The Reality of Ownership
I bought my first fourplex in 2004. I thought it would be passive income. Within six months, I learned what passive income actually means: passively dealing with plumbing issues at 11 PM, passively negotiating with problem tenants, passively wondering if the property manager is doing their job.
I thought it would be easy. Two decades later, I can tell you: it's not.
Over the past two decades, I've built a portfolio of 20+ units across Northern California. Small fourplexes to a ten-unit property. I've completed many 1031 exchanges for myself and clients. I've worked with property managers in 5+ different markets. I've been through boom cycles, recessions, and recovery.
I became a broker because I wanted to understand the other side of the equation. How do deals actually get structured? What do buyers really pay attention to? What makes a property sell fast versus sit on the market?
That experience gives me a perspective most brokers don't have. When I look at a property, I see it as an owner, not just a transaction. I know what deferred maintenance actually costs. I know when a rent roll looks suspicious. I know the difference between a property that cash flows and one that just looks like it should.