12-Volt Investing

There is no great secret in fortune making. All you have to do is to buy cheap and sell dear, act with thrift and shrewdness and then be persistent.

Hetty Green

My first boss - at least as far as real estate is concerned - shaped how I view the investing world. He’s a consummate gentleman, earnest, and an unapologetic capitalist. When it came to property, he had the eyes of a predator.

He has a wonderful family and I’ve always admired his marriage. He once made a point of telling me that he and his wife shared a full bed - not a king or a queen - but a full, because he liked keeping her close.

He has exquisite taste not only in spouses but also in property. He leaned hard into beautiful buildings in the richest parts of any market but was a cheap bastard when it came to paying for them. When I worked for him, he drove a dusty Ford sedan and wore his Brooks Brothers button downs well after the cuffs frayed.

Once on our way to tour a suburban shopping center, he wheeled the old Ford into a NAPA Auto Parts store and told me to wait, he’d be right back.

He returned a few minutes later, lugging a new car battery.

As he placed on the back seat, I asked him what it was for.

“Mother’s Day”, he replied. “These AC Delcos are the best, and they’re running a half-off sale.”

He built a helluva business buying wonderful locations - retail, multifamily, office, industrial, even storage and hotels. He had a nose for quality, but appreciated value even more.

He loved nice things, but had an aversion to over-spending on them.

Just ask his wife.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably interested in real estate.

If you’re interested in creating wonderful places, and how those places can increase surrounding real estate values, consider joining the Tacos & Patios Workshop - a free online gathering where we unpack the how and why behind unique mixed-use developments.

Join now and get a recording of the last meeting, a workshop with Nico Ludwig, founder of Better Pitch, where we discuss how he’s building a company that creates pitch books - table stakes for retailers sharing their story and developers launching projects.

And if you’re interested in a deep dive, apply to join AUTOMATIC where we bring together real estate developers interested in making wonderful places and the innovative retail & hospitality brands, designers, contractors, and capital providers that bring those places to life.

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