#1: From Flipping Failure to Sourcing, Underwriting, and Asset Managing 4000+ Units with Chris Grenzig
Episode description
Want to learn how large syndicators select markets, underwrite deals, and manage their assets? Listen to this episode where I interview Chris Grenzig of Toro Real Estate Partners - we dig into his career, the multifamily real estate business, and how he has helped Toro build a portfolio of 4000 units. We even discuss exactly what Chris would do if he started his career today, in 2020.
Chris started his real estate investing journey in January of 2016 by trying to flip houses on Long Island, NY but ultimately failed to flip a single house despite spending tens of thousands of dollars and several months trying. Chris and his team tried pivoting to purchasing tax deed properties in Philadelphia, but quickly realized it wasn't for them. From there Chris started to learn about multifamily and started by investing passively in an 8-unit property, then Joint Venturing on another 100 units worth over $4.5 mil. From there Chris quit his full-time job in finance and joined the Toro team full-time in August 2016.
Chris focuses on managing, sourcing, evaluating, and acquiring new assets for Toro’s Multifamily Portfolio and is the primary person running the Florida region of Toro's portfolio. Toro has acquired roughly 4000 units worth over $280 mil. Before Toro, Chris worked in finance at a small boutique firm. He graduated from Hofstra with a degree in Business where he played D1 soccer.
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Time Stamps:
06:20 – Chris shares how he got into real estate and why his strategies changed as he progressed through his career
15:14 – Why Chris believes it great to “test a lot of things” within real estate and your professional career
17:21 – We discuss Chris’s first deal, how he structured his early partnerships and the challenges he overcame early in his investing career
23:54 – What he learned from his early out-of-state investment
25:46 – We discuss asset management and why it is a critical piece of the investment process, specifically tracking KPIs
32:18 – How often do Chris and Toro check in with their management partners and how often you should be speaking to your management company
35:10 – How Toro vets potential management companies and how to select the right manager
43:59 – Chris and I discuss the differences between the 30-70 unit multifamily space and the 80+ unit multi-family space
49:43 - What Chris would do if he were starting his real estate business today
51:58 – The difference between being a syndicator and owning a small % of a lot of units versus being a solo operator who is the only person on the deed
54:33 – Chris shares his thoughts on how the market is changing as a result of COVID-19, specifically the debt market
CONNECT WITH CHRIS GRENZIG