2024 Retrospective and 2025 Outlook: A Year of Growth, Mentorship, and Ambitious Goals

Introduction: Reflecting on 2024’s Milestones

2024 was a year of seismic change for me personally. The year started by finalizing the renovations of our small residential duplex in Daytona Beach. This led us to trying to rent it via Airbnb until we learned that the zoning of our duplex did not allow for that. We then decided that it was best to flip this property, we had had it since October of 2022 and spent nearly 200k to renovate it. We purchased it from a wholesaler on a Facebook Group (kid you not) for $225,000. Our plan was to fix it up and lease it via Airbnb which is what we were doing with another property we own in Jensen Beach Florida. After the zoning issues my wife and I decided we did not want to be landlords since the property was over 1.5 hours from out home and put it up for sale in June.

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The Seismic Change in my Real Estate Philosophy:

2024 has been a transformative year, both in terms of professional growth and personal development. After listening to Carlos Salguero who is a Multifamily investor and mentor I decided to invest as an LP (passive investor) in one of his deals. This was a 30 Unit Luxury town home complex in Manchester Tennessee. I did a self-directed IRA rollover and took my retirement money from Fidelity and invested 25K into the Luxury townhomes. This officially got me in the Multifamily game.

I then decided to meet the people that I was investing with personally and joined them at a mastermind the CS3 Investment team was hosting in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Here is where the multifamily game was revealed to me 100%, and I really saw the benefits of commercial multifamily over the small multifamily space. I already knew I wanted to do multifamily, but I did not think I could do the commercial game because of the high cost it took to acquire properties. Until this point, I was doing everything on my own with my wife, but after this mastermind I decided learned how to build a team and that you can syndicate deals and have investors join in your deals just like I had invested in Carlos Salguero’s deal earlier in the year. After the mastermind I said to myself I need to provide something of value to the people I just met and I being a numbers guy put together a napkin underwriting spreadsheet that I distributed to everyone in the Mastermind. I always say find a way to add value to others. I also decided to bet on myself and joined the Academy. The Academy is a mentorship program led by Carlos Salguero and his CS3 Team.

How The Academy Led to Level 7 Investors

Its May of 2024 and I am an action taker. I am in the Academy (a mentoring program that helped expand my network and knowledge), and I am learning to underwrite multifamily deals. Being the numbers persons that I am I naturally gravitate to the underwriting side, but I start learning more and more and took what I was learning in the Academy and elaborated on it with my own Underwriting process consisting of 3 steps. Level 0 Basic Napkin Underwriting, Level 1 based on the Academy teachings, and Level 2 based on the MFA Analyzer tool and some additional insights I learned from the Academy. I submitted my first LOI (letter of intent) to by a 67-unit property in New Smyrna Beach Florida. My first LOI was done for 5.8 million dollars. I did not end up winning this deal, and it’s still on market for way over the 5.8 million I was offering, but that fact that is on market still makes me feel that I did the right thing offering the right amount that would give me the returns that I feel my investors should have. This is a principle I will never sacrifice for the sake of doing a deal.

I have blasted this news on the internal academy messaging app and was congratulated by a lot of people. I guess some people were impressed that someone within a month of being in the academy submitted an LOI so quickly. One person that reached out to me was Shirley Solis, a fellow investor out of South Florida. Shirley and I had a conversation, and we talked about what are the things that are important to us, what are we trying to do with multifamily, and we had a commonality that the things that matter to us were family, honesty, making surer we honor our commitments to our investors and that it has to be more than just about the money. Shirley was looking for a numbers guy to join her team and asked if I would be interested and I said sure.

Level 7 Investors is Formed

Shirley and her team have been in the Academy for about a year now and they had underwritten hundreds of deals and submitted a couple of LOI as well, but they were looking for someone that has a process and can help take they underwriting to the next level.

I met the other members of the team:

• Sebastian Castro- a fellow underwriter, a great networker, and an amazing father. Sebastian had underwritten hundreds of deals before I joined the team. Sebastian is our lead asset manager and helps ensure our business plan is being executed.
• Maggie Subil - an amazing woman with a tremendous business acumen that really has an amazing eye for design and potential value. Maggie also is a mortgage broker and helps us with our debt financing.
• Yohance Deloatch - Yohance is a talented guy who has had many successful businesses in the past including an amazing photography business. Yohance is a calm influence on the team and having had various Airbnb’s he understands tenants and how to bring them value. Yohance will be our lead property manager who will be onsite to establish our processes and procedures and train our management team.
• Shirly Solis and Fernando Munoz - Shirley is our CEO she has a talent for bringing people together, is a great process-oriented person that understands the importance of procedures and documentation. Shirley is also a great negotiator and capital raiser. Shirley has a great vision for Level 7 understanding the importance of investor returns, tenant value, honesty, transparency, family, and giving back. These are the foundations for which Level 7 Investors are founded on. Fernando is Shirley’s husband and assist us with international investors.
• Manny Del Val - Then there is me, my role is to ensure investor returns are being met, to underwrite all our deals and come up with a business plan that is feasible and can be executed on. I am also responsible for due diligence on the properties we purchase as well as assist in asset and property management.

Through this journey, I built an incredible team of 4 dedicated partners, each bringing their unique strengths to the table. Together, we analyzed thousands of deals, submitted various offers, and successfully invested in multiple deals as Limited Partners (LPs), as well as in a minor equity position as General Partners (GPs).

As I look back, I’m proud of the strides we’ve made, and the lessons learned. The combination of education, hands-on experience, and collaboration has set a strong foundation for the next phase of our growth.

2024 Key Achievements

• Masterminds & Mentorship: Attending multiple masterminds and joining a mentoring program were pivotal in accelerating my learning curve. These experiences gave me access to top-tier professionals, valuable industry insights, and exclusive opportunities. I’m grateful for the chance to learn from those who have already walked the path I’m on, and the relationships forged will continue to pay dividends as we move forward.
• Team Formation: One of the most rewarding accomplishments this year was forming a cohesive team with 4 talented individuals who share the same vision. Our combined expertise spans various aspects of multifamily investing, and together, we’ve built a strong foundation for scaling our business in the coming years.
• Deal Analysis & Offer Submissions: Over the course of the year, we evaluated thousands of potential deals. Submitting various offers including a couple of offers where we were in the top 3 groups at best and final. Negotiating these terms sharpened our investment criteria cementing the importance to our steadfast approach of ensuring our investor returns and helped us better understand the intricacies of deal-making in today’s market. These experiences have shaped our approach moving into 2025.
• Understanding Our Buy Box and Investor Returns: This year we learned the importance of having a buy box and sticking to it. We buy Class A or B properties in secondary markets within 1 hour of a primary market that is in a Class A or B+ area. We also developed strict investor return guidelines that we will not sacrifice which will results in investor success.
• Market Analysis tool Analyzer: We have developed a market analysis tool using AI that will allow us to analyze any market in 10 minutes. Previously it would take us anywhere from 4 hours to an entire day to analyze a market with this tool we can take this down to as little as 10 minutes and have a real good idea if this is a market worth pursuing.
• LP & GP Investments: In 2024, we had the privilege of participating in multiple deals as Limited Partners (LPs) and securing a minority equity stake as General Partners (GPs). These investments have provided hands-on experience and a deeper understanding of how to structure and execute successful deals. We invested in 30 Unit Luxury Townhomes in Manchester Tennessee, and a 216 Unit Class A apartment complex in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

As we reflect on 2024, we are setting our sights even higher for 2025. With the knowledge gained and the relationships built, our goal for next year is to continue to invest as Limited Partners (LP) but purchase at least 100 units as General Partners (GPs) and manage $10 million in assets. Our focus will be on acquiring properties in the 20 to 70-unit range, primarily in the high-growth markets of Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Key Focus Areas for 2025:

• Target Markets: These regions are seeing strong economic growth, increasing demand for multifamily housing, and favorable conditions for investors and with our proprietary market analysis tool we ensure that these markets are the best possible markets we can be in to ensure the returns for our investors. We believe these markets provide ample opportunities for long-term value creation and cash flow.
• Property Size Focus: Our investment strategy for 2025 will center around properties with 20 to 70 units. These mid-sized buildings offer a sweet spot between larger, more competitive assets and smaller, less scalable properties. We’re targeting assets that allow for operational efficiencies and room for low capital expenditures that will create the greatest value.
• GP Acquisition Goals: In 2025, we are committed to stepping up as General Partners, taking on more responsibility in the deals we invest in, and driving their success from acquisition to exit. We will be focus on Class A properties and Class B properties with little capital expenditures.
• Managed Assets Target: Our target is to have $10 million in managed assets by the end of 2025. Achieving this milestone will signify our growth as multifamily operators and strengthen our position in the market.

Steps to Achieve Our 2025 Goals

• Deal Sourcing & Analysis: We will continue to analyze deals across the target markets and focus on finding properties with solid fundamentals, room for appreciation, and value-add potential.
• Systematic Approach: Continuing to systemize our approach to finding deals, reaching out to brokers, analyzing deals, raising capital and closing deals will allow us to be more efficient and effective in 2025.
• Increased Focus on Capital Raising: We will have an increase focus in telling our network more about the type of deals we are going after and the opportunities we will bring to the table so our investors can see the potential for returns and appreciation we will provide them.
• Building Strategic Partnerships: Partnerships are key to scaling. We will continue to expand our network and build relationships with other operators, brokers, and investors to bring the best deals to the table.
• Team Growth & Development: As we scale our operations, we will continue to invest in our team’s growth, ensuring we have the right talent in place to handle the increased complexity of managing 100+ units and multiple deals.
• Focused Execution: With a well-defined strategy and a clear vision for 2025, we will focus on executing our plan with precision, continuously learning and adapting along the way.

Conclusion: 2024 Was Just the Beginning

The journey so far has been nothing short of inspiring, and I’m more excited than ever for what lies ahead. While 2024 was a foundational year to lay the groundwork of what is to come, 2025 will be about executing on the lessons learned 2024 and pushing our business to new heights.

We are grateful for the opportunity to be part of this incredible industry and for the chance to grow alongside so many talented individuals. Here’s to another successful year of multifamily investing—let’s make 2025 our best one yet!

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue this exciting journey.

Thank you for your continued support!

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If you’re interested in learning more about our journey or would like to discuss opportunities in multifamily investing, feel free to reach out. We’d love to connect!

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