Breaking Down a 123-Unit Deal: Numbers, Strategy, and Mistakes Avoided

How Multifamily Syndication Creates Time Freedom

In this episode of Multifamily Rock Stars, Carrie Zatelli shares her journey from a demanding legal career to building wealth through multifamily syndication for busy professionals. As a former prosecutor and attorney, Carrie understands firsthand the limitations of trading time for money. Her transition into multifamily investing was driven by a desire for more control, flexibility, and long-term financial freedom.

Carrie explains how syndications offer a scalable path to real estate investing without the day-to-day burdens of single-family rentals. By leveraging teams, systems, and strategic partnerships, she was able to step into larger deals faster and with more confidence than trying to go it alone. This approach allows professionals to remain active in their careers while building passive income streams.

Building Momentum Through Education and Strategy

One of the key takeaways from Carrie’s story is the importance of education and deliberate action. She emphasizes that success did not come from guessing or rushing into deals but from consistent learning, goal setting, and applying structured frameworks. Carrie shares how immersing herself in multifamily education helped her understand underwriting, asset management, and capital raising at a deeper level.

She also highlights the importance of identifying personal strengths within a syndication team. Rather than trying to master every role at once, Carrie focused on relationship building, investor communication, and strategic thinking, which allowed her to add immediate value to partnerships.

The Power of Networking and Partnerships

Carrie’s first deal did not come from cold outreach or blind submissions. It came from relationships built through intentional networking within the multifamily community. She explains how attending events, following up, and staying visible positioned her as a reliable partner when opportunities arose.

This episode reinforces that multifamily syndication for busy professionals is less about solo success and more about collaboration. Carrie’s story demonstrates how trust, consistency, and contribution can open doors to deals that would otherwise be inaccessible.

Capital Raising and Value Creation

Carrie discusses how raising capital became one of her primary strengths. By clearly communicating the vision, structure, and benefits of each deal, she was able to attract investors who aligned with her long-term goals. She also walks through how her team adds value to properties through operational improvements, modest renovations, and strategic repositioning.

Her approach focuses on conservative underwriting, realistic projections, and long-term sustainability rather than chasing aggressive returns. This mindset not only protects investors but also builds credibility and repeat investment opportunities.

Navigating Market Cycles and Opportunity

With shifting interest rates and increasing loan maturities across the market, Carrie sees a growing opportunity for well-prepared investors. She explains how current market conditions may create motivated sellers, opening the door for disciplined buyers to acquire strong assets at favorable terms.

For busy professionals, this environment presents a compelling moment to engage in multifamily syndication with the right education, partners, and systems in place.

Guest Bio

Carrie Zatelli is a former attorney turned multifamily real estate investor and syndicator. With a background in law, construction, and business, she brings a strategic and analytical mindset to her investments. Carrie has participated in over 120 multifamily units as a general partner and continues to grow her portfolio while helping other professionals achieve financial freedom through real estate.

If you want to hear the full conversation and detailed insights, watch the podcast video or read the complete transcript below.

Multifamily Syndication FAQ

What is multifamily syndication for busy professionals?
Multifamily syndication for busy professionals is a real estate investing strategy where individuals pool capital to invest in apartment communities without managing daily operations. Investors partner with experienced operators who handle acquisitions, financing, renovations, and management. This allows professionals to build wealth while maintaining their careers and lifestyles.

Why is multifamily syndication for busy professionals so popular?
This strategy is popular because it offers passive income, tax advantages, and portfolio diversification without requiring hands-on property management. Busy professionals can invest in larger assets than they could on their own. It provides scalability, predictable cash flow, and long-term appreciation.

How does multifamily syndication work for busy professionals?
Investors contribute capital to a syndication led by a general partner who manages the deal. The sponsor oversees underwriting, financing, operations, and exit strategy. Investors receive regular distributions and a share of profits when the property is sold or refinanced.

What are the benefits of multifamily syndication for busy professionals?
Key benefits include passive income, depreciation tax advantages, access to institutional-quality properties, and professional management. Investors also gain diversification across markets and asset types. This strategy supports long-term wealth building without time-intensive involvement.

What risks should busy professionals understand before investing in multifamily syndication?
Risks include market downturns, operational challenges, interest rate changes, and execution risk by the sponsor team. These risks can be reduced through conservative underwriting, strong asset management, and investing with experienced operators. Proper due diligence is essential before committing capital.

How much time does multifamily syndication require from busy professionals?
Most investors spend minimal time once invested. Initial due diligence and sponsor vetting require effort, but ongoing involvement is typically limited to reviewing reports and receiving distributions. This makes syndication ideal for professionals with limited availability.

How can busy professionals evaluate a multifamily syndication deal?
Investors should review the sponsor’s track record, underwriting assumptions, market fundamentals, and business plan. Understanding projected returns, exit strategy, and risk factors is critical. Asking detailed questions and reviewing prior deal performance strengthens decision-making.

Is multifamily syndication for busy professionals suitable for beginners?
Yes, beginners can invest through syndications by partnering with experienced sponsors. This allows new investors to gain exposure, education, and passive income without managing properties directly. Starting with smaller investments helps build confidence and understanding.

What types of returns can busy professionals expect from multifamily syndication?
Returns typically come from ongoing cash flow and profit at sale or refinance. While returns vary by market and strategy, many syndications target stable income with long-term appreciation. Conservative projections help protect capital and create sustainable performance.

How does multifamily syndication compare to owning rental properties directly?
Syndication removes the burden of tenant management, maintenance, and daily operations. Investors gain access to larger assets, professional management, and diversified risk. This makes it a more efficient and scalable option for busy professionals seeking passive income.

Disclaimer: This summary was written with the help of AI and reviewed by Rod’s Team.

00:00:28:24 – 00:00:48:03
Rod Khleif
Welcome to the new version of multifamily rock stars. And you know, you guys may not know, but because of feedback from you, we’ve always tried, you know, we’re always trying to make things better. We’ve decided to make these episodes really more of a deep dive into actual deals and give you more practical and actionable, you know, items for getting started on your first deal, especially if you’re new to multifamily.

00:00:48:06 – 00:00:51:10
Rod Khleif
And of course, I’ve got my co-host Marc Nagy with me. Marc. What’s up bud?

00:00:51:13 – 00:00:57:10
Mark Nagy
Good to be here Rodney. And just happy to see another familiar face, for our guests here today.

00:00:57:12 – 00:01:19:23
Rod Khleif
Yeah. Today we’ve got Karis, Italy and Karis, a former attorney. We won’t hold that against her. She’s, she’s she’s, she’s a mother of a four year old girl, but, she is killing it in the warrior program. I know she’s already in 123 doors. She’s got another deal and 66 unit JV just went under contract and just really making things happen.

00:01:19:23 – 00:01:22:15
Rod Khleif
So we’re gonna have some fun today. Carrie, welcome to the show.

00:01:22:17 – 00:01:25:14
Carrie Zatelli
Thank you. Thank you very much. I’m excited to be here.

00:01:25:16 – 00:01:44:16
Rod Khleif
Oh, I’m glad you’re here. And, you know, it’s, it’s great when, you know, we can see successful women, and, and inspire other women to what’s possible. So it just it really, you know, I think a lot of women are think, feel like, you know, they have hurdles, in, in getting into this business. And we’ve got so many successful female warriors.

00:01:44:16 – 00:02:04:04
Rod Khleif
So it’s just such a treat to have you on and, and, and add some value today. So why don’t we start with having you kind of tell us a little better version of your story? I glossed over so much. So please tell us who you are, where you came from and and why, you’re in our program and why you’re doing real estate.

00:02:04:08 – 00:02:25:16
Carrie Zatelli
Yeah. I grew up in a military family. My father was in the military for a really long time. We, lived all over this country, and we also moved overseas, and came back and kind of landed in Ohio, which is where I went to college and, got out of college after four years with a degree in English and kind of thought, now what?

00:02:25:18 – 00:02:49:06
Carrie Zatelli
I don’t have a lot, you know, I don’t want to be an English teacher. So I went back to law school, and when I came out of law school, I worked about a decade as a prosecutor in Cuyahoga County, and the felony court there. And I did that for probably about ten years and then moved in to, to a civil firm thinking that it make a little bit more, more money and it’d be sort of a change of pace.

00:02:49:06 – 00:03:10:24
Carrie Zatelli
And, there was a lot of hours and a lot of time on the weekends, a lot of evenings spent, you know, in an office and, so I did that for a couple of years, and it was I liked I love being a prosecutor, and I loved all the trial work and being an a trial attorney. It was just a lot of you’re you’re an hourly employee.

00:03:11:01 – 00:03:36:12
Carrie Zatelli
I mean, the fact that you’re making a lot more hourly than you could dream about, but you’re still an hourly employee. And it was taking a lot of time. So I met my husband at the time and wanted to cut back on the hours as far as weekends and evenings, and we started a construction company together, fixing sidewalks for affordable housing for their inspections across the country.

00:03:36:12 – 00:04:01:19
Carrie Zatelli
So we, work nationwide. And that’s how I started to get into the, multifamily. I’m a RA was around a lot of people that were owners of these properties for, low income housing and worked with a lot of housing. Authorities started talking to people about, being a limited partners on some of their deals. It’s kind of a different ballgame with, assumption of the government loans and things like that.

00:04:01:19 – 00:04:26:00
Carrie Zatelli
And I didn’t do it at the time. So my husband and I’ve had that company now about ten years. And so then I had my child and I had a single family home in Cleveland that was just a ton of work and realized immediately that that wasn’t something, I would ever want to do more than just that one.

00:04:26:02 – 00:04:50:24
Carrie Zatelli
So I actually started reading books, and I was going to buy a smaller apartment complex, you know, sort of and be able to stay at home with my child and just do something that was smaller. And as I started reading, it just didn’t make any sense. You know, as you start, you know, I’ve gotten a loan from the bank and started talking to different, you know, management companies, and it didn’t make sense to have a manage something small.

00:04:50:24 – 00:05:18:21
Carrie Zatelli
And, so I just started reading books and figuring it out. Then the pandemic hit and I didn’t want to start anything at that time. So I actually got a hold of your book and read it, and I was like, this is exactly what I want to do. And I don’t want to do single family homes. I don’t want to get, you know, and these 80 I had been looking at, you know, 15 to 20 unit apartment complexes around where I lived.

00:05:18:23 – 00:05:33:04
Carrie Zatelli
And, it just wasn’t making sense to hire, management company for the actual. I wanted to go bigger. And I read that book. I mean, I read, probably 50 books on apartments, but that one, I was like, this is it. This is what I’m doing.

00:05:33:04 – 00:05:55:23
Rod Khleif
So no, thank you for that. Let me interrupt you for one second. So, guys, I still give that book away for free. If you pay the shipping, it’s like six bucks or something. You can get it at rods, links, dot com rods, links, dot com and, and, you know, I’ve never had a negative word said about it, so it never I mean, knock on wood I it’s all been positive.

00:05:55:23 – 00:06:02:19
Rod Khleif
So I’m glad that was a little impetus. If it helped at all. I appreciate you mentioning that. Please continue. I’m sorry I interrupted.

00:06:02:19 – 00:06:22:03
Carrie Zatelli
Yeah. So, you know, I, I read the book and then I started by realizing how much more I needed to know about, you know, if I was going to do something bigger. This was probably a year before I joined your program, and I started, to really think about it and read about it and learn more about it.

00:06:22:03 – 00:06:58:00
Carrie Zatelli
And then, I had my mind set on, a larger apartment and doing a syndication. And that was in but I and so I was like, now I just have to figure out how I get from what I want, what do I need to get there? And, so I came across your program and thought, this is I mean, it’s exactly, you know, I looked at a few of the other programs that are out there and, you know, I had talked with, the people in your program and.

00:06:58:05 – 00:07:21:14
Rod Khleif
And here we are, and here we are. Well, I tell you, we get a lot of people, actually, that come over to us after they join other programs said, but, now I’m very, very proud of of what what’s happening in our group. So you joined in January of last year? It looks like, you’re you’re, in 123 doors as a general partner.

00:07:21:16 – 00:07:50:03
Rod Khleif
You know, we have lots of different types of people that listen to this show, and, and so, and there’s lots of different hats as you know, that you can wear in this business. We’re going to talk about the hats that you’re wearing right now, which I read in your bio, which, are awesome. And, and you’re definitely playing to your superpowers, as I read that, but you know, what types of listeners do you think would be able to relate to you as it relates to this business?

00:07:50:05 – 00:08:15:01
Carrie Zatelli
You know, I think that when I started to do this, I really, I mean, I had spent almost, you know, 15, 20 years doing something different. And there’s really a lot to learn. And in the very beginning, I think it’s very overwhelming. And you think to yourself, how am I going to learn this? And then I got to learn this and I, you know, you feel like you could just work like 70 hours a week just learning what you need to learn.

00:08:15:03 – 00:08:28:15
Carrie Zatelli
Yeah. Right. So I think that, when you start or if you decide to come into it, you really have to sort of like, what do they say? How do you eat an elephant? Just like one bite at a time. You have to pick your five. And they’re.

00:08:28:15 – 00:08:31:11
Rod Khleif
Big bites. They’re big bites. But yes.

00:08:31:13 – 00:08:58:21
Carrie Zatelli
Because you got to pick instead of getting overwhelmed. I think the first couple months, you know, I came to the first warrior event and I didn’t know a soul. And I’d been, you know, in your group for almost a month or less. And, you know, I kind of sat down and everybody’s like, what’s your superpower? And everyone’s coming up to me and I, you know, you almost like, feel like you have nothing to say because I don’t want to, but you kind of learn a little at a time how to how to navigate everything.

00:08:58:23 – 00:09:24:09
Carrie Zatelli
And you pick out what it is that you can do. You kind of got to learn what spokes are in the wheel before you can pick your, you know, the one that you think you’re going to be good at. So I think really for me, it’s telling somebody new, you really need to listen for really listen to what everybody’s doing and what they’re saying and really learn and sort of apply it to what you know and see where you fit in.

00:09:24:09 – 00:09:41:04
Rod Khleif
Well, you’ve got so many skills that that, I mean, you know, a little legal work. I mean, for God’s sakes, I mean, that’s that’s a huge piece of this. And a lot of money gets spent on legal fees. And you could certainly help save that in your group, and you’re a great communicator and so on and so forth.

00:09:41:04 – 00:09:57:15
Rod Khleif
By the way, guys, she mentioned the warrior event, you know, in our program, we typically do at least two of those a year, where we just meet with warriors and, you know, and of course we do deep dives on underwriting, deep dives on area analysis. But the biggest benefit is meeting other warriors, because, you know, I got to tell you, and it’s going to sound crazy.

00:09:57:15 – 00:10:19:01
Rod Khleif
I say this at my boot camp. It’s in this business. It’s more who you know than what you know. Candidly, you want to if you want to grow in this business, it’s it’s all about, connections. And my most successful warriors by far, are the ones that are the most connected in the warrior community. And so we do everything we can to facilitate those connections and and get people together when we discovered that.

00:10:19:01 – 00:10:23:12
Rod Khleif
So the warrior events is just one of the biggest ways we do that. And we have other ways to. But that’s the biggest.

00:10:23:13 – 00:10:45:22
Mark Nagy
When we talk about eating the elephant there that you mentioned, what helped you take that first bite? Because there’s a lot of people listening that I talk to that have similar backgrounds, that have demanding businesses work a lot of hours, kids as well as you do. What how do you make that decision of, hey, this is where I want to put my limited time into multifamily to take that first bite.

00:10:45:22 – 00:10:47:00
Mark Nagy
What helped you overcome that?

00:10:47:00 – 00:11:05:19
Carrie Zatelli
I think I sort of had a mindset for a long time that, you know, you work more hours and, you know, I worked at a firm that had billable hours. And so you’re it wasn’t you know, your time is valuable as far as to that firm or how much. And, I mean, you can work is just endless.

00:11:05:19 – 00:11:22:02
Carrie Zatelli
It isn’t like I completed a task, you know, you got to build this many hours. You got to get this done. This has to happen. And I you kind of realize when you live your life. And that was sort of chunks of time that you sort of lose some of it. And I really was looking for something that had a better balance for me.

00:11:22:02 – 00:11:31:24
Carrie Zatelli
And after, especially after having a child. But I’m not gone at seven, at home at 730, you know, like crushing it with billable hours, but you’re not, you know. Yeah.

00:11:32:01 – 00:11:33:20
Rod Khleif
Yeah. I have no life that.

00:11:33:20 – 00:11:54:09
Carrie Zatelli
Yeah, I think that was a big that was sort of a big shift for me. And when you’re younger, I mean, that’s. It doesn’t bother you. It didn’t bother me as much to be busy on the weekends and, you know, busy at night and getting ready for a Monday trial started on the weekends. But as you get older, you realize and you your priorities shift.

00:11:54:12 – 00:12:21:21
Carrie Zatelli
Not a way that you want to work. You don’t want to work hard. You just realize that there’s a little bit more to your life, you know, then. So I think the the shift for me was I also really like what I really like about the syndications is, how much I don’t want to say control, but you really can use your brain to figure out how you make it the best syndication you can with all the problems you have, and I really like that piece of it where.

00:12:21:21 – 00:12:23:05
Rod Khleif
You see strategy.

00:12:23:07 – 00:12:39:18
Carrie Zatelli
Yeah, where you have a problem and, that’s something that is that my brain works that way. Like, okay, we have a problem. These are our solution to what’s going to work the best and come out there. And I really like that sort of strategy way of looking at things and saying, this is the outcome. If we do this, this is the outcome.

00:12:39:18 – 00:12:55:23
Carrie Zatelli
If we do that. And that’s something that I kind of missed about trial work, which is, you know, you look at the big picture and say, okay, how are we going to put this together? And that’s something that I really, really loved about, you know, the syndications and even starting this first one, it was like love at first syndication.

00:12:55:23 – 00:12:58:12
Carrie Zatelli
It was like, oh my, you know, I just really like that.

00:12:58:12 – 00:13:16:09
Rod Khleif
Yeah. No, I love that part. I, I love that part as well. The strategy is just, and, you know, and, and that’s, that’s a major superpower, by the way, for you to be able to look at a deal and and look at it from different size, different angles, because a lot of deals have what we call hair on them and, you know, and you yeah, you know, you’re, you’re a problem solver.

00:13:16:09 – 00:13:36:00
Rod Khleif
You put on your problem solver hat and you and you and the, the, the some of the most successful people in our program are the ones that do that very, very well, you know, so let me let’s offer something to the listeners. What’s one action item that you could talk about that you think that would benefit the listeners, that they could literally start doing today?

00:13:36:00 – 00:13:39:18
Rod Khleif
If you can think back to, you know, when you got rolling here.

00:13:39:21 – 00:14:01:02
Carrie Zatelli
One action item that’s really, really important that I had done in the past, but not with dedication, is the goal setting, the goal setting for your year, your week and your day, or even your afternoon. To really be able to focus in. And it’s something that you can do that doesn’t cost anything. And, you can make it a priority.

00:14:01:02 – 00:14:26:24
Carrie Zatelli
I have an alarm set on my phone, so that every day, at the same time, I sit down and figure out how my day is going to go. And when I write it down, for whatever reason, that’s how it goes. If I don’t write it down, that’s not how it goes. And I really think that that was something, early on, especially in the warrior program, that I sort of rededicated myself to, because sometimes you get so busy, you’re just ready to start, you know, just start the day and let’s get going.

00:14:26:24 – 00:14:43:05
Carrie Zatelli
I got this, I gotta knock this out. This has to happen. And the goal setting, you know, sitting down and sort of taking a breath, even for just 15 minutes and say, okay, this is what I’m going to accomplish today. And you can do that without money, without, you know, you don’t have to have a fancy office. You don’t have to.

00:14:43:05 – 00:15:00:24
Carrie Zatelli
I mean, you can do it, you know, when you’re still sitting in bed for a minute if you want to jot it down. But for me, I come down to my home office, sit down. And that’s really something that has, propelled my success forward and my brain forward. Because you don’t get lost on, oh, I need to get this done.

00:15:00:24 – 00:15:16:15
Carrie Zatelli
I forgot I was going to get that done. That goes on tomorrow on this list. And that’s that’s really been a powerful tool. And I a lot of that came from listening to you on that first, you know, think you really it sets your feet in the right spot.

00:15:16:17 – 00:15:40:13
Rod Khleif
One of the gifts that I give the Warriors is a book called The Miracle Morning. And it speaks to starting your day off. Right. You know, with, with with an action plan, with, with journaling, with prayer or meditation, with exercise and all these things that you do to to really crush the day. In fact, I just had hello, Rob, the author on again on the show because he put out a second version of that book.

00:15:40:13 – 00:15:57:15
Rod Khleif
But yeah, if if you, you know, you’ve heard the adage fail to plan, plan to fail. You know, if you’re not, if you’re not, moving forward, and, and, and proactively looking at your day, you know, it goes away from you. You’re like a ship drifting in the wind. You know, you need that action plan.

00:15:57:15 – 00:16:04:19
Rod Khleif
You need those outcomes in front of you to actually, achieve those things and have clarity and focus. So the big thing is focus as.

00:16:04:19 – 00:16:25:13
Mark Nagy
That relates to multifamily carry, where they’re daily goals or tasks that you were writing down over this past year that you would say maybe came up multiple times, that you found yourself consistently doing in multifamily, and even maybe some on there that helped you get into this first deal that you could share with the listeners that are thinking they don’t even know where to start.

00:16:25:13 – 00:16:25:18
Mark Nagy
Yeah.

00:16:25:18 – 00:16:46:08
Carrie Zatelli
You know, in the beginning I didn’t even really know what my I don’t I mean, I had a bigger goals, but I didn’t even know exactly how to reach them at first. You know, when I came to the so I started with, the academy that you all put together that has all the pieces in it. I could at least start organizing in my mind what it is I had to learn.

00:16:46:08 – 00:17:02:14
Carrie Zatelli
So I would go through those and say, I’m going to spend two hours at this time. And do you know, I want to do part of the asset management and spend. And that was a big part of getting started. And at least you start to learn all the language and how it works. And, you know, then you’re like, oh, this isn’t so foreign.

00:17:02:16 – 00:17:16:09
Carrie Zatelli
I mean, you know, you you see how it all starts to piece together. And then I would also say that, one of my goals was to figure out what what piece, what part I would play in those, and so super.

00:17:16:09 – 00:17:17:20
Rod Khleif
Important piece.

00:17:17:22 – 00:17:33:03
Carrie Zatelli
My goals was to write down everything you would need, like all the, the pieces you’d need for a syndication and say, okay, I’m, you know, I don’t like spreadsheets. I can read them, but I don’t, you know, the scraps that went off, you know what I mean? And then, well, I do, you know, I’m pretty good at talking to people.

00:17:33:03 – 00:17:59:16
Carrie Zatelli
And I have a lot of, you know, friends in, in my business community that would probably be interested. So I could probably, you know, to look at raising capital and I, you know, so you kind of that was my original goal was to figure out like, what my, you know, superpower was going to be or what it is that I would be good at and what I could tell people, I can do this in this group and I could manage this part of what we need to take care of.

00:17:59:19 – 00:18:19:24
Carrie Zatelli
So that was sort of my goal in the beginning. And then as I narrow that down, I scratched out all the other ones and I thought, okay, now I’m going to be talking to people. And every time I talk to somebody, I’m just going to, you know, say, hey, I sort of shifted gears last year and, you know, so that’s sort of been and building up an investor base.

00:18:20:01 – 00:18:48:03
Rod Khleif
You just helped me, by the way. You just helped me. And I’ll tell you why, Carrie, because I can now explain helping warriors discover their superpower better because of what you just said. So I really appreciate that. And I’m very serious. So. So, because it is a discovery process, and I think, I think, you know, I just, you know, at the events at the boot camp, at my boot camps and at the warrior events, I just say, get up, tell everybody what your freaking superpowers, they may not know yet.

00:18:48:05 – 00:18:55:23
Rod Khleif
So you know what? I’m going to do a little more pre framing before I do that next time. So thank you for that. Well, let’s talk about your first deal as a warrior. By the way. Do you get your sword yet.

00:18:55:23 – 00:18:57:24
Carrie Zatelli
Yes I have you did.

00:18:58:01 – 00:19:12:03
Rod Khleif
Oh awesome. Awesome. By the way anybody that gets their first deal with us, they get this awesome freaking sword. I don’t have it here to show you, but it’s it’s a real sword. It’s cool. But anyway, so. So talk about that first deal. I know it’s in Texas. Can you describe it a little bit?

00:19:12:06 – 00:19:37:13
Carrie Zatelli
Yeah, it’s a, 123, unit. It’s a C class property. It’s, pretty much, Hispanic tenant base. And, I was brought in by another lawyer. There was a group that had already been together that was, they had found the deal. Flexi from, an owner put it right on there and, they negotiated it.

00:19:37:13 – 00:19:57:07
Carrie Zatelli
And so I kind of came in a little bit after that, because I had actually been on a deal with some other warriors that the sellers backed out. So I had already had some, investors kind of ready to go. And then when the sellers backed out of that deal, one of the warriors said, hey, how would you, you know, take a look at this.

00:19:57:07 – 00:20:29:17
Carrie Zatelli
I looked at it and I, you know, said, let’s do it and came into that. So it’s 123 units. We bought it for 11, million. 1125. The cash on cash is about 7%. IRR is 19 and R is 20%. And we’re looking to hold it for three ish years, probably probably closer to four and sell it at 14, seven.

00:20:29:19 – 00:20:44:14
Carrie Zatelli
I think the market rates were our, the average rents were, 1159 and it looks like the market was between 1200 and 1300 at the time when we bought it.

00:20:44:16 – 00:20:46:01
Mark Nagy
Awesome numbers.

00:20:46:03 – 00:21:16:03
Carrie Zatelli
Yeah. And so then it was, and it didn’t doesn’t really need a lot. We’re doing some minor interior, maybe some, some of that, the, doing a little bit of the flooring and maybe some paint, but it does it need it, you know, a lot. And it also maybe some, just some things on the outside, some of the like re striping and resurfacing the outside and fixing some of the painting the outside, kind of, making it look better.

00:21:16:05 – 00:21:36:20
Carrie Zatelli
And we might add a unit because our certificate of occupancy has one more to go. And so our leasing office is really big. So we’re kind of looking into, possibly adding, the market down there right now, it’s the one bedroom, one bath are really are going kind of fast. So we were thinking about adding maybe possibly one of those.

00:21:37:00 – 00:21:55:20
Mark Nagy
I want to take a quick step back because there’s one thing you kind of glossed over that a warrior or someone, they brought this deal to you because a question I get all the time is like, oh, I’m brand new, I’m into real estate. Why would somebody want to work with me? I don’t know what I’m doing. Why did they bring this deal to you through that relationship?

00:21:55:20 – 00:22:00:21
Mark Nagy
What what what was the situation? Why did they come to you? To, to help you bring this deal across the finish line?

00:22:00:24 – 00:22:26:12
Carrie Zatelli
Well, I had gone to that first wire event. I met a lot of people and probably said, you know, five words to me. You try to do your best to say, I’m interested. And then, some of the warriors had just, you know, through sort of after you get back and you schedule some zoom calls and you talk to everybody and you get in the group and you, you know, start talking to everybody that you can.

00:22:26:14 – 00:22:50:20
Carrie Zatelli
And, one of there was a warrior here that was here for lunch, had just flown into Cleveland, had a layover, was here for a couple hours, was here for lunch. And then I met up with the warrior group, down for lunch and it was one of those, like I said, one of those. One of those guys, asked me if I wanted to be on a deal in Cleveland and looked at it and said, yes.

00:22:50:20 – 00:23:18:04
Carrie Zatelli
And, you know, also having, like, come in with the warrior program to have a coach that you get to talk to. And so he was very involved with me and looking at these deals and you really start to you, you learn a lot quickly if you can absorb it all, you know. And so, met with, with here with my, with the coach and went over everything and, and he, you know, helped me go through it, make sure I was looking at everything correctly and was, you know, was going to be a GP on that deal.

00:23:18:06 – 00:23:38:12
Carrie Zatelli
That deal didn’t end up going forward through no fault of our team. And so when we when I met up with the Warriors for lunch, some, you know, I didn’t know about the deal at that time. But once down the line and because of that connection later, that person knew that I had investors that were kind of ready to go.

00:23:38:16 – 00:23:59:24
Carrie Zatelli
It’s really about all the connections. I mean, it just kind of links and links and links. You just, you know, as your pool gets bigger and bigger and bigger, you know, you kind of make a bigger splash there with talking to people. And so I think they picked me because when I had met him there now a couple times and I had met some of the other people, you know, a couple times and had raised some capital.

00:23:59:24 – 00:24:17:12
Rod Khleif
And so one of the, one of the exciting things about the, you know, the group or any group that you join is, you know, the ability to share notes and compare ideas and compare notes and align on, on things. And, you know, if you’re ever networking at one of these events, guys, and I tell the Warriors that they warrior events this.

00:24:17:12 – 00:24:36:09
Rod Khleif
But just for you general knowledge the work starts after the event the the the meeting people at the event is not the work. The work is is setting up calls afterwards and building relationships deep relationships and seeing how you can add value. That’s the work. And so don’t think you’re going to go to one of these events, collect a bunch of cards and your work is done.

00:24:36:09 – 00:25:02:07
Rod Khleif
No, you’re going to go to those, collect a bunch of cards, take pictures if you can, so you remember who they are, write notes on the cards and then you follow up. And that’s when you know you build those relationships. But, you know, that’s that’s what I tell people at the warrior events. And by the way, if you’re interested in applying to the warrior program, text the word crush to seven, two, three, four, or five, and we’ll set up a call and, we’ll see if you’re a fit and you’ll see if we’re a fit.

00:25:02:07 – 00:25:29:08
Rod Khleif
And if it is, I can tell you it’ll likely be one of the best decisions you ever made in your life. So, so back to that unit, because I did some math as you guys were talking. So if you turn that leasing space into a unit based on, I think I did a thousand a month, that is a 265,000 $264,000 increase in value to that complex at a five cap.

00:25:29:10 – 00:25:57:01
Rod Khleif
And so, you know, I don’t know what it cost to do that, to do the actual remodel, but, could very well be worth it. And, you know, whenever you buy an asset like this, you’re looking for ways, to, to increase the net operating income. And another thing I may mention to you, and I don’t know how effective this would be on a key asset, but, you know, on our B assets, we always number the parking spaces now because and we do offer reserved parking.

00:25:57:01 – 00:26:19:24
Rod Khleif
So, you know, what you could do is you could do a survey and ask the residents if they’d like that, see how many would be interested. And if they are, then, you know, it’s not a very big expense. And, you know, that goes right to the bottom line. I talk about it on the show. We did a 296 unit asset, and we got an $800,000 bump in value from painting some numbers on the freaking parking spaces.

00:26:20:01 – 00:26:45:22
Rod Khleif
You know, very exciting, because we have another one under contract a mile away from that one. That’s even a better deal. So very exciting times. But anyway, so, you know, if you were going to project your person, this is a personal question. You know, at your current pace, if you were going to take a guess or projection, how long it’s going to take for you to reach financial freedom.

00:26:45:24 – 00:27:01:08
Rod Khleif
You know, to answer that question, give us a shot, you know, is, is and I don’t know what your definition of that is if it’s just covering your expenses or if, you know, if it’s actually living the life you’ve always dreamt about. So take take that question any way you’re like, you know what?

00:27:01:08 – 00:27:20:04
Carrie Zatelli
I’ve thought about it. I think it’s probably going to be somewhere 5 to 8 years where I’ve been maybe through to, you know, where the Syndications have gone all the way through and you’re kind of re investing that money. So I’m going to say three to for 5 to 8 years in my mind.

00:27:20:06 – 00:27:41:12
Mark Nagy
And moving forward, I know you mentioned a couple of deals obviously, that are going to help you get there because, obviously, yes, interest rates are still holding steady. Lots of debt coming due. There’s so many opportunities I have my inbox right now is just filled with price reduction emails from brokers and everything. And you mentioned two, Louise, that you have sent out, one accepted.

00:27:41:12 – 00:27:57:06
Mark Nagy
And one thing that caught my attention that you said earlier was you had one Loi that got accepted, but you guys actually backed out of that. And I’d love to hear, just for the listeners, what was the reason you guys backed out of that? And what did you see that made you decide, hey, we want to we don’t want to touch this deal right now.

00:27:57:08 – 00:28:21:15
Carrie Zatelli
You know, that was one of my partners. She found the deal, and she, she’s phenomenal. She’s she’s experience. And she’s just a phenomenal person to partner with and, talk to. I believe the management company. And I want to say the management company kind of said this is kind of a higher crime and sort of roundabout, you know, in a sense.

00:28:21:16 – 00:28:21:19
Carrie Zatelli
Yeah.

00:28:21:19 – 00:28:23:19
Rod Khleif
They have to be careful. They have to be careful.

00:28:24:00 – 00:28:44:02
Carrie Zatelli
Yeah, yeah. So it’s you know, some, some, some things just aren’t the right fit. So, that one wasn’t going to be the right, right set and in the right area. Like, you know, some things on paper aren’t always what they are. You know, you can look at something and when you start looking a little deeper, you know.

00:28:44:04 – 00:28:52:11
Mark Nagy
Yeah. Well, so, Carrie, what what is the biggest thing that’s got you excited about multifamily moving forward? In this business?

00:28:52:11 – 00:29:20:10
Carrie Zatelli
You know, I think that, one of the hot topics that everybody’s talking about is, you know, with the interest rates high and that coming down at this point, that there’s a lot of debt coming due, and people that didn’t foresee this lasting this long or being there are going to need to, do something to sort of sell their, sell their, investments in their assets.

00:29:20:15 – 00:29:39:19
Carrie Zatelli
And I think that, you know, that’s just going to be a good time for people having to either sell faster or at a lower rate. And especially for me, I don’t have any, you know, since I haven’t been doing this for five, ten years, I don’t have any of those coming, coming through. I’m getting in when those people need to get out.

00:29:39:21 – 00:29:56:14
Carrie Zatelli
So for me, that’s exciting because I don’t I don’t have the downside of it. I only have the upside of it. So, you know, and I’ve, I’ve heard through just in the pipeline and people talking about their deals and what they’re seeing that there are some people, I wouldn’t say they’re in a panic, but they just have to do what they have to do.

00:29:56:14 – 00:29:58:21
Carrie Zatelli
And, you know, get those.

00:29:58:21 – 00:30:16:08
Mark Nagy
So, yeah. And by the way, for people listening, because I get this question a lot that don’t understand this, when what she’s talking about, when, when she’s saying debt coming do commercial debt is not like single family debt. Commercial debt typically comes due every three, five, seven, ten years, whatever the loan is or whatever the term is.

00:30:16:08 – 00:30:36:21
Mark Nagy
And so they have to refinance or sell. And so when you refinance and interest rates are higher, obviously your payment goes way up or you have floating debt that changes versus single family. The reason why I’m sure you guys have probably noticed a single family is just completely flat and hasn’t really dropped. They just have 30 year debt and it’s, you know, stable and they don’t have to change anything, which is why people are not selling.

00:30:37:02 – 00:30:53:10
Rod Khleif
And so the reason they’re not selling their is not selling is because they could sell and they have 3% interest. Now, if they do that they’re going to have seven and a half, 8% interest. So it’s like so there’s a big stop gap right now. You know, I just interview as an economist on the show yesterday probably won’t go live for a few weeks here.

00:30:53:16 – 00:31:15:01
Rod Khleif
But you know, he doesn’t think we’re going to see some big interest rate reductions for quite a bit, because inflation is still high. So it’s going to be interesting to see how this this is just we’ve got a lot of conflicting things happening right now. It’s very difficult to, to have, you know, clarity on, on where things are going.

00:31:15:01 – 00:31:30:00
Rod Khleif
And, and I wish I had that crystal ball, but, it’s going to be really interesting to see how things shake out. I believe they have to drop the interest rates some just for the election. They’re going to put pressure on that, the current administration. But you know, how it all shakes up is going to be very, very interesting at this point.

00:31:30:00 – 00:31:35:20
Rod Khleif
So Carrie, are you okay with, people reaching out to you just to ask questions about multifamily?

00:31:35:22 – 00:31:36:12
Carrie Zatelli
Yeah.

00:31:36:14 – 00:31:45:10
Rod Khleif
Okay. All right. So, I think I’ve got your your stuff here. Or if you want to just let people know, where they can reach you, that’d be great. Yeah.

00:31:45:12 – 00:32:06:03
Carrie Zatelli
Instagram is just at Sky syndication. My website is Sky or Sky capital llc.com. You can also email me at invest or, Carrie at Sky capital LLC. Dot com and Facebook is invest Sky capital LLC.

00:32:06:05 – 00:32:27:14
Rod Khleif
Oh, thank you for that. Thank you for that. So you know she’s happy to answer questions for you guys. So one last question for you, Carrie. You know what suggestions do you have for someone that wants to do this that hasn’t taken action yet? And I’m not trying to have you plug the warrior group, but just just in general, what sorts of things, would you suggest they do?

00:32:27:16 – 00:32:46:16
Rod Khleif
If they’re serious about this and they want to take advantage of what we see as economic opportunity coming, because it’s definitely here. I’ve got a deal under contract. It’s mind blowing right now. But but. And they’re coming and we’re seeing them. But but for someone that’s like, not sure what to do, where to get started, what you know, what suggestions would you have?

00:32:46:18 – 00:33:08:04
Carrie Zatelli
I would say, I mean, for me, I, I’m not a jump in without knowing anything kind of person. I’m more of I got to learn it and then I’m going to jump in and so, start, you know, reading, listening to a podcast, there’s so much information on the internet. I mean, you can learn this. You just are so much information and just start narrowing down what it is.

00:33:08:10 – 00:33:29:15
Carrie Zatelli
You know, that sounds good to you and resonates with you. And, just really an every day turn your car into a little, you know, college, you know, just you play the the podcast and listen and I, you know, think, oh, that sounds like something I could do or can’t do or would like and wouldn’t like, and just every day do something to move the, you know, move the ball to the goal post for yourself.

00:33:29:15 – 00:33:45:14
Rod Khleif
Great advice, great advice, great advice. Carrie, it’s a treat to see you again. I appreciate you stepping up and, adding some value here today and, and can’t wait to see you again in a couple of years and, and see you in the thousands of units instead of the hundreds. So.

00:33:45:14 – 00:33:47:21
Carrie Zatelli
Yeah. Thanks. I’m ready.

00:33:47:23 – 00:33:49:05
Rod Khleif
All right. Thanks for coming on.