Radhika Rastogi is the co-founder of Relik Capital Group, a private equity firm focused on senior living real estate syndications. With a decade of experience in real estate and a background in management consulting, she applies a disciplined, data-driven approach to acquiring and operating recession-resilient assets. After realizing that scaling one rental at a time wouldn’t build the freedom or legacy she envisioned, Radhika pivoted into commercial real estate and now manages 215 senior housing units. She also co-hosts the Rich Roots podcast, empowering high-income professionals to build passive income and long-term wealth without sacrificing what matters most.
Here’s some of the topics we covered:
- From I.T. W2 Job to Real Estate Power Player
- The Exact Blueprint Radhika Used to Rapidly Scale Her Portfolio
- Her First Big Multifamily Win Inside the Warrior Program
- Creative Ways They’re Boosting Value at a Memory Care Center
- What Really Happens When You Take Over a New Asset
- How to Vet and Lock In the Right Senior Care Operator
- Using A.I. to Supercharge Real Estate Decisions
- Why Joining the Warrior Group Was a Game-Changer
- Turning Self-Doubt Into Confidence and Real Results
If you’d like to apply to the warrior program and do deals with other rockstars in this business: Text crush to 72345 and we’ll be speaking soon.
Full Transcript Below
00:00:28:23 – 00:00:49:05
Rod
Welcome back to Multifamily Rockstars. So as you guys know, this is where we deep dive into our guest deals and give you practical and actionable advice for getting started. Especially if it’s your first deal and especially if you’re brand new to the business. And, I this is in my studio today. I’ve got a warrior that came in all the way from California, which I’m honored about.
00:00:49:05 – 00:01:09:13
Rod
And, and we’re going to talk about senior housing today, which is like a passion project for me at this point. I’m really, very, very interested in senior housing, have a facility under contract, will be closing on in a week or so. I’ve got Radhika Rastogi here who is the co-founder of Relic Capital and, she is now in a portfolio of 215 senior housing units.
00:01:09:13 – 00:01:11:08
Rod
And we’re going to have some fun today. Welcome.
00:01:11:12 – 00:01:12:22
Radhika
Thanks, rod. I’m so happy to be here.
00:01:12:23 – 00:01:26:22
Rod
Yeah. So why don’t you? I know you come from the. Is it medical space? Or is it space or a combination of the two? Why don’t you give us a little background on you and why? Real estate. And now why senior housing?
00:01:27:03 – 00:01:58:13
Radhika
Absolutely. So I’ve been in IT, consulting a tech consultant in the healthcare space for the last decade, and I loved it. I mean, I still love it. It’s a great place for me to learn what my clients want, understand what’s happening in the healthcare market, especially around Medicaid. But when I had my second child, which was last year, I started to realize that it really was difficult for me to balance my time and balance my personal life, which is what I want to do and spend more and more time with my family.
00:01:58:15 – 00:02:06:20
Radhika
So I’ve also been investing in residential real estate for about nine years, grew a small single family portfolio, did quite.
00:02:06:21 – 00:02:08:01
Rod
Big in California.
00:02:08:02 – 00:02:29:10
Radhika
And California. Okay, did a big renovation project and really started enjoying fix and flips. But I knew I couldn’t do that with my job. And that was just so active, just wouldn’t allow me to really focus on my family. So I was listening to your podcasts and watching, you know, reading your books and such, and I realized I needed a way to scale.
00:02:29:15 – 00:02:52:02
Radhika
So for scaling, I started researching multifamily. But what started tugging at my heart was actually senior care, because my background in health care, my experience with Medicaid, and my passion for real estate, it was a perfect blend for me to dive into something I already understood from a domain, perspective domain perspective.
00:02:52:02 – 00:03:09:19
Rod
I was thinking website domain. You know, it’s funny, I was I was threatening to get it. You just triggered a memory. I was threatening to get into this business. Back in oh seven, I actually started a senior housing company. I got the domain name this way. What triggered it? Affordable senior Housing.com lost it or gave it away.
00:03:09:19 – 00:03:31:18
Rod
Just didn’t do anything with it. But but, But, yeah, I got I got certified as a ILF administrator here in Florida. I did a three day classes back in 0708 because I love the elderly too. And, yeah. So, so, how did you how did you get acclimated to our Ecos? Well, you started listening to podcast, did you come to an event or did you?
00:03:31:18 – 00:03:34:16
Radhika
I did, I, attended an online bootcamp. Oh, you.
00:03:34:16 – 00:03:35:16
Rod
Did a virtual one. Okay.
00:03:35:16 – 00:03:44:21
Radhika
Virtual one first. And I talked to your whole team. We ended up joining the Warriors. And it’s actually be a year at the end of this month.
00:03:44:22 – 00:03:45:21
Rod
It’s only been a year.
00:03:45:21 – 00:03:46:03
Radhika
Yeah.
00:03:46:03 – 00:04:08:23
Rod
Wow. Yeah. And you already. And you’ve already in 215 senior housing units. Good for you. And you have your own podcast called Rich Roots Podcast. Shout out to Rich roots. It’s fairly new, but I’ve agreed to go on it and, and and if she wants to have me, so, so you you. Yeah. Senior housing is a perfect fit.
00:04:08:23 – 00:04:16:09
Rod
You come from the Medicaid space. You you obviously care about seniors, I think. Would you agree that you need to care about seniors to get into the senior housing space?
00:04:16:10 – 00:04:20:08
Radhika
Absolutely. Yeah. I think if you don’t do that and you’re just in it for the return, it’s not going to work.
00:04:20:08 – 00:04:30:00
Rod
No, no, I and I agree completely. So talk let’s talk about this first deal. You know, the one in Savannah, Georgia, we talked about before we started recording.
00:04:30:02 – 00:04:30:14
Radhika
Yes.
00:04:30:15 – 00:04:31:17
Rod
Okay. So tell me about it.
00:04:31:22 – 00:04:39:01
Radhika
So this is, 35 unit 46 bed, class B, memory care facility.
00:04:39:01 – 00:04:40:10
Rod
And it’s all memory care.
00:04:40:10 – 00:04:40:23
Radhika
All memory care.
00:04:40:23 – 00:04:41:19
Rod
Okay.
00:04:41:21 – 00:04:47:15
Radhika
And it’s an interesting story because I ended up just getting pulled into this deal sort of towards the end.
00:04:47:17 – 00:04:48:20
Rod
From from warriors.
00:04:48:20 – 00:05:11:10
Radhika
From the Warriors. Yeah. So they had actually been chasing this deal for over a year when it was on market a year ago. They put a offer on it for $2.2 million. The seller rejected it, and a year later we found out that it was an auction. So we got pulled in. I got pulled in and we start week sort of watching this auction.
00:05:11:10 – 00:05:13:08
Radhika
It was starting at like 400 K.
00:05:13:11 – 00:05:15:24
Rod
Oh yeah, they always start really low to get you going. Yeah.
00:05:16:03 – 00:05:23:19
Radhika
Okay. So we ended up not winning the bid. And a different you know buyer one ended up pulling out 15 minutes later after the auction.
00:05:23:19 – 00:05:25:06
Rod
The buyer did. Yeah. Oh wow.
00:05:25:09 – 00:05:40:06
Radhika
So we had we had already built a rapport with the lawyers and the attorney because as I was actually going through bankruptcy court as well. So they ended up approaching us and saying, hey, are you still interested in buying the asset? So we purchased it for $735,000.
00:05:40:06 – 00:05:45:13
Rod
Oh, wow. Wow. Previous offer 2 million. You got it for seven. Wow.
00:05:45:15 – 00:05:46:05
Radhika
Yeah.
00:05:46:07 – 00:05:47:07
Rod
And that’s.
00:05:47:07 – 00:05:51:24
Radhika
Fantastic. It definitely has. It had a big opportunity and therefore a chance.
00:05:52:00 – 00:05:54:23
Rod
There’s work that it needs. Work at that price. Gonna need work.
00:05:55:00 – 00:06:09:14
Radhika
So it was you know it had 17 people in the building when we took over. And we closed the transaction mid-March. We’re about three months in and we’re a little over 56% occupancy now.
00:06:09:16 – 00:06:16:19
Rod
Already got it up that high. And so talk about, how did you finance it? What what talk about the mechanics of the deal.
00:06:16:21 – 00:06:18:12
Radhika
Sure. So it was a bridge loan.
00:06:18:12 – 00:06:19:06
Rod
You got a bridge loan?
00:06:19:11 – 00:06:29:11
Radhika
Okay. You got like, 14% interest. High interest, high interest. But is a fixed rate. Okay, we have it for the next three years.
00:06:29:13 – 00:06:30:04
Rod
Okay?
00:06:30:06 – 00:06:33:09
Radhika
And our goal is to refi at the end of year two.
00:06:33:12 – 00:06:42:15
Rod
Okay? And just yet pay off that bridge loan. Okay. And, and it says you got a bank loan for some of the rehab costs, or is that the bridge.
00:06:42:15 – 00:06:43:07
Radhika
Already folded in?
00:06:43:11 – 00:06:44:10
Rod
It’s folded in.
00:06:44:12 – 00:06:47:02
Radhika
The bank will pay about 200 K in CapEx.
00:06:47:04 – 00:06:56:01
Rod
For CapEx. No kidding. And, so you paid 735. You you basically, how much did you end up borrowing.
00:06:56:03 – 00:06:57:09
Radhika
A 580?
00:06:57:09 – 00:07:02:13
Rod
So, yeah, it’s 588. That’s right. I see it here. So okay. And then you raised
00:07:02:15 – 00:07:03:09
Radhika
800 K.
00:07:03:10 – 00:07:06:17
Rod
800,000 from LPs. You did it or the whole group did.
00:07:06:19 – 00:07:07:11
Radhika
There was a few of us.
00:07:07:11 – 00:07:14:02
Rod
Okay. Yeah. Okay. And so, and what was the use of funds for that 800,000?
00:07:14:08 – 00:07:37:09
Radhika
Yeah. So it was primarily operational reserves. So this building was bleeding cash. Sure. We were losing about 55 to 60 K every month. And so we essentially put a stabilization timeline of about eight months. So we raised about 450 K just in operational reserves. And then the remainder was CapEx down payment very small acquisition fee.
00:07:37:10 – 00:07:40:11
Rod
How much work are you needing to do to it in CapEx?
00:07:40:11 – 00:08:06:12
Radhika
Not very much. So it’s primarily deferred maintenance, a lot of landscaping that we already did. Okay. You know, power washing the sidewalks, re stripping the parking lot and, new signage, I think big component of our marketing or our business plan on this asset was repositioning it and marketing and branding it because due to the bankruptcy and what was happening with the old seller, it had a very bad, bad reputation.
00:08:06:12 – 00:08:19:01
Rod
Sure. And sometimes, by the way, rebranding guys means you rename it so that you don’t have all the negative stuff from the previous owner, and sometimes you have to rebrand. And so you did that. How did you find the deal?
00:08:19:03 – 00:08:25:19
Radhika
I had a warrior reach out to me because I was extremely active in our Warrior Assisted Living WhatsApp group.
00:08:25:23 – 00:08:26:06
Rod
Yeah.
00:08:26:08 – 00:08:46:18
Radhika
And so, you know, they could tell I was looking at deals. I was asking all these tough questions about operators, about how to lend in this space. And one of my good friends who I literally connected with a couple weeks into being a warrior, reached out to me, said, hey, we have a deal, why don’t you come check a team and and see if you want to take care of this, okay?
00:08:46:20 – 00:09:07:21
Rod
Okay. Fantastic. Okay. And so 34 units with 46 beds means some of them are shared units. Okay. And, so talk about the going in rents and then, you know, where you’re bringing it, where you’re adding value. Adding value. Yeah.
00:09:07:21 – 00:09:11:19
Radhika
So, in-place rents when we took over was 2850.
00:09:11:21 – 00:09:13:23
Rod
Yeah. Which is extremely low for memory care.
00:09:13:24 – 00:09:29:17
Radhika
Exactly. And market rate in that area for memory care is closer to 4900. So we had about $2,000 that we could, take advantage of. Now in our underwriting, though we didn’t assume were going to do it all in one year. Right. We actually spread out across four years.
00:09:29:18 – 00:09:30:03
Rod
Okay.
00:09:30:06 – 00:09:44:17
Radhika
And once we start, once we got in there and did the entire transition, our operator, who is a fourth generation savant and like knows is building. It’s actually previously managed this building and made it award winning. So she’s already turned this asset around before.
00:09:44:19 – 00:10:00:24
Rod
Interesting. So what so sorry to interrupt. So what happened with the existing operator to have it? I mean, those low rents and 60%, would you say there were only 16, 16 people in there? Were they tired? Were they burned out? What happened?
00:10:01:01 – 00:10:18:09
Radhika
What I heard from the broker or the, lawyer. Excuse me, was the seller, I think just got greedy. And they ended up getting rid of the operating company because at one point, this was a stabilized wall performing asset. So they got rid of the operator. It started to tank from there.
00:10:18:09 – 00:10:40:13
Rod
And so guys, the way this works is, is, you know, you can do the real estate piece, which is what I’m doing on that Pittsburgh asset. And they did on the Savannah asset. And then you bring in an operator and, and Radhika and I started talking before we started recording and we both agreed that, the operator is the most important piece, okay.
00:10:40:13 – 00:10:59:13
Rod
Because, you know, there’s a lot of liability with, you know, you’re taking care of grandma, and, you know, there’s a lot of liable and there could be, you know, decent amount of risk, with it as well. And so it’s all based on the operator. And so you so talk about how did you find that operator and how’d that happen?
00:10:59:16 – 00:11:11:08
Radhika
So my partners on the team actually had done the due diligence as we put the offer in a year before. Okay. So they ended up finding her in Savannah just through literally calling people. And I seem to fly through their networks.
00:11:11:09 – 00:11:11:19
Rod
Okay.
00:11:11:22 – 00:11:25:14
Radhika
We we ended up talking. We built the business plan together. We underwrote it together to make sure it was feasible. Business plan. And, we also vetted her references or performance to make sure she’s done this before.
00:11:25:17 – 00:11:42:06
Rod
Okay. So you you you outline some phases that you are working through with this particular asset. And phase one was getting the place looking decent, like the landscaping on the striping, the parking lot and just the obvious stuff. When people pull up, talk about the the rest of it.
00:11:42:09 – 00:12:03:21
Radhika
Yeah. So phase two is getting it ready for compassionate care. So that has a lot to do with our staffing. So during our first 60 days or so, a big component of our business plan was interviewing the employees, seeing how they perform risk, setting expectations and seeing whether they align with our mission, vision and values. And many did not.
00:12:03:21 – 00:12:08:09
Rod
So you you were interviewing employees for this new operator?
00:12:08:11 – 00:12:12:06
Radhika
Well, yeah, the operator was managing the employees and making sure that.
00:12:12:06 – 00:12:19:20
Rod
But you were involved in that process. Interesting. Okay. Yeah, yeah. And okay, interesting. So you’re more actively involved than just.
00:12:20:00 – 00:12:21:03
Radhika
More actively involved in this.
00:12:21:04 – 00:12:41:17
Rod
Okay. Okay. Yeah. Because, yeah. I mean, like, I can tell you that this particular operator we’re working with, I mean, they’re so well organized that, you know, I’m not going to I’m afraid I’d be a chink in the armor if I tried to get in there and direct traffic. They’re really impressive. So, but you but you you just rolled up your sleeves to help.
00:12:41:17 – 00:12:47:20
Rod
Okay, so phase two, you’ve got, rebranding and aggressively marketing it. Is that already started?
00:12:48:01 – 00:13:13:18
Radhika
Yes. Well pretty rebranded. We’re currently aggressively marketing and run all the different third party paid services so we can get more leads in. It’s all about occupancy right now. Just how do we get to break even so that we can stop the bleeding. And then phase three is about optimization. So right. It’s controlling our expenses. It’s really starting to tie in the expenses and make sure we are running an efficient organization.
00:13:13:20 – 00:13:38:12
Radhika
And a big part of that is we’ve implemented a few different systems. So we have a, you know, new CRM, new HR information system and an electronic health record system so that the current paper based processes that exist in that facility can transition to be more automated, give our administrators more, space and time to focus on resident care rather than more admin.
00:13:38:14 – 00:13:46:20
Rod
So basically, you brought in the manager. You brought in the director for the facility. Yes. But you’re still heavily involved in the operations.
00:13:46:23 – 00:13:47:03
Radhika
Are.
00:13:47:07 – 00:14:07:07
Rod
Okay. All right. So so there’s there’s different models that you can embody here. And so, so you’re you’re definitely more right. I mean, the fact that you’re getting all these systems and, you know, CRM and, and, and all of that, you’re involved in the food vendors and, and all of that stuff. So you were very actively involved.
00:14:07:09 – 00:14:11:21
Rod
And that’s, that’s fantastic because you have more control. I mean, more control.
00:14:11:21 – 00:14:13:20
Radhika
I think it’s also just a great way to learn.
00:14:13:21 – 00:14:14:20
Rod
Well, short is.
00:14:14:22 – 00:14:30:21
Radhika
I think seeing the inside from my perspective. And yeah, talking to the operators, literally day to day, week to week challenges that they’re encountering. Now when I look at assets and I underwrite them, there’s so much more experience and knowledge where I sure beyond just.
00:14:30:23 – 00:15:02:20
Rod
Oh, that’s really smart, actually. That’s very smart. And I like that approach a lot. And, and I’ll tell you, you know, I think the most successful operators in the multifamily space are the ones that are vertically integrated and self-manage, okay? They’re geographically specific and they self manage. So the, you know, for a whole lot of reasons, the one like you just said, you know, you, you, you learn the business better and faster, but additionally, you know, you’re, you’re able to hold things accountable and, and that you don’t have that with a third party property management company.
00:15:02:20 – 00:15:23:05
Rod
I can tell you horror stories about third party property management companies. So, you know, that’s that’s you’re going to learn a ton, doing it that way, which is really a smart move. So let’s see, let’s talk about numbers. So, so where are you at as far as occupancy now.
00:15:23:07 – 00:15:27:24
Radhika
So we’re at 28 out of 46 residents.
00:15:28:01 – 00:15:29:16
Rod
Which is about 60%.
00:15:29:16 – 00:15:40:03
Radhika
Yeah a little about 60% or so. Okay. And our rents now. So every new resident that has come in has come in between 4250 and 4550. Well from the 2850.
00:15:40:03 – 00:15:40:20
Rod
From the 20, that’s.
00:15:40:20 – 00:15:47:10
Radhika
Fantastic. Everyone’s paid a $1,500 community fee. Wow. So we are and this actually where.
00:15:47:10 – 00:15:48:17
Rod
Do you need to be to break even.
00:15:48:19 – 00:15:51:09
Radhika
3334 so we’re almost there.
00:15:51:11 – 00:15:58:15
Rod
Wow okay. So you’re at 28. You need 33 to 34 to break even. Okay. Yeah. Because you’re probably fully staffed right.
00:15:58:17 – 00:16:02:18
Radhika
We’ve actually changed our staffing. So we I mean we are fully staffed for the residents we have.
00:16:02:18 – 00:16:30:03
Rod
Oh you are. So you’ll need to add staffing for more okay okay. Yeah. Because that’s one of the things, you know, that’s different than you know, staffing a multifamily asset because, you know, when you’re in lease up with a multifamily asset, you need all hands on deck. But, you know, if you haven’t got all in on the senior housing, on the flip side, you know, when you’re underwriting senior housing, you can you can, model an expense, acceleration rather than everything all at once.
00:16:30:03 – 00:16:48:00
Rod
Day one that you need all the expenses. So, you know, that’s that’s a, you know, that’s one of the things we’ve discovered in doing our performance on these assisted living facilities we’re looking at is you can you can ramp the staffing, which is the biggest expense. Right. And so it’s, you know, it’s it’s it’s good to know that you don’t have to have everybody day one.
00:16:48:00 – 00:17:07:18
Rod
You can be adding them as you’re adding people. You know, you need a someone to cook the food. You need an activities director. And I I’m don’t know if I think I would guess that the, that the people can wear multiple hats in that regard initially, but, right. But all of that has to be handled.
00:17:07:20 – 00:17:27:22
Rod
Okay. All right. So 3334 to get to stabilization, you’re ahead of your timeline already. So one of the questions we love to have you answer is, kind of a hot topic in the space. And so and I like where you were going and looking at what you wrote down here. So talk about that.
00:17:28:02 – 00:17:29:04
Rod
What do you think is a hot topic.
00:17:29:06 – 00:17:42:03
Radhika
Yeah I think the hot topic is I think a lot of people are getting into senior living because it’s a need based asset class. Right? We have incredible demographic demand happening right now.
00:17:42:03 – 00:17:45:23
Rod
With 10,000 people a day turning 65 like me.
00:17:46:00 – 00:17:58:19
Radhika
That’s right. So yeah, that’s right. And the supply is extremely constrained. Right? Right, right. Development would have to increase three and a half times to meet today’s demand. So correct. There’s the the macroeconomics makes sense. And I think people are.
00:17:58:24 – 00:18:02:12
Rod
Oh they way more than make sense. They are like exciting very exciting. Yeah.
00:18:02:12 – 00:18:27:01
Radhika
So there’s a lot of great returns. And I think the good thing is there’s a lot of deals out there and most of them can pencil out if you get the right operator in place. The good thing for LPs or passive investors is that they have more options for for sponsors that might be going in this route where I see a level of risk, though, is there’s a lot of people transitioning from storage or retail.
00:18:27:03 – 00:18:28:05
Rod
Or multifamily.
00:18:28:05 – 00:18:53:05
Radhika
Family and coming into senior living and senior living is very different. It’s it’s not just real estate. It’s real estate, hospitality and health care. Yeah. And as you mentioned, at the top, health care is the biggest liability, the biggest risk that we’re taking on. So what I find is there’s a lot of multifamily or different type of syndicators who who don’t even know the numbers well enough to go sell it to their LPs.
00:18:53:11 – 00:19:12:15
Rod
And we’re seeing it. We’re seeing it. We chatted about it briefly before we started recording. Yeah. And so, you know, so the point is, be careful if you’re going to invest in senior housing and make sure that you, you know, you, you know, the operator. And the operator has an incredible track record, which is the biggest thing I looked for to get in this business.
00:19:12:15 – 00:19:27:06
Rod
I wasn’t going to do it if I didn’t find an incredible operator. But, but the opportunities are staggering. I mean, it’s literally the the, the demographics are insane for this asset class. And, and it’s like a tidal wave that will go for a decade.
00:19:27:06 – 00:19:27:17
Radhika
Decade.
00:19:27:18 – 00:19:52:03
Rod
Yeah. Well, at least a decade, a really longer than that because they’re turning 65 now. They’ll be turning 75 in 10 years, will be turning 85 in 20 years. I mean, it’s more than one decade even. And and it’s not going away. I mean, the baby boomer, population has impacted this country in greater than way greater than any other, you know, group of people.
00:19:52:03 – 00:20:17:08
Rod
I mean, from the rise of suburbia in that that’s that the baby boomers created that. I mean, even diapers, I mean, you know, it was just crazy the impact that baby boomers have had on our society. And, and and candidly, the, the, stress that they’re going to put on us financially as they age. And so, and, and there’s a huge shortage of beds, huge.
00:20:17:12 – 00:20:35:02
Rod
And so, I, you know, we did the math on it in a presentation. I don’t remember what it was off the top of my head, but we almost have to exceed. I don’t want to guess. I mean, the development need is is huge. Yeah, yeah. So. But,
00:20:35:04 – 00:20:40:00
Radhika
But I think the people who are choosing to develop, you know, the costs are staggering to not.
00:20:40:02 – 00:20:40:18
Rod
Right.
00:20:40:20 – 00:20:53:20
Radhika
And I think they’re focusing more on the luxury care because that’s where the money is. Right? Right. And so you have these residents kind of in the middle and in the lower end who just don’t have the money to pay, but they have to pay for care.
00:20:53:22 – 00:21:13:18
Rod
And, and it’s a I hate to say it, I think there’s going to be a crisis, I really do. I think it’s going to become a crisis where people literally, you know, are not getting the care. And I hate it, but I think, I think that could be coming down the pike, because what, like you just said, the development is not going to be it’s just same thing with affordable housing.
00:21:13:20 – 00:21:36:04
Rod
The developers that are developing multifamily are not developing affordable housing, that the numbers don’t make any sense. So it’s the same thing with senior housing. And you know, I, I mean, again, I love the elderly. So I, I’m getting involved to try to help with this. But I think we’re headed for some, some real pain for our elders.
00:21:36:06 – 00:21:59:22
Rod
If things don’t happen, you know, and, and maybe there’s some governmental incentives, you know, incentives that can help developers have it make sense. But but, you know, the thing you said about, you know, operators going into the business, and, and things that I’ve seen is, is aggressive projections, overly aggressive, you know, with, with thinner margins than they should be.
00:21:59:22 – 00:22:31:19
Rod
And, and so, you know, I one of the things that that I noticed when in interviewing the operator that I like and because, you know, the the employee in an assisted living facility is not the highest paid person on the planet either. Okay. And so one thing and I’ve run some big companies myself, and one thing that is critical is to have a supportive impact, educational culture, where you’re where you’re supportive, you’re you’re you’re empowering your people.
00:22:31:19 – 00:22:59:18
Rod
You’re and the culture is really important. And I was super impressed by what I saw with the guy that I’m working with. But you know, that that’s a critical piece. And and in maximizing tech and I in this business, you know, like there’s some really cool AI products that, can communicate with the elderly and can communicate and be like a bridge between the family and the elderly and the and the the person being given care.
00:22:59:20 – 00:23:17:13
Rod
That’s that’s tech driven. So there’s a lot of stuff that we’re looking at to try to implement, to lean on, AI and tech to, you know, help with the expenses, but also enhance the experience. Yeah. Right.
00:23:17:15 – 00:23:30:07
Radhika
Yeah. We’ve looked at a few like wander management systems and wearables. I think it goes back to reducing your liability and risk, you know, managing the risk from a health care standpoint. So yeah, we’re also looking at.
00:23:30:07 – 00:23:31:04
Rod
Quality of care.
00:23:31:10 – 00:23:31:22
Radhika
Of course.
00:23:31:22 – 00:23:49:18
Rod
Yeah. And quality of care. I mean one of the things we looked at, which was kind of cool, was like a You know, how you’ve got these avatars now and these funny things like the, the, the, the gorillas that are talking and the babies that are talking in a way, we even did a baby video just as a joke.
00:23:49:18 – 00:24:10:22
Rod
But but at some point, I think that that the quality will be good enough that like a child of childhood, wrong for like, like an adult child, that’s taking care of that elderly person. I mean, it’s responsible for that elderly person could literally have an avatar that talks to that elderly person and communicates with them. Wouldn’t that be cool?
00:24:10:24 – 00:24:25:24
Rod
Yeah, and I think that’s coming. I don’t think that’s far off. And and to to help in. Hey mom, did you take your medicine today? Did you, you know, do this? Did you do that? I mean, to me, that sounds really cool. So it’s one of the things we were kind of playing around with and looking at.
00:24:26:01 – 00:24:27:24
Radhika
What could help from the social standpoint. Right.
00:24:28:01 – 00:24:46:20
Rod
Well, that’s the big. Yeah. That’s huge piece. Where, where they where they’re connected. Yeah. Yeah. And that’s such a huge piece where you know, you know an elderly person’s by themself and the kids can’t visit as much as they’d want to. And so yeah, that was really kind of exciting when that, idea got proposed, I thought, you know, that’s that’s coming.
00:24:46:20 – 00:25:07:23
Rod
I mean, I’ll tell you, you know, I, we did a video and talking about one of my boot camps, and and it expired and I didn’t want to shoot it again. And we used AI, and it looks just like me talking, putting the different dates in right then we do that. Yeah, we we we. And so I mean the tech is is almost there type of listener.
00:25:07:23 – 00:25:14:16
Rod
Do you think you would relate to you in in in you know, your personality for example.
00:25:14:19 – 00:25:41:17
Radhika
Yeah I think there’s two okay. Two different personas or avatars. The first is what I like to call, professional who’s at a crossroad. So this is somebody who’s probably spent their time and climbed the corporate ladder. And I think as they’ve climbed, they’ve realized that they’re making more money. But they’re being more and more constrained on their time, and it’s actually taking them away from their personal goals.
00:25:41:19 – 00:25:42:10
Rod
And family.
00:25:42:10 – 00:26:06:14
Radhika
And family. And the other is what I like to call the analytic skeptic. So these are what I have found. Typically people like in financial services data science, engineering who who are very numbers driven, they want to understand the numbers and the mechanics behind how everything works before they feel comfortable to either invest or partake in a deal.
00:26:06:16 – 00:26:10:21
Radhika
And both of these are my types of investors. Yeah, yeah.
00:26:10:24 – 00:26:13:22
Rod
So why did you join the warrior program?
00:26:13:24 – 00:26:19:09
Radhika
I needed, accountability, and I needed a network that I could tap into.
00:26:19:11 – 00:26:20:12
Rod
Nice. So nice.
00:26:20:16 – 00:26:40:10
Radhika
Before this, I’ve had four other failed businesses. And in each of those, I learned because I was going through all of those kind of alone. And in this one, I was like, I can’t go at it alone. So I figured out, who do I need to come on the journey with me to help me be successful and frankly, help our family be successful?
00:26:40:12 – 00:26:41:15
Radhika
And that’s what.
00:26:41:17 – 00:26:42:06
Rod
That’s what drove.
00:26:42:06 – 00:26:43:11
Radhika
It. That’s what drove me.
00:26:43:13 – 00:27:02:08
Rod
Yeah. By the way, if you are interested considering getting some guidance like Veronica did here, so that maybe you can experience the life you want this year instead of three, four, or five years from now. You know, text the word crush to seven, two, three, 4 or 5 and just to see if the warrior program, you know, might be able to help you get to where you want to be.
00:27:02:10 – 00:27:17:05
Rod
Again. So text crush to seven, two, three, four, five. And that’s how you apply. And we check you out. You check us out, and if it’s a fit, you’re off to the races. And, and like I said, you know, a lot of people think we just do multifamily. As you can see, we have a big senior housing contingent in here.
00:27:17:05 – 00:27:35:17
Rod
We have a ton of self-storage. We have a ton of mobile home parks. We have, hotel conversions. We’ve got, industrial flex space. There are people that. So every asset class pretty much is getting covered in the warrior program, which is just extraordinary. So again, if you want to apply text crush to seven, two, three, 4 or 5.
00:27:35:19 – 00:27:40:03
Rod
So, so what’s next for you?
00:27:40:05 – 00:27:45:15
Radhika
We are actually looking at a few deals were will be lead GPA and so nice.
00:27:45:17 – 00:27:46:06
Rod
Oh nice.
00:27:46:06 – 00:27:48:12
Radhika
And we are going to take down our own deals.
00:27:48:15 – 00:27:55:23
Rod
Fantastic. Take down some more senior housing. Yes okay. And you’re not geographically specific right. You’re looking pretty much all over.
00:27:56:00 – 00:27:58:08
Radhika
Yes. But we are primarily focused on the Sun Belt.
00:27:58:08 – 00:28:25:21
Rod
Sun though, right? Yeah. Right. Got it. Okay. And so you know, the not the warrior program. The business is a team sport. You guys have heard me say that ad nauseum, okay? That it’s not something you’re going to do alone, which is one of the benefits of the warrior program, obviously. I mean, right now on the multifamily front, where 265,000 units, I think and I think it’s closer to 280,000 units under my tutelage, which just blows my mind.
00:28:25:23 – 00:28:38:20
Rod
But and but all those deals are done between warriors. These deals are done between warriors. And so, it’s a team sport, but, you know, people bring their superpower to that sport. So what’s your superpower?
00:28:38:22 – 00:28:43:19
Radhika
Two things. One is underwriting. So just like the analytics, you.
00:28:43:19 – 00:28:45:06
Rod
Enjoy the analytics. Yep.
00:28:45:06 – 00:29:07:13
Radhika
Okay. I like understanding the assumptions that we’re making. And really I think focusing more on downside protection for the investor. Yeah. So a big part of how I underwrite is managing the risks and making sure we account for the types of questions that LP are going to ask us when we pitch it to them. That’s really my forte.
00:29:07:17 – 00:29:19:24
Radhika
And then the second piece is actually coordinating the entire deal. So finding the right partners to partner with, finding capital, whether that’s retail capital or institutional capital, finding or lenders and putting the whole deal together.
00:29:20:04 – 00:29:22:24
Rod
Have you brought in some institutional capital already?
00:29:23:01 – 00:29:24:24
Radhika
Not yet. We’re actually talking to a couple companies.
00:29:24:24 – 00:29:42:01
Rod
You are you know, we’ve got a lot of listeners that have not done anything yet. What’s what’s an action item or something they could do to get started. You know obviously you know, check out the warrior program. Come to one of my bootcamps. Certainly that’s a great place. But but what would you, what would you say.
00:29:42:03 – 00:29:53:23
Radhika
Something that worked for me because I was also stuck for a while in analysis paralysis sort of phase. I defined what my enough was and not enough.
00:29:53:24 – 00:29:55:02
Rod
Okay, clarify.
00:29:55:06 – 00:30:18:06
Radhika
So what that meant for me was I don’t think everybody needs billions and billions of dollars. It’s usually not about the money in any way for most people. So I literally wrote down what are the biggest goals that I have? And for me, that meant things like homeschooling my kids, being able to travel 3 to 4 months out of the year, whatever, whatever they are, and define a number.
00:30:18:06 – 00:30:24:13
Radhika
What how much money will you need and flexibility will you need to get to these big life goals?
00:30:24:15 – 00:30:25:04
Rod
Okay.
00:30:25:06 – 00:30:46:12
Radhika
And for me, I worked backwards to say okay, based on what I need, what am I bringing in today that allows me to do this? Where’s the gap and how do I fill the gap? That allowed me to create a roadmap for okay, I know what gap I’m trying to fill and what’s the right investment strategy or whatever the case may be for you to fill the gap.
00:30:46:14 – 00:30:50:19
Rod
And elaborate on this freedom blueprint. I love that, I love that.
00:30:50:19 – 00:31:16:06
Radhika
So, we created a relic, capital groove. We created a calculator. This is essentially, it’s a 15 minute activity that you do. It helps you define your freedom goals. I like to call them your, survive, arrive and thrive goals. And it essentially breaks down the entire roadmap. It helps you to reverse engineer what you need. And it doesn’t just look at financial performance.
00:31:16:06 – 00:31:37:06
Radhika
So it looks at what are all the things you’re invested in, whether it’s your 401 K, your stocks, bonds, whatever the case may be, and it accounts for okay, if you were to syndicate, if you were to do a JV, how does how do these investment strategies fit together to get you to your goals. So it’s a portfolio view to help you get to where you want to go.
00:31:37:10 – 00:31:45:08
Rod
Like something a financial planner would do. But you’ve got it. You’ve kind of put it into a program where they can plug in information and it spits something, spits.
00:31:45:08 – 00:31:47:17
Radhika
It out, and it takes 15 minutes to do.
00:31:47:23 – 00:31:51:16
Rod
Okay, what’s the website? It’s on.
00:31:51:18 – 00:31:56:22
Radhika
Relic capital Group, that’s Relic Capital group.com.
00:31:57:00 – 00:32:04:05
Rod
Okay, okay. So you’ve been at it a year. Yeah. And that first deal was Savannah. Where are your other deals at?
00:32:04:07 – 00:32:04:21
Radhika
Florida.
00:32:04:22 – 00:32:16:12
Rod
Florida. Here. Okay. All right. Fantastic. And so, what are some hurdles you’ve had to overcome? You know, you know, I call them seminars. You’ve you’ve heard me talk about it a lot. So talk about some seminars that you’ve had.
00:32:16:14 – 00:32:25:05
Radhika
I think on a personal level, I, I, I had to change my limiting beliefs. That was probably the biggest hurdle.
00:32:25:05 – 00:32:26:15
Rod
What were they.
00:32:26:17 – 00:32:43:14
Radhika
Just feeling like I wasn’t enough. So I was like right after try join the program. I, you know, you give us a 90 day action plan. So I was working through the plan, and one of the actions you asked us to do was go call brokers and call lenders and, and literally talk to people. And I made lists.
00:32:43:14 – 00:32:46:11
Radhika
I did a lot of tasks. They didn’t add.
00:32:46:11 – 00:32:49:18
Rod
A spreadsheet with the phone number and where they live, and.
00:32:49:21 – 00:32:55:05
Radhika
That’s right. Okay. I did a lot of that. And then I was like, okay, none of this is actually driving value.
00:32:55:05 – 00:32:57:02
Rod
It’s called income generating activity.
00:32:57:02 – 00:33:18:05
Radhika
Yes. So I have that on my whiteboard written in red. So I focus on the right things, and I had to just get on the phone. And I had to, in some ways make a fool of myself and ask small questions that probably other people wouldn’t be asking. But as a new person, you just don’t know. And I think I had to tell myself, like, I’m enough.
00:33:18:05 – 00:33:27:08
Radhika
I have a lot of real estate experience, but also other experience that can add value here, and it took me a long time to learn that and breakthrough.
00:33:27:08 – 00:33:44:17
Rod
Thank you for being vulnerable and admitting that you know, I’ve talked about it because I got beat up in school and experience with a girl. I had a crush on that. That humiliated me in front of a bunch of kids. And, you know, and I used to say, you know, how can I show them I’m good enough, you know, which obviously presupposed I wasn’t.
00:33:44:17 – 00:33:56:16
Rod
So thank you for sharing that. So, so you got over that and did you was what did you do to get over that? Just recognize that it existed and just take action in spite of it or what did you do.
00:33:56:17 – 00:34:20:06
Radhika
No, I, I actually think getting into the Savannah deal is actually what showed me that I know my stuff. So once I got in the deal and we were going through due diligence, we were going through the transition and I, I was a cop. So I was not a decision maker for the most part on this team. But slowly and surely, I constantly, every day prove myself.
00:34:20:06 – 00:34:40:23
Radhika
I was asking the right questions. And so my lead GPS were like, hey, like, these are good questions. We should be answering them and we should be asking the operator, etc. so that helped me recognize, yeah, that, oh, I’m actually asking the right questions that either others are not asking or we as a team should be asking. Yeah that helped.
00:34:40:23 – 00:34:46:01
Radhika
And then once we closed Savannah, that I mean, that was just big because that was a big deal.
00:34:46:01 – 00:34:47:02
Rod
You know, it was doable.
00:34:47:02 – 00:35:15:20
Radhika
It was doable. I was able to talk to LPs. I had people who invested their money. And that, again, was another confidence boost that they trusted me to understand the numbers, to answer questions, manage the risk. And then now, you know, as we’re looking at our own deals, I’ve been vetting all of our operators. So there’s a lot of work that goes into asking the hard questions and frankly, vetting them and making sure they truly have what it takes to run your operation.
00:35:15:24 – 00:35:19:12
Rod
Yeah. Are you going to the Nic Conference in Austin?
00:35:19:12 – 00:35:20:10
Radhika
I’m not.
00:35:20:12 – 00:35:21:14
Rod
I’m it’s expensive.
00:35:21:14 – 00:35:21:21
Radhika
It’s very.
00:35:21:21 – 00:35:45:06
Rod
Expensive. 3500 I paid. You know I’m going. So talk about any epiphanies that you had in this process and maybe you’ve already talked about them, but like like like you know now I get it moments or I mean, you just described one is as it related to your, you know, your limiting belief. And by the way, guys, there’s a reason the acronym for Belief Systems is BS is because 99% of them are BS.
00:35:45:12 – 00:36:02:14
Rod
You know, we’ve had stuff happen to us and we believe they’re real, but they’re not. And you know, when you have them, you know, I used to be afraid to raise my hand in front of ten kids in a classroom, and now I speak in front of thousands and frickin flip flops, you know? So, you know, you get past them if you look at them consciously and recognize that they’re BS.
00:36:02:14 – 00:36:05:06
Rod
But, talk about any epiphanies that you had.
00:36:05:08 – 00:36:35:17
Radhika
I think another big epiphany I had was I was really scared of institutional capital because it meant playing with the big dogs. And I think I read somewhere I was rephrasing why I thought that essentially. And what I realized was they are actually lucky to talk to me because one, most of these institutional banks or investment banks, family offices, many of them have focused on multifamily and some of these other asset classes that everybody else is already in.
00:36:35:19 – 00:36:36:16
Rod
00:36:36:18 – 00:37:05:02
Radhika
Very few actually have senior living deals. And and if we do it right, our returns are slightly better than compared to other asset classes. So they are actually lucky to talk to me about the type of value we can bring their investors that was a big shift when I started to think of them needing me just as much as I need them, it changed how I approached our conversation and asked the right questions to one.
00:37:05:04 – 00:37:28:09
Rod
The energy you bring to it as well. Yes, it completely changes the energy. The only question I want to give you a little cautionary little coaching here. They very often exert control. So be very careful with the documents that they bring you and how it goes. Because I remember we bought an asset in Lexington and, the seller didn’t want to sell and his private equity made him sell, and that’s the one we bought.
00:37:28:09 – 00:37:51:23
Rod
So just be careful with that. But, okay. You know, you know, I have I have a lot of aspiring investors. They want to get into real estate. They want to do something, they know they need to do something with their lives. You know, speak to them. What will, you know, give them some advice as to how to do something to to to take action towards their goals and their dreams that they haven’t done yet.
00:37:52:00 – 00:38:24:01
Radhika
I would say if you can find a GP and I’ve actually done this for some of a few of my like, mentees, that I’ve had over the years. If you can find a mentor who’s willing to just let you shadow, and let you sit in on the meetings, let you do some of some of the small tasks on a GP team, like if commercial real estate through syndication is for you, find somebody who could help you do that because you’re adding value to them by helping take some work off their plate.
00:38:24:03 – 00:38:35:17
Radhika
But you are going to learn so much by just being in the room, and by absorbing the information and hearing the questions that are being asked. I think that’s a much more powerful way to learn.
00:38:35:19 – 00:38:47:04
Rod
Yeah, that might be easier said than done. The problem is you’ve got it. You’ve got to get connected with those people. Obviously, it’s easy in the warrior program, but that might be easier said than done. I mean, you know, have you discovered any meet ups about senior housing?
00:38:47:07 – 00:38:57:12
Radhika
We have you have. And that’s another good one. Yeah. Those meet ups. And I would even say like if you could do a JV, figure out like a small way to get into a deal. Deal.
00:38:57:16 – 00:39:06:18
Rod
Okay. You’re a mother? Yes. You’re an investor. You’re married. How do you balance it all?
00:39:06:20 – 00:39:18:21
Radhika
I do three things. Okay? The first is when I started the warrior program, and it was a family decision to actually be part of the program, as I think you could. You say it’s a spouse.
00:39:18:21 – 00:39:30:22
Rod
Just the spouse has got to be enrolled or involved. And, you know, in fact, at the boot camp, we talk about how to talk to the spouse and and get them, you know, enrolled because the family environment is critical. So that’s really smart. You did that. Okay.
00:39:30:24 – 00:39:49:20
Radhika
So when we were making that decision, I was very focused on I have to put a routine that’s going to be consistent and easy to implement every single day for me. And so for me, that meant from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. every single day I was going to work on real estate.
00:39:49:22 – 00:39:51:15
Rod
No that’s good. The kids are asleep, but the.
00:39:51:16 – 00:39:58:18
Radhika
Kids are asleep. Okay. And except for Wednesdays, which is my one day with my wife, when we get to watch TV and hang out and have fun.
00:39:58:19 – 00:39:59:15
Rod
Nice.
00:39:59:17 – 00:40:04:09
Radhika
But the rest of the days are dedicated towards me, focusing on our family goals.
00:40:04:09 – 00:40:15:15
Rod
Grinding for a few years like most people want so you can live the rest of your life like most people can’t. That’s that’s a big commitment away from your spouse. You know, every night doing that. Yeah. Okay.
00:40:15:19 – 00:40:32:10
Radhika
Well that was one. The second thing was I got really narrow. So I focused on senior living. And even within that, initially I was only doing memory care and I was only looking in one market. And that was just to become an expert in something.
00:40:32:10 – 00:40:33:07
Rod
Which is what I tell you to.
00:40:33:07 – 00:40:57:13
Radhika
Do. Yes. Good. And I think that helped to avoid a lot of the distractions and the shiny objects and rooms. And the third thing was just having the support system. So my wife is the my biggest supporter. And, you know, when we talked about me joining the warrior program, it also meant that she was going to take on more household things and sometimes parenting things that I was doing.
00:40:57:15 – 00:41:09:21
Radhika
And it’s never 5050 in a marriage. But in this case, like she recognizes where she’s supporting me and therefore helping our family goals, and I’m doing the same in just a different way right now.
00:41:09:23 – 00:41:32:03
Rod
And testing and testing. Well, listen, I really appreciate you coming all the way out here across the country to come on this show. And, you’ve had a tremendous value today, this, you know, this asset class is so exciting and and it’s got legs for decades and, you know, but it it’s important that the elderly are taken care of.
00:41:32:03 – 00:41:51:02
Rod
It’s important that they’re taking care of. Well, and it’s important that there’s enough care to take care of them. And so, you know, it’s it’s a very exciting time for that. Now, I’m still very much interested in multifamily. And, you know, we’re looking at assets all the time, but I don’t think that the pricing has gotten to where we want it to be yet.
00:41:51:02 – 00:42:00:06
Rod
There’s a lot of deals in trouble, though. So they’re coming in, as you know. But, but the senior housing things very exciting. So thanks again for coming on the show here.
00:42:00:06 – 00:42:01:18
Radhika
Absolutely. Thanks for having me. Of course.
