Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:01 Unlock More to life with Adrienne Penoza Real Estate Investing podcast, where we broadcast interviews with successful real estate investors across North America to empower you on your journey to unlocking more to life with real estate investing. Now, now, here's your host, Adrian Penoza.
Speaker 1 00:00:25 Hey everyone. It's Adrianne Penoza here with the More to Life Real Estate Investing podcast, where we help you get more to life through the power of real estate investing. Have a super, super exciting guest here today, somebody that is into, uh, a different part of investing that, quite frankly, I personally have stayed away from. So I'm actually anxious and excited to hear why our guest, uh, chooses to invest in a certain type of, um, real estate, one that I've steered away from. But, uh, yeah, so that's kind of cool. Who knows? Maybe I may do, uh, may do a transition, but nevertheless, couple quick notes. Uh, for our audience and people that follow, uh, E p C, uh, we're actually, uh, some exciting news. We're hosting two events in March. Uh, first one is March 16th. So all this is gonna be on my social media guys, uh, go to my social media on Instagram, Facebook, whatnot.
Speaker 1 00:01:30 Um, link will be in my bios where you can register for these events in-person events. First one's March 16th, I'm hosting, along with a very good colleague of mine, uh, a an in-person event held in Grimsby and all to do with why now in 2023 is a great, great time to invest in the Niagara region. So my friend Henry, who's part of the Knight and Real Estate Advisors, um, is a very, very, uh, fluid and well-to-do realtor slash investor in that area. And it's a, it's a market I think that has what we think has great opportunity. So we're hosting this in-person event for everybody that who has ever had an interest in investing in Niagara region. And we're gonna be doing nothing but talking about Niagara region and deals out there and what deals look like and so on and so forth. And then secondly, uh, March 30th, uh, everything to do with, if you've ever thought of investing in apartment buildings.
Speaker 1 00:02:36 March 30th, I'm hosting an in-person event, uh, in Hamilton with a, uh, expert in the numbers in the refinances in the C M H C, um, exits for apartment building financing and deals. Uh, March 30th in person. We're gonna hold that one in Hamilton again, watch me on my socials. We're gonna give you a lot of information on that. Uh, come on out. It's, it'll be a jampacked information night for everybody to take advantage of. Uh, so on that note, let's get right into it. Uh, Dan, our good friend Dan McMullen is waiting patiently, but let me give you the quick, the quick nuts and bolts about Dan and his, what he's into. Uh, Dan invests in particularly student rentals in the Peterborough, Peterborough area, as well as infinite banking to supplement his investing activities. We'll touch more upon not only the student rentals, but this infinite banking strategy, if you will, that Dan is, uh, pretty much mastered in his short time, but successful time in real estate investing. Uh, and we're all want to talk to you, Dan, too. We'll get into it about your power team of investors and, and growing this portfolio that you've done so well so far. So, Dan, welcome to the More to Life and Real Estate Investing podcast. Thanks for joining us. How are you?
Speaker 2 00:04:09 Yeah, doing great. Thank you for having me. Um, yeah, excited to dive into some of these topics. I think we can have a, a very rich conversation for your listeners.
Speaker 1 00:04:17 Yeah. Awesome. So let's get into it. Uh, tell us about how it all started for you and where you, where you were, where you came from, and where you are today.
Speaker 2 00:04:26 Yeah, I think, um, I, I think a major turning point in my life was, uh, turning 40 and, and maybe some other men can resonate or people can resonate that, uh, sort of that midlife time where you, you just reflect on, am I doing everything correctly or am I doing everything right? Um, so back in, um, 2019, I kind of had this, um, realization, uh, looking around at other people, whether it is, uh, you know, at large cottages on certain lakes or, or houses or people taking trips, or I was wondering, am I financially doing things, um, properly? I'm a, I'm a teacher by trade. That's my, my day job. And, you know, very, very successful doing that. I have a salary income, uh, healthy pension coming my way. However, um, just started learning, you know, is there more than just this? And, um, certainly something I was exploring is, is that as teachers, we sometimes over-rely on our income and we over-rely on our pension and our financial literacy may not be as good as it really should be. So definitely started, um, having this realization. You've been hearing about real estate and, uh, just started talking to different people about, um, opportunities. And I, I came across a really good friend, Scott, who had been doing lots of, uh, student rentals as well. And, uh, next thing I, I just took some information from him and, uh, next thing I knew, four months later, I was into my first student rental.
Speaker 1 00:05:58 Wow. Just like that. Four months. Bingo. And you know what, sometimes that's what it takes just to have someone give you that, that confidence or a little bit of education or guidance to take that step and get in the game. Right?
Speaker 2 00:06:10 Yeah, Ari, that's really a good point. I borrowed his confidence, and I really like that expression, boring people's confidence. And, you know, we may not have the confidence right away because everything might be filled with a little bit of fear when it comes to investing or the unknown, but, um, if you can essentially be a copycat and take a 10, a proven template, that works. That's all I really did. And, um, it, it proved to be very successful over the last, uh, four years.
Speaker 1 00:06:37 Amazing. So you've been in the game four years. Uh, did you leave your, are you still a teacher or
Speaker 2 00:06:44 Yep, very much. Still a teacher. Uh, a teacher in Mark. I'm a high school phys ed teacher. Uh, really enjoyed my job, work with, uh, fantastic people. And, um, you know, really, uh, being a teacher is a great foundation for building up real estate banks really like working with, uh, salary income people like myself. So I've been able to leverage that, uh, salary income and able to, to borrow money and to purchase, uh, this real estate.
Speaker 1 00:07:08 Amazing, amazing. Um, so you get started, you buy your first one for, I know when I started, I started with a home equity line of credit, right? Didn't have, you know, 60, 80, a hundred grand cash sitting around. Um, how did you start? Did you have savings or did you leverage on a line of credit to get in the game?
Speaker 2 00:07:30 Yeah, mult, um, multiple different ways. So definitely had thank, thankfully I had equity in my house, so I was able to get a home equity line of credit. And I also, I want everything I do, I like doing as a team and I like doing it with people. Uh, so I was able to convince my brother and my, uh, best buddy Ryan to, uh, to join me in this adventure. And, you know, we were able to pull some money together on a, a joint venture. And, um, we were able to purchase this, this first property. Um, it definitely wasn't a traditional student rental at the time. We took, um, a rather large single family home at the time. It was an illegal duplex that the city had found out, and they, um, at the time, the, the owners want, instead of conforming to what the city wanted, they decided to put it up for sale and move, move it. So we were, um, we were able to, uh, pick up this property. It was five 50 at the time, and, um, we were able to convert it into a legal, uh, eight bedroom student rental in Peterborough. So, um, yeah, we kind of took a, we kind of took advantage of a, uh, a situation there, um, where it was deemed as sort of a one class of a building and we are able to transition it to another one.
Speaker 1 00:08:44 Amazing. And, um, which kind of brings me into my next question. Um, why student rentals? Like, why not apartment buildings or why not condos? Why student rentals?
Speaker 2 00:08:59 Yeah, I guess, um, well for one, the, the Invi individual, my buddy Scott, he was already into them. So it was a proven track record, uh, that that was being successful that I could copycat. So maybe if he was into duplexes or triplexes, I would be going down that route. But it just happened to be student rentals and, and being a teacher, uh, it was a good, there's a lot of good skillsets that I have in dealing with, um, the tenants in which I'm, I'm dealing with. So these tenants are 18, 19, 20 years old, and, and being a high school teacher that's, um, a little bit older than what I'm dealing with, but there's a lot of similarities. So, you know, when we're doing tenanting, I'm calling parents and I'm making sure that the parents are well aware of, of the leases that are being signed, and, um, working with the, the students in order to have expectations ass how far as how they should treat the property and, and what needs to be done. So, um, reflecting back, it was a, it's a, it's a really good transition for the skillset in which we have. There's a number of other reasons, like I really, um, we don't really have to deal with landlord tenant board. Um, it's a very, there's a lot of turnover with the student rental. So, um, that's been beneficial in the last three years with inflation, we've been able to increase rents fairly, fairly quickly as, uh, tenants come and go. So there definitely is, um, there is some advantages in this, uh, asset class.
Speaker 1 00:10:24 Awesome, awesome. Um, which is, you know, like I mentioned there a minute ago, it's something I've steered away from, and I'm kind of similar, like you, when I started, you know, my, for lack of a better word, mentor or, uh, colleague that got me in the game, uh, was into the duplexes and triplexes and fourplexes. So again, he's kind of giving me, passing the torch or giving me some guidance. So yeah, I went down that road. You went down this road, and I always had the, um, you know, I've always had the, the fear of dealing with that age demographic and, you know, you hear those horror stories. Have you experienced any horror stories in your buildings, um, with, uh, you know, extensive damage and whatnot?
Speaker 2 00:11:18 Uh, the answer is no. Uh, but I can definitely see there are the horror stories out there. Uh, we do things very, very intentionally. So we, we intentionally bought a very nice property, so our theory was with a nice property, we're gonna get the best tenants. Like, we want the best tenants in Peterborough possible. So we're, we, we aspire to have the best student rental in Peterborough, so we can have the very best tenants, we can have the very best, I guess, parents, uh, you could call it. So, um, you know, we do a, an extensive screening process. We're we're, we're making sure we're doing our, our background, uh, checks on everybody. We, yeah. So we're really providing a fantastic product. And then in turn, we can get fantastic tenants. So have we had any horse stories? No, we definitely have not. Um, there's been certain challenges, like we, um, we, we really try and encourage no pets in our house, and, and long and behold, one of the tenants brings a dog and, you know, it's, that seems like a small thing, but when you're advertising as no pets because of allergies or any of those concerns, yeah.
Speaker 2 00:12:21 And then tenants are bringing in animals. Well, now you have some tenants who are unhappy about having this dog in here. And so you just, you really can't sweat the small stuff. You really need to, um, communicate. You really need to empathize and work with the tenants. So, um, you know, we haven't had any horror stories, knock on wood, but I also have the mindset, whatever comes our way, we're just gonna have to, as long as we are doing things with the best intention, we are trying to provide the best product. We're working with the city Peterborough, we have licensing, we have, um, fire department has inspected our units that, um, we're really trying to minimize our risk, and that's really important for us.
Speaker 1 00:13:02 Yeah, for sure. Minimizing risk and managing risk is, is huge in that game for sure. What's the biggest challenge then with student rentals? Is it finding the right property? Is it the zoning, is it the city or is it finding the right tenants? What have you? If you had to comment on that, what would you say?
Speaker 2 00:13:23 Um, that's a really, it, it's all a lot of work because you, I guess, is the best way. You really have to find the best product. Like, we're really looking for a specific house when we do this, we want to make sure that there is, um, at least minimum three full bathrooms. Uh, and we want, we want eight tenants, we want eight. That's how you really get your cash flow up is when you can put, um, uh, multiple bedrooms in these houses. And we were looking for common space on, on both floors. We're looking for kitchens, kitchenettes, uh, we really want, so you can't, like even I'm looking right now to buy another property and, and if they don't pop up on a specific footprint in a specific area, uh, you don't wanna force the issue. So I think definitely inventory right now, um, it, you know, in finding that right property is, is definitely problematic.
Speaker 2 00:14:14 And, um, I, I think all investors can relate, like this delays with construction, construction costs, um, that's always been problematic. So trying to, you know, you have this vision of getting you, you're building up and running in, in five to six months, and it always takes, it's taking us seven to eight. Um, so we're now allotting an eight month turnaround between purchase and tenants. Um, and that's a long time. So, you know, we, we, you have to carry the mortgage and carry those costs for eight months of downtime on that unit, and that can be rather expensive. So, uh, that's another, another sort of challenge that, um, we're willing to, to get in mm-hmm. <affirmative> into. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>.
Speaker 1 00:14:56 Let's talk quickly about, um, for everybody out there that may be interested. Okay. Before I ask that this question, why Peterborough? Let me ask you that.
Speaker 2 00:15:07 Well, a couple reasons. First, uh, the licensing that the city of Peterborough provides is very important to myself. I'm a teacher. I'm, I have a young family. I don't wanna be doing anything that's sort of offside or that's not on the up and up. So Peterborough, they offer what's called a large dwelling, uh, unit license. And that's, that's gold for me because now, you know, now there's, if, if the neighbors are not happy with how many cars are parked, you know, what I can say is, uh, you know, talk to the city. I've done all my due diligence. Everything is in the up and up. So Peterborough provides that proximity. I manage, um, with Ryan and Jeff, my brother and best bud there, we, we manage our own properties. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, we find, you know, there's great property management people out there, and there's, there could be not so great property management people out there.
Speaker 2 00:15:55 We believe no one's gonna take better care of our properties than ourselves. Yeah. So, um, we, it's only, it's less than an hour from where I live in Wipie. So I'm able to, uh, if there's a problem I can pop out there, service the, uh, the property with whatever needs and then I can come home. So those two reasons I would say, um, oh, and a third, I guess would be with be pricing Peterborough is not, um, the same as a, you know, a Hamilton or Toronto or Missis or any of those. Yeah. You getting a little bit of a discount for being, um, the proximity to the G T A,
Speaker 1 00:16:29 Which, okay. That's fair. And um, cuz I know, I was thought, I thought you were gonna say, well, I live in Peter Burrow and that's why kind of that first time mentality where I gotta live five minutes from my rental property or else I'm not gonna sleep at night. And, and I was that guy when I bought my first duplex. It was literally three minutes from my house and I was still not sleeping at night cuz I was so nervous. It was my first, I just got in the game. Um, but okay. So Peterborough and you, you mentioned something there, which brings me to my next question. What's your average price point and what's you're looking to buy right now in, in 2023, something that you can convert to a nice student rental? What's the going rate, give or take?
Speaker 2 00:17:15 Yeah. Um, well, I can just give you history. In 2019, we paid five 50 for our, our first one. Um, we put about $30,000 in rental costs for that. We bought, um, we did a duplex in, uh, Peterboro as well. So we bought that one for six 10. And then we bought the, uh, the last one in 2021 for, we, we paid a fair bit for that 1, 7 75, and we put, um, 50,000 into that. So we were into that for 8 25. But, uh, the numbers are strong, like we're getting 5,500, uh, monthly rent for, for that eight bedroom. So it is cash flowing nicely. So I would say like realistically right now, if we could find something, oh, it'd be incredible if we could find it in mid sixes. Um, but, uh, I would say mid sixes to low sevens, uh, being the interest rates have increased substantially. Yeah. Uh, from a year ago. Yeah. Uh, that this the really, the interest rates really cut into to cash flow.
Speaker 1 00:18:13 Oh hundred percent.
Speaker 2 00:18:14 Yeah. So that, that's the price point I think. Um, I think we're looking at timing is very important too. So if anyone's looking to do this, uh, the best tenants are looking, are looking in November and December for leasing in May. So when we're looking to purchase our properties, our window for purchasing and, and starting to Reno is July, August, September, October. That's when we wanna purchase it. And then we do renovations over the winter and it's completed and ready for May 1st for the, the tenants. Now we actually show these units, um, you know, this, this is a little bit where the risky part's in. We're mid-construction when we're showing, uh, our, our rentals. Right. So, um, they kind of have to see the vision and we kind of have to get it done. So it's, uh, a bit of a race against time, but, um, so far it's worked out.
Speaker 1 00:19:07 Gotcha. Awesome. On average, what are you charging a room at your student rentals?
Speaker 2 00:19:14 It's really, uh, it's really changed over the last, uh, little while. We were happy to do sort of the 5 75 to six 50 back in 2019. Yeah. And, um, you know, now, now our premium room, we just signed a lease for 8 25 and our, our floor now for any, our floor, for any room in the house is seven 50. So, um, and students aren't blinking an eye for that. Um, they're paying that now. We have to do that in order to, um, you know, mitigate all these rising costs Yeah. That are happening and still making it worth our while. So, yeah. Um, yeah. But, you know, when you look at residences, residences with a meal plan now are, you know, 12, 13, $1,400 for, for residents plus a meal plan. So, um, you know, I don't, students don't seem to be blocking at, uh, at the seven 50 floor.
Speaker 1 00:20:08 Hmm. And you typically have, what, eight rooms?
Speaker 2 00:20:10 We have eight, eight rooms in, we have two eight bedroom student rentals in Peterborough Yeah. For the student side.
Speaker 1 00:20:16 Got it. Yeah. Okay. Um, let's get into, tell us a little bit more about, uh, what infinite banking is for those of us who don't know, uh, what you mean by that.
Speaker 2 00:20:32 Yeah, so infinite banking concept. I know you've had, uh, Jason Lowe on here. He, um, he was on, uh, I think six or eight months ago on, on your podcast. And Jason's wonderful in talking, uh, through this process. But we're, we're taking, um, participating dividend paying whole life insurance policies. And we are overfunding these policies. And what, essentially what we're trying to do is we're trying to create a family bank or a central bank in our name, using these policies. Uh, so, you know, as the policies, as time goes on, these policies are able to grow in cash value, um, and they're also paying dividends and the dividends gets rolled back into these policies. The beautiful thing about the policies is you can borrow, uh, collaterally against your policy, right? So, um, what I'm doing is, is, you know, any cash flow or any flow that I have, let's say I bring in $5,500 of rent per month, well, traditionally in a bank that money just goes into my bank account and all the money gets distributed to its various places.
Speaker 2 00:21:46 So like, just distribute to a bank for mortgage utilities, um, you know, um, internet, it just gets distributed. Well, you know, what could we do prior to that money being sent out into the universe and never coming back to us? Well, that's where I can fund policies on the front door through the net or gross rent coming in. So I can fund a policy and then I can take a policy loan to pay expenses. Well, I'm capturing the value of all that money that's flowing towards me before it leaves my system. So I've been now doing the infinite banking concept for, for four years, and I'm able to really capture the, the power of this money before it leaves. So it's certainly, I know it's a little bit of a, um, an or an orthodox or a different way of thinking, but with real estate investors that w we have a lot of rent coming towards us, we're, we should be able to capitalize on that money before it leaves. And that's essentially what we're doing.
Speaker 1 00:22:56 I do too. I just didn't know that's what it's called actually <laugh>. But essentially you're borrowing against your policy and you're investing that money. Correct. Right. Yeah, I do that
Speaker 2 00:23:06 Or, you know, you are, um, you know, in certain un ideally that's what, uh, that's what you want to be doing Right now, sometimes I'm taking policy loans in order to pay for, um, expenses, but then as new fresh money comes in the front door, I'm able to pay back policy loans. So it's the flow of money in, out, in, out that I'm able to capitalize on. Got it. And, um, yeah, and it's, uh, you know, it can be very scary for a lot of people because of the unknown. This is a, a concept that a lot of people aren't, and even the word concept, it sounds like a, you know, it sound, that's not the greatest word for it, but, um, it's, it's a process and it's not a get rich quick, it's a get rich slow mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And, um, it's making every dollar that you, you can stuff into these policies really work.
Speaker 2 00:23:55 And the beautiful thing about these policies is that the collateralized loan, when money goes into my policies, it never, ever comes out. Um, it's gonna be in there compounding for the rest of my life, and then when I die, all that money gets paid in a death benefit tax free to my, uh, to my children and then structured properly. I already have policies on them, um, they're going to, they're going to receive the money from my death benefit, and then in turn, when they die, their children will receive the money and death benefit. So it's really creating generational wealth and, and legacy.
Speaker 1 00:24:33 Yeah, I'm sold on that cuz I actually do it. Uh, <laugh> I do the exact same thing, uh, investing like that as well. So yeah, it works for everybody listening. It works. I've done it, obviously Dan does it and, uh, yeah, it, it's a, it's definitely a great, great tool.
Speaker 2 00:24:52 Um, and Adrian, really quick, like I really enjoy talking about, um, this concept. So, um, anyone, and I'll leave my, my information, uh, yeah, we'll
Speaker 1 00:25:01 Definitely at the end put your contact stuff out,
Speaker 2 00:25:03 Happy to, uh, walk people through and just kind of, um, you know, it's the teacher in me, I just want to, I want to teach and I want to be helpful. So anyone wants to reach out and chit chat about that. Happy to do that.
Speaker 1 00:25:13 Awesome. Yeah. Thank you for that offer. So many would argue that real estate, with real estate, you have to be willing to take smart calculated risks. With this comes the idea of adaptability. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, we can see with covid, things changed overnight in the industry and obviously even with all the influx and in interest rates, things almost changed overnight as well for every rate height, rate, height, rate, height, um, you were investing in and around Covid as well. Right. What was going through your mind and how did you find that? Were you kind of the guy that said, I'm gonna capitalize because everybody's scared to pull the trigger? Or what, what were you doing around that time and what were you thinking?
Speaker 2 00:26:01 Well, definitely the answer is yes. I was able to capitalize. We bought, we were able to buy a duplex, um, an incredible duplex right during lockdown. So, um, we actually purchased that one April of 2020. So the real estate market definitely took a dip and a, a pause when people just weren't really sure what was happening. Um, they weren't even allowing open houses at the time, but they were allowing showings. Yeah. So, um, we saw that as an opportunity. We jumped in and we were able to pick up another, uh, property for definitely a discount. Um, it, it was being listed for six 80 and we offered, uh, we got them all the way down to six 10 on that, uh, purchase. So that was pretty incredible. Now, uh, just backing up, we were going through construction and we had just signed leases with our original student rental tenants back in, um, I guess it was January, February, March of 2020.
Speaker 2 00:26:58 And that was right during the initial lockdown. That was right during things were going sideways in the world. We, uh, we weren't sure what the, what the tenants were gonna do. Um, you know, they had signed leases, but, uh, we were confident that students still want to be around other students and they want to go to universities. So even if they were to do remote learning, and in fact we were right, um, they would still want to be together in that house. So when the dust settled, uh, two of our eight students ended up pulling out, they said, can we just get it a release? We're not coming, uh, to Peterboro. But, um, we were able to quickly fill those spots, um, fill those spots and I attest that to having the best product. So, you know, any with your listeners, I would just really encourage you if you, if you want to, if you do have fear, buy the very best product by location.
Speaker 2 00:27:52 This is, you know, real estate 1 0 1. Yeah. And, um, it's gonna, it's really gonna mitigate that risk. So, you know, and also I surrounded myself with, with great people and we were ch you know, we were talking on the side, Hey, what's gonna happen? What do you think? And, you know, having that community of people has been really a great support for me as I've gone through this journey. Uh, because you don't need to do this alone. And I think even your podcast and, and people, uh, you, you building your community through this podcast, that's, um, that's kind of proof right there.
Speaker 1 00:28:23 Yeah, no, I agree with you. So, so many people are scared to buy in the market as of late. I think it's starting to turn, actually now we're, we're seeing, we're seeing some momentum building now. Maybe it's cuz people think the spring markets around the corner or people are realizing the, the media hype is a little inflated or a lot inflated with the doom and gloom. Um, but would you buy in today's market?
Speaker 2 00:28:51 Yeah, no, absolutely. I, uh, people need places to live and people want to continue moving on with their life. Um, renters need places, students need places. Um, so it's, it's a real, uh, fundamental need which, uh, which definitely is gonna happen now. You know, definitely what's great, and I think your listeners definitely need to, something they need to be aware of, you need to have these exit strategies that we we're all talking about. So even with our student rentals, we could easily convert these on a pivot to duplexes. Like they both have side entrances, they have basements with kitchenettes. So, you know, I would just really try and mitigate your risk in any way. You can be selective on the properties that you're buying, make sure that there's multiple purposes, whether that's student rental, whether it's duplexes, converting to, um, you know, garden suites and really being nimble, uh, even short-term rentals, can you, you could even do that. And, um, so really having exit strategies, being, being having the ability to pivot, um, would be really beneficial. But I am, uh, I'm definitely bullish on real estate and I'll, I'll keep going.
Speaker 1 00:29:59 I love it. So am I, we just firmed up on two apartment deals, um, this past, well since the beginning of January. So yeah, January to first week of Feb, we bought two buildings. We firmed up on two buildings, adding another, uh, 17 doors to our portfolio. Um, so yeah.
Speaker 2 00:30:22 Congratulations. That's awesome. I'm right behind you. Yeah,
Speaker 1 00:30:24 I'm right behind you. Yep. Um, I wanna get into, uh, some personal things, but not, not overly personal, but, um, obviously you've been at this for several years. You've, you've been successful. Let's call you the student rental king or <laugh>. Very, very knowledgeable in that space. And you're a teacher, so you're an educator and stuff like that. And you're obviously well spoken. Um, but let's go back to the grassroots. What is your why? Why do you do what you do every day?
Speaker 2 00:31:03 Yeah, I, I often think about this, it really, I know it sounds a little bit cheesy, but it's a, there's a lot to do in a call with, uh, with legacy and leaving a legacy. Um, certainly I want to be, when I want to, when I'm 92 and maybe on my way out, I don't wanna leave any, any regret or anything on the table. I wanna live my very best and I wanna live my very best for my family, my friends. Um, so it's, you know, there's a really great quote about Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan. Um, he never compared himself to anyone else, but he compared himself to his potential. So what is your greatest potential? How great can you be? And, um, if I can be a role model for my kids, if I can be a role model for my, my friends, um, my students, I really want to, um, sort of ha be that, be that guy who can demonstrate be as good as you can be. So that's, uh, that's my why.
Speaker 1 00:32:00 I love it. I love it. Um, obviously you're, you're very successful now relative to the way the world views success, but when you think about more to life, what do you see and is there more to life for you today moving forward? What do you vision? What do you see?
Speaker 2 00:32:27 Yeah, it's really, it comes down to the goal setting piece, the 20 year, 10 year, and five year goals when it comes to more to life. So the 20 year goal for me is to have, um, you know, three kind of resident compounds. I want to have a cottage compound. I want to have a, a Florida or, or a, a winter compound and then have a, a family compound. And really, I, I want to create these, um, places where my kids and grandkids want to come for sustained periods of time and hang out with my wife and I. So that's really the mortal life is creating that lifestyle. The 10 year plan is just, you know, I really think I don't want to ever become stagnant to the point where I really like my job now, but I can also see where I want to maybe grow more on the real estate or the, I'm just starting a, a podcast.
Speaker 2 00:33:15 Um, the podcast is called Beyond the Bell Lifestyle Design for Canadian Teachers. Uh, and I'm doing that with my colleague, uh, Anja Perrera. And we're, we're just, we're really advocating for lifestyle and living your best life. So that's, uh, you know, the tenure plan is, is being able to maybe work part-time and allowing my real estate and my other passive income to supplement that and to really free up time that where I can do, um, other areas of interest. So I don't wanna work until I'm 55 and my, my pension is, is mature. That's not gonna happen. Um, a minimum, um, will be done at 50, if not sooner. So I can, um, I can really experience some things that I wanna experience with, with more time freedom.
Speaker 1 00:34:01 Amazing. Last question. We're hovering about 35 minutes now, so got cover off that ride into work.
Speaker 2 00:34:11 We could chat for, we could chat for hours,
Speaker 1 00:34:13 We could go for hours on this all day long, for sure. So one last parting word of advice to people out there, getting into the game, uh, potentially thinking of student rentals or not, but just a piece of advice to leave our audience with, uh, that helped you and your journey and may help them and their journey and what they're looking to accomplish. What would that be?
Speaker 2 00:34:38 Yeah, this one, this one's really easy. It's, it's surround yourself with like-minded people and community. There's so many great, uh, real estate, uh, you know, real estate groups out there all over Ontario. Find, find a group, um, go to their meetings, be active in there, leverage their expertise, uh, podcast. So really surround yourself with like-minded pe people. The beautiful thing about our, um, our industry, the real estate group, is there's a, an idea of abundance. Everyone wants to help each other. It's not a scarcity group. There's enough pie, there's enough, there's enough to go around. And I really love that about the, the real estate community. Uh, I've actually tried to scale up my own little community, uh, it's called Cashflow Crew. And we do virtual meetings once a month and we bring on, uh, guests just to, uh, talk with various topics. So that's something that I've been working with is, is creating my own sort of virtual community. And, um, along with having in-person communities, uh, that are available across Ontario. So get connected with, uh, like-minded people where you can borrow their confidence.
Speaker 1 00:35:43 I love that. Borrow their confidence and get, get in the game, get started or grow. You may be already in the game, but grow in the game, uh, by borrowing somebody else's confidence.
Speaker 2 00:35:54 And, and, and if you are, if you've been in it for a long time, like, like even like yourself, uh, Adrian, it's mentoring people and it's helping. And um, you know, there's so much more we can, we can learn and this world's ever changing. So it's very dynamic and it's not stagnant. So we all even, you know, everyone always has more to learn.
Speaker 1 00:36:12 Love it. Love it. Well, Dan, it's been great. Some really good words of wisdom. Uh, you know, it's, it's, it's like I said, I've always shun away from it maybe cuz I never started in it and I thought, ah, who wants to deal with, with, you know, that age demographic? But it obviously it's been successful for you and you're continuing to look forward and move forward and grow forward. So yeah, it's been a pleasure. How do people get ahold of you, Dan, if they want to pick your brain on the infinite, uh, banking strategy or, you know, pick your brain about student rentals, how do they contact you?
Speaker 2 00:36:46 Yeah, um, my email, uh, at dan cash flow crew.ca they can definitely, uh, get ahold of me through there. Instagram, Dan McMahon Lifestyles. I'm on Instagram. There we're starting a, uh, Facebook page called Beyond the Bell, lifestyle Design for Canadian Teachers. So, uh, you can reach out there. Love that. Yeah,
Speaker 1 00:37:05 I love that. Beyond the Bell.
Speaker 2 00:37:06 Beyond the Bell,
Speaker 1 00:37:07 That show when we were growing up. Saved by the Bell. Saved by the Bell, remember that show?
Speaker 2 00:37:12 Yeah, I certainly do. Yeah. Zach Morris and the whole, the whole, the whole clan. So, uh, no, I really enjoy connecting with people. So I, I hope, uh, you know, I want to help and I wanna learn. So get, I hope your listeners, uh, listen to this and, and reach out and get connected.
Speaker 1 00:37:27 Awesome. Well, that's it folks. Uh, by the way, that was episode 57, believe it or not. We are rolling hard here. We're looking to continue to pump out three to four episodes a month and continue having awesome guests like Dan on the More Light Real Estate Investing podcast. So Dan, thanks again. Hope you enjoy the rest of your day and we'll track soon.
