MB 078: Never Give Up to Quit Your Job with Real Estate – With Joseph Gozlan

‘That’s just the way I’m built: Nothing’s going to stop me.’ Joseph Gozlan’s story defines the word GRIT. Once he decided that multi-family was the route he wanted to take, Joseph continued to drive through every challenge, getting creative and doing whatever it took to secure his first deal despite the roadblocks and frustrations. Three years later, he is the proud owner of two apartment buildings, and he has five properties in the pipeline. Joseph’s living expenses are covered, and he is considering a transition into full-time real estate in the very near future. Joseph got his start in real estate back in 2005 when he and his new wife realized that their new five-bedroom home was too big for just the two of them, so they chose to stay in an apartment and rent the property. Two years later, they moved to the United States from Israel and recognized the opportunity provided by the market collapse. The Gozlans secured their real estate licenses and began actively hunting for deals, purchasing a duplex and several single-family homes. In 2015, Joseph realized there was much more value in apartments than could be gained in scaling single-family homes, and he started extensive research into multi-family investment. Unfortunately, Joseph faced a number of hurdles along the way, and it took a full two years to secure his first 22-unit apartment complex. When many would-be multi-family investors would have given up, Joseph persevered, and today he shares his long road to successful apartment building investing with us. Listen in and get inspired as Joseph discusses why he chose real estate in the first place, the circumstances around his shift to multi-family, and how he has maintained his full-time job in IT while developing a lucrative real estate portfolio. Key Takeaways  [1:59] Joseph’s start in real estate Read Rich Dad, Poor Dad in college Got married, lived in small apartment Purchased house, too big for couple Chose to rent house, stay in apartment Moved to US in 2007 Joseph and wife got real estate licenses Actively hunted for deals after market collapse Bought duplex in Plano, TX (paid $180K, invested $30K in renovations) Purchased additional single-family homes until numbers changed in 2013 [4:34] Why Joseph chose real estate in the first place Wants to write giant cardboard check for $1M to children’s hospital Early retirement, comfortable living, won’t have to answer to boss Tangible assets like real estate trump stock market Realized could be wealth-building strategy, key to financial freedom [6:26] Joseph’s definition of financial freedom Do what you want Work from anywhere No worry re: bills Kids won’t experience struggle (like he did)  [7:22] The circumstances around Joseph’s shift to multi-family Two and a half years ago, duplex had foundation issues Big ticket damage to another property at same time Spent $40K to fix, wiped out five years cashflow Recognized advantages of multi-family (single location, risk spread across multiple units) Began extensive research (books, podcasts, BiggerPockets) [11:11] The long road to Joseph’s first deal Reached out to brokers, no response Decided to source deal himself, began marketing (postcards, letters, phone calls) Built rapport with owner/custom-builder of 22-unit apartment Owner agreed to seller financing Refinanced duplex and another property to afford [14:02] The...