Mar
11th
"Why John Santamaria Will be Chosen as one of the Lucky 36 MMM Students"
By John
First I would like to thank Mr. Danny Welsh and his team at HIS for
offering this mentorship opportunity. I know that many people have
paid sometimes ten's of thousands of dollars, only to get books,
DVDs and a lot of theory in return. You're a group of not GURU's
but DORU's, you actually do deals and that is rare.
The business of Real Estate got in my blood when I would accompany my father to construction sites as a teenager. I would marvel at all the activity, the cranes and heavy equipment, all those men working independently but at the same time towards a common goal. I still love seeing a project come together.
At the age of 18 years old I obtained my Florida Real Estate License and started working for Century 21, Gold Jacket and all. Later a little known community in the middle of some farm land started selling condos and I went to work for this developer, this was the beginning of Kendale Lakes.
We had over 120 units sold under contract when the interest rates started climbing to nearly 18% for mortgages. Needless to say most of those sales never closed and I received my first "Seasoning" as a Realtor.
Seeing that real estate was going nowhere for a while I turned my attention towards insurance and finance. All the while going to school at night, I obtained my Property & Casualty, Life, Health & Variable Annuities, Public Adjuster and Excess Surplus Lines Insurance Licenses.
While working in the insurance field I became interested in investments and obtained my Securities Series 3 & Series 7.
This gave me the opportunity to work with IDS, Investment Diversified Services of American Express, which provided Financial Planning Services for groups such as teachers, nurses, county employees, etc.
As part of the financial planning, many times we would refinance debt to consolidate payments and reduce costs. This is when I also obtained my Mortgage Brokers License and began doing mortgages. After the stock market crash in October 1987, not to many people wanted to invest in the markets.
Once again I needed to refocus my efforts in another direction to survive, so I went back to insurance. You see, in this economy of ours, everything that is financed has to be insured. Homes, autos, boats, etc.. all must be insured to be financed. These also have to be renewed, which creates residual income and stability in cash flow.
I started opening satellite insurance offices within large volume dealerships selling auto policies. It worked so well that we were in several very large high volume dealerships in just a few months. When the dealerships saw the income generated, they basically fired us and opened their own insurance agencies in-house. Today many dealerships have their own insurance departments which is an additional profit center for them.
After building something up from scratch only to have it taken away, I decided to build for my own future by buying rental properties and building my own residual income. I did not own the dealerships so I was powerless to do anything but I did own these properties. Until the next recession.
The Dot Com bubble burst and then came Enron along with the accounting scandals. I had accumulated over three dozen rental properties and I was going crazy. This is where I learned the hard way that you cannot be all things and do them well, something will always suffer. Property manager, maintenance man, leasing agent, book keeper, plumber, roofer, etc., etc... you need a team you can trust and can delegate too so you can focus on deals and do what you are best at.
The economy slowed and so did the rent payments, as usual I made the common mistake of putting all those mortgages in my name, BIG MISTAKE. I would make the monthly payments and then have to chase the tenants all month long to collect the rents. Eventually I decided to sell off the rentals and try something different because that was definitely not working.
The financial markets had tanked and there was alot of political uncertainty in other countries after Sept 11, 2001. Money started to pour into the real estate market which dried up the inventory thus creating the building boom. So for the next several years mortgages and real estate became very lucrative. Lacks lending practices and cheap money fueled the year-over-year double digit appreciation which led to all of the problems we are experiencing today.
From my real estate brokerage office we started taking on properties to do short sales and after a few short months we all realized something was just not right. Banks do not want to do short sales because they have to declare the lose at the sale. Servicers do not want to help because they make alot more money if you default and they can foreclose. None of the government programs have worked because all of the programs are voluntary and the banks have no real incentive to cooperate.
If you can't beat them, join them. We refocused on REOs and distressed properties. There is going to be alot of pain for many families who will eventually loose their homes. This also represents the BEST buying opportunity I have seen in 30 years. The low interest rates along with the devalued prices of today is a perfect buying opportunity if you buy right.
Today and for the next 3 to 5 years at a minimum we are going to be working through all of these bad loans of homes underwater. Now is the time to get into commercial projects and have a very nice equity position in a relatively short period of time.
A single commercial deal can not just change ones life but it can be a generational change for your family. The opportunities that a single project can offer does not compare to even a lifetime of working at a JOB.
There is such great need out in today's market for affordable housing, assisted living facilities, housing which is ADA compliant just to name a few. Our present administration also has stimulus funds for these projects which offers funds for the purchase, rehab and greening of these types of properties which do NOT have to be repaid. There are countless opportunities out there today but it won't last forever.
Being able to team up with other like minded individuals with a common goal and focus is invaluable. To be able to pull from each others strengths and resources is what makes a winning team. There are a lot of moving parts to a real estate transaction and the devil is in the detail.
A good friend of mine, a GC, was brought in to trouble shoot a project that could not get a Certificate of Occupancy. After reviewing the project and plans they concluded along with a Federal Inspector that because the project was financed with Federal Funding it had to be ADA compliant. They had to tear out all of the kitchens in the building and replace them because they were non-compliant for wheelchairs. This was a brand new, 186 unit condo building, multi- million dollar project and no one had noticed the minor detail. All of these professionals, engineers, contractors, etc.. had missed it until the building was completed.
My personal and professional experience brings a unique perspective in the sense that I have been there, made plenty of mistakes, have learned from them and am still here. To help ride out this cycle being the market what it is, in addition to catering to the Banks' REOs, I started a property preservation company to perform the evictions, clean outs and maintenance work of these properties coming onto the market.
My wife is also a Realtor so I am very fortunate in that I have her full support. I have wanted to transition to commercial for sometime but doing it alone with limited resources in this market is extremely difficult. To join a group like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
There are many, many people who have savings such as retirement funds who would love to invest in a project but do not know how and could not do it on there own. If you find a good deal, the money will come. There are many sources to tap into but they have to be presented with a formal proposition on a property. Commercial is a numbers game and you have to crunch the numbers before anything.
I am ready to dedicated 100% of my time, experience and efforts in helping our team acquire commercial projects. Relocating to work out of your offices is not an issue as I would love to roll up my sleeves and work side by side with you guys. Being in South Florida we are practically neighbors so commuting is not a problem either. Hopefully this is not too long, I know they said a Blog not a Book.
I look forward to meeting and working with all of you, again, thank you for the opportunity.
The business of Real Estate got in my blood when I would accompany my father to construction sites as a teenager. I would marvel at all the activity, the cranes and heavy equipment, all those men working independently but at the same time towards a common goal. I still love seeing a project come together.
At the age of 18 years old I obtained my Florida Real Estate License and started working for Century 21, Gold Jacket and all. Later a little known community in the middle of some farm land started selling condos and I went to work for this developer, this was the beginning of Kendale Lakes.
We had over 120 units sold under contract when the interest rates started climbing to nearly 18% for mortgages. Needless to say most of those sales never closed and I received my first "Seasoning" as a Realtor.
Seeing that real estate was going nowhere for a while I turned my attention towards insurance and finance. All the while going to school at night, I obtained my Property & Casualty, Life, Health & Variable Annuities, Public Adjuster and Excess Surplus Lines Insurance Licenses.
While working in the insurance field I became interested in investments and obtained my Securities Series 3 & Series 7.
This gave me the opportunity to work with IDS, Investment Diversified Services of American Express, which provided Financial Planning Services for groups such as teachers, nurses, county employees, etc.
As part of the financial planning, many times we would refinance debt to consolidate payments and reduce costs. This is when I also obtained my Mortgage Brokers License and began doing mortgages. After the stock market crash in October 1987, not to many people wanted to invest in the markets.
Once again I needed to refocus my efforts in another direction to survive, so I went back to insurance. You see, in this economy of ours, everything that is financed has to be insured. Homes, autos, boats, etc.. all must be insured to be financed. These also have to be renewed, which creates residual income and stability in cash flow.
I started opening satellite insurance offices within large volume dealerships selling auto policies. It worked so well that we were in several very large high volume dealerships in just a few months. When the dealerships saw the income generated, they basically fired us and opened their own insurance agencies in-house. Today many dealerships have their own insurance departments which is an additional profit center for them.
After building something up from scratch only to have it taken away, I decided to build for my own future by buying rental properties and building my own residual income. I did not own the dealerships so I was powerless to do anything but I did own these properties. Until the next recession.
The Dot Com bubble burst and then came Enron along with the accounting scandals. I had accumulated over three dozen rental properties and I was going crazy. This is where I learned the hard way that you cannot be all things and do them well, something will always suffer. Property manager, maintenance man, leasing agent, book keeper, plumber, roofer, etc., etc... you need a team you can trust and can delegate too so you can focus on deals and do what you are best at.
The economy slowed and so did the rent payments, as usual I made the common mistake of putting all those mortgages in my name, BIG MISTAKE. I would make the monthly payments and then have to chase the tenants all month long to collect the rents. Eventually I decided to sell off the rentals and try something different because that was definitely not working.
The financial markets had tanked and there was alot of political uncertainty in other countries after Sept 11, 2001. Money started to pour into the real estate market which dried up the inventory thus creating the building boom. So for the next several years mortgages and real estate became very lucrative. Lacks lending practices and cheap money fueled the year-over-year double digit appreciation which led to all of the problems we are experiencing today.
From my real estate brokerage office we started taking on properties to do short sales and after a few short months we all realized something was just not right. Banks do not want to do short sales because they have to declare the lose at the sale. Servicers do not want to help because they make alot more money if you default and they can foreclose. None of the government programs have worked because all of the programs are voluntary and the banks have no real incentive to cooperate.
If you can't beat them, join them. We refocused on REOs and distressed properties. There is going to be alot of pain for many families who will eventually loose their homes. This also represents the BEST buying opportunity I have seen in 30 years. The low interest rates along with the devalued prices of today is a perfect buying opportunity if you buy right.
Today and for the next 3 to 5 years at a minimum we are going to be working through all of these bad loans of homes underwater. Now is the time to get into commercial projects and have a very nice equity position in a relatively short period of time.
A single commercial deal can not just change ones life but it can be a generational change for your family. The opportunities that a single project can offer does not compare to even a lifetime of working at a JOB.
There is such great need out in today's market for affordable housing, assisted living facilities, housing which is ADA compliant just to name a few. Our present administration also has stimulus funds for these projects which offers funds for the purchase, rehab and greening of these types of properties which do NOT have to be repaid. There are countless opportunities out there today but it won't last forever.
Being able to team up with other like minded individuals with a common goal and focus is invaluable. To be able to pull from each others strengths and resources is what makes a winning team. There are a lot of moving parts to a real estate transaction and the devil is in the detail.
A good friend of mine, a GC, was brought in to trouble shoot a project that could not get a Certificate of Occupancy. After reviewing the project and plans they concluded along with a Federal Inspector that because the project was financed with Federal Funding it had to be ADA compliant. They had to tear out all of the kitchens in the building and replace them because they were non-compliant for wheelchairs. This was a brand new, 186 unit condo building, multi- million dollar project and no one had noticed the minor detail. All of these professionals, engineers, contractors, etc.. had missed it until the building was completed.
My personal and professional experience brings a unique perspective in the sense that I have been there, made plenty of mistakes, have learned from them and am still here. To help ride out this cycle being the market what it is, in addition to catering to the Banks' REOs, I started a property preservation company to perform the evictions, clean outs and maintenance work of these properties coming onto the market.
My wife is also a Realtor so I am very fortunate in that I have her full support. I have wanted to transition to commercial for sometime but doing it alone with limited resources in this market is extremely difficult. To join a group like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
There are many, many people who have savings such as retirement funds who would love to invest in a project but do not know how and could not do it on there own. If you find a good deal, the money will come. There are many sources to tap into but they have to be presented with a formal proposition on a property. Commercial is a numbers game and you have to crunch the numbers before anything.
I am ready to dedicated 100% of my time, experience and efforts in helping our team acquire commercial projects. Relocating to work out of your offices is not an issue as I would love to roll up my sleeves and work side by side with you guys. Being in South Florida we are practically neighbors so commuting is not a problem either. Hopefully this is not too long, I know they said a Blog not a Book.
I look forward to meeting and working with all of you, again, thank you for the opportunity.
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