MB 084: Be The CEO of Your Own Dreams – with Tamar Mar

“I had this moment where I realized, ‘No, I’m not going to be the CEO of somebody else’s dreams. I’m going to be the CEO of my own dreams.’ I declared that day that I was never going to be an employee again.” Tamar Mar is an adventurer at heart. She spent 20 years in the startup and small business arena, working as COO for prominent companies in the FinTech and real estate brokerage space. After making that decision to be the CEO of her own dreams, Tamar became what she calls a ‘business opportunist,’ building out her real estate portfolio and investing in small businesses like The Fitness Shop, a high-end specialty fitness equipment retailer. Tamar invested in her first property at the age of 19, and she has owned rental properties for 15-plus years. From purchasing homes on auction to fix-and-flips to large-scale renovations projects, she has a keen eye for evaluating deals. This year, Tamar has shifted her focus to the acquisition of underperforming commercial and multi-family.  Today she shares how she made the shift from single- tomulti-family real estate, her approach to landing the first deal, and how she has become a ‘capital magnet.’  Listen in and get inspired to dream big and ‘take massive stinking action every day.’ Key Takeaways [3:06] How Tamar got involved with real estate Bought townhouse at age 19 Owned rental properties last 15 years Needed own business to be happy professionally Read The Millionaire Real Estate Investor [5:52] Tamar’s first real estate strategy Got real estate license for access to properties Purchased homes on auction, sight unseen  [6:40] Tamar’s shift from single- to multi-family Pursued single-family for three years Learned about syndication Could use operations expertise from startup world [7:24] Why people are intimidated by multi-family SEC regulations, working with attorneys Raising capital [8:04] What inspired Tamar’s shift to multi-family Ambitious goal of $250K in annual passive net income Couldn’t scale up quickly enough with single-family (100-250 doors) [9:03] Tamar’s approach to landing her first multi-family deal Studied multi-family forums on BiggerPockets, Michael’s Syndicated Deal Analyzer Practiced analyzing deals on LoopNet Began networking, building out team Found great deal, put in offer Landed 15-unit complex but didn’t have capital [12:05] How Tamar raised the capital to fund her first multi-family deal Needed $325K ($825K purchase price) Additional capital for maintenance Reach out to friends/family, networking groups 6 investors (4 existing relationships, 2 new) [14:51] How the project is performing so far Secured property manager in Spokane Rents above $300/door when purchased Renovating all units, increasing price to market rate [16:15] Tamar’s exit strategy Ten-year hold with refinance in year two or three Return 70-80% of investors’ original capital with refi (if not more) [16:57] How the Law of the First Deal is impacting Tamar Broker approached with off-market deal on 23-unit Tamar walked away during due diligence Broker contacted with 16-unit just hitting market Landed 16-unit, walk-through tomorrow [21:23] How Tamar’s multi-family success has shifted her perspective...