He Bought 58 Rental Units in Just 4 Years by Solving Other Landlords’ Problems

When the Great Recession hit, Andy Gil lost his business. Suddenly, he was forced to start over. But the fear of losing everything again was the driving force behind what would come next. Andy got serious, raising his young kids in an 800-square-foot house, driving 10-year-old cars, and funneling every spare dollar into savings so he could start buying rental properties. These were the types of sacrifices the average investor probably wouldn’t make, but they became the catalyst for scaling to 58 rental units in just four years! What’s more, Andy has never had the benefit of 3% mortgage rates. He got into real estate investing at the tail end of 2022, meaning he’s been able to grow his large, cash-flowing real estate portfolio in a tough housing market with high interest rates—all while using very little of his own money. Today, he manages his own rentals and other people’s properties, deploying a unique investing strategy that has even helped him acquire a 30-unit property. In this episode, he’s sharing exactly what that strategy is (and how YOU can implement it), what he’s learned in over 20 years of contracting experience, and how to use AI to gain an edge in today’s market. In This Episode We Cover Andy’s journey from losing his business to buying 58 rental units in four years The massive sacrifices Andy and his family have had to make to invest in real estate How to accelerate your investing journey by living within your means The secrets to managing a large rental portfolio (on your own!) How Andy uses artificial intelligence (AI) throughout his real estate business Why persistence is the key to finding great real estate deals in 2026 And So Much More! Check out more resources from this show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BiggerPockets.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠h⁠⁠t⁠t⁠ps://www⁠.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1303. Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Dave Meyer?

  When the Great Recession hit, Andy Gil's business went under. The future he thought he'd created disappeared overnight. And the fear of being in that position ever again became his new obsession. So he grinded, he hustled, he faced major setbacks along the way. And in 2022, he got serious about real estate investing. While most people around him upgraded their lifestyles, Andy took extreme measures. He downsized his house, he drove old used cars, and he pinched pennies. So he could funnel every extra dollar he had toward buying rental properties. Most investors aren't making these types of sacrifices.

• 0:40Dave Meyer?

  But for Andy, it was a temporary trade off for a more secure financial future. And it is already paying off. In just four years, he's scaled to 58 rental units and counting. And he's done it all in today's high interest rate environment without a super high paying job. In many ways, Andy is just the average investor. But he also knows his superpower. He uses his creativity to cut through the noise, to spot opportunities that fly under most buyers radar. And he solves problems for hesitant sellers. Today, he's even going to pull back the curtain on a genius strategy you've probably never heard of.

• 1:21Dave Meyer?

  But it's one that helped him take down a 30 unit property with very little of his own money.

• 1:32Dave Meyer?

  What's up, friends? I'm Dave Meyer, Chief Investment Officer at BiggerPockets. Today on the show, we have Andy Gil, an investor in Connecticut, who was previously on episode 803 back in August of 2023. And he's also been one of our most popular speakers at BPCon the last few years. So excited he's going to be back on the show and hear what he's been up to. Let's bring him on. Andy, welcome back to the BiggerPockets Podcast. So good to have you here, man.

• 2:00Speaker 01

  Thank you. I'm always flattered to be asked and always pinch myself a little bit that I get these opportunities.

• 2:06Dave Meyer?

  Well, it's always great to have you here, Andy. This should be a lot of fun. You have been on the show before, but for people who haven't heard your previous episodes or didn't attend your wildly popular session at BPCon last year, tell us just a little bit about yourself, where you are in the country and what you do in real estate.

• 2:25Speaker 01

  So my name's Andy Gil. I am on the East Coast in Connecticut, directly between Boston and New York. And we own and operate a portfolio of about 58 apartments currently, all within about 30 minutes of our house. So I'm also a contractor and we're building new homes and new renovations. I've been doing that for my, basically my whole adult career, so 25 years, but I didn't start buying real estate. I didn't understand that, that owning the asset was the, the goal until about five years ago. So we've been in about four years.

• 2:58Dave Meyer?

  Oh, wow. Okay. So you were just doing contractor work for other people, homeowners, real estate investors, I assume, for 20 years. What, what clicked? What happened that made you realize now is the time for me to start trying to hold on to these assets?

• 3:14Speaker 01

  I had a really bad business experience that I learned a ton from, that taught me that I didn't understand finance. And I didn't understand, I didn't understand P and L. I didn't understand any of that. And so I had to get smart. And so, and then I had another opportunity, another mentor and learned how to manage. If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. And so being able to project costs and walk it in. And after I kind of developed those skills and people's skills, I realized that the owning the asset, not just improving it, was the path. So we, we started looking for flips. And that didn't work out. And our first purchase was a 12, 12 condos in here in Connecticut.

• 3:53Dave Meyer?

  So you just went for it?

• 3:54Speaker 01

  Went for it. I got a partner to go 50/50. And yeah, my contracting career, being able to do rinse, repeat work, 12 identical condos spoke to me. So I could understand. And once I understood one, I understood. To the mall. So I um and with regarding the tenants, understanding how rent would move, what the improvements would be, how all that stuff. I was comfortable with that. So we jumped in the deep end.

• 4:16Dave Meyer?

  What does your portfolio look like now?

• 4:18Speaker 01

  So we have 58 apartments in various different structures.

• 4:22Dave Meyer?

  Amazing.

• 4:22Speaker 01

  Some we own ourselves, some we own in single partners and we got into a 12 family with two other partners and they're all spread. They go, we go as high as like Putnam area in Connecticut and is the and low is about Norwich in New London County. And so we managed all of those but 12.

• 4:38Dave Meyer?

  That's a lot. That's scaling quickly. 58. It's how you how did you finance it? It sounds like with partners, but did you have money saved up from contracting?

• 4:47Speaker 01

  I grew up pretty with limited means and early in my marriage, we didn't have a lot and my son has cystic fibrosis, which is a, you know, heavy, heavy financial implications. And so it took us a while and I took, I took a real hard hit with that business loss or during the great recession. So it took a while to, and we learned to live below our means. And then slowly we realized that we were starting to save. And so we stayed minimal and we drove used cars and we moved to a smaller home and, and, and then we had a little bit of cash and, and we were able to get in with a partner and learned commercial financing. And so that was originally how we went in. We bought, got a commercial loan with a five year arm and it was a value add and, and

• 5:30Speaker 01

  we created quite a bit of equity in that just by coming in stabilizing the property. And then we were able to move some of that equity into other deals. But along the way, like it, once you prove you can do the thing. So if you stay singularly focused on what you're great at, then people will loan to you. Most of all the financing we do now, or most of the loans we get now are private. And so we, we'll talk about this, this deal that we have taken down over the last 18 months and will continue. So like a three year plan is privately financed.

• 6:01Dave Meyer?

  We're going to turn our attention and talk about this awesome, very cool, unique deal that Andy is doing that I'm very eager to hear about. But I just want to ask you a little bit about that financial sacrifice you made. You said, you know, you downgraded, you lived below your means. How did that? Impact your ability to be a real estate investor? And how do you look back on it now? Like, was it a big sacrifice? It sounds like it was worth it, right?

• 6:25Speaker 01

  Yes, it certainly was worth it. At the time, I think it was more out of fear at the time. Like, I didn't, I was afraid of debt. And so, and now I'm, you know, debt being good versus bad and how you define that is, you know, different for everyone. But I really just wanted to, I didn't want to owe anyone anything. And so, living below our means was, was freedom for us. So I didn't want to have to work to pay for a car that other people viewed as us being well off. Like, it didn't mean, that didn't mean anything to me.

• 6:57Dave Meyer?

  Good.

• 6:57Speaker 01

  So, we downsized the, you know, we downsized the house. And I raised my, my two kids in an 800 square foot house. It was still, you know, 850 square foot house. And we're still here now. And, and so, was it a sacrifice? I mean, I guess, but it was the way, it was how I felt safe was at that time. And then, and then I realized that we were growing a net worth with equity and savings. And then, when that was, when it was appropriate, then we shifted that into investments. So, yeah, I think that living below your means, I think, understanding what your overhead is, and everyone should look at their, their personal, you know, their personal as overhead and being able to clear that. And I don't mean everyone, not everyone has the ability to do that.

• 7:40Speaker 01

  But, but if you do have the ability to live below your means, you should.

• 7:45Dave Meyer?

  You mentor a lot of people, right? You talk to a lot of real estate investors. Like, do you find a lot of people are willing to do this? To sort of reduce their lifestyle? Even if it's just temporary, to pursue real estate?

• 7:58Speaker 01

  I don't think everyone sees the value. From a social media, high level, okay, this is the life. You buy these things, people pay rent and you make money, lots of money. But, you know, it's not passive. So, when you start talking about what it actually takes and the amount of grind and the different steps, like, so to get through acquisition. Is a marathon and then you start and then you meet your tenants and then you have to figure out how to screen tenants and collect rent and do maintenance and what value add you should do and how do you do all this stuff. So there's a ton of education with it, but a lot of people do not follow through or you know, they don't see the value in it. And so you really have to, I think you really have to want it. And I think that you have to, to, to dig in and, and put some of your, your wants and desires on, in the

• 8:43Speaker 01

  parking lot for later.

• 8:44Dave Meyer?

  Yeah. I think that that is true. It's, it can become passive, but it can't be passive upfront. Like if, if, if that's what you want, you either have to be already really rich, right? And so you can go and like be a lender or go invest in syndications or something, or you should just invest in the stock market. It's very difficult to say, I simultaneously want an avenue, a path to accelerate my financial situation that's better than everyone, every other option out there, like real estate, I believe it is. But I also don't want to do anything. Like that is a really hard thing to ask for unless you are fortunate and are already really wealthy. And I just think not everyone

• 9:27Dave Meyer?

  has to downsize their house or drive a used car, but like you gotta find something that you're willing to give up to, to pursue it, right? It's not free. You have to put something into it. And I, I, I've found a lot of younger people are willing to do what you're talking about. Like when I started, I was 22. I lived in my friend's grandma's basement for three years. I didn't even think twice about it. It was fine. I was like, yeah, whatever. It's a bed. But I do think doing it at your, at the age you're at, when you had kids, is something that I hear of less. How long ago was that?

• 10:00Speaker 01

  We're in our fifth year now. You know, it's

• 10:02Dave Meyer?

  Fifth year?

• 10:02Speaker 01

  Yeah. Yeah. We started, I'll be 49 this year. So I was 44 when we bought our, I mean, we don't, we'd done flips earlier. It had been a contractor a long time, but the first buy and hold, I was 44.

• 10:12Dave Meyer?

  Wow. And so five years later, I assume with what you're telling me. Financial situation trajectory is completely changed by making those sacrifices about your lifestyle, but also putting in a lot of work and just sticking with it.

• 10:27Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's, you know, I didn't have a 401k. I didn't like, we were just paying for, you know, trying to pay mortgage, keep, you know, keep food on the table. And so I knew I had to do something. And so we, you know, we went for it. I didn't know it was gonna go, I didn't know I was gonna get in when it was still going up. You know, interest rates were already spiking and, um, you know, I didn't think it was gonna be like this, but, um, but I had a belief in myself, like my, I was got good at something and I pay, I identified the specific metrics that I needed to be like monitor and watch and it's gone, it's gone well. And now when we buy things like we have a good plan and, um, you know, we go to execute it, but if it doesn't go as well, you know, we know when to let it go.

• 11:07Dave Meyer?

  Well, awesome. Good for you, man. I love hearing your story. It's super inspiring and relatable. It's something that really everyone can do. And just happy for you and all the success you've had.

• 11:19Speaker 01

  Thank you, man.

• 11:19Dave Meyer?

  But you haven't stopped, obviously. And you told me you're doing a really cool, interesting deal that's going to really expand your portfolio. And I want to dig into that, but we got to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

• 11:34Dave Meyer?

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• 12:07Henry Washington?

  Here's a strategy that most W2 employees have never heard of. Normally, if you want to write off a rental property against your regular income, you need real estate professional status. That means tracking hundreds of hours a year. Rent2Retirement just launched a program that skips all of that. It's called the STR loophole tenant placement program. Here's how it works. You buy one of Rentor Retirement's Class A new construction investment properties. You set up an Airbnb listing and self-manage it for the remainder of the year. Rentor Retirement then rents the home as a short-term rental to establish it as an STR for the year, no furnishing required, making this the easy button to save five or six figures in taxes this year.

• 12:50Henry Washington?

  And because you're the sole manager, there's no hourly minimum to meet. That lets you use a cost segregation study to accelerate the depreciation and potentially write off over $100,000 against your income, even on your first rental. Add in cash back up to 13% of the home price, which exceeds $60,000 on some properties. With this massive cash back incentives, investors are seeing total returns up to 126%. New construction, A-class properties, and inventory is limited. Learn more at biggerpockets.com/retirement or text REI to 33777. Again, text REI to 33777.

• 13:31Dave Meyer?

  I just booked a backpacking trip through Olympic National Park. Two nights out on the trail, no cell service, nothing to do but eat trail mix and stare at mountains I'll never get tired of. That's the whole appeal. But while I'm off-grid, my place doesn't need to sit empty. I can list my space on Airbnb and make a little extra income while I'm away. And with Airbnb's co-host network, I could partner with a vetted local co-host to help take care of the details, from guest communications to onsite support, so I can fully unplug and enjoy my time out in the backcountry. If you've got upcoming travel plans, you can find a co-host at Airbnb.com/host.

• 14:13Speaker 03

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• 14:46Dave Meyer?

  Welcome back to the BiggerPockets Podcast. I'm here with investor Andy Gill. Before the break, we talked a little bit about Andy's background and how he got to where he is today with a sizable portfolio in Connecticut. But Andy, last time you were on the show, you said, I think you told us that you were ready to do something new, but you didn't know exactly what it was going to be. Now you know what it is, right? So tell us about it.

• 15:09Speaker 01

  Yeah, so I had an idea. I figured that if I could take under management of properties that I didn't yet own in older landlords that I knew would be selling, that were a bit frustrated, I'd be already controlling the property and be able to be in the first position to make an offer and acquire that property. So I sent out a bunch of mailers that I designed with AI and they were really cool. And it basically said, like, being a landlord sucks. You should sell to me. Let me, something along those lines, I don't remember. It was like cartoons and stuff. And I hit one of my longtime friends and builders that I didn't know owned properties, or I forgot, that owned a bunch of apartments. So we talked and I was like, well, you know, he's like, my wife is all over me. She wants me to sell. She wants to travel more, blah, blah, blah.

• 15:54Speaker 01

  And I've been working with this guy for, you know, 20 years. Fast forward a year and then he's like, I think I'm ready to start talking to you about that. And so we kind of curated this, this deal where he didn't want to pay the capital gains. And he wanted to be careful about the depreciation and capture, but he bought, you know, a long time ago, so it was pretty minimal. And so I created a proposal where we would transfer properties to me staged over time and he would hold the note and we'd put a small amount down. But I wanted to manage them upfront, right away, so I could see under the hood and get comfortable, just because we had limited capital to take on something this big without partners. So we started doing that and it took a while, it took a year to put all together.

• 16:35Speaker 01

  And it was a, you know, a phased acquisition and where we bought some, managed others, and then over time transferred the rest of those into, into our ownership, into our portfolio. So we're about halfway through that now and plans of transferring the remainder in the coming 12 months, I guess.

• 16:54Dave Meyer?

  This is very cool. All right. I really, we got to talk about this and dig into this. First and foremost, your thought was if I basically become a property manager for other landlords, I assume you can make some money in it, but you weren't really doing it for that. You were doing it for deal flow as those landlords potentially want to sell and offload. They're going to come to you first and you'll have early access. I love that strategy. Did you just, did you, did someone tell you to do that or did you just think of that on your own?

• 17:28Speaker 01

  No, that was me. That was my thought processes.

• 17:29Dave Meyer?

  Wow, it's genius.

• 17:31Speaker 01

  Thank you. Yeah. Don't tell anyone about it. All right.

• 17:34Dave Meyer?

  Yes. Tens of thousands of people are about to hear that idea and copy you.

• 17:39Speaker 01

  It is. I mean, but it really comes down to like, would these people hold financing for others? Well, you need to develop the skills so that they would.

• 17:48Dave Meyer?

  Yeah.

• 17:48Speaker 01

  You know, like it's, and so, yes, they, they will if you prove yourself, if you add value. So I take care of problems and I let, let that be known, you know, and it has become more safe to transfer it to me than anything else as time has gone on.

• 18:02Dave Meyer?

  I love that strategy. It makes so much sense. So tell me about the mailers, because a lot of people send mailers. I, as a landlord, get all of them all the time from wholesalers and people want to buy my properties. What were you saying that was different than just a normal mailer that goes out?

• 18:17Speaker 01

  You want to be relatable and approachable and in the real world as well as in the, you know, the perceived world. So I designed a, you know, a cartoon character and of myself and what I do. And I use, so I use all the images of like, I wear flannels. I'm a, I'm a very tactile, hands-on person. I do my own lawn mowing and snow removal as much as I can. Not, you know, I have to hire a lot of it out, but I'm very hands-on. So I wanted to relay that and who I am and what I do. And it worked. Like I had a, it was like a flannel and a tool, tool belt and a dog and, you know, and, and a pickup truck. And it basically said like, I'm a landlord too. It sucks. It sucks. You've probably done.

• 18:56Dave Meyer?

  I get it.

• 18:57Speaker 01

  Yeah. You know, people call you and it must be annoying. It must suck. You should sell to me. So something like

• 19:01Dave Meyer?

  Do you actually think being a landlord sucks?

• 19:03Speaker 01

  No, I love it. I actually love it.

• 19:05Dave Meyer?

  I don't either. I don't, I don't think it sucks. Like all these things are like, oh, being a landlord stinks. Do passive. I'm like, really? Like, there are annoying parts, but there's an annoying part of every job. Like, it's just, it's, yeah. Okay. But you're selling it. So like, I, I get it. And, you know, if you're, especially too, if you're hitting someone who's been a landlord for 30 years, maybe they're over it. And that, that I could see. And you're, you're fresh, man. You're five years in. So yeah.

• 19:31Speaker 01

  I got fresh legs. Yeah.

• 19:32Dave Meyer?

  Yeah.

• 19:33Speaker 01

  Yeah. Yeah. Forty nine year old fresh legs. But yeah.

• 19:36Dave Meyer?

  Super fresh. Yeah.

• 19:38Speaker 01

  So, and it worked. And, you know, it worked. I got a bunch of calls. I actually got a bunch of calls on that, that one mailer. I think we sent out like 600 mailers or something like that. And I, I got a hundred calls about it.

• 19:47Dave Meyer?

  Wow. What? That's very cool. I just want to say too, because you're a big AI user. And we're going to talk about that in a little bit. But I just like that you used AI to be unique and an individual. Because I think if you just go on and use AI and use the template, like you said, that anyone else uses, you're not standing out. It's no different than just hiring another company to do it. But you sat down and thought about like, who am I? How can I showcase myself? And then you use AI to do the execution? That, to me, I assume you attribute the success of that mailing campaign and the response rate you got to just, by doing something a little bit different.

• 20:31Speaker 01

  I, I did a follow up to that too, with like a handwritten, like a hint, well, it was quasi handwritten letter. And it said, being a landlord stinks. And I got scratch and sniff Snickers of like dead fish. And I put them in a

• 20:43Dave Meyer?

  It's the most New England thing I've ever heard.

• 20:45Speaker 01

  Yeah, I did. I bought them on Amazon. It was like, yeah, scratch and sniff stickers. Yeah.

• 20:49Dave Meyer?

  Well, okay. All right. So anyway, your friend, your friend, this guy you know, he calls you. How big is his portfolio?

• 20:55Speaker 01

  Thirty units. Thirty units. It's a mixed spread. Yeah. It's spread out over seven, seven or eight, seven properties.

• 21:01Dave Meyer?

  Okay. And close, like in your target area. He's been doing this for a while. It sounds like his wife wants to travel. But he doesn't, he doesn't want to sell it today, right? Sounds like you didn't want to buy it today.

• 21:12Speaker 01

  I mean, I would have had to bring in partners, so I didn't have the cash to take this hole down all at once without giving up significant equity, which would have been fine, too, but he didn't want that.

• 21:20Dave Meyer?

  And so what, what's the structure? Let's walk through it. You figure out a way, you take over management, that was the first step?

• 21:28Speaker 01

  Yep. So it was two contracts. So the first would be a management contract for duration of time. The second contract would be for the purchase and sales, you know. Yeah.

• 21:37Dave Meyer?

  Did you agree on prices for the sale upfront, or is it just kind of like a right of first refusal where if he decided to go sell, you had the first shot at buying it and making it?

• 21:47Speaker 01

  Yeah. So the first one, the, we did the appraisals and it went, you know, went, went based on that. The remaining ones were to be, were with prices to be agreed upon, you know, current market. And we actually like just agreed on a per unit, you know, price. Because we're like, let's stop paying for appraisals. It's a

• 22:03Dave Meyer?

  So you just basically said, you have 30 units, I'm going to pay you, I'm going to make up a number, a hundred thousand dollars a unit. And we're not going to go and get eight appraisals right now.

• 22:13Speaker 01

  Right. Because then you're like, it's fine. You win some, you lose some, you know, but it's some are three beds, some are two beds, some are in better areas than others. But you know, if you're taking the whole thing, it made sense.

• 22:22Dave Meyer?

  Well, I imagine a big part of the appeal of this to the seller is simplicity. He doesn't want to spend, you know, half of his days right now with appraisers and title agencies and like, make it simple. And so how far are you into this deal structure?

• 22:38Speaker 01

  We're about halfway. Yeah.

• 22:39Dave Meyer?

  So you've been managing the properties for how long?

• 22:42Speaker 01

  Coming up on a year now.

• 22:43Dave Meyer?

  Okay.

• 22:45Speaker 01

  Yep. It'll be a year soon and we've transferred three of the seven properties.

• 22:51Dave Meyer?

  Okay.

• 22:52Speaker 01

  And we're working towards the remainder. Yeah.

• 22:54Dave Meyer?

  Awesome. That is so cool. And how do, how are you feeling about the structure? Does it, is it working well for you?

• 23:00Speaker 01

  It works really well in that like for management, it works really well because I'm already in control of the property. Completely. I already know the tenants. I already know what the problems are. I already know. I'm already collecting rent, you know, so essentially I basically just go into rent ready and move it from his account to mine.

• 23:18Dave Meyer?

  And do you think the seller is happy with the arrangement too?

• 23:20Speaker 01

  Oh, he loves it. He loves it. Yeah. He actually, so he's a builder also. And so he, now we're talking about going into development. Because as he wants to retire. He wants to stay involved and doesn't actually want to retire. He wants to work less. So we're talking about developing other rental properties. There's a thing called an 830G here, affordable housing. And so he's getting into that developments where we can essentially disregard the zoning regulations and increased density. So he's into that. So we're, we're working on some developments that we would partner on also. So we get along really, really well. He's an awesome guy.

• 23:54Dave Meyer?

  That's so great. Did you follow up with other investors who responded to your mailer? Or once you found this, was that sufficient?

• 24:01Speaker 01

  I did. I was, there were some in, but they all were just like every other, you know, that you get a call from a postcard, right? So there, you know, some of them, hey, maybe later, whatever. And so I was keeping a spreadsheet, but then once we got into this, I was like, this is all I can, I've bitten more than I can chew right now. So we need to, you know, stagger this. So I hadn't, I basically stopped.

• 24:18Dave Meyer?

  Yeah.

• 24:19Speaker 01

  I don't really chase down, I don't chase down any deals. I get phone calls on them a lot.

• 24:23Dave Meyer?

  Yeah.

• 24:23Speaker 01

  And so stuff that, you know, once you, once you, if you singularly focus on being good at something, you'll, you will get referrals and things will come your way as you're, as you're, you know, as you develop and grow.

• 24:35Dave Meyer?

  That is such good advice and so true. You don't have to be good at everything in real estate, but if you can be good at one thing and people can count on you for that one thing, it's going to help your career. Well, congrats, Andy. It's super cool. I love the approach that you're taking here, something I would try to emulate, maybe not doing the property management, but buying a portfolio. I love the idea. And as you said, Andy is good at this. You mentioned that you manage your properties with Rent Ready. If you are a BiggerPockets Pro member, you can get a discount on Rent Ready. It's an incredible deal. It basically pays for the BiggerPockets Pro membership. If you want to check that out, go to biggerpockets.com/perks.

• 25:16Dave Meyer?

  All right, Andy, I want to turn more towards just some advice because I know you mentor a lot of people and help a lot of people with real estate. I want to hear the advice that you're giving people to navigate the unique market that we're in right now. But we got to take one quick break. We'll be right back. For my wife's birthday, I wanted to make her a new website for her landscape design business. So I researched a lot of different options. I tried out a couple, but honestly, it was really overwhelming. It was pretty time consuming and still, the site wasn't coming out the way I wanted it to. Then I tried Hostinger and everything was super simple. I asked Hostinger's AI to build a clean site for her business and

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• 27:34Dave Meyer?

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• 28:15Dave Meyer?

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• 30:15Dave Meyer?

  Welcome back to the BiggerPockets Podcast. I am here with investor Andy Gill. We've heard a little bit about his background and story and about the very cool, unique deal structure you came up with to really supercharge your portfolio building. You mentioned, and you know, you and I've talked about this, but you help a lot of people build their real estate investing careers. What are some of the things you're seeing people struggle with? And maybe what is, what's some of the advice that you're giving to help people move forward with financial freedom through real estate?

• 30:45Speaker 01

  The advice I'm giving currently is to, is to be persistent. You have to make a lot of offers. My son is actively trying to buy his first property.

• 30:56Dave Meyer?

  Oh, nice.

• 30:57Speaker 01

  He moved into one of his, you know, he's 20 years old. He's got pre-approved for an FHA loan. He's doing great. And so, you know, and when I watched him make his first offer, like you're emotionally tied to it, right? So it's, he wanted to get that deal because we picked it apart and it's not going to be that deal. It's probably not going to be that deal. It's probably going to be the 15th or the 20th or the 30th deal that you, you, and so kind of scan them at a higher level and be persistent. So, and make lower offers, underwrite without the price in mind with what works for you for cash flow.

• 31:27Dave Meyer?

  It's just about sticking with it right now. It's just good. I saw, you know, Michael Zubor from One Rental at a time, his community. He was like saying that this is the era for low ballers. I like that. And it's not like you're necessarily trying to screw people over, but you're just showing them what you're willing to pay. And someone will agree to that. Like at some point, the sides will align and there will be mutual benefit, but it's not going to be everyone.

• 31:53Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 31:54Dave Meyer?

  So you just really need to be patient with it. Do you find that's hard for new investors to accept?

• 32:02Speaker 01

  Yes, I do. So it's two-part. Be persistent, but also. Believe in your own abilities like to figure things out. So you don't, your first deal doesn't have to be a home run. It just has to get you on base. So if I know that when I get into a deal, like if, if you miscalculate something, if some, you know, conditions are, are discovered afterwards, like you, you're gonna fight through it. So when you have to be able to believe in your abilities to get yourself out of jams. So like, don't hide behind like, oh, well, I need to have X amount of cash flow in order to do this. Like, figure out what, you know, what, what would, what would you pay? What would you buy it for? And then find the mean of that and just do it. And like, get it, get on, get enough, get around people that will validate that, get in the right

• 32:47Speaker 01

  rooms and then go for it. Create a network and swing them back.

• 32:51Dave Meyer?

  That makes sense to me. So like, what is, like, you said cash flow. Are there any other minimum thresholds that you feel a deal needs to hit these days?

• 33:02Speaker 01

  For these multifamilies that we're buying, we have cash flow, we're already looking for, we're looking for, I mean, cash on cash is, is like, I want to get my money back, you know, as fast as possible. You know, I also want to be able to, I want to buy in a place that gets 3% organic appreciation historically, you know?

• 33:18Dave Meyer?

  Yeah.

• 33:18Speaker 01

  Or, or, you know, I'm not looking for a place that's gonna just, which parking money, but that's not gonna grow.

• 33:23Dave Meyer?

  I know, but that's not asking it. Like, 3% is pretty normal. So like, you're not saying, I need to be in Austin in 2020. Like, yeah, it's just, I get it.

• 33:33Speaker 01

  But, I mean, there's deals that when there's no deals, the deals that are available are typically in the area that you can buy are areas that sit flat.

• 33:40Dave Meyer?

  Yeah, that's fair.

• 33:41Speaker 01

  So stay out of that.

• 33:42Dave Meyer?

  And then what about condition of property? Cause you, New England, there's a lot of old stuff around there. So like, are there any things you won't touch? Or what kind of properties do you look for?

• 33:54Speaker 01

  It's funny you say this, because the things that are acceptable to me and the things that I see other investors being like, oh, I'm afraid of that. Like, I mean, I don't like knob and tube wiring, you know, I don't want to do that. I like to get a good roof on the, the place. I want to know structural problems. We have a lot of stone foundations here. And I mean, you go down in our basements in, in New England and you're like, someone was killed here for sure.

• 34:18Speaker 01

  Then like, oh, there's weird stuff. So there's, there's, there's limited amount of, of things. I mean, if you look at like bad roof structural problems, you know, or knob and tube wiring, things that cost a ton of money to, so I also like sewer laterals. We have old infrastructure here. So you want to, there's your electrical service, your like sewer and water. You want to make sure you're getting that inspected all the way out to the street. That's a very, very expensive find later. So there's like a short list of things that I say, stay away from this, stay away from that, or at least get it, get it resolved in when you're in contract.

• 34:49Dave Meyer?

  Okay. But would you give that advice for people who might not have your background in construction and contracting? Like, do you think for people who don't have that background, you would change the criteria of what to buy?

• 35:01Speaker 01

  No, I wouldn't. I mean, like you said, we started this, like, this is not passive income. If you're gonna come, come in, you're gonna have to work. And so you're gonna get calls on Saturdays and Sundays and there's problems are gonna happen. And the, the stock that like you, someone else is not going to come in and buy something better than me at a, at a price better than I can buy and not have the problems that I have. So it's, it's a, you're gonna have to figure it out. It's a, you know, you're gonna have to go through the renovations. You're gonna have to go through the, the heavier capex problems. It's a, you're gonna have to figure it out if you want to be in this game.

• 35:33Dave Meyer?

  It's good advice, man. I really, I like that. Figure it out. You can. That's being an entrepreneur. You don't know what's gonna happen, but you can figure it out. You absolutely can. Thousands of people have done it. It's literally the whole point of BiggerPockets too. Like, you run into a problem you can't solve, go on the BiggerPockets forums, ask a question. Someone will help you. Come to BPCon and you can meet people who can help you. Like, that's the whole value of having a network. I mean, look at Andy. Having a network landed him this sweet deal with 30, you know, it's just like, you can absolutely do this. Speaking of BPCon, Andy, you had a wildly popular session on using AI with real estate last year. And I understand you're coming back this year and doing more on AI.

• 36:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 36:17Dave Meyer?

  I think it's super fascinating because I'll be honest, I use AI a decent amount, not that much for real estate investing. So tell me what you're talking about at BPCon and what investors might learn.

• 36:30Speaker 01

  Well, last year I documented how I use AI. So the different frameworks and how I use it. And so, and it was, it was a great, it was an incredible opportunity. I'm incredibly grateful for it. I never thought I'd speak on a stage with so many people and

• 36:45Dave Meyer?

  There's like 800 people there.

• 36:47Speaker 01

  Yeah. It was crazy.

• 36:49Dave Meyer?

  And you, and you went viral at the conference, basically.

• 36:52Speaker 01

  Thank you. Yeah, it was pretty cool. It was pretty, it was, it was, it was an experience I'll always remember. And so this year I was asked to host a AI focused networking session. So the networking sessions at BPCon, if you haven't gone to BPCon, it's absolutely incredible. This is, this will be my third time, third year speaking, I think my fifth show and I won't, I won't miss it. It's, I love the networking stuff and I like how every year like it's more focused on networking. So

• 37:18Dave Meyer?

  Yeah.

• 37:19Speaker 01

  I'm gonna be doing like a 20 minute talk on AI and how I use it, but this time focused on other people talking to other people about how they use it and to, you know, I want it to be of value. And the last two years, I really spent quite a bit of time making sure that it's, I want it to be digested really well and people don't walk away with being like, wow, that was incredible value. So, and I beat the hell out of myself to get there. Like it's, I was super late last year in submitting it. I'm like, it's not ready. It's not ready.

• 37:44Dave Meyer?

  I do the same thing. I'm always like tinkering till the last day of my speech. But yeah, it was super popular, one of the highest rated sessions that we've ever had. And yeah, I love the idea that you're obviously sharing what you do, but AI is so new. It's so, it's, it's interesting always to hear what other people are doing with it. Like no one has the one right answer right now. And people are super creative about it. And I'm, I'm super excited to come to this and hear how other people are using it. Because even just in regular life, I sometimes hear how people are using AI to automate tasks or things they do in their day. I'm like, I never would have thought of that. So that will be a lot of fun. If you want to grab your ticket, go to biggerpockets.com.

• 38:27Dave Meyer?

  com slash conference. Join me and Andy, Henry, and thousands of other investors, learning and sharing with one another. As Andy said, it's a can't miss event. I look forward to it every year. Super excited for this one in Orlando, October 2nd to 4th. Well, Andy, thanks for joining us again, man. Always enjoy talking to you, learning from you. Congrats on all your success, the cool deals that you're up to. We really appreciate your time.

• 38:52Speaker 01

  Thanks, Dave. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me.

• 38:54Dave Meyer?

  If people want to connect with you outside of BPCom, where can they do that?

• 38:57Speaker 01

  I'm primarily on Instagram. I'm not on the other platforms. Coach Andy Gil, G I L, A N D Y G I L. And I try to answer all my DMs and I'm an idiot on there and post all kinds of dirty things and.

• 39:13Dave Meyer?

  Yeah, I like your content. It's fun. Well, check him out there, Andy, there on Instagram and at BPCom. That's our show for today. Thank you all so much for watching this episode of the BiggerPockets Podcast. We'll see y'all next time.

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