I’m very excited to publish the very first newsletter for Cherry Street Investments which has been a long time coming!
Life has been a flurry of activity and it’s hard to believe we are already into 8 months of 2019! There’s so much to catch up on in this newsletter!
First things first, my business name Cherry Street Investments was not quite random and has a little story behind it which I want to share –
I came to the US in 1998 as a grad student at Texas A&M University in College Station. I landed here with $3K in borrowed money and two 70lb bags (weight limit was higher back then!) and not much else to my name, and lived on Cherry Street in a 2 bedroom apartment with 3 other roommates. To signify my journey from that modest apartment to buying apartment complexes I couldn’t think of a better name to give to my business. I feel blessed and grateful for my journey to where I am now!
America is truly where any dream you dare to dream can come true!
Apartments Acquired
Three deals closed this year in Atlanta, Irving and Phoenix where I was a part of sponsorship team.
- Retreat at Stone Mountain – 212 Units in Stone Mountain, GA (Atlanta MSA)
- Crossings at Irving – 160 Units In Irving, TX (Dallas MSA)
- Oak Tree Apartments – 76 Units in Phoenix, AZ
Some pictures below. Thanks to all investors in these deals for trusting in my partners and I.
Purely Passive Investor Group
Somewhere along the way in my investing journey I realized I really enjoyed educating people and sharing my knowledge. Friends have long reached out to me for investment advice especially in real estate. When I started investing in single family rentals in 2009 I discovered after acquiring a good number of rentals that the model didn’t scale and I would never be able to retire myself buying single family homes. I wanted to enter the apartment space long before I actually did and it took me a few years just to figure out where to get the knowledge and investment opportunities as a passive.
In 2017 and 2018 I attended several expensive paid training sessions to learn to invest passively in apartments. While I gained an incredible network and connections through these events I felt I really didn’t need to jump through these hoops to be a passive investor.
Inspired by this thought I decided to focus on building knowledge and bringing investments to busy professionals. I started monthly meetup in Austin called the “Purely Passive Investor Meetup” which aimed to educate busy professionals about various passive investment options
Soon, I had friends and investors all over the country asking for meetup recordings and access to materials which I couldn’t provide since these meetups were local and not recorded. I created a Facebook group “Purely Passive Investor Group” to then connect to a broader investor base.
To reach that broader base of investors, I’m now also going to focus on organizing webinars on various passive investments like multifamily, senior living, hotels and other relevant topics like life insurance, 1031 exchanges, opportunity zone investments to bring more knowledge and provide passive investors exposure to the wider set pf investments which not only provide better returns but amazing tax savings through depreciation benefits besides providing diversification. You can sign up for our ongoing webinars here.
The first webinar on multifamily investing will be Tuesday, August 20th at 730 Central and you can sign up here.
In 2017 and 2018 I attended several expensive paid training sessions to learn to invest passively in apartments. While I gained an incredible network and connections through these events I felt I really didn’t need to jump through these hoops to be a passive investor.
Inspired by this thought I decided to focus on building knowledge and bringing investments to busy professionals. I started monthly meetup in Austin called the “Purely Passive Investor Meetup” which aimed to educate busy professionals about various passive investment options
Soon, I had friends and investors all over the country asking for meetup recordings and access to materials which I couldn’t provide since these meetups were local and not recorded. I created a Facebook group “Purely Passive Investor Group” to then connect to a broader investor base.
To reach that broader base of investors, I’m now also going to focus on organizing webinars on various passive investments like multifamily, senior living, hotels and other relevant topics like life insurance, 1031 exchanges, opportunity zone investments to bring more knowledge and provide passive investors exposure to the wider set pf investments which not only provide better returns but amazing tax savings through depreciation benefits besides providing diversification. You can sign up for our ongoing webinars here.
The first webinar on multifamily investing will be Tuesday, August 20th at 730 Central and you can sign up here.
Conferences & Events
Attending conferences and networking with other investors and continual learning is an essential part of being an investor especially in the apartment business. As we all in the industry like to say – this is a relationship business not just a money or real estate business. We are in the business of building relationships with not only our investors and partners but also lenders, brokers, mentors, attorneys just to name a few.
This year I’ve just about attended a conference a month which has meant a ton of travel to Tampa, Miami, Dallas, Vegas and more!
Notably I’ve had the opportunity to listen to and meet – Jesse Itzler (Entrepreneur and author of “Living with a SEAL” bestseller), Sara Blakely (owner of SPANX), Grant Cardone (real estate mogul), Steve Harvey, Tai Lopez, Rod Khleif, Brad Sumrok, Neal Bawa, Tamiel/Mark Kennedy (MF Mentors and investors extraordinaire), John Maxwell (Leadership Mentor and bestselling author of several books), Robert Kiyosaki (Does he need an introduction?! Rich Dad, Poor Dad fame), Tom Wheelwright (Tax Guru) among many other amazingly knowledgeable and inspiring people!
I also got a lot of opportunities to network and spend time with other investors at these various events and form new alliances and partnerships to bring better investments to my investor base. I feel so blessed to be able to surround myself with such quality people in the investment world that contribute to my personal and professional growth. They continue to inspire me to up my game!
The biggest takeaway I got from listening to the very humble Rod Khleif is that we are in business of adding value to people in everything we do. When we add value and we work towards making others win, we win as well. And it’s a win-win!
Apartment business is a feel-good business and a huge win in many ways. It is a
This year I’ve just about attended a conference a month which has meant a ton of travel to Tampa, Miami, Dallas, Vegas and more!
Notably I’ve had the opportunity to listen to and meet – Jesse Itzler (Entrepreneur and author of “Living with a SEAL” bestseller), Sara Blakely (owner of SPANX), Grant Cardone (real estate mogul), Steve Harvey, Tai Lopez, Rod Khleif, Brad Sumrok, Neal Bawa, Tamiel/Mark Kennedy (MF Mentors and investors extraordinaire), John Maxwell (Leadership Mentor and bestselling author of several books), Robert Kiyosaki (Does he need an introduction?! Rich Dad, Poor Dad fame), Tom Wheelwright (Tax Guru) among many other amazingly knowledgeable and inspiring people!
I also got a lot of opportunities to network and spend time with other investors at these various events and form new alliances and partnerships to bring better investments to my investor base. I feel so blessed to be able to surround myself with such quality people in the investment world that contribute to my personal and professional growth. They continue to inspire me to up my game!
The biggest takeaway I got from listening to the very humble Rod Khleif is that we are in business of adding value to people in everything we do. When we add value and we work towards making others win, we win as well. And it’s a win-win!
Apartment business is a feel-good business and a huge win in many ways. It is a
- Win for the investors who get great opportunities to grow their money!
- Win for us sponsors who get to only make money but also improve communities and impact our investors’ financial future.
- Win for the apartment communities and the people who live there who get to enjoy nicer, safer living conditions – all while we increase ours and our investors’ bottomline!
Some snapshots from my conferences and networking events this year –
Travels & Experiences
Besides attending a lot of events & conferences I traveled around the world and within the USA a bit for personal and business travels this year. When I made a list it looked something like this
- Tampa, USA
- Miami, USA
- Dallas, (4 times), USA
- Chicago, USA
- Houston, USA
- New York, USA
- New Jersey, USA
- Berlin, Germany
- Madrid, Spain
- Segovia, Spain
- Vienna, Austria
- London, UK
- San Diego, USA
- Las Vegas (twice!), USA
- Frankfurt, Germany
- Goa, India
- Coimbatore, India
- Bangalore, India
I visited family and friends in Germany and India, did some fun travels in Spain and India and covered the rest in events and conferences!
Also notable was my visit to San Diego where my 14 year old daughter attended a 5 day Tony Robbins Residential Camp called “Global Youth Leadership Summit” that I highly recommend for teenagers 14-16! She couldn’t stop raving about it and it has had a very noticeable impact on her daily life as a freshman in high school!
In the midst of all my travels this year, I also moved homes so my daughter would get an opportunity to attend one of the best high schools in Austin and pursue her interest in graphic design. A lot has changed in high school education offerings over the years and I’m grateful that she gets a headstart into something we wouldn’t normally learn until college!
Also notable was my visit to San Diego where my 14 year old daughter attended a 5 day Tony Robbins Residential Camp called “Global Youth Leadership Summit” that I highly recommend for teenagers 14-16! She couldn’t stop raving about it and it has had a very noticeable impact on her daily life as a freshman in high school!
In the midst of all my travels this year, I also moved homes so my daughter would get an opportunity to attend one of the best high schools in Austin and pursue her interest in graphic design. A lot has changed in high school education offerings over the years and I’m grateful that she gets a headstart into something we wouldn’t normally learn until college!
Giving Back
“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands — one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” — Audrey Hepburn
Giving back is a very important part of my life, whether it’s at my church or causes that are near and dear to my heart. I think when we give back we not only get a chance to affect others’ lives but also change our own with the satisfaction that comes from being able to make an impact. Besides this, it reminds us to not take anything for granted and always count our blessings – which can be so easy to lose sight of!
Somewhere along the way in this busy year, I managed to train for a 150 mile bike ride from Houston to Austin called the MS-150 and raise funds for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. I wanted to do this in honor of the struggles that my friend Smitha who suffers from MS has and is going through. If you ever decide you’d like to take on this challenge please contact me as I definitely plan on making this an annual event and I would love to have you on my team!
BONUS: It also helped me whip back into shape again, somewhat, until all the eating in India ruined it 🙂
I was also able to help change a child’s life by sponsoring a surgery in Philippines through Ruel Foundation Give-A-Smile thanks to my inspiring role model and friend Will Crozier. I highly recommend you look at giving to smaller charities like them with low overhead so your dollar makes a direct impact and a bigger difference!
Somewhere along the way in this busy year, I managed to train for a 150 mile bike ride from Houston to Austin called the MS-150 and raise funds for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. I wanted to do this in honor of the struggles that my friend Smitha who suffers from MS has and is going through. If you ever decide you’d like to take on this challenge please contact me as I definitely plan on making this an annual event and I would love to have you on my team!
BONUS: It also helped me whip back into shape again, somewhat, until all the eating in India ruined it 🙂
I was also able to help change a child’s life by sponsoring a surgery in Philippines through Ruel Foundation Give-A-Smile thanks to my inspiring role model and friend Will Crozier. I highly recommend you look at giving to smaller charities like them with low overhead so your dollar makes a direct impact and a bigger difference!
Career Change
Last but not least, I am excited to announced that I quit my IT career of 19 years to pursue real estate full-time in June this year. The passive income generated definitely helped make the leap a bit smoother but I think I was really ready to focus on real-estate full-time and give it my all.
I struggled the last few years juggling a full-time IT career, self-managing a portfolio of single-family/small MF rentals, investing and learning the multifamily business and being a single parent! Overwhelming at times to say the least!
I am so excited to pursue my investments business full-time – spending my time educating investors, finding new opportunities for my investors, and constantly educating myself to be able add MORE VALUE and provide MORE OPTIONS to my investors. My goal is to help my investors make great returns in solid assets while diversifying their investments to reduce risks.
Stay tuned for my monthly newsletters!
PS: If you managed to get this far – Kudos and thank you for letting me catch you up on all my adventures in 2019! I promise the next newsletter will be mercifully short and focused on monthly activities and updates!
I struggled the last few years juggling a full-time IT career, self-managing a portfolio of single-family/small MF rentals, investing and learning the multifamily business and being a single parent! Overwhelming at times to say the least!
I am so excited to pursue my investments business full-time – spending my time educating investors, finding new opportunities for my investors, and constantly educating myself to be able add MORE VALUE and provide MORE OPTIONS to my investors. My goal is to help my investors make great returns in solid assets while diversifying their investments to reduce risks.
Stay tuned for my monthly newsletters!
PS: If you managed to get this far – Kudos and thank you for letting me catch you up on all my adventures in 2019! I promise the next newsletter will be mercifully short and focused on monthly activities and updates!
