Wakefield Li, Managing Principal at Meridian Real Estate Partners, pioneers passive investing in multifamily real estate, amplifying individual wealth and freedom. Renowned for reinvigorating properties through strategic enhancements, Li’s 12-year institutional expertise, including a role in growing assets to $10 billion, fuels Meridian’s success. Holding a B.S. and MBA in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, Li drives transformative residential experiences in dynamic markets.
Here’s some of the topics we covered:
- Wakefield’s Background in Commercial Real Estate
- Finding Like Minded People To Accelerate Your Growth
- The Largest Deal Wakefield Has Taken Down
- The Ins and Outs of Locking a Rate
- The Networking Inside The Warrior Group
- The #1 Thing That Makes People Push Through Their Fear
To find out more about partnering or investing in a multifamily deal: Text Partner to 72345 or email Partner@RodKhleif.com
Full Transcript Below
00:00:00:01 – 00:00:21:06
Rod
Welcome back to multifamily rock. So as you know, guys, this is where we interview people that are just flat out crushing it in this business. And we show you the inside scoop as to how multifamily investors are creating massive success in their businesses. And we always in their lives as well, frankly. And I’ve got my co-host, as always, as the director of our massive action team for the Warrior Group, Mark Nagy on it.
00:00:21:06 – 00:00:24:00
Mark
To be here back again with another one, Rod.
00:00:24:02 – 00:00:52:04
Rod
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Well, so today we’ve got Wakefield Lee, and he’s the managing principal of Meridian Real Estate Partners, and he’s actually got a very frame, workable background for this business. I mean, he spent 12 years in commercial residential real estate, really on the institutional side. Worked with CB Richard Ellis, Marcus Millichap, Pricewaterhouse Coopers. And so, you know, incredible framework for what he’s doing now.
00:00:52:04 – 00:00:56:06
Rod
And I want to dig into that a little bit. But. Wakefield, welcome to the show, brother.
00:00:56:08 – 00:01:02:11
Wakefield
Yeah, thank you for having me on. Ron On our honor to be here today with with you and Mark.
00:01:02:13 – 00:01:22:10
Rod
Thank you. Thank you. So why don’t we do what we always do and just have you give us a little background? You know, I massively abbreviated your bio here, so why don’t you give us a little high level background of who you are and why multifamily and, you know, speak to your tenure at those other companies a little bit as well, because I want to dig into that a little bit.
00:01:22:10 – 00:01:50:10
Wakefield
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. So what about me? I’m Wakefield. I’m based in a Los Angeles area and basically lived here most of my life in Southern California. Sunny, sunny and beautiful. Just stuff to invest in. So how I got into real estate? I come from the real estate industry. I started at a company called PricewaterhouseCoopers. I spent a few years there advising large real estate companies like your BlackRock’s like you’re JPMorgan’s your Goldman Sachs.
00:01:50:10 – 00:02:12:21
Wakefield
And I got to see their huge, huge portfolios of office buildings, industrial, multifamily apartments, all kinds of things. And so that that’s how I dipped by my toe in the water of just this huge world of commercial real estate. And from there, I pretty much I pretty much got hooked. And I just stayed in the industry after that.
00:02:12:23 – 00:02:40:11
Wakefield
I went on to brokerage at Marcus and Millichap. I did underwriting for them Top 15 guy in the company who was doing big deals, up to 500 million went out to CBRE. I worked in industrial there underwriting the single tenant triple net up to a 50 property portfolio of industrial properties and eventually got onto an investing side, worked at a private equity company that was buying shopping malls.
00:02:40:11 – 00:03:03:04
Wakefield
And then I did asset management for a multifamily developer. So Ben, been in a lot of pieces of the industry and really have got to learn a lot. But along the way I also kind of figured out, okay, what do I really want to do with my future when I when I grow up? And eventually I knew I wanted to kind of pursue my own financial freedom and help other people get there, too, through the real estate.
00:03:03:04 – 00:03:04:06
Rod
So how old are you?
00:03:04:06 – 00:03:07:01
Wakefield
Wakefield I am 34.
00:03:07:03 – 00:03:26:23
Rod
Wow. You’ve done a lot for your age. So? So here’s a question. I know you joined the Warrior program back in January. Really? January of this year. So not that long ago, nine months ago. And I know you’re you’re in 133 doors. I think that’s one deal. I but I was going to dig into that. But but why did you join with with that extensive background.
00:03:27:01 – 00:04:00:21
Wakefield
It’s a great question. And the reason I joined was because I wanted to find like minded people and a community of people that were doing similar things to me or even ahead of me, even though I came from the industry. I spent about a decade before I joined the program. I knew that the mindset of working at a real estate company was different from actually investing yourself, building your own company, adding value to people, bringing on investors, putting all the pieces together of the project.
00:04:00:21 – 00:04:23:14
Wakefield
And I wanted to be part of a community that was doing something like that and also get a coach who had done five or six of the types of projects that I wanted to do at that scale. And so I went on this kind of journey to find the right group last year. And, you know, after attending a year boot camp, the virtual boot camp, I liked the mindset.
00:04:23:14 – 00:04:39:11
Wakefield
I like the people that I heard as the speakers and I saw myself being part of this community. And since I joined, it has really helped me to accelerate my growth and get the largest deal done that I’ve ever been a part of myself.
00:04:39:12 – 00:04:52:12
Rod
Oh, congratulations, buddy. So, so and so. The community has paid off for you as it does for everybody. I mean, I know the answer, but yes, it’s it’s I know you. I know you did that deal with other warriors, if I recall.
00:04:52:13 – 00:05:10:22
Wakefield
Yes. Yes, I did the deal with some warriors. And, you know, worries end on warriors. But I’m definitely I think since joining the group that that helped me to get the deal across the finish line which which was huge. I was this was you know we can we can talk about that whole that whole deal I can probably write a mini book on it was a lot.
00:05:10:23 – 00:05:29:21
Wakefield
But mean, I joined the program, met the right people. I had my coach who has done five or six of these and helped provide a lot of guidance along the way. I just hear some pitfalls to avoid. These are some things that might happen to you. And pretty much she was right. They all happened to me, good and bad.
00:05:29:23 – 00:05:31:00
Wakefield
So yeah.
00:05:31:01 – 00:05:50:19
Rod
Let’s do it. Let’s dig into it. Let’s talk about that deal before we move forward. I would like to dig into it. So where is it? What is it? And, you know, just kind of give us a little bit of a mini case study on it, if you would, and and, you know, address the the problems that you encountered, because there I’m sure there were problems and and maybe what you learned and gathered from that.
00:05:50:19 – 00:05:52:15
Rod
So just kind of give us a little narrative on it.
00:05:52:15 – 00:06:13:19
Wakefield
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. So for for a little bit of background before I jump to that, the company that I run, Meridian, we focus on value add apartment buildings. And one of our key markets is Ohio and specifically Cincinnati. And so this is where the project is that we, we worked on in my, my first syndication project. So I had this property or portfolio under contract.
00:06:13:19 – 00:06:36:00
Wakefield
It’s a portfolio of three properties, 133 doors. And, you know, basically it was my first large, my largest deal and then the first one that I would be raising capital for and really just putting the whole team together. Who is going to manage, who’s going to bring in investors, who’s going to be the CP and basically the loan guarantor.
00:06:36:00 – 00:06:54:05
Wakefield
So all these pieces that I had to just put together and, you know, every piece kind of came with its own, I guess, challenged. So I had to find somebody to help decide Loan, who, you know, had the kind of net worth that was required to to get this deal done. You know, I had to find the right partners.
00:06:54:05 – 00:07:03:05
Wakefield
I ended up splitting up the deal and to do a joint venture and a syndication, I felt that was the best way. Had some partners.
00:07:03:05 – 00:07:18:21
Rod
Okay, so let me stop you. Sorry, let me stop you because you’re saying a lot of stuff that people aren’t going to understand. So. So So you found a sponsor basically. That’s that’s by the way, guys, that’s what we call the person that comes in, maybe brings the net worth and liquidity, maybe brings the experience, sometimes brings money all the above.
00:07:18:21 – 00:07:31:06
Rod
Sometimes they bring their resume typically. So that’s the sponsor. So you reached out, you found that person and then you said you did this as a joint venture and a syndication. Could you elaborate on that? Because I’m not even tracking that.
00:07:31:06 – 00:07:41:17
Wakefield
Yeah, Yeah. So the just to take a step back, the portfolio of properties is three and so three separate properties and two of them we ended up syndicating Oh gotcha.
00:07:41:17 – 00:07:43:18
Rod
Okay, split it with no point venture.
00:07:43:18 – 00:07:55:04
Wakefield
We basically split it up, which was easier to do because it wasn’t just one property. So we got the hard to split up one big property, but since these were three, we kind of cut it up into chunks.
00:07:55:04 – 00:08:13:20
Rod
So so guys, just so you know, if you, if, if you and some partners are all active in a deal, you can do what’s called a joint venture where you don’t have to syndicate. But yeah, you learn all this at my boot camp, but if you’re going to raise money and take money from someone who is not actively involved, you have to syndicate.
00:08:13:23 – 00:08:23:18
Rod
So you had enough liquidity to do the one deal just between a few partners and then you syndicated the rest. I just want to get some clarification, but that makes complete sense. All right. Please continue.
00:08:23:19 – 00:08:29:18
Wakefield
Yeah. Yeah, correct. So for joint Ventures, typically everybody involved needs to be to be active and so.
00:08:29:19 – 00:08:30:13
Rod
Has to be.
00:08:30:15 – 00:08:48:16
Wakefield
Has to be has to be active. And so we able to set it up that way. And with the syndication, we knew that we would have investors. To your point, that would be completely passive. And we went through the legal process, got the attorney, filed it, all of that. And so that was that was a big learning experience for me and just going through that the first time.
00:08:48:18 – 00:09:10:06
Wakefield
So you know, there’s there’s a lot that happened. But initially I had some partners that before I joined the program that were on board and all of that. And, and the that that didn’t work out. And they were going to be a big part of the deal, basically half the deal. And we were just going to have a small group of people and they basically didn’t didn’t work out.
00:09:10:06 – 00:09:28:22
Wakefield
And so I had to find new partners. And, you know, not surprisingly, this does happen multiple times. People said, hey, I want to be on the team. And then they just kind of disappeared after, you know, things got serious. We had to put in our own our own money as as GP’s. I wanted everybody to co-invest, including myself.
00:09:28:22 – 00:09:52:00
Wakefield
And once, you know, once that conversation came about, you know, surprisingly people just disappeared. So I think it was the challenge is to get the right people on board, even though I had a lot of, you know, conviction and I believe in this deal I knew was a good deal cash flow day one, we had amazing debt fixed rate debt, none of the bridge stuff that, you know, people are getting into trouble with.
00:09:52:00 – 00:10:11:01
Wakefield
And so I, you know, underwritten hundreds of deals before. And I knew that this has got to be solid but it was just getting the right right team members on board and at the same time the seller was just continuing to pressure on this. So we we we did a couple of extensions and they were saying, okay, can you guys get this deal done?
00:10:11:03 – 00:10:15:12
Wakefield
They’re having to have question marks about about us and about me. Why?
00:10:15:12 – 00:10:20:06
Rod
Why did you have to extend it? Why did you have to extend it? Was it the debt or the equity?
00:10:20:08 – 00:10:41:22
Wakefield
It was it was both. It was both the debt and the equity. We had a pretty good debt quote. And actually the the interest rates, as you know, just it’s been a whole situation. But they actually dropped for a small window of time in our lenders said, hey, like you need to lock in right now and so what I did is just put up my own money and I said, okay, let’s just lock it in.
00:10:41:22 – 00:10:54:18
Rod
Let me stop you. Let me stop you. I’m sorry. So just so you guys know, I want to clarify a couple of things. Just you guys know, in our world, equity means the down payment money. The money out of pocket. Okay, It’s a little bit of a misnomer if you’re used to hearing what equity is in the single family space.
00:10:54:21 – 00:11:17:20
Rod
That’s number one. Number two is whenever you lock a rate, you’ve got to pay a chunk of money and it’s a significant chunk of money to lock that rate. So that’s what he’s talking about, where he had to put his own money in. Now, here’s the thing. In our business, you have what’s called at risk capital, and you can raise that at risk capital as well, which can be the earnest money, the rate lock money, the due diligence costs, the the financing charges and so on and so forth.
00:11:17:22 – 00:11:22:02
Rod
And people will get a slice of the deal for putting that money up. All right. Please continue.
00:11:22:04 – 00:11:39:14
Wakefield
Yeah. Yeah. So you can find partners that happen on different parts of your deal and that’s yeah, that’s, that’s what I ended up doing. And so, you know, since I joined the program was there to define a couple people to fit in different, different parts. And I knew some people who wanted to be part of a bigger deal or their first deal.
00:11:39:14 – 00:11:54:05
Wakefield
And so this was a way for for it to be a win for everybody. So my my first indication and also, you know, I was glad to bring the opportunity to other people who wanted to be on their first syndication to and get that sharing experience.
00:11:54:07 – 00:12:12:06
Rod
So that’s that’s the power of the group, frankly. And that’s that’s you know, we’re our warriors are somewhere between 170, 180,000 doors that we know of, which I’m incredibly proud of, because it’s only been five years that I’ve been teaching. But almost all those deals are between warriors because they support each other and build each other up. So please.
00:12:12:06 – 00:12:14:07
Rod
Sorry, I interrupted. Please continue.
00:12:14:09 – 00:12:31:13
Wakefield
No, no, definitely. And what I liked about it is that people and the program kind of went through the same training, right? So you go to the same module, it’s the same videos. People, I think, have this this idea of a community to work together. And so that that was one of the reasons I wanted to join this.
00:12:31:13 – 00:12:44:09
Wakefield
And as I was having, you know, it took it took a lot of conversations. Nobody just showed up to me and said, hey, I want to I want to do your deal. But, you know, it took it took a lot of work. And, yeah, you know, I tried to add value to people and say, hey, what are your goals?
00:12:44:09 – 00:12:57:18
Wakefield
What are you looking for? We want to get on your first deal. You want to learn asset management, get into a syndication. And so along the way, I was trying to, you know, and I learned from attending the boot camp is just how to how do I add value to people?
00:12:57:18 – 00:13:16:20
Rod
That’s key. Now, what you just said is key, and I love the way you approach that. How can you add value to them? Because that’s the way the world works. That’s the way God works is the law of reciprocity. And and that’s why the community is so strong, because everybody’s working together and helping each other. And and but when you approach it like you did, successes inevitable.
00:13:16:20 – 00:13:20:22
Rod
Sorry, I interrupted again, but you’re throwing some really good stuff out that I want to elaborate on.
00:13:20:22 – 00:13:32:15
Wakefield
Yeah, yeah, definitely. And those those are some of the mindset things that, you know, I learned from you and the people on the podcast and just other people I saw it were successful and this industry. And so, you know, after.
00:13:32:18 – 00:13:47:14
Rod
So you got it over the finish line. Yeah, you got it, you got it done, you got it done. You brought in partners and you brought in, you know, GP partners for the syndication. Well, I mean that’s fantastic. And I salute you for that. So good job. Really good job.
00:13:47:14 – 00:14:11:07
Mark
And one thing I want to touch on here with you, Wakefield, is the time frame. You did this in, what, six, seven, eight months? Something like that. I get that question all the time is, hey, what are the odds I can do a deal in under a year? How does that get done? What what were some of the key elements in that time frame, whether it was you just had to underwrite X amount of deals or you had to have X amount of broker relationships or team members?
00:14:11:07 – 00:14:14:13
Mark
What were some of the key elements that helped you get that deal quickly?
00:14:14:13 – 00:14:42:01
Wakefield
Yeah, yeah, definitely. And I think, you know, I was lucky because I’ve been working on this for some time already. And so but I think that it’s in the industry that nothing is a given, right? It’s all what, what you, what you put in. And you know, if you if your goal is, hey, I want to do a joint venture, you know, ten, 20 doors or hey, I want to do 50 or 100 doors, then I think the more that you plan that out and plan out your efforts, that the better it is.
00:14:42:01 – 00:15:05:00
Wakefield
I know with people getting into the program and have a 90 day action plan. And so I think that’s that’s a really great plan because you really start and when I joined this program, there was a this plan of, hey, what do you want to do a year, five years from now? And once you figure out that plan ahead of time, you can really get detailed about, hey, I need to look at ten deals a month that I need to make two offers a week.
00:15:05:00 – 00:15:26:17
Wakefield
And for that I need to have this big funnel of maybe one markets on enough, maybe multiple markets or hey, maybe I need to. I just don’t have capacity for this. You know, I’ve got a job to job and and this and that and family and I need to partner with somebody else. And so I think having that plan upfront, having those goals upfront is really key and just, just sticking to it.
00:15:26:19 – 00:15:51:14
Rod
Yeah. In the program we’ve like you said, we’ve got a 90 day action plan. You know, you can do it in 30 days, you can do it in a year. It’s just but it is an action plan that you can implement. So you’re not wondering what to do. And I love the fact that you talked about taking a look at your long term goals and then backing in to, you know, what you have to do each month, each week, each day, and the hours throughout the day to make that deal, to make that happen.
00:15:51:14 – 00:16:08:17
Rod
And that’s really it. It’s numbers. And so, you know, good for you. I mean, that is obviously your wheelhouse is numbers, but, you know, that adds value to those of us who do it is it because we can back into our goals and, you know, and we make things happen? What suggestions would you have for somebody that’s starting out in real estate investing?
00:16:08:17 – 00:16:24:00
Rod
You know, we get a lot of people on the show that listen to the show, you know, that that haven’t pulled the trigger on anything yet. And, you know, I’m sure you being analytical, you’d be a great to answer this because a lot of analytical people, they have to check off every single freakin box before they make a move.
00:16:24:00 – 00:16:39:08
Rod
And I’m sure that resonates with you. And and so what would you tell those that that are like you, for example, that through analysis paralysis or, you know, fear or whatever, they haven’t made a move, what would speak to them?
00:16:39:10 – 00:17:02:00
Wakefield
Yeah definitely I’m yeah definitely coming from an analytical background, that’s just my personality and that’s, that’s what I get paid to do. That’s, that’s my job. Right. And right. So it’s, it’s good because I’m pretty you and I’ll take every single thing apart and I’ll see, you know, this thing doesn’t check the box, okay? It doesn’t work. But what I learned is that when you are doing something entrepreneurial, nothing is going to be perfect.
00:17:02:00 – 00:17:22:07
Wakefield
So it’s better to take action than try to make it perfect, because you might spend a lot of time trying to figure out what the perfect the next step is, and it’s probably not going to be perfect anyway. So the best step is to just, you know, don’t just do do things impromptu, but, you know, think it through a little bit and then just go for it.
00:17:22:12 – 00:17:44:04
Wakefield
And that’s that’s what really that’s what really helped me. I took on this deal that honestly was bigger than I could actually handle and was able to, you know, figure it out. And I’m not saying take on stuff that’s way too big for you, but, you know, make, make sure that you’ve got some kind of plan for it and just don’t work and work your butt off and try to try to make it happen.
00:17:44:04 – 00:18:08:00
Wakefield
But that set your goals high and take the action. Jump in. What I learned is I’ve been doing this for years on my own and, you know, joining community to to find the right people. And that’s that’s one of the biggest things for me, as I learned, is I need to find a team. Either you hire people or you partner with people, and they can they can do things that you’re not that good at or that are they’re better at than you are.
00:18:08:00 – 00:18:14:02
Wakefield
And that’s what I learned, is I’m good at this. I’m not so good at this and find the other people to to compliment.
00:18:14:04 – 00:18:33:17
Rod
Great answer. And I’ll tell you, you know, there is no perfection. Okay? That pursuit of perfection is is is you know, it’s it’s it’s it’s fruitless. And so, you know, I’m really glad that you articulated that way. And and I think one of your strengths is is not being afraid to seek help. I mean, we’re even considering doing a deal together.
00:18:33:17 – 00:18:48:17
Rod
It looks like we may if it comes together and with my team and, you know, you approached us with that. And so, you know, I think that’s a strength of yours because you know, that that’s you know, this is a team sport. This is not something you’re going to do on your own. You’re going to do it with other people.
00:18:48:23 – 00:19:01:06
Rod
And so it’s critical that that you’re not afraid to reach out and and and seek help. And and, you know, and this really a strength in numbers. There is no question their strength in numbers in this business.
00:19:01:08 – 00:19:18:05
Mark
What do you think gave you that confidence WAKEFIELD The jump from some smaller stuff that you had done before to now a three unit or three property portfolio that’s over 100 doors, What what gave you the confidence mentally to even look at a deal like that or jump to a deal like that?
00:19:18:07 – 00:19:36:01
Wakefield
Yeah, Yeah. I mean, I’ll I’ll tell you, it was it was scary, you know so working on the tens and the twenties and for for some people that’s big too, right. So it’s all it’s, it’s all relative. And, you know, I, I just knew that I had these goals in the future. And was I going to wait? Was I going to do them right?
00:19:36:01 – 00:19:54:15
Wakefield
So the opportunity presented itself and I said, well, let’s let’s just let’s just go after it. You know, it’s it’s scary. I wouldn’t say I slept great every night. I did not. But, you know, and then I just surrounded myself with with the right people. And and my coach, I think, was helpful because he had done five or six of these.
00:19:54:15 – 00:20:09:21
Wakefield
And he said, well, you’ve seen all this stuff before and this can happen and that can happen. And a lot of it happened. And he said, You just kind of walked me through it. And so, you know, that that to me, I feel so much better with somebody who is who is supporting versus just me on my own.
00:20:09:21 – 00:20:14:18
Wakefield
I mean, I probably would have been able to get it done on myself, on my own, actually.
00:20:14:18 – 00:20:18:10
Rod
So, Wakefield, are you married? Kids, Refresh my memory.
00:20:18:12 – 00:20:20:11
Wakefield
No, no, no. No family.
00:20:20:13 – 00:20:31:03
Rod
No family. Okay. Yeah. So what’s the why? What’s the why that’s driving you? Because I know you’re super motivated. I mean, what’s what’s the why? And I know you’ve done it because you’re in the program and everybody does their their goals in their ways.
00:20:31:03 – 00:20:54:12
Wakefield
Yeah, Yeah, definitely. So just going back to my early career, I was I started consulting 23 years old, right? So in my twenties, just eyes wide open. I’m learning and my new career and I realized I was I was working a lot 50, 60 plus hours per week. And then I just saw where my boss was and my boss was just sitting next to us nine or 10:00 each night.
00:20:54:12 – 00:21:13:23
Wakefield
He had a family and, you know, kids and all this stuff, and he was still working that much. And then I realized, Wow, is this going to be me in ten, 20, 30 years? And then and I just thought, there’s got to be a better way. And real estate, I know, is just a great investment over time. And it’s going to pay off if you if you put the work in.
00:21:13:23 – 00:21:34:08
Wakefield
And so that that was my way is just, you know, what’s a way for me to secure my financial future down the road. And that’s progress to you know earlier this year and last year, I thought, okay, well, this goal should not just be about me, but eventually, once I get to my goal, how can I help other people?
00:21:34:08 – 00:22:00:07
Wakefield
And so I want to be able to help people control better control their financial future through real estate, which I’ve seen the benefits of myself many, many other people also. And I want to be able to to bring that benefit of real estate to other people who are busy or, you know, don’t want to get involved in and just, you know, want to bring that opportunity to them that maybe don’t know how to do it.
00:22:00:08 – 00:22:02:02
Wakefield
Well, that’s a great answer.
00:22:02:04 – 00:22:18:06
Rod
If you haven’t heard me talk about this before, It’s kind of an extraordinary thing that I noticed at our last live event in Denver. So we had a Hall of Fame for our warriors and they we did a slide for each one. We’re doing it again here in September in in Orlando. We’re going to have a Hall of Fame.
00:22:18:06 – 00:22:38:10
Rod
And we had ten at this Denver event, probably 15 because we got so many warriors. And we want to congratulate as many as we can. So we pick exemplary warriors for a multitude of reasons, not just their success in the business. And we did a slide on each one and I started to notice something as we’re scrolling through the slides, giving out these awards, every single one of them does something to make the world a better place.
00:22:38:16 – 00:22:57:16
Rod
You know, sexual trafficking, veterans, suicide veterans, homelessness, building schools in India, on and on and on. It was like and I pointed to the 900 I pointed to and told a 900 people in the room. I’m like, that’s what we call a frickin clue. Okay, So, you know, I love that you approached it from helping other people and, you know, love that answer.
00:22:57:18 – 00:23:07:22
Mark
Do you think that’s part of what helped you break out of your comfort zone, do bigger deals, build teams that work with other people, as is having those goals to want to help others and not just having it be about yourself?
00:23:07:23 – 00:23:25:19
Wakefield
Yeah, no, that’s that’s a great point, Mark. And I think, you know, maybe prior to joining in my first early career, I was just thinking, yeah, how do I do? I get to you know, a lot of people have their financial freedom, cash flow number, right? And so I said, okay, this is sort of step one for me.
00:23:25:19 – 00:23:43:00
Wakefield
But once once I get there, what what next? Right. Do I just stop? I mean, you know, you can’t just be on the beach for the rest of your life and how can I use my experience to my knowledge and help help other people? And I think that’s that’s a more kind of long term, meaningful journey for me.
00:23:43:00 – 00:24:12:11
Wakefield
And and to your point, yeah, I think that helped me to break my fear because it’s not just about me anymore. It’s about, you know, I’m working a lot and try to get these things done for a bigger goal. And I’m you know, I’m inspired by a lot of people that I see with trafficking and helping, you know, I know you give meals to people and I’d like to be able to have that amount of resources myself to be able to to do that in the future with time and and resources.
00:24:12:11 – 00:24:16:21
Wakefield
And I know that that’s something possible through through working in this business.
00:24:16:23 – 00:24:24:21
Rod
Yeah, no question. Well, I think you’re definitely giving a thumbs up to the Warrior program. Would that be an accurate statement?
00:24:24:23 – 00:24:26:19
Wakefield
Yes. To thank.
00:24:26:21 – 00:24:57:15
Rod
Two thumbs. Okay. Well, listen to those of you listening. If you’re considering possibly getting some guidance so you can experience the life that you’re wanting this year rather than later, Or maybe you thought you could be more effective with pushing through that analysis paralysis or that perfection. You know, text the word crush to seven two, three, four, five and see if the way a program might be able to help you overcome that challenge or any other challenges that you have so that you know you can accomplish what you want with lifetime cash flow, which is what the name of this podcast is.
00:24:57:17 – 00:25:01:16
Rod
But again, so just text crush 27234, five. That’s how you apply.
00:25:01:21 – 00:25:18:12
Mark
Yeah, I got what I want to end on here. I mean, your analytical guy, you’ve done underwriting for many years, that’s your skill set. And, and I always love to hear this because I know my, my criteria is even moving and shifting right now for deals that I’m looking at with interest rates changing and all kinds of stuff.
00:25:18:12 – 00:25:36:05
Mark
And and I know I asked you this before the podcast of what’s your favorite type of deal? And you said a good deal. What what what is that what you know, being the analytical what what are some of the actual things this the numbers, the specifics that you’re looking for right now that that make a good deal in your eyes.
00:25:36:06 – 00:26:02:22
Wakefield
Yeah. Yeah. I think I think a good deal is just it varies by the person. Now I would say first indication definitely something that has some cash flow. I mean right now, especially in today’s market with interest rates, I’m wary of a deal that has little to no cash flow, even if you do nothing, because what if the market takes a turn and I know a lot of people now and then, Brad, you I’ve heard you say this many times is there’s got to be this big opportunity, this wave of opportunity that’s going to come.
00:26:03:00 – 00:26:23:22
Wakefield
And, you know, it’s it’s better to wait out a good deal. A lot of things are just priced really high right now. So I would say one criteria is you have cash flow. I think, you know, pretty pretty much on day one if you didn’t do anything. And that’s just to protect to protect your downside. I think, is is as important, if not more important than saying, oh, you know, what’s what’s our upside, what can we make on this?
00:26:24:00 – 00:26:51:19
Wakefield
And getting good debt I think good interest rates and fixed. I feel a lot more comfortable with a fixed, fixed interest rate program, especially if you can assume. And so we’re looking at some deals that have incredible interest rates right now. And so that, you know, kind of avoids the whole interest rate problem you’re having right now. If you can assume something that’s done a year or two years ago and that it has nice upside and in a good market, good location, good, good, good incomes.
00:26:51:19 – 00:27:02:08
Wakefield
And so all of that research, no doubt. You know, I don’t want to give you just specific numbers, but I’ll just sort of give the the principles of what what I think is is a good kind of solid deal right now.
00:27:02:08 – 00:27:19:02
Rod
That’s a really good overview. That’s a really good overview. You know, that that’s that’s that’s absolutely accurate. Well, listen, brother, it’s good to see you, man. You added tremendous value today. We went a little deeper than we normally do, and I think that’s really helpful. Yeah, I love it, too. It was really it was really good. Wakefield, I appreciate you coming on, brother.
00:27:19:02 – 00:27:29:08
Rod
And I don’t know if you’re going to come to Orlando. I hope you are. You know, I’d love to have you on a panel or do a case study. And if not, I’m sure I’ll see you at the Warrior event in Phenix in November.
00:27:29:08 – 00:27:37:06
Wakefield
Yeah, that would be great. Now, playing, planning, I hit those events. Thanks for all your help. This is valuable for, you know, for for you guys and the audience.
00:27:37:08 – 00:27:44:04
Rod
It definitely was, Buddy. Well, I appreciate it. It’s good. Good. Good to see you. And. And we’ll see you soon, man. Okay.
