Never Give Up to Quit Your Job with Real Estate

‘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 results of Joseph’s first deal

23 days from signed contract to keys
Brought in property management company
Added $600—$800K in value via operation efficiency
Spends one hour with management company/week to assure accountability

[15:58] How Joseph handled concurrently working full-time

Sacrifice necessary
Some sleepless nights
Spent weekends looking at property, took occasional days off
Difficult but doable

[16:53] How Joseph secured a second deal within six months

Brokers responsive now that ‘closer’
Lead through property management company on 102-unit in Lubbock, TX
Knew costs, rent and demographics (unfair advantage)
Tight underwriting, made win-win offer

[18:11] How Joseph financed his second deal

‘Ignorance’ gave him the confidence to raise funds
Elected syndication to raise $1.4M
Had to adjust underwriting model
Learning curve around how to talk to investors
Learned to focus on benefits (no headache), returns, low risk
Did all himself in 45 stressful days
Once one investor signs, recommend friends

[22:31] How Joseph’s second deal is performing

Only three months in
Great so far, working on renovations
Compliments from competition, positive feedback from residents
Joseph’s living expenses now covered on paper
Anticipates feeling comfortable enough to quit job after second quarter

[24:33] How Joseph stuck with the multi-family plan despite his initial frustration

Went into contract on another property first
Realized much-deferred maintenance
Seller refused to negotiate
Had to back out since numbers didn’t work
Not in Joseph’s personality to give up

[26:30] The snowball effect of multi-family deals

Joseph already under contract on third deal for 28-unit
Only took three days to get LOI signed (motivated seller)
Five properties in pipeline now (off-market deals)

[28:17] Joseph’s plans for the future

Recently renewed real estate license
Sourcing deals himself (sent 1300 pieces of mail)
Continue to work acquisitions
Also transition to brokerage side
Enjoys ‘coaching’ property management company, contributing ideas to improve processes

[30:08] What Joseph would tell his younger self