Start investing passively!

Are you an investor? Click to take the first step towards partnering with us on a passive investing opportunity.

Partner with Us

From Flipping to Florida Portfolio

Chris Grenzig

Chris is the Asset Manager of Toro Real Estate Partners. He started his real estate journey in January of 2016 trying to flip houses on Long Island, but ultimately failed to flip a house despite spreading tens of thousands of dollars in several months trying. Chris later pivoted to tax deed properties, but then quickly found his place in multifamily investing. In this episode, Chris shares his experience in how he got started in Long Island with fix and flips, and how he was able to take his business plan and pivot to other real estate forms of investment that were better for his particular situation. He did all these by learning from experience and by partnering with other people to help scale his portfolio. Truly, champions keep playing until they get it right.

Important Points in This Episode

  • Chris talks about the initial “spark” that got him interested in flipping houses and why did it progress to tax deeds, and eventually to multifamily real estate
  • How his mm and cousin encouraged him to join seminars and get educated on in real estate
  • His first failure at flipping houses, and making a decision to do something else after
  • Problems encountered in trying to flip houses in Long Island
  • How meeting John Cohen, founder and owner of Toro Real Estate Partners got him into multifamily property
  • Chris’ insight on paying for education versus partnering with somebody and asking them to educate him
  • Chris talks about his first purchase in multifamily investments as a general partner/joint venture
  • Transitioning to a larger scale multifamily properties
  • Chris talks about how he scaled his portfolio and the areas in Florida that is worth investing in for
  • Why Chris likes Jacksonville and what’s special about it in terms of deals and investments
  • His responsibilities in Toro Real Estate Partners and the types of branding and marketing he does to reach out to his investors
  • On branding and marketing: understanding the differences, the pros and cons
  • Best part about being a real estate syndicator and the ideal partner or client
  • Mistakes made and lessons learned

Resources

Quotes

  • “When you get experience, you may not have to pay someone, but you’re paying in one form or another, whether it’s capital, time, resources… sweat equity, whatever it is. So, there is one way you’re paying, whether it’s a physical cheque or in another way. It’s whatever feels right to you, and you think you’re gonna get the most value out of.”
  • “The first person you go to probably isn’t gonna be the best, or it’s gonna take a couple different people. So, I don’t think one way is better or worse than the other, but that actual doing is definitely better than just being told how to do it.”
  • “It’s really just networking. It’s reverse engineering where your avatar of your investor is, and trying to get in front of them. It’s literally just getting in front of people that are interested in the services you provide and telling them about it, and getting them to see the value in your service.”
  • “I think one the things I like most about it (real estate investor community) is it seems that most, if not all the people in the community have a really big abundance mindset where you don’t feel, like if you call someone and ask them questions about a deal or a project, there’s something, that they’re gonna run away with it and steal it and make it their own. They’re gonna help you without the expectation of something because they know there’s more than enough to go around.”
  • “It takes time… to turn units, to renovate units, to increase rents, that stuff takes time. Especially if you’re looking at it from a financial standpoint, it’s gonna take time.”