Midwest multifamily provides strong cash flow compared to other parts of the United States. With strong fundamentals, investors along the east and west coasts are drawn into the region’s stability and sensible rents. This includes Mark Davenport and his partner Phoebe, who were allured to not only invest in the Midwest but relocate from Brooklyn, New York.
Mark Davenport is an investor who began investing on the East Coast before finding real scale in the Midwest. He now lives in Kansas City and scaled his portfolio from a duplex to 124 units in just 5 years. Along with his partner Phoebe, they started with a foreclosed duplex and managed the renovations themselves. Their latest acquisitions include a 12-story apartment building and a 65-unit hotel.
Mark was able to scale by getting creative on sourcing deals and focusing on finding problems to solve. However, with scaling into the larger properties, he has had to focus more on delegating tasks and running the business. In this episode, he shares more about why investing in the Midwest was so appealing, how he managed to scale so quickly in 5 years, and how he’s finding unique value-add opportunities with his investments.
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Scaling From East Coast Duplexes to Midwest High-Rises
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Stepping away from his 9-5 to buying a duplex foreclosure and scaling to 124 units in 5 years
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Overcoming obstacles to acquire his first duplex in foreclosure
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Tips on financing your first deal
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Financing through local banks vs. corporate banks
We went through local banks, who are more flexible, versus corporate banks whose loan criteria was too strict.
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Pulling a home equity line of credit on his duplex to start to scale his portfolio
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How Mark finds great deals on the MLS working through a realtor
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Pivoting from small multifamily to large multifamily units
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Operating large properties vs. smaller properties
Delegation and learning how to involve other people in a way that works for them, and us, is the name of the game.
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Building a team and obtaining resources that you can count on
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Managing a 12-story, 63 unit multifamily property
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How Mark increased his NOI monetizing the roof of his tower property
If we’re going to be aggressive and grow we have to have an experimental mindset, otherwise, we will be frustrated with every twist and turn.
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Converting commercial space into residential units
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Bullseye Round:
Apparent Failure: At the end of a project we learned, we had to put sprinklers in and had to scramble for the cash to do so. This taught us to be uber flexible.
Digital Resource:
QuickBrain Podcast
Most Recommended Book:
The Big Leap (Gay Hendricks)
Daily Habit:
Sit for coffee with my partner and talk
Current Curiosity:
The process of delegation
Wish I Knew When I Was Starting Out:
There is no obstacle that can’t be solved with flexibility and creative thinking
Best Place to Grab a Bite in Kansas City:
Swagat
Get in Touch with Mark: