talk to Brady. You gotta, you wanna get in multi-family real estate, you gotta talk to Brady Carroll. That's good to know. And you know, he's, he's the guy. Uh, well, yeah, it's, it's been, it's been interesting when you put things out in the universe, right? And then things start lining up and I, I don't know, I don't wanna say someone sent you here or <laugh>.
Speaker 1 00:12:54 He did <laugh>,
Speaker 0 00:12:56 But he did. Regardless, I'm grateful because, you know, and I want to, you can't
Speaker 1 00:12:59 Take credit
Speaker 0 00:12:59 For it. And I want to do whatever I can to help support you and your business. Uh, you have way more experience than I do in this, but, you know, we want to, we want to be a good support and backbone for you to scale and grow this thing. And, uh, it's just, it's, I know what, I know something big's coming with it, so Likewise. Um, very
Speaker 1 00:13:17 Excited.
Speaker 0 00:13:19 So why do you, is there anything you wanna share about, just in your experience working with investors and them growing their portfolio, some of the challenges that they've encountered that you've been able to help them with? Or even just, you know, the mindset shift, because a lot of, a lot of people are, you know, a lot of listeners here are probably either getting started investing or investing in smaller deals. So to take that jump, you know, from a single family to a multi-family that takes, it, takes the, uh, knowledge, some experience, possibly more cash or other people's money, right. Ability to raise capital, but the mindset as well. Yeah. And I think that that's a big thing that people don't touch on. I always like to talk about it, but I know you're big on support and like, making sure things run smooth and just, I don't know, just anything you wanna share on that, that could help someone listening that wants to get to that next level and scale up.
Speaker 1 00:14:17 Your natural, normal human reaction is going to be a stick in your comfort zone. So if you, uh, took the dive into investing in a single family home and it, it cash flowed and it was a, a successful project, then you know, that process, you're comfortable with it. So let's go find another house and then let's go find another house. And it's made people tons of money and it's a great business model, amazing model. Uh, you're right. As far as, um, expanding into larger multifamily is absolutely mindset. It's whether you're introduced to it because you've seen someone else execute or you're just a visionary in your imagination, uh, just knows that by economies of scale there's more opportunity. And that's really what it is. Um, it's taking that model of whether it's the bur method or, uh, you know, buy and hold. It's taking that model and giving yourself 10 of those in one on one parcel in one property.
Speaker 1 00:15:26 So your maintenance is, um, your maintenance is most likely gonna cost less, less travel between units, right? Um, your management is gonna be easier to use. It's more cost effective way to have all of your investment properties in one place. Um, you also have the ability to add value at a much more rapid rate. Uh, because every time you turn over an increase of rent, then that's applied to the cap rate and you get x amount of dollars in value. And it's, the more units you can do that in one place, the faster you can achieve that value add and grow the portfolio.
Speaker 0 00:16:10 Yeah. That, what you just touched on is huge. And I know some big multi-family investors that that's their strategy exclusively, where, you know, if you take a single family rental, you, you add 200 a month in rent, it doesn't really increase the value. 'cause it's based off of comp, multi-family. It's all based on the N O I, right? Yeah. And the cap rate. Yeah. So what you're saying is that if you have a hundred unit building, you can increase the average rent by 200 per door. You just drastically increase the value of that building
Speaker 1 00:16:41 By hundreds of thousands of
Speaker 0 00:16:43 Dollars, if not millions, right? Yeah. Depending on Yeah. You know, the market and the size. But yeah. So that's something that a lot of people don't really look at when they're just valuing, evaluating the building. It's not where the rents are, but where they, where they could be, what's the potential rents. Yeah. So, and you always help owners market to that as well, right? Because I mean, even our building, we bought you, you did your ex existing rents, but then you did projected rents, which helped us as an investor say, we can take this thing, increase the value by making improvements, jack the rents up, and now we're gonna increase the value of the
Speaker 1 00:17:20 Building. And the bonus to that one, what's
Speaker 0 00:17:22 That?
Speaker 1 00:17:23 Build another building? <laugh>? <laugh>.
Speaker 0 00:17:26 Yeah. We're in works with that right now, so yeah. Uh, yeah, we might be able to build, looks like 16 unit minimum, but maybe up to 30 or 40 units. We're going back and forth with the city right now.
Speaker 1 00:17:39 Anybody's gonna make it happen. It's you. So, uh,
Speaker 0 00:17:42 Yeah, we met with the mayor last week and it went well, so that's awesome. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:17:46 Love to hear it. Yeah, there's just so many different approaches that you can take and everyone does take a different approach. Um, two different investors can look at the same building and one would put X amount of dollars in, um, and just have, you know, nice, very clean, modern building. The next investor could look at the same property and they want all stainless steel and granite and high-end, and it's just a different model. Yep. And there's just so many different approaches to it. Um,
Speaker 0 00:18:15 For yourself as, you know, an investor and looking at growing your portfolio, I know you've taken down some, uh, you took down a pretty big development at one point. And we can cut this if you don't wanna share it, but if you're open about sharing a little bit about the deal that you did in Maryland, I think it's a, it's big for people to practice what they preach. You know, there's a lot of people out there saying, take these vitamins, eat healthy exercise, and they're overweight and they don't do anything. Right? Yeah. Um, and if we're here preaching, create wealth in real estate, buy bigger projects, think bigger Sure. Economies of scale, you know, I don't know if you mind sharing a little bit about that deal, uh, that you did? No. Sure.
Speaker 1 00:19:03 Um, about four years ago, uh, purchased, uh, 50 lots of 49 unit, uh, neighborhood really is what it is. Um, it's not an apartment building. It's 49,000 square foot single family homes. Uh, all pretty cookie cutter, um, in a solid market in Maryland. And, um, for four years we've had really good management in place, um, to turn over, um, any kind of troubled tenants and get really good tenants in there. We've, uh, increased the rents tremendously. And just this year we've put out, put all the everything back into, um, the property to enhance it. We do a couple of roofs a year. Uh, we update railings and interiors and everything, you know, and with that many units, it's always an ongoing process. We're always adding value to it, uh, every week, really. And, um, we've been very, very fortunate with the project this year. We, uh, started, we took one of the units and made it in Airbnb. And so far, uh, that's been a massive success. We're, we're getting three months of rent in half a month. Wow. Uh, so
Speaker 0 00:20:18 Let, and now you have the
Speaker 1 00:20:19 Ability to see that's sustainable. You have
Speaker 0 00:20:20 The ability to grow that if you want, because you
Speaker 1 00:20:22 Yeah. We're gonna start one at time. It's
Speaker 0 00:20:24 48. 48 more to go. Well, I'm sure you don't wanna do the whole community, but
Speaker 1 00:20:27 No, but we do, if it really works year round. Um, so we're probably six months in if it, if we're working year. If it does, we're gonna Yeah. Take the house next door and do it with that one
Speaker 0 00:20:38 As
Speaker 1 00:20:38 Well. Yeah. And another way to in increase revenue.
Speaker 0 00:20:42 Yep. Value add, right? Yes, sir. And, you know, just think about all these different investors trying to buy maybe one or two houses a year and scale up. And it's like, well, why can't you do one deal like that? You know, what, what's preventing us? And it's, it's right here, because we all have the, it's not about the resources available. We all have tons of resources available. It's your resourcefulness and your ability to apply things. So you obviously saw an opportunity and stepped into it.
Speaker 1 00:21:10 Yeah, yeah. Um, took me a little while. 'cause it takes, it takes a lot of courage 'cause you have to be able to stomach that risk, right? We're talking about millions of dollars, other people's capital. Um, I brought in some friends to invest with us and, um, thank God they trust us with it, and it's been a very successful project. Um, so we're ready for more. Um, but yeah, that's, uh, not everyone is gonna have that mindset encouraged to actually go out and execute. And I've been fortunate enough to see, specifically some guys a lot younger than us, early in my career. Uh, I, I would sell them their first building and it would be, say, a 10 unit, for example, for 1,000,004. And, um, you know, five years later we're still working together. We're still friends and clients, and we're putting in bids on $20 million buildings now. And they just grew that from one apartment building to the next and Yep. Rinse and repeat grow. So I've seen so many other people do it that it's, it's, you know, natural to me.
Speaker 0 00:22:16 Yeah. That's awesome. I mean, I, I'm a huge believer of just surround yourself with whatever you wanna do, whatever you wanna achieve, just surround yourself with people that are doing it. And I think you're so smart by building your real estate sales business around, you know, I know, like you said, you, you handle tons of different types of commercial real estate, but niching down ha having a specialty in multi-family, attracting those clients in and just being the best at that. Like, you're the best in the market in this area at what you do with that. And that's, it's so smart because then you attract those people around you, now you're surrounded by it. You build a fortress around you where you can't, you almost, I don't wanna say you can't fail, but you know, you're, you're insulating yourself. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:22:57 It's cool. And we're having a lot of fun doing it because we're all on the same page, you know?
Speaker 0 00:23:02 Yeah. And it's not like you're jealous when these people are doing it. You're like, wow. It's, it's inspiring. You know? It's like they, if they can do it, I can do it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:23:09 And that has a lot to do with, like you said, surround yourself with the right people.
Speaker 0 00:23:12 Yeah. It's awesome. Well, you know, I don't wanna take up too much of the listener's time, but I always like to ask if you have any suggestions on books, seminars, you know, any last words of wisdom, anything that you can deliver to them. It's all about if we can add a little value to anyone that took their time to listen.
Speaker 1 00:23:30 Interesting. Uh, I don't know if I'm gonna name anyone that is you haven't heard of before. Uh, but I'm a huge, um, I'm a huge growth personal development guy. And I have been since my second year in commercial real estate when I read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. And I always have been like, um, when I was in my twenties, I read the, you know, outta high school. I read, uh, what, um, rich Dad, poor Dad, and Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. And those two books specifically changed my entire mindset when I was about 20 years old.
Speaker 0 00:24:08 I, I've read all three of them and I love 'em.
Speaker 1 00:24:10 Absolutely amazing. Right? Um, and then when I was, uh, in, earlier on in my career,
Speaker 0 00:24:16 That's funny. That's probably my top three books, the three you mentioned in terms of like what I would recommend to people, especially for Mindset.
Speaker 1 00:24:24 Those are life changers. Yeah. Those are absolute life changers. If you haven't read 'em, those are the
Speaker 0 00:24:29 Thank You Grove, rich, Napoleon Hill, uh, seven Habits of Highly Effective People, right. Stephen Cove,
Speaker 1 00:24:35 Stephen
Speaker 0 00:24:35 Covey, and then, and
Speaker 1 00:24:36 Then Robert Kiyosaki. Yep. Rich Dad, poor Dad. And I didn't even really know what I was reading when I did, but it, you couldn't, I couldn't put it down. And it changed the trajectory of my life. Uh, now, uh, who am I into? I'm a huge Ed Millet fan. Uh, I love how smart and spiritual he is. Uh, genuine Leaders is who I follow now. And sometimes I, I I really enjoy like the more sales motivation, you know, grittier guys like Cardone and Goggins and Jocko and, uh,
Speaker 0 00:25:14 Get fired
Speaker 1 00:25:14 Up. <laugh>, I'm a huge Andrew Huberman fan. If, if you haven't watched, uh, the Huberman podcast or lab, or he's a yeah, brilliant doctor and he brings me a lot of value. 'cause I'm, I'm all about, uh, health is wealth and no amount of money in the world can, you know, buy your health. So prioritize that first. Um, and then get to work after that.
Speaker 0 00:25:40 Well, thank you for sharing all that. 'cause whatever habits Brady's got going on, you might wanna listen. He's a <laugh>. This guy's a workhorse. Gets it done. Uh, thanks for listening. Thanks for being on today. Appreciate it.
Speaker 1 00:25:54 Thank you very much. Very excited for this. Very grateful for it. Appreciate it brother.
Speaker 0 00:26:00 That's it. Thank you for tuning into the Investor Agent podcast today. We hope you found it valuable. Please tune in weekly@theinvestoragents.com.
