March 14, 2023

From Retired Military Officer to Full Time Apartment Investor - Ismael Reyes

In the conversation with today’s guest, Ismael Reyes, you’ll learn the reasons real estate stood out to him over other things that he could have chosen to focus on. Ismael speaks on his views of why people might want to invest in long distance/out of state property rather than their own backyard, and where to start when long distance investing. Lastly, Ismael talks about his passion for wanting to help others and the story behind how he came to write his published book which he shares details on as well.
Billy Keels
CEO and Founder FGCP

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Going Long Podcast Episode 298: From Retired Military Officer to Full Time Apartment Investor

( To see the Video Version of today’s conversation just CLICK HERE. )

In the conversation with today’s guest, Ismael Reyes, you’ll learn the following:

  • [00:37 - 03:29] Show introduction with comments from Billy.
  • [03:29 - 06:58] Guest introduction and first questions.
  • [06:58 - 10:54] The backstory and decisions made that led Ismael to this point in his journey.
  • [10:54 - 13:39] What it was about Real Estate that stood out to Ismael above other things that he could have chosen to focus on.
  • [13:39 - 19:36] Ismael’s views on why people might want to invest long distance and out of state rather than just investing in their own backyard, and how they can make a start getting into the world of long distance investing.
  • [19:36 - 21:15] Where Ismael’s passion for wanting to help others came from.
  • [21:15 - 25:30] Ismael explains the story behind how he came to write his published book, and the key concepts that you will learn about from reading it.

Here’s what Ismael shared with us during today’s conversation: 

  • Where in the world Ismael is currently based: Orlando, Florida.
  • The most positive thing to happen in the past 24 hours: Had a virtual video meetup where they discussed all about how to keep more of your hard earned income and minimizing the amount that you have to give to Uncle Sam!
  • Favourite city in Europe: Rome, Italy.
  • A mistake that Ismael would like you to learn from so that you don’t have to pay full price: Make sure you have someone on your team that is able to run things when you aren’t able to. 
  • Book Recommendation: Who, Not How, by Dan Sullivan. - https://www.amazon.com/Who-Not-How-Accelerating-Teamwork-ebook/dp/B0867ZJ151 

 

Be sure to reach out and connect with Ismael Reyes by using the info below:  

 

To see the Video Version of today’s conversation just CLICK HERE.

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Episode Transcript

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.

00:12

You live where you want, or where you must, in the case of some military people, they get placed in some places where maybe they don't want to be long term, but it just happens to be part of their their row. So live there, but invest where it makes sense and where you can get the type of returns that makes it a worthwhile investment.

00:30

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

Billy Keels  00:39

Welcome to the gold long podcast, we're back once again to continue to help to educate you so you feel much more comfortable as well as confident investing beyond your backyard. I'm your host, Billy keels. And guess what, we're back for another exciting episode, it's gonna be super amazing. And just really quickly, for those of you who continue to share the podcast across social media, thank you so much continue to tag us, we appreciate that we continue to grow our audience, we continue to be in the top 1.5% of podcasts globally. So thank you so much for that. Also, too. If you have still thinking about writing an honest written review and rating, go ahead and do it. We even have a little video and the link, just click the link and I'll show you how to do it. And you've been thinking about it for so long. Just leave the review, honest written review where you'll even see how we're making the podcast more contoured for you. Speaking of which, if you want to check out any of the episodes, go to first uncp.com forward slash podcasts. And you can find every single version, video audio, you can find the transcripts, it's all there just go check out first uncp.com forward slash podcasts, which will be great. And listen, today's conversation, listen, if you have ever been or are in the military, and you want to figure out how you go from military to full time investor, or if you've been challenged by living in one place and not being able to invest in another, or if you feel like hey, listen, I know that there's something more for me out there, I just don't know what it is yet. Listen to this conversation that we're going to have in just a couple of minutes. With the managing partner of the admirable group, Mr. Izmail, re Re is we're going to 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 may be 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 are tired of this situation and you're looking for 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 Ford slash going long and see how we can help you today. So if you want to understand how to go from retired military officer to full time apartment investor to be able to boost your long distance investing journey, then guess what? Today's a conversation you're going to want to listen to until the very last word you know why? Well, because today's guest not only had early life experience working with the American Red Cross, He also dedicated more than two decades of his life as a foreign area officer for the US government. Maybe you can tell us a little bit more about that. He also moved into real estate, where He also founded his very first company. He enjoys spending more time with his wife and his two kids. And he's the best selling author of the bottom line up front about passive investing in multifamily. It gives me great pleasure today to welcome the Founder and Managing Partner of the admirable group. Mr. Ismail Ray Ray is Ismail Ray, welcome to show man.

04:32

Oh, man, thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Billy, this is great.

Billy Keels  04:35

A ray you know I love that pre conversation. I'm sure that the entire going long family is going to learn so much from your journey, and you're going to be able to continue to help them I know you have such a focus on education and being able to help others move forward faster. And I can't wait for everybody to get to know more about you, man. So So here's the thing. You know, I'm gonna ask you five questions. You're gonna get two in the beginning you're gonna get three in the end. And in the middle, you're gonna get a bunch of questions, right? I just still know what those questions are? So how about we start with the very first one, help us understand where is it that you call home in the US?

05:07

Yeah, so I am in Orlando, Florida, really central Florida. And a lot of people know Miami, a lot of folks obviously know Disney World in Orlando. So that's kind of an easy one. But yeah, I've been here for about three years. Now, once I retired and moved up this way. It's been about actually four years.

Billy Keels  05:24

Okay. All right, fantastic. Well, yes. Lots and lots of people in and out of Orlando know what? Not? Well, especially those of us that have little kids. At least we've talked about, and some of us have even been there. So appreciate you sharing that with us. Also, Ray, just to help us understand what are what is the what is the most positive thing that's happened to you, for you, in the last 24 hours.

05:49

In the last 24 hours, I would say that I had a fantastic, I also do my own podcast, and it's more of a meet up virtual video meetup and just understanding some some ways that the audience can save some money on taxes, right? You don't want to pay Uncle Sam a penny more than you have to. And that's, that's the goal isn't to cheat Uncle Sam, it's to make sure you take advantage of it. And we've learned some fantastic information during that during that video and one of the experience CPA that hasn't owned his own real estate investments. That was very useful. So that's been fantastic for me.

Billy Keels  06:26

Okay, well, absolutely fantastic. I mean, yes, we're also big fans of being able to keep more of your capital, use it in the ways that make you and your family get closer to your life goals faster. And so I appreciate you sharing that positive news with us. And here's the other thing, right. And I know, we're just kind of meeting but I'm kind of a recovering perfectionist. What that means is, I do things sometimes that are some people would consider to be unreasonable. And I try them anyway, like trying to tell your entire backstory in a second and a half, that was never going to happen. So I hope you'll forgive me, but at the same time, I hope you will help me because I would love for you to share your backstory in your own words. And also, if you could share maybe some of the major decisions that you've made to this point in your journey. And then we'll see where you and I take the conversation from there.

07:09

Okay, perfect. Yeah. So I was I was born in Puerto Rico, my family moved us to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And for those of you that are not sure what that is, it's very close to Chicago. And it's pretty cold up there. But it just happened to be a great place for work. And once a couple of family members up moved up there, it just seemed like a great idea for a lot of folks that were looking to better their lives, like we all are to go there. And so we moved there, and I spent all of my childhood there, you know, from the age of seven. And so, yeah, so I had some people say I have a Midwestern accent, I don't know if that's true. But anyway, I'll leave it there. I love Milwaukee, but it was very cold. And the minute that I could, I could move somewhere it was a little bit warmer. I did. I graduated from university Marquette University in Milwaukee. And Ben happened to move move south from there, and in the process of all that I needed money for, for college. So I enlisted in the Army, the US Army to get the benefits a lot of us, you know, do it for you know, not just serving our country, which is something very critical. But it's also in many ways, sometimes it's very, very simple. It's small decisions, like, Okay, I need money for college. So got me going on my path to to the military. And when I when I came back from that it was, as a reservist, I really enjoyed my time that I served, while I was on active duty during my training. And so I went to college to finish my degree, got a commission in the US Army, as a second lieutenant, and I spent the next 28 years of my life, serving the country, I really enjoyed what I did, I enjoyed the challenges that came with that. There were some tough ones being away from family a lot. But that comes with, you know, part of serving something bigger than yourself. And so it was a sacrifice for my my family and I, but I wouldn't do it any other way. However, comma, you did come to a certain point in your life where you have other goals. And one of my other things that I always wanted to do from from very young I was in real estate, I loved monopoly monopoly was my favourite game, I, the whole idea of, you know, you start off with one little property and you work your way around, and eventually, you know, it's not about the cash or the money, it's about, you know, are you able to, you know, essentially have people land on your properties, right. And so that kind of stuck with me. And while I was in my, during my military career, whenever I had an opportunity, I would buy a property. And so once I got to the tail end of my career, I decided that if I was going to do this full time, and I really had a passion for it, then I needed to scale up and I use the vehicle of multifamily investment, investing as a way to do that. And it's a mindset thing people think that you know, it's too much I don't have the money money. You know, I can't do that that's not true. It's this is all teamwork. And we can talk more about that if you'd like. But that's in a short version that said, I started investing in multifamily. For the last four or five years, I've gotten to a certain level, and I really enjoyed talking about my journey, not, not just that, but how I can help others to get to where they want to go to grow their generational wealth.

Billy Keels  10:25

Well, in generational wealth is one of those things that we really appreciate we enjoy talking about here. Ray, I would also just like to say thank you very much for for your service. It's one of the things I just would like to recognise you for and appreciate your service for our for our country. So thank you very much.

10:42

Thank you. That was really my absolute pleasure.

Billy Keels  10:44

I appreciate that. All right, perfect. Well, listen. So you know, talk to us a little bit about that. Right? You decided that you wanted to, you know, you didn't want to just do the military forever, right? There were some other things that you wanted to be able to do, and sounded like more time with, with family and with friends. And and it's always interesting, right? I'm always curious, just from the very beginning, like, how does real estate because there's so many things that you could have chosen, right? So many different things that you can chosen? Like, what like, what was it that made real estate stand out above everything else?

11:22

I don't know, I asked myself that all the time. And then again, from the from as young as I can remember, it was something critical to me, the only thing I can kind of point to was, I remember when we moved to the US, you know, we in Milwaukee, we rent it for a while, and then we were bouncing around for a little bit. And then it was just kind of its peak time. And you know, in my youth where it was there was some excitement around that opportunity to buy a property and we bought a property using, you know, a programme that allowed us to basically you renovate that property, using other people's money, go figure. And we were able to do that, and it was such a great feeling to own something, and to be, you know, to be part to have it be part of you, right, whether whether right, wrong or indifferent, that was something that kind of stuck with me. And then again, it's just throughout our life, you know, my my life part of part of our, you know, a lot of people in the military, whether they like to or not, they can become accidental landlords in my, in my, in my situation is very deliberate, but a lot of people buy a house because they don't want to rent or they want to do what they want to do in their own homes. And then they, you know, two, three years later, they gotta move, you know, that, you know, so now you've got to go somewhere else. And you, you got to figure out what to do with that asset. But that property that was your home, and is no longer your home, it's just an asset that you have that you can either rent, sell, or do something with.

Billy Keels  12:44

Fantastic, and you know, when you so when you're able to be able to recognise even at an early age, like, Hey, listen, these are the things that impact me. And this is what eventually will lead me to a specific type of an asset. It's always, it's always nice to, to understand that now, realising that you've mentioned you said from you went from Puerto Rico to Wisconsin and Wisconsin. And then as you get, then you got your degree, and then you started moving places where it's warmer, by the way, with somebody who lives in the Mediterranean, I can definitely understand wanting to be in places that are much warmer, because it's one of those things. But you know, also one of the things that with me living in Europe, and investing exclusively back in the United States, like it's something that I have always done, like, that's the genesis of this podcast. Now I take it to an extreme. Right, right, because I'm investing from one continent to the next. But I know that long distance investing is not something that is for everybody. Maybe you could talk to a little bit about so especially the mindset part of that, which is like why would someone ever even look to invest beyond where they live? And I mean, this in both ways, actively, or passively.

13:56

Great questions. And I'm actually scanning through the central theme of the way I came about, right, the way I started my journey, because essentially, you hit that point where, you know, you have properties in some location that is not your location. And then what do you do with that asset? What do you do with that property? Do you sell it? How do you turn that around? But it struck me that, you know, at the point that you're no longer living in that asset, and you may not ever go back to that location, right, because a lot of times we moved somewhere and it's, it's not going to be home. I know that, but it but I wanted to make it as homely as possible for my family, but at some point, I've got an asset and the question is, was it a good acquisition from a financial standpoint or not? And in many cases, you know, I wasn't looking at it, at least at first from that I was looking at more of this is where my family needs to be. Right. This is where they feel comfortable and safe. And we've gone a lot during, you know, military business, that I want them safe, but at some point, you know, it's an investment so my thought is what If that's really at the end of the day, the most important thing, when it makes sense to buy in a place, because it's a great place from a returns perspective, and it happens to be a place that also feels good when you maybe you keep that asset. But if it's a place that's just home temporarily, then you may want to divest to that, and then invest where it makes sense, because you may not live there anymore, ever. But but so that's that's kind of it, that's my mind for is like you live where you want, or where you must, in the case of some military people, they get placed in some places where maybe they don't want to be long term, but it just happens to be part of their, their row. So live there, but invest where it makes sense. And where you can get the type of returns that makes it, you know, makes it a worthwhile investment.

Billy Keels  15:49

So it's, so let's unpack that just a little bit. Because I completely agree with you, like I'm living in the Mediterranean. And I've been best where it makes sense, because I can't get the type of things that are important to me here, at least. But sometimes there's some trepidation, right? Because, and I even remember the very first time that I purchased a property and I was in pain, I was like, I really want to be able to, because I'm a recovering perfectionist, like I wanted to be able to have every detail and I wanted to see everything, and I wanted to be able to do it all because that's just part of who I am. When you've spoken to other people that have faced the same type of fear that I faced, right, that maybe they're working in a really high paid job, and they're busy, but they know that they don't want to be in the stock market, where do you usually start the conversation for that person so that they can start to get used to the concept beyond just the words that we're sharing with them?

16:47

I think the biggest thing that they have to understand is and and a lot of folks that actually try to invest a little bit, then they figure out that it's not as easy as they think they it's not as passive as they think, I think I've been talking about that experience is important. Because Billy, you know, and I know that, you know, when you buy a property, you know, you can have third party management, looking over your property, make sure that it's rented. But at the end of the day, it doesn't belong to them, they don't make money. You know, because it's a great investment, they make money on the fact that it's rented. And a lot of times their idea of you know, of doing their job is what's easiest, not the best for you as an owner from a returns perspective. So, so having that in mind, and a lot of people understand that and can talk about that, then they The next thing is okay, so how do I protect myself from that, especially when it's somewhere else, or the way you do it is by having a team that is there to take advantage of that to take advantage to oversee your return your investment. And we call those asset managers, an asset manager that actually cares about whether you make money or not, not not the property manager, unfortunately, their job is to just keep the keep the place filled up and keep it keep it running. And so what gives people comfort is the idea that there's someone else, that when when that asset management works, and it works well, the asset manager makes money because asset managers are also investors in a lot of our deals. So if they win, then the investors, the passive investors win. And if you're an active investor, and you're not at the property, because you don't live there, you definitely want somebody on your team that can oversee that property that is not property management. So it's another layer of protection that you have. And then you can do whatever it is that you want. If the idea is to live somewhere else. If the idea is to travel, whatever that idea is, you can rest assured that there's another team of people there to make sure that you're getting the returns on your investment.

Billy Keels  18:55

And that's absolutely critical to think of it as a team sport. And also think about some of the critical players on the team such as the asset management, their role is to manage the asset and those individuals and or companies teams that are effectively going to be part of the day to day operations. And so for that there is also a compensation which needs to be so that you don't have to worry about it as a as someone who's investing passively 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 forward slash going long and see how we can help you today. Let's get back to the conversation. Before ask a little bit about the book and before we get into the to the going on final three. So you have this massive passion for for wanting to help others. Right. And it comes through it's really you know, I can feel it. But where does that come from? Right? I mean, just this desire and passion to want to help to educate others.

20:00

I don't know if it comes from, you know, from my military background, I think it's part of the reason why I love the military. When you think about what the military does, obviously, it defends, but it also is there to protect and to serve others. And so I think that's just kind of something that's innate to some people that want to have that empathy. And in my case, you know, what I want people to know is that, you know, they can do this, and it's not my job, you know, because I do take calls for people that want to invest in, they have questions for me, it's not my job to figure it out. For them, it's my job to give them the background, the guidance they need, so that they can figure it out for themselves. And frankly, when they figure it out for themselves, they figure it out forever, right? Instead of you feed them, it's kind of like the old story, right? You know, you bring it you can bring a horse to water, but you can't make them drink. And so it's my job is to give people the tools, and to give them you know, my story as an example of how it can be done.

Billy Keels  20:57

Fantastic. So and like you said, a lot of that from, it's not just protect, to serve, but also to be able to well, not just defend, but to protect and to serve and serve others and having that service mindset and being able to help others to be able to move forward through through education. So, you know, one of the things that I mentioned early on, is that you are also a best selling author, right. And so one of the things that you've talked about this was the, you know, the bottom line up front, which is about passively investing in multifamily real estate, what was the inspiration? Or maybe even before the inspiration, tell us a little bit about the book, what you know, how's this going to help people and then also talk to us about what the what the inspiration was for you to, to go ahead and write that book?

21:43

Yeah, no, great question. I think it's twofold. I mean, to me, the book was a wait. So when you're in the business of real estate, and you're an expert at real estate, that's one thing and you you get, you know, you have your experience, you have your acquisitions, and you've got time, that that shows people that you have that capability, right? When you're in the military, you have a capability or an a skill set to do military things. And my thought was, as I was making that transition, understanding that it was not a passive goal for me, but a very active goal, I needed to, one learn the tricks and the tools of the trade, you know, one switching from single family to multifamily which language is a little bit different, but pretty similar. But nevertheless, there's, there's a transition that has to happen. And so I started writing blogs, as a way to kind of convey what I was learning and what the key concepts were. And then I realised, okay, as I'm writing these blogs, and it's helping me with, with my audience of folks that are wanting to potentially invest in in our deals, because, again, we bring capital to bear our capital and other people's capital. So that's an important part of the business. So so I need to gain credibility, you know, as not just an author and I tell the story, because it's true, because I, you know, one of the first things I would always talk about real estate, and, you know, when I was in the military, and people that knew me, knew that I was doing real estate, but, you know, that was a very core few, the question that I got a lot as I started talking more about real estate, and potentially going after these larger assets with other people's capitals that will rate your great military officer great things about you. But what's that to do with real estate? You know, and why should I trust you, you know, to be able to provide some sort of great return, I mean, sounds great, but I don't know you. So it was, it was an opportunity to, to be able to develop that, that, that, that subject matter expertise that I had, through self learning, that you really can't demonstrate, unless you start talking to people. But you know, in this business, a lot of what we do is, is electronically, this this podcast, for example, Billy, you've got people listening to you from all around the world, they don't have that they're never a lot of them will never meet you in person, right? It's just, it's just the truth of it, right. And so the idea is putting something out there that gives people an idea of, of the fact that they can trust not just you as a person, but you as an as a professional in that field. So that's kind of how it started. But it was also a way for me to talk a little bit about, you know, from an educational standpoint, how, how I made the journey from point A to point Z, in my journey to invest in multifamily, because, you know, and the reason I use the word bluff bottom line up front is that's a very, very, very military term. It's a way that we convey information to leadership, that whose time is very busy. So when they talk to you, they want to they want to hear the bluff. Tell me the bluff about whatever the situation is. Don't give me all the details. So the book is not this long, drawn out thing. It's a very linear kind of process, procedural book about how you can get from not knowing anything about multifamily investing as a passive investor to investing in your first deal. And then not only that, but overseeing what the asset IT manager may be providing you.

Billy Keels  25:01

Fantastic. Absolutely, I really, really appreciate that. So both building up the subject matter expertise, and also being able to share your journey, really at the genesis of being able to, to have, have taken time invested the time to write the book. So I really appreciate that and also given us some insight into to military mindset and the bluff and the right up front and get stick to the point and, and help to share the information. So here's the thing, Ray, like, as our special guest. Like, it's time for us to get to the going long, final three. And the thing is, I never asked any of our special guests and your special guest today, they go along final three, unless you tell me you're ready. So my question for you is, are you ready? Let's do it. Let's do it. Man. I knew I was expecting you're saying, of course. Oh, boy. I'm ready, man. Of course, I know this. All right. So here we go. So Ray, we started with you over in Central Florida. So we're over in Orlando. And I'd like to bring things over to this side of the pond, some guy from Columbus, Ohio, who now lives in the Mediterranean over here in Barcelona. So help us understand what is your favourite European city that you have either visited or still on your bucket list to visit.

26:11

I think I've visited several cities, but it was mostly on my way to some other location. And I won't go into my experience, but I do have a bucket list. And I chose this business for my ability to be able to travel. And as long as I've got great connectivity, I can do this from anywhere, right. And so the idea is okay, I want to get down to Europe. My first my first step in Europe is Rome. Rome, because of the you know, the history, the rich, rich history of Rome, the Colosseum, Vatican City, the art, the architecture, all these sorts of things. And that in the fact that my understanding is it's kind of it's very central. So as a good starting location, you can kind of do what's key to Rome fairly quickly. So I think that's my first one on my list. And it's not going to be we're not talking two years down the road here. We're talking either this year later this year, or early next year.

Billy Keels  27:05

All right, fantastic. So Rome it is. So everybody will see that in the show notes. Question number two really has a lot to do with the experience that I've had in meeting people who are very, very successful. I'm sure you meet lots of successful people, right? I consider you to be someone who's very successful, you're impacting lives, you've been doing that, you know, over two decades with the military positively. And now in this new phase of your life as well. And hopefully, one of the things that you've recognised very similar to what I've recognised Ray is that, you know, when people when successful people have a plan, any plan, it doesn't matter the plan, every single time that they put a plan together, they put a plan together, and one of the reasons they're so successful so quickly is because every single time they get everything right perfectly in the plan from the very beginning, all the way through, which allows do that again. Sorry about that. No, it's It's a joke. It's just a joke. To raise ever happens to us, I was like, raised, what do you think Ray was really worried about me? No, I'm just joking, right? It's just it's this joke. It's a joke. It's a joke. It's an inside joke. It's one of the things with me, and they go along for me. I like to have a little bit of fun here. So anyway, of course, like you said, Of course not, like, really successful people don't get things right the first time, every time. And that's why they go much faster. No, no, no, no. They usually make 20 to 50 times more mistakes than anybody else. Because they're always trying new things always. Yeah, but here's the thing in the beginning was kind of a just like, yeah, that was, that was a joke. But this part is serious. And the reason I say that series is because Well, every single time that I've seen a successful person or have interacted with them, and they've made a relevant mistake, or maybe you call it a learning opportunity, or maybe call it whatever, whatever they expected to happen didn't happen. So that mistake happened. They don't focus on the mistake, and I don't want you to focus there. But every single time they learn from that mistake, but then what they do next is amazing. They put different strategies, tactics and actions in place to minimise the probability of that exact same thing happening again. So I would love for you to share not the mistake, but what's the one lesson that you know that the going long family needs to hear today? What's that one lesson you want to share with us?

29:22

I think the biggest lesson and I kind of touched on it a little bit is that you need someone that can oversee your your return on investment and not just a property manager. Don't make the mistake to think that you know that one single point of failure is enough. You need to have a couple of layers that can really help you do this. You're either going to be that layer, that second layer if you have the time but honestly a lot of professionals and people living overseas or in other locations, they don't have that time. So you need to have someone that can do that. And I learned that lesson the hard way because I had a property when I was out of state him in Mexico City at the embassy, and I had a property in Texas, and the the property manager had a little bit of a tough time with the tenant. And it became a little bit too much for the property manager. So they just quit. I quit, you know, and so here I am, you know, working with with our counterparts and Mexico City. Uh, you know, pretty far away, it's not super far, but it's not like I can get on a car and go there. And how do we solve that situation, but I learned really quickly that I needed to have somebody else that could do this. And sometimes we want to say, Okay, it's family, but you know, family, it's not some, you know, they may not have the time that they tell you, they're gonna have, it's better to have, you know, factor in the costs of having somebody else that you pay, to be able to handle those kinds of things for you. And so you have a separate layer, and not a single point of failure.

Billy Keels  30:53

Fantastic. Have someone to oversee your ROI. And as they avoid the single point of failure, absolutely. Love that. And so lastly, and I know once again, just as a reminder, and I know everyone, you can find Ray's book, bluff bottom line up front, with passive investing in multifamily, you can definitely find that out there. Just wanted to give you one more plug on that. But, you know, aside from that, Ray, what is one book that you would recommend to the go along family today?

31:21

Yeah, so the book and I have to refer to this every once in a while, because like you, I'm a perfectionist, or you know, and I always want to do it myself. And as many times I spent in the military, I still find myself, sometimes we call it in the weeds, you know, instead of being, you know, that, that taller, that higher level. And so the book that I recommend is who not how, like Dan Sullivan, and the book is all about how to delegate, right? Do what you want to do, what you're good at what you're passionate, because you're good, nobody's gonna do that really better than you. But there are a lot of things in his business that you may not be good at, whether the it's the it's the underwriting, whatever it is, there may be some other things that you just not very good at, find people that are, and let them do that for you. Because that's, that's their passion. So this is a team sport, like we talked about, you got to have the right team together. And you just got to let them get out of their way. Do what you what you're good at, let them do what they're good at. And you will be as a team, much more successful.

Billy Keels  32:21

Absolutely love that. Who not how, once again, Dan, tell him we're gonna include the link in the show notes. Don't worry, everybody, you'll get it, you'll be able to get it there, you'll see it really, really easily. You know, one of the things ray that just amazes me is how quickly these conversations go by, like they just fly by I'm thinking here in the very beginning, you're talking about the how the conversation that you're having yesterday with your with your Meetup group and being able to realise how you can save virtually or save, really save, and keep Uncle Sam out of your pocket, as I like to say, being able to keep more and more of your tax dollars. And you share your story from going from Puerto Rico, to Wisconsin and Wisconsin, you wanted to get closer to where it was nice and warmer and you dedicated, you know, just over two decades of of service. And once again, thank you for that with the with the government a number of different types of roles. And at the same time you realise like, Hey, listen, this is great. But I also want to be able to create time and carve out space and time for me and my loved ones. And so when you thought about when you were that little kid, and they realised that there was a while that renting owning this kind of thing was in your mind, it played out later in life. And not not only did you then take action and say, Hey, listen, I'm gonna purchase this property and you're moving, and then you figured out, Hey, listen, how am I going to manage these types of things? You realise that, hey, listen, you've been able to learn a skill set. And now you've taken that skill set with an asset, such as real estate, and you're continuing to help to educate others, that service mindset that we talked about before. And not only did you were you doing that you've also started to memorialise that through the book that you've written. And so, you know, I'm saying all this stuff in the go along families just saying, Yeah, Billy, but just ask him the question, please. Because that's what we really want to know. So help us understand, right? What is the best way for the going long family to find out more about you of what it is that you're doing and how we could also get involved?

34:06

Thanks, Billy. No, you're absolutely right. And I love if you haven't figured out but I love talking. I love talking about this business. Because of all the goodness that it can give people. The easiest way to get a hold of me is through my website is Mel re re s.com Izmail re re is.com You can literally get a schedule a call with me a zoom call, whatever from that website, you can go to all my social media from there. And I just love talking about this and helping in any way I can.

Billy Keels  34:34

Okay, fantastic. So Izmail Ray Ray is you can check it out. If you're watching the video version, you can actually see it over his right shoulder or left shoulder, which would be fantastic. Or at least I think that's when when we finish it it will look like that. But But listen right I just want to say thank you so very much for deciding to invest your time with me and the entire going long family today. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you, Billy my plan. All right, perfect. So if you give me just like 10 seconds, I'm just going to wrap up a couple of things. Here with the go along family and then I'll have you out of here right? So listen, go on family raise, shared it all. He gave it all he even told you about his book, listen, and he's got so much education that you can continue to find out more about. Take today's conversation, share it with family, friends go from theory to practice, talk about the things that rate talked to you about today. And you know, while you're putting this information into practice, I'm going to be here preparing for the next conversation. So until then, go out and make it a great day. And thank you very much. Trust that 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 firstgencp.com forward slash going long.

Billy Keels
Founder & CEO of FGCP
Billy is on a mission to share a roadmap and opportunities with other extremely busy, high-paid professionals on how to find financial freedom through investments. Listen in to learn how!
Guest speaker
Ismael Reyes
Managing Partner
Rey has been actively investing in residential real estate since 2005 and has focused exclusively on multifamily since 2016. He’s the Founder and Managing Partner of The Admirable Group and MI Real Estate and has led investment firms in the acquisition of 14 multifamily properties totaling 900+ units and valued at over $100 million dollars. Rey also provides independent consulting to multifamily investors, is the host of the Greater Central Florida Multifamily Investors virtual meeting, and is the bestselling author of BLUF: The Bottom Line Up Front about Passively Investing in Multi-family Properties.

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