How He Converted Commercial Space Into Apartments (And 3x’d His Money)

Commercial to Residential Conversion Multifamily Strategy with Russell Weatherspoon Jr

For wealthy professionals and business owners looking to accelerate wealth through real estate, commercial to residential conversion multifamily deals represent a powerful value add opportunity. In this episode of Multifamily Rockstars, Russell Weatherspoon Jr breaks down how he identified, underwrote, and executed a small multifamily deal that dramatically increased value through strategic conversion.

Russell’s journey began in single family investing, where he and his wife built hands on experience renovating properties, increasing rents, and executing a BRRRR strategy. After successfully doubling rent and tripling value on a single family rental in metro Detroit, he was ready to think bigger. That mindset led him to a mixed use property with underperforming commercial space and untapped potential.

Identifying Hidden Value in Commercial to Residential Conversion Multifamily Deals

The turning point came when Russell analyzed a small apartment building listed on LoopNet. While many investors overlook publicly listed deals, he underwrote the property carefully and realized it was significantly undervalued. The key insight was recognizing that the commercial space was not the highest and best use.

Instead of leasing the struggling office space, Russell pursued a commercial to residential conversion multifamily strategy. By presenting to the planning commission and securing special land use approval, he converted the commercial footprint into additional apartment units. This repositioning increased both the rent roll and the overall asset value.

Executing the Conversion and Forcing Appreciation

Russell and his partners focused on execution with discipline and precision. They secured the property through a joint venture structure, refinanced out of high interest debt into a local credit union construction loan, and converted the commercial space into both a three bedroom and a two bedroom unit.

Beyond the physical renovation, they improved operations through branding, resurfaced parking, and upgraded systems. By increasing unit count and optimizing layout based on tenant demand, Russell forced appreciation rather than waiting on market growth. This is the core advantage of commercial to residential conversion multifamily investing.

Financing Creative Deals as a Working Professional

As a full time engineer with multiple patents and a background in Division II college football, Russell demonstrates that investors do not need to leave their W2 careers to build serious real estate portfolios. He navigated difficult lending conditions by initially closing with higher interest financing and later refinancing once value was proven.

For high income professionals, this approach shows how strong income, strategic underwriting, and local relationships can be leveraged to execute value add deals without sacrificing career stability.

Scaling Through Team, Vision, and Mindset

Russell also shares how joining a mastermind environment helped him think bigger. After realizing that doing everything himself would limit growth, he began building a team, forming partnerships, and setting his sights on additional acquisitions, including the adjacent building and future storage development on the same parcel.

With a clear four year path to financial freedom, Russell Weatherspoon Jr exemplifies the blend of faith, resilience, and calculated execution that defines successful multifamily investors.

About Russell Weatherspoon Jr

Russell Weatherspoon Jr is a commercial real estate investor and engineer based in Michigan. With a background in automotive engineering and multiple patents, he transitioned from single family rentals into multifamily investing through value add strategies, including commercial to residential conversion multifamily projects. He manages his own properties and continues expanding through strategic partnerships.

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

Commercial to Residential Conversion Multifamily Investing FAQ

What is commercial to residential conversion multifamily investing?
Commercial to residential conversion multifamily investing is a value add strategy where investors purchase properties with existing commercial space and legally convert that space into residential apartment units. This approach increases unit count, rental income, and overall property value. By repositioning underperforming commercial areas into in demand housing, investors can force appreciation rather than relying solely on market growth.

Why is commercial to residential conversion multifamily a strong strategy in 2025?
Commercial to residential conversion multifamily is gaining momentum due to changing demand patterns. Many office and retail spaces remain underutilized, while housing demand continues to rise in many markets. Converting commercial square footage into residential units allows investors to capitalize on this imbalance and create higher income producing assets.

How does commercial to residential conversion multifamily increase property value?
Property value in multifamily investing is largely based on net operating income. By converting commercial space into residential units, investors often increase rental income and stabilize occupancy. Higher net operating income leads to a higher appraised value, especially when the property is refinanced based on improved performance.

What types of properties are best for commercial to residential conversion multifamily projects?
Mixed use buildings, small apartment complexes with attached office space, and properties located on main roads with outdated retail frontage often present strong opportunities. Buildings where the commercial footprint mirrors the residential layout above can simplify conversions. Properties in areas with strong rental demand and limited new housing supply are especially attractive.

What approvals are required for commercial to residential conversion multifamily?
Most projects require zoning verification and, in some cases, special land use approval or rezoning. Investors typically need to present plans to a planning commission or local municipality. Because residential is often considered a less intensive use than commercial, approvals can be achievable when supported by proper documentation and community benefit.

What are the biggest risks in commercial to residential conversion multifamily investing?
The primary risks include zoning denial, unexpected construction costs, permitting delays, and inaccurate rent projections. Structural limitations, plumbing requirements, and code compliance can also impact budgets. Thorough due diligence, contractor estimates, and conservative underwriting help mitigate these risks.

How is commercial to residential conversion multifamily financed?
Investors may use bridge loans, construction loans, local credit union financing, or joint venture capital to acquire and reposition properties. Often, high interest short term financing is replaced with permanent debt after the conversion is complete and value is established. Refinancing based on the new income can allow investors to recapture capital and reinvest.

Is commercial to residential conversion multifamily suitable for small investors?
Yes, smaller mixed use buildings can offer accessible entry points for investors who are willing to manage construction and navigate zoning. Many successful projects begin with five to ten unit properties rather than large institutional deals. With proper planning and partnerships, smaller investors can execute conversions that significantly increase equity.

How long does a commercial to residential conversion multifamily project typically take?
Timelines vary depending on zoning, permitting, and construction scope. Planning approval can take several weeks to several months, while construction may range from three to nine months. Efficient project management and proactive communication with local authorities can reduce delays.

How does commercial to residential conversion multifamily compare to traditional value add investing?
Traditional value add investing often focuses on interior renovations and rent increases. Commercial to residential conversion multifamily goes a step further by changing the actual use of space to increase unit count and revenue potential. This strategy can produce larger equity gains because it fundamentally transforms the income structure of the asset.

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

00:00:28:24 – 00:00:49:21
Rod Khleif
Welcome back to Multifamily Rockstars. So as you guys know this is where we dive deep into our guests deals and we give you really actionable and practical tips to actually take action and do your first deal. And, got, got a warrior named Russell Weatherspoon Jr, on today. And he’s got a really cool background, which I’m going to let him tell you rather than me botch it.

00:00:49:23 – 00:00:51:17
Rod Khleif
Welcome to the show, brother.

00:00:51:19 – 00:00:54:08
Russell Weatherspoon
All right. Thanks, rod. It’s really a pleasure to be here.

00:00:54:10 – 00:01:11:18
Rod Khleif
Well, it’s a pleasure to have you here. And like I was telling you before we started recording, I was very impressed with your background. Some of the stuff you’ve done. So why don’t you take a minute and and update, you know, our listeners as to who you are and you know, and bring us current but and also chat about why real estate, you know, and how that came to be.

00:01:11:18 – 00:01:15:20
Rod Khleif
But but I love the other stuff too. So mention that other stuff too. Please.

00:01:15:22 – 00:01:38:07
Russell Weatherspoon
Okay. Yeah. So, I’m an engineer by day and, you know, commercial real estate investor by night. Currently employed at General Motors. I spent some time at Ford and Chrysler as well. And, you know, throughout my time there was able to file a couple patents when I was at Ford. Oh, that was something I always wanted to be able to have at least one.

00:01:38:07 – 00:01:40:18
Russell Weatherspoon
And, I got three, so that’s truly a blessing.

00:01:40:18 – 00:01:42:18
Rod Khleif
They’re automotive related.

00:01:42:20 – 00:01:44:01
Russell Weatherspoon
Yes. Automotive related.

00:01:44:07 – 00:01:45:02
Rod Khleif
Oh, interesting.

00:01:45:02 – 00:01:56:02
Russell Weatherspoon
Yep. Okay. Yep. So, but yeah. So engineer. And then I’ve been, you know, I started investing in real estate about six years ago.

00:01:56:04 – 00:01:59:16
Rod Khleif
Now, wait a minute, wait a minute, a minute. You also played college football.

00:01:59:18 – 00:02:01:14
Russell Weatherspoon
Yes. Yep. College football.

00:02:01:16 – 00:02:12:23
Rod Khleif
NCAA Division two, which is impressive as well. You’re a humble guy, I can tell, but, Oh, it’s very, very impressive as well. So? So, okay, now we can talk about real estate.

00:02:13:00 – 00:02:41:14
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah. Yep. So but yeah. So six years ago, my wife and I, you know, took the dive into real estate and most people start with single family. And that’s where we started. There was a guy in my church, who had about 13 single family rentals and, he, I kind of just gravitated towards him, you know, since we were interested into it and kind of dropped in here and there when he was doing the flip or doing, you know, a BR on some property or whatnot, and learned a few things from him.

00:02:41:14 – 00:03:00:18
Russell Weatherspoon
And, you know, because there was, I guess, a perceived risk. Right. So we decided to buy a property that was ten it occupied. And, you know, you can buy properties with folks in. There’s pretty common with the apartments, right. But, so we we found this property and, you know, the guy that was my mentor, he came over with me.

00:03:00:18 – 00:03:17:24
Russell Weatherspoon
We we did the inspection, the house, and he was like, this is a good deal, right? So it kind of gave me some, you know, you know, encouragement and that, you know, that we were on the right track with this. So we, you know, we bought it and this was right before covet. And, you know, Covid hit five months later.

00:03:18:01 – 00:03:42:18
Russell Weatherspoon
So we’re like, oh, man. You know, luckily, you know, that, property the gentleman that was working there was a janitor. So he he was still employed. So we didn’t really, you know, lose out any there. And then, in May of 2020, we purchased, purchased our second single family rental, right during Covid. And there was a lot of uncertainty, you know, at the time.

00:03:42:18 – 00:03:44:22
Russell Weatherspoon
But, you know, we were confident.

00:03:44:24 – 00:03:46:24
Rod Khleif
And these were where, buddy, where’d you where’d you get.

00:03:46:24 – 00:03:51:03
Russell Weatherspoon
These? So this was in metro Detroit. Okay. Both of the properties here.

00:03:51:08 – 00:03:53:00
Rod Khleif
Okay. Okay.

00:03:53:02 – 00:04:14:11
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah. So, then we kind of set on both of those properties for a couple of years. I believe I get my timing right. I think it was 2023 is when we actually kind of did a BR on the first property that we bought. And, so we kind of did it, not in the order of the traditional sense, but we already had a tenant in there.

00:04:14:11 – 00:04:21:17
Russell Weatherspoon
So we kind of got the tenant out. We actually offered some compensation to kind of leave because he had been there for like four years or so.

00:04:21:19 – 00:04:24:10
Rod Khleif
Sure. And that was nice. That was nice of you.

00:04:24:12 – 00:04:28:22
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah. Yeah. We try to take good care of our tenants. You know in all around.

00:04:28:22 – 00:04:32:00
Rod Khleif
So that’s that’s, that’s just being a good person. Good.

00:04:32:01 – 00:04:52:00
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah. Thank you. But yeah. So we, we went in and we fixed that property up. My wife and I did most of the work ourselves. That we could do legally, right? I couldn’t do the electrical. And we actually, we learned a lot on the fly, you know, do oh, shoot stuff, YouTube videos, drywall and so actually learn how to drywall.

00:04:52:02 – 00:05:05:12
Russell Weatherspoon
Wow. To improve. Wow. You know, in my garage and went there and, you know, we did the drywall. My wife said I was crazy. She said, no, no, we don’t need to do the drywall. There’s too much. It’s going to be. It did take more time than I had anticipated, but we got it done.

00:05:05:14 – 00:05:10:00
Rod Khleif
And it’s, you know, it’s an overrated. It’s an overrated experience, isn’t it? Yeah.

00:05:10:02 – 00:05:25:22
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah. Yeah it is. Yeah, yeah. So but but you know, after, after learning that, you know, I taught my wife she can do drywall patches now. And there’s another guy at church. I taught him how to do drywall. So it’s kind of, it’s been it’s been good in that regard, but I thought you.

00:05:25:22 – 00:05:32:23
Rod Khleif
You’re actually hanging it. I thought you were actually hanging it. That is no fun. Let me tell you, buddy. I’ve been there. Yeah. Oh, you were you were hanging.

00:05:32:24 – 00:05:35:17
Russell Weatherspoon
Hanging, taping, finishing. We did it all.

00:05:35:19 – 00:05:36:06
Rod Khleif
Oh, no.

00:05:36:07 – 00:05:37:12
Russell Weatherspoon
No. Yeah.

00:05:37:13 – 00:05:45:01
Rod Khleif
No, no, it’s that’s not fun. Okay, so, and your wedding and your marriage survived all this?

00:05:45:03 – 00:06:06:04
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah, I actually, I think it got stronger. And, especially with the the most recent project at the apartment, which I won’t skip ahead, but, we’ll get there. But, but anyway, so that property, we completely, you know, remodeled everything. Roof. I mean, it’s brand new, you know, looking house or whatsoever. Really nice. So we increase the value of that.

00:06:06:06 – 00:06:33:20
Russell Weatherspoon
I believe it was like, one and a half, but actually, it was. No. Yeah, it was three times the value. Well, we originally purchased and we were able to double the rent that we were, you know, bring it in from that property with the updates. So then we did a cash out refinance, moved out of the primary residence we were currently living in, made that one a rental, bought another property for ourselves further out of the city.

00:06:33:22 – 00:06:43:15
Russell Weatherspoon
So my wife always wanted to kind of, you know, she grew up in a rural area. And, so this is an opportunity for us. So we took it. And, we love where we’re at now. And,

00:06:43:17 – 00:06:46:23
Rod Khleif
A little more rural. Then you’re out, you’re out, you’re on the sticks a little bit. Love it.

00:06:47:01 – 00:06:48:16
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So.

00:06:48:18 – 00:06:50:21
Rod Khleif
So why my family.

00:06:50:23 – 00:07:12:18
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah. So, you know, I started to, you know, just listen to different folks out there. Grant Cardone and you came across my, my seed. And, I’ll tell you a funny story about this. I think I told Mark this one, at the bootcamp, but so I saw, you know, one of your, your ads about your book, and it was for free.

00:07:12:19 – 00:07:29:23
Russell Weatherspoon
Just had to do this. So I filled all the information. I’m like, I don’t know, I just I just sometimes I’m skeptical about those things is, you know what? I’m just going to go to Amazon and buy the book myself. So I went and bought the book and read it. And then this is how you gain my trust, because I read the book and I’m like, wow, there’s a lot of good information in there.

00:07:29:23 – 00:07:51:06
Russell Weatherspoon
I can’t believe he’s given this away for free. So then, read the book. And I started looking around. My wife was looking. And this brings us to the apartment. Found that on loop net. The area and Flint Township. You know, my wife went over and looked at it and drove around, and she’s like, hey, this is not really a bad area at all whatsoever, but.

00:07:51:08 – 00:08:01:03
Rod Khleif
Oh, hold on, let me slow you down a little bit. Let me slow you down. So you read the book, you got some you got some insights from the book I still give it away for. By the way, you could have got it for just paying the 6 or 7 bucks shipping for I.

00:08:01:04 – 00:08:02:02
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah, I know, so.

00:08:02:02 – 00:08:17:00
Rod Khleif
You know okay, I mean, I, I’ve done tens of thousands of copies that people have gotten. And you know, what’s crazy is I’ve never gotten even a critical word. I mean, I get hate every day on social media. No one should own 800 houses, you know, because I talk about that like, yeah, well, no one should whine in their mom’s basement either.

00:08:17:00 – 00:08:36:06
Rod Khleif
But but anyway. So so so. But I’ve never had a critical word about that book, which is just, you know, really, I’m very proud of that. But, so, so I’m just back to what you just said. Your wife looked on loop net because, you know, I’m going to tell you, you know, a lot of people think loop net is kind of a waste of time that deals go there to die.

00:08:36:06 – 00:08:54:02
Rod Khleif
But I can tell you that, that people find deals there. And I’ve seen some extraordinary deals there. So guys just you know, loop net is owned by CoStar and it is kind of like the commercial multifamily MLS system for commercial real estate. You know, a lot of brokers keep their stuff offline and and go are off market.

00:08:54:02 – 00:09:10:03
Rod Khleif
So they they they don’t put it there. But there are still a lot of deals there. So anyway, I just want to but give a little context around what you just said before we moved on. Russell. So please continue. So she found it and you said this is what she said. This a good area. That’s where you work.

00:09:10:05 – 00:09:28:21
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah. So she she actually when she went over there to look at the area, the realtor was there because there was a realtor that had listed this property, and that’s not uncommon with some of these smaller multifamily properties. So she actually got to see it on the inside. And then this was, I think, March of where we’re at in years now.

00:09:28:23 – 00:09:45:19
Russell Weatherspoon
It’s 26, 25, 24. And so we didn’t really take any action on it then because I was kind of thinking like, okay, I need a little bit more capital to take this deal down and whatnot. So we kind of just, you know, you showed up for now.

00:09:46:00 – 00:10:05:05
Rod Khleif
Let me interject one more thing, buddy, and I’m sorry to interrupt, but you’re giving me an opportunity to interject some good stuff, so, guys. Okay. Yeah. Actual ninja trick is dealing with residential real estate agents and brokers to find deals, because very often they haven’t got a clue. If they get an email, if they get a multifamily property, then we’ve got a clue how to price it.

00:10:05:10 – 00:10:26:08
Rod Khleif
You know, how to how to hire, how to properly, you know, put a value on it, okay. And you can get some phenomenal deals that way. It’s kind of a ninja trick, you know, that if you if you develop a relationship with a residential agent or broker in whatever market you’re interested in buying in and have them put an alert in the MLS, if any multifamily shows up that they let you know, you can get some great deals.

00:10:26:08 – 00:10:33:20
Rod Khleif
I mean, I know, I know people that have gotten phenomenal deals that way. So anyway, I just want to interject that piece. Please continue buddy.

00:10:33:22 – 00:10:49:14
Russell Weatherspoon
No thanks for that. Because, you know, that’s kind of how we kind of got a really good deal in this situation. You know, after reading your book, I started, doing some underwriting and I’m like, wow, I think this building is about $100,000 more valuable than what they’re selling it for.

00:10:49:20 – 00:10:51:17
Rod Khleif
There you go. Yeah.

00:10:51:19 – 00:10:52:11
Russell Weatherspoon
I didn’t know that.

00:10:52:12 – 00:10:53:11
Rod Khleif
There you go. Okay.

00:10:53:13 – 00:11:14:08
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah, yeah. And, so then I’m like, okay. But that’s kind of after the fact, you know, as we got closer to, I think, July or so and, I had a friend, you know, who’s also an investor, he’s done some, you know, startups and whatnot. And, you know, he was interested in investing in real estate.

00:11:14:08 – 00:11:30:06
Russell Weatherspoon
So we kind of went in together on this deal. And when he brought that information to me that he’s interested. So I kind of went back and started looking to see if I could find some deals. And that deal was still on the market. And they actually had dropped the price a little bit since the last time we looked at it.

00:11:30:08 – 00:11:32:24
Russell Weatherspoon
Boom. And then. Yeah. So then I’m.

00:11:32:24 – 00:11:51:10
Rod Khleif
Gonna let me say something else. Let me say something else. Nobody looks at the residential MLS for multifamily properties okay. So it wasn’t marketed. Well actually that was the open it. I’m sorry. This was looking net. Never mind. That’s where they do look, I but a very often they’ll just put it in the MLS, right. Regular MLS and nobody looks for them there.

00:11:51:10 – 00:11:54:24
Rod Khleif
So anyway, please continue buddy.

00:11:55:01 – 00:12:04:06
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah. So then, we kind of we went in together on that deal. We put it under contract for the full asking price is I’m like, it’s already, you know.

00:12:04:08 – 00:12:06:12
Rod Khleif
So this was like a pretty good deal.

00:12:06:14 – 00:12:08:00
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah. JV deal. Yeah.

00:12:08:00 – 00:12:11:15
Rod Khleif
So you would put some money in. You’d put some money in garbage.

00:12:11:15 – 00:12:32:10
Russell Weatherspoon
Put some money in. It’s just two partners and my wife and I and another partner. And then, so we took ownership, I believe we closed. It was like September or so, and then, we didn’t realize this. Right. And, you know, I immediately realized when we took ownership, maybe like a month in the single family is different from multifamily, even in small multifamily.

00:12:32:10 – 00:12:52:03
Russell Weatherspoon
Right? So we have a sign out front and, you know, it’s got a number on there and there’s the advertising and the marketing is different, etc.. But we had, you know, I was expecting this thing to cash flow based on, you know, the people that were already in there because it was fully occupied. Oh, I’m sorry. It was one vacancy that we had to fill.

00:12:52:05 – 00:13:12:20
Russell Weatherspoon
You know, when we took ownership and it turns out there was, you know, delinquencies quite a bit, you know, so and we had to end up doing cash for keys to get one individual out that was renting the lower commercial space and also upstairs. And then, so I don’t know, like I said, it was just kind of shocking at first when we took that over.

00:13:12:22 – 00:13:30:18
Russell Weatherspoon
And then, one of the reasons we were very interested in this building is because I wasn’t really interested in the commercial space, and I think I had heard one of your, rails or so talking about office space and so on, on the right area, I guess, you know, it’s it’s not really good to be in that space because people are getting in trouble in that.

00:13:30:18 – 00:13:49:06
Russell Weatherspoon
But in this area is not really that good for office anymore. So, you know, it was part of our plan to convert it anyways, right? We weren’t really sure how many units we could get, but we knew, at least to us, like the full, full footprint of the commercial space is the same size as the four one bedrooms upstairs.

00:13:49:08 – 00:14:10:24
Russell Weatherspoon
Right? So I’m going to skip a little bit, in the timeline there. We got some delinquent folks out. We had a couple units that were sitting vacant for months in the commercial space. Had to sit vacant because we also found when we took ownership is that there was some illegal work that was done, so we legally couldn’t use the commercial space, which was fine because we weren’t planning to use it anyways.

00:14:11:01 – 00:14:33:20
Russell Weatherspoon
So we had to fix those issues. And then, in July, I think, yeah, that’s when we closed on, construction loan and then we converted those to or that commercial space into a three bedroom unit downstairs in a two bedroom unit. So we finished that, towards the end of the year, we got our certificate of occupancy.

00:14:33:20 – 00:14:58:13
Russell Weatherspoon
That’s 20, 25, and we just moved in. The last tenant, Saturday. So it’s fully occupied now and conversions complete. We did a lot of work there. Just some of the highlights there. When we resurface the parking lot. Stripe did put up a new name for the building. So we did a little branding there. New mini splits.

00:14:58:15 – 00:14:59:04
Russell Weatherspoon
You know what it was.

00:14:59:04 – 00:15:09:15
Mark Nagy
For financing for this deal because you mentioned two different things there. You mentioned a construction loan. Did you get regular financing and then add a construction loan? Did you pay cash or not? A construction loan. How did you do that?

00:15:09:17 – 00:15:31:07
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah. So originally I’m glad you brought that up, Mark. So I should clarify that. Originally we went through, a residential mortgage brokerage, and they found us a lender out in California, and they, we acquired one. So when we close and said we had an interest rate of, like, I think 12% or something like that because we couldn’t find anybody to do this deal.

00:15:31:07 – 00:15:52:12
Russell Weatherspoon
A lot of people were skeptical on the area lenders and whatnot. So nobody locally that I could find wanted to do it. At least, you know, at that time. So then we refinanced out of that into a construction loan and when we did the refinance, we actually got money back at the closing table. So I love that when that happens.

00:15:52:14 – 00:15:54:20
Rod Khleif
Because it’s, yes, tax deferred.

00:15:54:22 – 00:16:00:10
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah. Yep. And then so we got it with the local credit union.

00:16:00:15 – 00:16:10:12
Rod Khleif
So now it’s now it’s now it’s quasi permanent with a local credit union. We’ve got like a five year balloon or something. With local credit union. What sort of interest rate do you have now?

00:16:10:14 – 00:16:12:05
Russell Weatherspoon
6.775.

00:16:12:08 – 00:16:27:12
Rod Khleif
That’s workable. That’s workable? Yeah. Okay. Now, you talked about briefly. By the way, I want to mention a couple of quick things. You said many splits. By the way, guys, if you don’t know what that is, that’s like an air conditioning system that goes in the wall. They use it in a lot of hotels.

00:16:27:12 – 00:16:46:00
Rod Khleif
I’ve actually got one behind me in my office here because it gets warm in my office. My AC needs a little juice. So. But that’s a really good thing. I’ve. I’ve, let you use those sometimes, in, in commercial real estate and apartments and things of that nature. And then, and I lost my train of thought.

00:16:46:00 – 00:16:58:24
Rod Khleif
What was the other thing I was going to mention? Oh, so you did this as a joint venture. Did you both sign on the debt? How did you work that? Yes. Okay. So you both signed on the day, by the way, guys, a joint venture and a joint venture. Everybody has to be active. They have to do something.

00:16:58:24 – 00:17:14:19
Rod Khleif
If you take money from someone and they don’t and they’re not active, you have to syndicate. And you know, I teach this stuff on my bootcamps, but but, but, but if it’s, if you sign on the if everybody signs on the debt, they’re definitely active. And I’m assuming, you know, he was active anyway. So that’s okay.

00:17:14:19 – 00:17:35:19
Rod Khleif
Yep. Okay. And and so you paid cash for keys to get somebody out, which is also a great strategy. Okay. Because, you know, that that helps them and that gets them to move. I had to do that once on. Well, I’ve done that many times, but that reminded me of a time in Shreveport where they had these people shooting at each other in these two units, and, and I and I got them both out the next day for $1,500 a pop.

00:17:35:19 – 00:17:41:03
Rod Khleif
And the entire complex was thrilled. But, but anyway, so.

00:17:41:05 – 00:17:58:19
Mark Nagy
How did you even come up with this idea of doing the commercial conversion? Like, was it the the realtor who was selling it? Was it their idea that pitched it to you, or did you see something in the property where you thought you could convert it? Like, how do you even come up with that idea of doing this sort of construction and conversion?

00:17:58:19 – 00:18:01:15
Mark Nagy
Because it’s it’s doesn’t happen a lot.

00:18:01:17 – 00:18:19:21
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah. So, it’s funny you ask that. Right? And I don’t know, I just try to look for opportunities and I’m like, you know, I don’t want to do anything with commercial space. And it was so this this commercial space is not below grade either. It’s above grade. Right. So and it’s like, it looks like this whole thing should be an apartment building anyways.

00:18:19:23 – 00:18:44:18
Russell Weatherspoon
And we mean, like I mentioned, we did that br on that single family house where I should have talked more about this, but we basically added another bedroom and we did that. We basically converted a sunroom to a bedroom and legal bedroom, and it was on a, you know, a foundation and you know, slab on grade and the foundation footing and everything was sufficient enough to build on top of it.

00:18:44:20 – 00:18:48:22
Russell Weatherspoon
So it was kind of like, hey, we just did that, you know, we can do this again.

00:18:49:03 – 00:18:56:02
Rod Khleif
Oh, so you actually framed you actually framed in a bedroom and put it in a whole new room, or you or you closed in a room or what did you do?

00:18:56:04 – 00:19:16:22
Russell Weatherspoon
So the room that, we made a bedroom at that single family house, it basically had, like, windows that covered the full entire wall, but not like a floor room, kind of like you guys have down there in Florida. But it was like an actual wall. Okay, insulation in it. It just didn’t have enough electrical receptacles. On the walls, it you can’t.

00:19:16:24 – 00:19:21:00
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah. Closet in those things like that, it didn’t have a heat run out there. So we added a heat. Okay.

00:19:21:00 – 00:19:27:13
Rod Khleif
Okay. So you ran heat. You put a closet in you you you spiffed it up and you had a bedroom. Boom. Fantastic. Yeah.

00:19:27:15 – 00:19:33:05
Russell Weatherspoon
If we had to build a hallway and, you know, coming from that room, it made a smaller room. But when you.

00:19:33:07 – 00:19:48:11
Rod Khleif
Start lifting, you did some heavy lifting on that. That’s, you know, some drywall work, some framing. So yeah, you know, heat run all that stuff. But it paid off. So, so on this commercial space, that was connected to your apartment. What? By the way, what’s the year built on this thing? Just to give me an idea what it looks.

00:19:48:11 – 00:19:50:05
Russell Weatherspoon
It’s, 1960.

00:19:50:07 – 00:19:50:21
Rod Khleif
Yeah. There you go.

00:19:50:21 – 00:19:52:05
Russell Weatherspoon
Some block construction.

00:19:52:05 – 00:20:00:02
Rod Khleif
Okay, that explains it. So. So you had this commercial, so it’s on a busier road or. No, it’s an on a busy.

00:20:00:02 – 00:20:02:07
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah. It’s right off of Main Road. Yeah. Okay.

00:20:02:11 – 00:20:14:18
Rod Khleif
Yeah. That’s that would make sense if it’s got a business thing. And so so for the I mean, I’m getting a little micro with you here, but you had to. I’m assuming you had to put a bathroom, man, run some plumbing, things of that nature.

00:20:14:20 – 00:20:34:18
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah. So it had one bathroom and a toilet. So we basically just had to add the plumbing for the tub drain, and then we had to add an additional bathroom. So I’ll talk about this a little bit too. So one of the things we did to kind of save on the costs, rather than like trenching the whole entire floor, we actually did like a sewage crock.

00:20:34:20 – 00:20:42:13
Russell Weatherspoon
And then we had it’s, you know, bathtub, some toilet drain coming out. Yeah. It’s kind of like a sump pump. And then underneath the kitchen sinks, we used to basically.

00:20:42:13 – 00:20:49:22
Rod Khleif
Pumps, pumps the sewage out. It was called the. It’s called something and you called it something else. But that’s what it does.

00:20:49:24 – 00:21:03:14
Russell Weatherspoon
Right then the kitchens were far away from you know these pumps. Right. So then semi flow. And so yeah that’s one of the companies that makes pumps and underneath the kitchen sink. So we just pump that back into the main drain rather than trenching.

00:21:03:15 – 00:21:16:15
Rod Khleif
Anyway there. That’s a good solution. That’s a good solution because otherwise you got to tear up the floor and and trench it. Like you said, it’s a lot of work. I had to do that here in my kitchen to get a gas line for my stove and tear up my kitchen floor and trench it, and everything was a nightmare.

00:21:16:17 – 00:21:21:17
Rod Khleif
But, okay. Well, good. And so you turn it into a one bedroom, two bedroom. What?

00:21:21:19 – 00:21:42:06
Russell Weatherspoon
So we go for one bedrooms upstairs, and then there’s one three bedroom downstairs in a two bedroom. And we kind of picked those because based on the calls we were getting over the time that we own that before that, you know, two, two bedrooms and this area seems to go faster and three bedrooms as well. Like there’s a lot of interest that we’ve had in three bedrooms.

00:21:42:06 – 00:21:58:15
Russell Weatherspoon
But, the other thing I should mention too, this is important probably for people listening, because that was legally commercial space and this building is on oh one. So we had to go to the Planning Commission to get a special land use. Right? Oh, did.

00:21:58:17 – 00:22:08:15
Rod Khleif
They use it? Yes. That’s considered a downgrade in the use. So they usually don’t give you too much trouble for that when they go from commercial residential. Usually not too big of an ask. Or was it a hassle?

00:22:08:17 – 00:22:25:19
Russell Weatherspoon
No, it was not a hassle at all. I mean, you know, when the public hearing, you know, I gave the presentation to the Planning Commission, it was a unanimous decision. And, you know, there was folks, they were like, yeah, you know, I knew people that used to live there years ago. And, you know, we think this is the best use for this building.

00:22:25:19 – 00:22:26:18
Russell Weatherspoon
Now.

00:22:26:20 – 00:22:28:06
Rod Khleif
So perfect. Perfect.

00:22:28:07 – 00:22:28:15
Russell Weatherspoon
You know.

00:22:28:21 – 00:22:33:16
Rod Khleif
So, so, when did you join the warrior program, by the way?

00:22:33:18 – 00:22:39:13
Russell Weatherspoon
So I joined the warrior program. It would have been in 2024. I think it was October.

00:22:39:15 – 00:22:41:16
Rod Khleif
Okay, okay. Yeah.

00:22:41:18 – 00:23:02:00
Mark Nagy
I got it. I got to put you on the spot, IRA. Russell, just because you’re selling all these stories of you commercial conversion, hanging drywall, you’ve done so many things that so many people don’t do. But I also remember that, like working with us, there was definitely some fear and some things above which everybody has fear, you know, doing something new and things like this.

00:23:02:00 – 00:23:10:02
Mark Nagy
But yeah, what what made you what made you, I guess do that instead of just keep going on your own?

00:23:10:04 – 00:23:33:19
Russell Weatherspoon
Well, I wanted to try to build a team. Right. So I was realizing that, like, doing all these things myself, right. I’m only going to be able to go so far. Right? And then, my wife also wanted me to get some help, too, like, she loves, you know, this stuff as well, but, you know, she’s also a mom, and and, so she splits her time helping, you know, with the real estate stuff and being a mom, etc..

00:23:33:21 – 00:23:51:11
Russell Weatherspoon
And, Yeah, just to scale, right. I was the whole idea is to continue growing and, you can grow much faster with a team. And, you know, I just came to that realization, you know, especially at one of the boot camps and just talking to some other folks, just like, Holy cow, I’m like, I’m slow my own progress down.

00:23:51:11 – 00:23:53:10
Russell Weatherspoon
So. And, you know.

00:23:53:11 – 00:24:08:20
Rod Khleif
Yeah, that’s one of the biggest advantages, obviously, to our program or a program like ours is, is, is the group. I mean, that’s that’s what people rave about, the connections in the group, by the way, if you’re interested in applying to our warrior program, text the word crush to seven two, 345. And that’s how that’s how you apply.

00:24:08:20 – 00:24:26:13
Rod Khleif
And we check you out, you check us out. And if it’s a fit and you’re off to the races. But, I will tell you that, yeah, that is, that is the biggest benefit of, of the program is the connections and the and, you know, the money that gets raised in the group and just, you know, having a sounding board for anything that you come across.

00:24:26:13 – 00:24:50:19
Rod Khleif
Because everybody I mean, it’s everything’s been done inside that group. I mean I think we’re, we’re approaching 300,000 units. I think, in, you know, multifamily alone, let alone every other asset class. So it’s pretty extraordinary. So what’s what’s next for you, buddy? What you really I mean, you you really rolled up your sleeves on that one. I mean, to, to have a zoning change and and and and you know that hire contractors and all these things.

00:24:50:19 – 00:24:56:06
Rod Khleif
You get to improve the value. You know what? What are you going what do you think of the next.

00:24:56:08 – 00:25:19:15
Russell Weatherspoon
What’s so next? You know, like I said, we just closed two weeks ago on the building next door, you know, two unit commercial building there. So we’re going to go back to the Planning commission, get the same special land use, approval, combine the lots, you know, then it’ll be an eight unit complex. And then, I’m also going to build some some storage units in the back.

00:25:19:17 – 00:25:20:01
Rod Khleif
Nice.

00:25:20:05 – 00:25:22:23
Russell Weatherspoon
You know, generate some additional revenue there as well.

00:25:23:02 – 00:25:25:24
Rod Khleif
So there’s enough room for some storage back there.

00:25:26:01 – 00:25:44:22
Russell Weatherspoon
Oh yeah. Yeah. So yeah. So and that’s another thing too. I mean, it’s a lot of the tenants that come to us, right? You know, they’re like, oh, I get the storage unit or the etc.. So I mean, you know, we can offer them right on the property versus, you know, them going elsewhere, etc., but yeah.

00:25:44:22 – 00:26:01:16
Russell Weatherspoon
So we got that. And then we’re going to start working on there and got some projects around the house. We’re going to work on as well. But, you know, like I said, we ultimately, you know, you know, as we acquire more properties, you know, I want to set up a property management company. We do manage our own properties.

00:26:01:16 – 00:26:23:05
Russell Weatherspoon
I should have mentioned that, too. I’ve been doing that for the last six years. But, in the near term, that’s what’s next right now. And, with that building next door and we’re actively looking at, you know, properties over in the Grand Rapids area, it’s kind of one of the very hot markets in Michigan and partner with some other warriors and whatnot over there.

00:26:23:05 – 00:26:25:00
Russell Weatherspoon
So.

00:26:25:02 – 00:26:25:12
Rod Khleif
And tell.

00:26:25:15 – 00:26:27:08
Russell Weatherspoon
Us.

00:26:27:10 – 00:26:48:22
Mark Nagy
Now, obviously doing conversion commercial to residential, I’m sure that probably has a very quick value, Bob, and adds cash flow and all the things pretty quickly. Once you complete it, you just keep doing that or keep going at your current pace. I mean, how quickly do you think you’ll be able to get to your financial freedom goal or whatever it is at at your current pace?

00:26:48:24 – 00:27:02:12
Russell Weatherspoon
So I would say another four years, and I think in the longest case, it could be sooner, depending on how more aggressive you know, I get. And but that’s kind of where I’m at right now is four years, but,

00:27:02:14 – 00:27:24:12
Mark Nagy
Well, Andrea Russell on one that, very personal question to you here and, you know, you mentioned in your bio here that you got, you know, diagnosed with cancer at 26 years old. How did going through that kind of help you in your real estate career here? Because everybody has their own personal challenges and things they go through in life.

00:27:24:14 – 00:27:47:22
Russell Weatherspoon
Yeah, yeah. So I like to say, you know, I thank God I’m still here today, ten years later, after being diagnosed at 26. And at the time we had a one year old. But you know that when you get a diagnosis like that, you know, it really puts things into perspective, right? And you, you know, what’s important really becomes a parent, right?

00:27:47:22 – 00:28:12:09
Russell Weatherspoon
Like family and friends and faith and those type of things. But, before that, I was kind of, I was always an action taker. Right. But it I think it it made me go faster. Right. Because, you know, my wife and I had always wanted to get into real estate. And then, you know, once that had happened and I got, well, you know, I’m like, I almost died here, right?

00:28:12:09 – 00:28:30:13
Russell Weatherspoon
We could have let’s let’s go for it. Right. What do we have to lose in a sense. Right. So, it just really sped things up for me, right? Like I said, I was I was always an action taker, but, you know, I’m an engineer and analysis paralysis. Honestly, I don’t think I have issues with that anymore.

00:28:30:15 – 00:28:31:17
Russell Weatherspoon
But. Wow. But,

00:28:31:20 – 00:28:46:20
Rod Khleif
That’ll do it. Yeah, that’ll do it. Yeah, I missed that on your bio. I was a little late to the party here when when we started this thing. And I did not know that that had happened to. Good lord. Yeah, that, you know, my daughter had that as well. She spent eight months in a hospital bed at Moffitt Cancer Center.

00:28:46:20 – 00:29:05:20
Rod Khleif
It was one of the hardest things we’ve ever gone through. Her for her specialty, obviously, but just trying to keep her focused on being positive through all that was. She was. She was 30 when that happened. So. Yeah. Similar. Yeah. Well. Well, good for you. And yeah, I mean, it puts things in perspective, doesn’t it? I mean, it makes you realize what’s it.

00:29:05:20 – 00:29:06:19
Russell Weatherspoon
Absolutely.

00:29:06:21 – 00:29:18:01
Rod Khleif
You know, I know you’re a man of faith, which is a beautiful thing. And, and and just puts all that in perspective. Well, if people want to reach out to you, are you okay with sharing some information?

00:29:18:03 – 00:29:21:06
Russell Weatherspoon
Absolutely. Okay. So, yeah, I mean, the easiest do you have.

00:29:21:06 – 00:29:22:16
Rod Khleif
A website or.

00:29:22:18 – 00:29:42:19
Russell Weatherspoon
I do have a website at, Gray City capital.com. Probably the easiest way to reach out is, you know, to my, Facebook page. It’s basically just my name, Russell Weatherspoon. Also got a LinkedIn page. Perfect. Great city capital, LinkedIn Instagram page okay. Basically. Yeah.

00:29:42:21 – 00:30:00:24
Rod Khleif
Got it all. Love it. Okay. Well, I appreciate that. You know, a lot of people, you know, on the sidelines know they need to do something. And, you know, it’s just nice to be able to talk to somebody like you very, very, very congenial. Nice guy. It’s obvious. And so I appreciate that very much. Mark, you got anything else?

00:30:01:02 – 00:30:06:04
Mark Nagy
There’s no let’s end it there. I think that was fantastic. Appreciate you having having you on. So it’s good to see you.

00:30:06:04 – 00:30:06:24
Rod Khleif
Yeah yeah yeah.

00:30:07:04 – 00:30:08:11
Russell Weatherspoon
Thank you guys. Yeah. Yes.

00:30:08:11 – 00:30:15:00
Rod Khleif
So yeah that was that was nice. Well, listen, next time I want the wife on though. Let’s do that in a year or so. Yeah. See where you’re at. Okay.

00:30:15:00 – 00:30:16:17
Russell Weatherspoon
But absolutely she.

00:30:16:17 – 00:30:19:16
Rod Khleif
Plays a big role and she plays a big role in this. So let’s make that happen.

00:30:19:17 – 00:30:20:08
Russell Weatherspoon
She does. Yeah.

00:30:20:14 – 00:30:24:11
Rod Khleif
And hopefully we’ll see you in May at the At the Warrior event. All right. Yeah that’s.

00:30:24:11 – 00:30:24:21
Russell Weatherspoon
The plan.

00:30:24:21 – 00:30:28:10
Rod Khleif
So all right. Wonderful wonderful. Well take care brother. See you.

00:30:28:10 – 00:30:29:04
Russell Weatherspoon
Later. Thank you.