145: Millennial Apartment Syndicator with Brent Kawakami

Brent Kawakami – Millennial, Engineer, Apartment Syndicator

Brent is currently invested in 450 multifamily units in Texas, Georgia, and Ohio. He started investing in real estate in 2012 buying, rehabbing, and renting single-family houses in the Dallas, TX area but eventually sold these properties to move into multifamily. He is a protégé of Mark and Tamiel Kenney of Think Multifamily, owners of ~3000 multifamily units across cities like Dallas, Atlanta, and Memphis. Brent has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Texas.

Key Points

  1. From engineer to apartment syndicator
  2. Engineering a life you want
  3. The importance of having a mentor
  4. Evaluating your strengths and weaknesses

Lightning Questions

  1. What was your biggest hurdle getting started in real estate investing, and how did you overcome it?
    • Lack of experience. Brent looked to people doing what he wanted, and learned from them.
  2. Do you have a personal habit that contributes to your success?
    • Brent focuses on The Power 5 every day, which he writes in his notebook
  3. Do you have an online resource that you find valuable?
    • BiggerPockets
    • Podcasts!
  4. What book would you recommend to the listeners and why?
  5. If you were to give advice to your 20 year old self to  get started in real estate investing, what would it be?
    • Start earlier – jump into real estate quicker!

Resources

Commercial Loan Success 

Brent’s BiggerPockets profile

Contact Brent at Brent@hellomultifamily.com

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