Introductory post: Who am I and how did my real estate journey begin?
# Entrepreneur of the Week Alon Gilmore
# Post 1
* Hebrew is a gender language. Although the posts were written in masculine language - the intention is absolute, for both sexes. Thanks.
***
The steam of the coffee and the old bitch near my feet on the left, the mouse on the right, and in the middle in front of me - the flickering marker of the rose, on a smooth white page.
Start writing Entrepreneur of the Week. But where to start?
So this is how I start. From what I see is really the beginning:
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What you want?
This is the first question.
What is this thing that you are chasing and wanting, that is why you want to be a real estate investor or real estate entrepreneur?
Do not start this journey, in real estate investing in the US (and in general) - before you know the answer to this question, Crystal Clear.
What you want?
***
So who am I (the question of our lives, eh?) And how did my real estate story begin?
I am Alon Gilmore, from Kiryat Ono, about 51 years old, in a happy and loving relationship with Revital, 3 more or less big children + Lori, a rare bitch.
Very fond of music (with emphasis on drums), in-depth conversations, eternal curiosity about the psychology behind people's behaviors and understanding of what motivates people in general,
I also really like the sea (the cliff beach), I love the USA, (but also Asia and London), regularly - on the line, and the other banal things that we all more or less like in life as well.
Founder and partner in ALL-IN, an entrepreneurial company in income-producing real estate in the United States, which I founded about 3 years ago together with partners Shai Halevi. In the past year Tuvia Bruckner has joined the partnership. We are not a marketing company but run the entire entrepreneurial operation ourselves, with all the services under one lucrative roof, which manages everything from AZ. We are the entrepreneur.
Oh, and another statistic: I do not have a degree. Here I said it. I did not go to university, and I have no degree.
When I'm in the US, I'm sometimes called "Mr. Gilmore" - and this is the closest I will get to a degree in this incarnation.
And a final statistic: In the last 12 years I have seen and analyzed hundreds of transactions in various complexities, in front of hundreds of real estate investors in various constellations inside and outside large organizations and in private activity, working with and with American real estate entrepreneurs in hundreds of millions of dollars a year. With real estate cannons and some of the top businesses in the country.
And along with all this I am here to tell you, that when you become the entrepreneur himself, when you are the creator of the deal and the project, the world is very different, and very real.
It’s like lifting the hood of your investment vehicle and discovering for yourself how it really should travel the fastest, smoothest, and safest possible.
How did I get this far? (Bonus: 4 first precious insights)
The beginning:
1987.
Mid-17s, I'm XNUMX years old.
The girls are crazy about Duran Duran and the boys about Samantha Fox.
No internet, no Facebook, imagine this: a world… without… Google !!
In fact, there are no computers at all in homes, and social networks were just for carp in the supermarket.
I never flew abroad until after the army, and driving 50 minutes from Kugel Square in Holon to Dizengoff Square on line 89 was the peak of possible excitement for me.
I had no rich dad and no poor dad, no mentor, no role model, no family support or guidance, no Google and no awareness at all about the world of finance. Or even about the world in general, Tachles.
But I had this book.
No, it's not "rich dad poor dad" - it was 1987, remember?
I sit for hours on the back of a public bench there behind the "Rina" cinema in Holon, and read over and over again a book I bought and that I walk around with. Nothing distracts me around, not the dog barking in front, not the noise of the distant buses, not even the cute old woman scolding me "Oh boy, why put feet on a bench?"
I dive only into the lines of the book, and see, fascinated, my life is built further within it.
It was the first business book I bought, out of some impulse. Completely white cover, no photo, just title: "How to Succeed in the US". (Meir Liraz). Most of it dealt with real estate as far as I can remember.
And I, after reading the book, it is very clear to me: right after the army I am going to do exactly what is written in the book, and I am going to be a very rich businessman living in New York, and there is no question of whether, but how fast it will happen — and who will stop me?
Did not happen.
Life happened.
How did John Lennon say that? "Life is what happens to you while you make plans." And as a real estate entrepreneur you find this statement so true.
After the army I lived a little in Herzliya, a little fresh, not so New York.
I found myself working as a salesman, but relatively quickly I managed to fit into one of the big investment houses as a marketer for investment advisers in the capital market, and it was nice. it was really nice.
There are other events in my personal life that result in me staying in the country. Employee.
Years go by, beloved children are born, the current flows, and here the whole path of the "American entrepreneur" escaped me to a parallel universe.
***
Fast forward.
2007, I have some money on the side. And the bacterium wakes up again. And I decide to go back to real estate in the US.
There is still no Facebook, no awareness of the field in Israel, everyone is in the race for an apartment in Israel, the buying groups are a burning hit, and I, bored with the possible returns in Israel, sit every day in front of the chubby screen, with the mouse with the cable, and correspond with me, agents and property managers in the US In, receives emails with inbox projects, and learns and learns and learns.
Asks questions some of which at first were even silly, but slowly became more understanding of the field and smarter, and so I learned in general - what to ask, and what to check at all.
How to choose an area, what is important, what is the difference between the different types of real estate that exist in the US, and the types and options of financing, the ways to purchase real estate below value, risk analysis. I see masses of properties and I feel like I'm Alice in Wonderland in American real estate. (Well, now that we're used - let's get rid of this image quickly).
Which leads to the first insight of the day - specifically to the entrepreneurs among us: a burning fire.
In this area especially, if you do not have an excessive passion for the matter, that it is really really okay… Do not go in the direction of the entrepreneur, let whoever knows how to do it, who will do it for you and you will be a passive rich investor, which is no less amazing I promise you.
There is no middle ground here, either you are ALL-IN as an active entrepreneur, (like the name of our company), or you will be passive.
When the time comes to stop studying and start doing (second insight: when is the best time to do it? - the answer is always "now"), I start the plane and fly to Miami Florida, where I decide to make my first real estate deal.
I sit there for almost two weeks with a realtor who shows me dozens of projects, of all kinds. The fear of the real estate bubble in the air is strong, but still everyone lives in La La Land — not seeing or not wanting to see the avalanche around the corner.
Still, I learned the immense value of buying properties at a cost significantly below value - where the profit is really created. Initially.
Which quickly brings up the third, and my favorite, insight:
Remember: The exit is made at the time of purchase. Not for sale.
Finally, even though I was planning to invest in Miami, I made a groundbreaking decision and made my first deal in the US for a different property than I had originally planned, including in Orlando.
This is how I learned that real estate is done in the field, and not on a computer - and here is basic insight number 4 for today.
I return enlightened to the land, and in my environment I become an authority. People want to hear, learn and understand what this new world "US Real Estate" is.
And here's a word of warning: especially in the age of social networking, when we are all "champions" and "champions", there is nothing more dangerous to an investor than to "enthrone" someone into authority, just because he made his first property or even his first ones.
I was taught that "champion" can only be one, and "authority" - this is not a concept of marketing chewing in the course industry, but really a leading persona in a certain field over time - for many years.
Maybe that’s why I didn’t take on the role of authority that was built for me just from the very interest that was around me at the time.
***
What can I tell you, the universe sent me clues, and I ... weak in clues.
And despite all the experience that has come in the years since, and all the thirst that has developed around this field, I did not listen to him, and remained for another year and another year as an employee, in the organizational framework, with only one significant change: I moved from the capital market to 100% real estate investments
I entered these organizations with great enthusiasm, learned more than I can describe, and came out of these large organizations with vast experience and knowledge, but also the largest lesson of all that I acquired with pain and great cost:
I learned what is wrong with the business model where there is a marketing company versus a direct deal in partnership with an entrepreneur.
A pain that forced me to go out and start my own company, at last, which I will build as I think a real estate investment company should be.
And there comes this day, about 3 and a half years ago, that I decide to return to the one truth, that in order to be successful in investments, I must return to the entrepreneurial area, and control the deal.
I'm the deal.
Welcome back!
***
When I'm the deal, the deal is safe.
Of course you can not write down that pair of words, God forbid, in publications or a presentation, and not even in a conversation with an investor or in any way. But you, the investment marketer-need to know this in your heart.
When you are the one who saw, inspected, and purchased the property, who knows the area on its own, knows all the data on each comparison property, knows all the macroeconomic data in the area, knows what price under the market you enter, knows what your management quality, you need to feel the deal Safe for you - even if it is not allowed to say it out loud.
It still will not make her safe - obviously not, real estate is not a bank in the bank, and the market is stronger than all of them,
But you will know that it is right for you now to bring in investors that you know will benefit from it.
And there is no situation where an outside marketer, or someone who has no direct affiliation with building the deal and the project — will ever be able to feel like you.
Anything less than that is worth a risk I am not willing to take. And you do not have to.
***
How do I find a partner?
Next I begin the journey of locating my next asset, one of the most important assets: Q&A
He must be honest, he must be dedicated at the level of building a life enterprise, with other skills of my own but the same investment philosophy as mine and another small requirement: he must be a professional at such a level that we can produce for an Israeli investor the best investment alternative available. .
No less what.
He must not only understand and "live" the idea of buying assets below par and turn them into a growing cash flow for life, but also know how to do it in every home and house, in every building and building.
And we will be the entrepreneurs of the field, not a marketing company in the middle.
- I did not find one.
I found 1,000 counters better than that. I found Shay.
The story of Shai and Sheli's acquaintance is one of the most banal there is. Not senior officers who decided in the middle of a battle to establish the Huapration, not 2 rivals who decided to join forces, and not a similar story.
I picked up the phone, we set up the introductory meeting, we sat for 45 minutes.
And we became partners.
And here is our company, ALL-IN.
Like I said, Tachles, one of the most banal story there is.
But what did the one who said say? Sometimes, the truth is also an option.
***
When I received the referral to write to this week's entrepreneur, in this esteemed forum, I of course happily, and with great respect, agreed, and I really want to take advantage of this week to give you something practical to have to do.
Unusual points, other angles for real estate transactions, no more repetition of material you already know.
You can always scroll through the previous weeks and learn from the wisdom and vast experience of this week's entrepreneur colleagues who gave me a simply amazing value here from every possible direction - which I wish I had a tenth of when I started my career.
I personally, would like to give you a set of other tools that will help you in hoping, understanding and choosing much better the investments in the eyes of a veteran opener. And when I share my experience and point of view as an entrepreneur - and also when you give my experience to entrepreneurs, I direct it to you investor as well. The goal is to get you into the cockpit, to show you that, the entrepreneurial angle to the deal, so that yours will have all the perspectives, not just theoretical concepts. (Remember? Lift the hood).
It's your money, and your future, it's the best Value I can give in my opinion.
So my part in this week's Entrepreneur, I hope to convey more with an emphasis on enlightenment and inspiration and not just learning.
(Although inspiration is also learning in my eyes — and even greater than other learning).
I want to give you, a peek over my shoulder, so you can see what I do, what I believe in, in the hope that from the entrepreneur's angle, you can produce and learn and see points - different from a presentation.
So come on… Come and be voyeuristic:
Let's enjoy it this week.
So what's important to me to give you this week?
Day 2: The best real estate strategy
Day 3: Financial Education: Choosing an Investment Area, How to Analyze an Investment Property, Order in Basic Investing Concepts, How to Easily Understand What is this, CASH ON CASH, ROI, IRR, NOI, Cap Rate that everyone is talking about? And why do I need to know that?
Day 4: Income-producing assets, with a strong emphasis on multifamily, private investment versus an investment group in a partnership.
Day 5: How are the ultra rich, really investing? (Spoiler: Different from the middle class).
6 Big Mistakes Investors Make, And Also The Big Mistakes Of Investors In Marketing (Entrepreneurs) + Gift: Checklist Questions Every Investor Must Find Out Before Investing
Day 6: - Passive Income Shortcut to Reaching Economic Freedom + Summary of My Super Insights.
In tomorrow's post - we'll start diving into the depths, bring popcorn.
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