Insider Secrets Podcast Episode #76

Featuring Guest: Esther Reizes-Lowenbein

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Guest Bio:

Episode 76 guest Esther Reizes Lowenbein

Esther Reizes-Lowenbein is a commercial real estate realtor, investor, and investment manager. In just 3.5 years, Esther has transacted over $300M+ of CRE, raised about 40M in private equity, and began heavily investing in CRE, already amassing a large portfolio of properties across the industrial, office, retail and Multifamily assets. She considers herself a serial networker and has a knack for connecting buyers, sellers, and investors. She works diligently to provide optimal service to her clients and investors. In addition to raising PE, Esther manages investments, coordinates public relations, and ensures projects move along at the appropriate pace.

Esther holds a Master’s degree in communication/SLP from Adelphi University. Additionally, Esther has experience running several family businesses. Together with her husband, they run a non-profit assisting underprivileged individual with their needs. She also takes great pride in her wonderful children.

 

Shownotes:

Standout Quotes:
“I always go with my gut feeling. If my gut feeling gives me the green lights, then I’m going to start doing some research on the person.”– [Esther]
“You can go through all your standards and all your guidelines and check all the boxes. The last thing is that gut check, it comes down to that last little bit of how you feel about somebody and how you feel about the group.”– [Mike]
“I just wanted to learn. I’m an extrovert, I like meeting people, I like talking to people. So I’m like, this is the perfect avenue to work and get to meet people at the same time.”-[Esther]
“Everyone needs a place to live, so it’s like a no-brainer kind of investment.”-[Esther]
“My dad told me years ago, ‘if you ever go into business for yourself, go into food, shelter, clothing.’ Shelter’s never really done wrong.”-[Mike]
“Everything takes so much time and people think that everything is so glamorous and everything looks like roses and rainbows. It’s not like with a snap of a finger, everything takes a ton of time. There’s so much effort involved and so much hurt involved and things don’t always work out. So there’s so much more involved in that picture perfect success story than people see. There’s a lot that goes into it.”-[Esther]
“I’ve had great success. I built a couple of big companies. I lost everything, completely wiped out and had to rebuild. So I think that a lot of times people don’t consider that. They think, oh man, I can go into this business and just like that overnight be successful. It takes more than that. It really takes dedication, commitment.”-[Mike]
“I think people really need to be aware of the fact that it’s not all glamorous. It’s a simple business, but it’s not easy and you have to be willing to do what most people aren’t willing to do.”-[Mike]

Key Takeaways:

  • Esther’s a commercial real estate investor, investment manager, mom of eight children, and a former speech pathologist.
  • We can’t necessarily see when the market is going to crash- there’s no clear signs. 
  • Texas, Florida, Arizona are hot markets right now- everyone’s flooding into these areas. 
  • Do your research and due diligence before making an investment.
  • Real estate isn’t all glamorous, it takes time, there’s a lot you need to be willing to do and hard work you need to put in.
  • Linkedin is a great platform to connect and grow professional relationships in the industry.
  • There’s so many ways to benefit from investing in real estate.
  • Learn as much as you can, read books, listen to podcasts. Do a lot of research before getting in. Reach out to people, network, find people that you want to work with.
  • There’s so many times that things don’t work out. The only way you can continue doing what you’re doing is if you love what you do.

 
Episode Timeline:
[00:17] Introducing today’s guest, ‘Esther Reizes-Lowenbein’.
[02:34] A brief bio on Esther.
[03:47] One word that describes Esther.
[04:19] Esther’s personal and professional life.
[06:28] Defining moment for Esther.
[05:26] Start of career in real estate.
[07:11] Start of current private equity fund venture.
[09:02] Defining moment in career change.
[13:33] Working in real estate in New York.
[15:27] There’s always a story behind a deal.
[16:47] Esther’s approach to investing.
[19:01] Esther’s one message she’d share with people.
[20:40] Esther’s biggest asset for work.
[23:12] Esther’s piece of advice for new people in real estate.
[24:12] Bonus questions.
[26:30] Where to find Esther and end remarks.

You can find and contact Esther on Linkedin at Esther Reizes-Lowenbein.

Transcript:

[00:00:04] Mike: Hey everybody. It’s Mike with My Core Intentions, on this week’s episode of Insider Secrets. This week I’m joined by Esther Reizes. Esther, say hi to everybody and give a couple of things that we’re going to talk about on today’s episode.

[00:00:17] Esther: Hi, everyone. I’m excited to share about raising equity, whether you want to get involved in real estate as a JV, a GP, LP, a KP. I’m happy to help, I’ll teach you about creating your network, which is your net worth, as well as doing what you love.

[00:00:31] Mike: Awesome. Listen, if anybody needs an alphabet lesson today, you’re going to have to listen in because Esther will go into more detail. See you inside.

[00:00:39] Kristen: Welcome to this week’s edition of Insider Secrets. The show that turns multifamily investing into reality. Each show we interview guests who are seasoned professionals, actively closing and managing real estate deals. Your host Mike Morawski has more than 30 years of multifamily real estate investing and property management experience.

[00:01:01] Mike is the founder of My Core Intentions. And he’s been involved in over $285 million of transactions. Helping you create short-term cashflow and long-term wealth. Here’s your host, Mike.

[00:01:17] Mike: Hey everybody. Welcome back. It’s Mike, your host of Insider Secrets and, brought to you by My Core Intentions. I really want to thank you for being here, we’re here every week. If you would please do me a favor, go to social media, wherever you hang out, whether that’s Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram and subscribe, follow me personally as well as My Core Intentions. We bring you as much relative content as we possibly can. We have great guests, great interviews, and a great opportunity for you to learn. The whole goal here is how much information can we give back to you?

[00:01:50] I always ask you what your intention is, what you’re trying to accomplish and what you want to accomplish with your business. My intention is to bring you dynamic information through dynamic speakers that are going to help you and your business grow. I’m glad that you’re here today. Like I said, please subscribe and follow us and you can watch the video and hear this on any podcast platform that’s out there.

[00:02:11] Today I am joined by Esther Reizes and I am really excited. I met Esther a number of months ago. We’ve had a few conversations and she’s exciting to watch and I’m really excited about having her on the show today, because I know that we’re going to learn a lot. Let me tell you a little bit about her, actually Esther, why don’t you say hi real quick to everybody.

[00:02:30] Esther: Hi, I’m excited to be here.

[00:02:32] Mike: I’m glad that you’re here today. So, Esther’s a commercial real estate investor and investment manager. In three to five years, Esther has transitioned over 300 million of commercial real estate, she raised about 40 million in private equity and began heavily investing in commercial real estate. Already amassing a large portfolio of properties across industrial office and retail space and multifamily assets. She considers herself a serial networker. I love that because I consider myself a serial entrepreneur, so this is entrepreneur meets networker. I love networking too, so this will be good.

[00:03:10] She’s got a knack for connecting buyers, sellers, and investors. She works diligently to provide optimal services to her clients and investors. In addition to raising private equity, Esther manages investments, coordinates public relations, and ensures projects.

[00:03:26] Esther, I know that you’re married, you’ve got kids and you live a life outside of real estate that is pretty dynamic as well. So I really appreciate you taking the time out of your schedule being here today. I want to kick right in, one of the first questions I ask all my guests is, Esther in one word, what best describes you personally and professionally?

[00:03:47] Esther: I’d say dedicated.

[00:03:48] Mike: Boy, that’s a big word. Isn’t it? If you try to get your arms around that dedicated it’s that commitment and dedicated to so many different things, right?

[00:03:56] Esther: As much as I can. I do my best.

[00:03:59] Mike: Yeah, from a distance watching you, that’s why I’m really interested in talking a little more with you today, boy, you got a lot going on and it’s really great to see, because I think we’re in a space that commands that. I told a little bit about your background, but why don’t you fill some holes in for us? Tell us your story and how you got to this place of where you’re at today?

[00:04:17] Esther: Long life journey. I am a mom, as you said, I’m a mom of eight adorable kids. Thank God.

[00:04:23] Mike: I knew it was a big number, I didn’t know how many, but good for you.

[00:04:26] Esther: Thank you. So that keeps me busy. I am also a speech language pathologist. I’m not practicing right now, I stopped practicing about three and a half years ago when I took that sharp turn into real estate. I started on the residential end, as a broker, then transitioned into the commercial space. Then I got involved on the equity side when one of my clients had asked me to help them find equity for one of their deals, I found them a JV partner. That kind of spun me into that sector. I never anticipated growing in that space, but here I am.

[00:04:56] I have raised over 40 million from JVs and GPS. I syndicated a deal myself, which should be closing this week or next, and I’m starting a private equity fund. So I am super excited to get on this journey. I’m going to be raising from LPs so that’s going to be something new for me.

[00:05:13] Mike: Okay.

[00:05:14] Esther: Then I’m excited to get started and see where it goes.

[00:05:17] Mike: Awesome. I want to back up for a minute and kind of unpack a couple of things. You said that you started out as a broker and was that on the commercial side or was that on the residential side?

[00:05:26] Esther: I started on the residential side. I actually didn’t want to, but when I went into the brokerage, the broker over there told me that I need to start on the residential side before I go into the commercial space. To me, that didn’t really make sense because they are two totally different fields, but I didn’t mind trying the residential part too, which has fun parts to it, but I definitely prefer the commercial space.

[00:05:48] Mike: It’s funny, I heard somebody say a long time ago that brokers are broke. How do you let somebody who’s broke tell you what to do? I learned that a long time ago and I always got real lucky with good brokers. I started on the residential side too, and just really focused on what needed to be focused on. So you said you syndicated a deal that was your first one on your own. Tell us a little bit about that particular deal.

[00:06:11] Esther: I joined a group of wonderful people and together we’re purchasing this property. It’s a 506B so I gotta be careful until it’s closed and I’m given the green light to talk about it. But it’s a multifamily and I’m a GP on the deal, put my own money in, raised a little bit of everything, all the work. And yeah, I’m super excited for it.

[00:06:32] Mike: Nice. Good for you. Can you say how many units that is?

[00:06:37] Esther: I don’t know if I’m allowed to. Over a hundred.

[00:06:38] Mike: So it’s like playing poker a little bit.

[00:06:40] Esther: I’m just trying to be super careful with all the rules.

[00:06:42] Mike: Yeah, I get that. I always try to be a little bit careful with all the rules too. I feel very fortunate that we were able to find a good law firm that has helped myself and my partners mitigate through some of those roadblocks that would keep you from moving forward. It’s an interesting space that we’re in today.

[00:07:00] So talk about your PE fund a little bit, your private equity fund. It sounds like you’re creating this fund that you’re going to raise private equity. What type of deals will you be looking for? Talk a little bit about that.

[00:07:11] Esther: So I’m very excited to get started. I am going to be looking for deals that offer nice returns. It doesn’t matter what asset, as long as the returns are nice to the investors. More importantly, I want to work with good sponsors that are good people that have a great track record. Those are the properties that I’m going to be working with.

[00:07:30] Mike: So when you vet a sponsor, let’s go down that road a little bit. When you talk about, Hey, I want to find a good sponsor. What are some of the important things that a private investor should look for when they’re vetting a sponsor and trying to decide whether or not to get involved with that sponsor or not?

[00:07:47] Esther: Yeah. Number one, I always go with my gut feeling. If my gut feeling gives me the green lights, then I’m going to start doing some research on the person. I want to see their track record. I want to see what they’ve done. I want some referrals from other people. Have they property of their own, have they hired third-party management? There’s a list of questions that you can ask regarding the sponsor, seeing who they are as a person and seeing what they’ve done in the past.

[00:08:11] Mike: So that’s one thing I always talk to people about, even when you’re just vetting a tenant to live in your place. You can go through all your standards and all your guidelines and check all the boxes. The last thing is that gut check, it comes down to that last little bit of how you feel about somebody and how you feel about the group.

[00:08:29] You said you joined forces with some other people, and I feel very fortunate that a couple of my coaching clients and I have gotten together and we’ve been able to go out, we’re doing a 506B as well. It’s interesting how people come together and there’s that match. As big of a space as we’re in, it’s a very small space. You and I know a lot of the same people, we run a lot of the same circles and it’s kind of interesting.

[00:08:51] Here’s what I want to know. What was really a defining moment in your life that said, “I’m going to leave speech pathology to I’m going to get in this real estate game.” What was that defining moment?

[00:09:03] Esther: Like I said, I have eight kids and working with children and then coming home to children became super draining for me. That kind of just needed that change that more professional work environment. So that was a major factor. We also moved from Brooklyn, New York to Rockland, New York, so that shift was a factor in terms of how speech therapy is done in both cities.

[00:09:25] I also felt like I didn’t know enough, so I just wanted to learn. I’m an extrovert, I like meeting people, I like talking to people. So I’m like, this is the perfect avenue to work and get to meet people at the same time. It wasn’t something that I had to go get another degree for. I studied for 75 hours then took the tests and that was it. It wasn’t like another six years of college.

[00:09:46] Mike: Does your husband work in the business with you or do you just pretty much do everything on your own?

[00:09:52] Esther: My husband was actually always involved in real estate to a certain extent. Now that I got more involved, he caught the bug a little more and he’s purchasing more right now.

[00:10:01] Mike: That’s good, and it works well in your household? Cause a lot of times husbands and wives that work together in the same space struggle a little bit, but it sounds like it works well for you guys?

[00:10:11] Esther: Yeah, I mean, He has an office, I work from home. We have totally different roles. Sometimes I’m like, okay, if you’re not checking out this deal, if you’re not buying it, then I’ll present it to a potential buyer. Sometimes I have to be like, okay, here’s your timeline. Other than that we’re totally different. He’s taking care of everything. I’m just finding a deal, sourcing deals and I’m not raising for myself. I’m going to be raising for other people. He’s taking care of our deals. I’m taking care of everyone else’s deals.

[00:10:36] Mike: Good for you. So what excites you about the multifamily space today?

[00:10:42] Esther: Everyone needs a place to live, so it’s like a no brainer kind of investment. Right now the cap rates are super super compressed, which is a little crazy. The market’s very tight right now. It’s hard to source deals in the multi-family space. I have a lot of deals that are looking for equity, but it’s hard to source deals at least on my end. I’m having a hard time. There’s so many more buyers right now in the market.

[00:11:04] Mike: Yeah, it’s a great asset class, always has been. My dad told me years ago,” if you ever go into business for yourself, go into to food, shelter, clothing.” Shelter’s never really done wrong. Where do you see the market going? Cause it is a goofy market right now. I think that there’s a lot of things that can go wrong or may go wrong. Where do you see the market headed?

[00:11:22] Esther: I was consulting with my husband’s friend, who’s an attorney and an accountant, regarding my funds. He’s like, “don’t start it, there’s going to be a crash. Don’t do it.” I was like, when’s the crash coming, we don’t know. We’re speculating that there’s a crash on the horizon, but nobody can tell you if it’s going to be in 2 months or in 10 years. It’s hard to know. We just got to keep on doing whatever we’re doing and just keep an eye out for what’s happening, but there are no clear signs of anything imminently.

[00:11:50] Mike: Isn’t that funny, like you said, there’s no clear signs. As much as everybody has this speculation, and it’s just like when we went into the pandemic, people thought, “oh my God, this is going to be horrible for the multi-family space.” And a number of the months were the best collection months any multifamily operator has ever had.

[00:12:07] Esther: Yeah.

[00:12:08] Mike: There’s those pockets of places that have not made sense or have been challenging but overall, I think it’s been well.

[00:12:15] Esther: Yeah. There’s a lot of things that we can’t foresee. If people had foreseen 2008, 2009, things wouldn’t have ended up the way they did. It didn’t end up well for us, it didn’t end up well for many people. So it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen, but we got to try our best.

[00:12:29] Mike: I was sitting at lunch in 2008 with my CFO and all of a sudden on the news, these people are carrying boxes out of Lehman brothers by the dozens. I looked at him and I said, “man, we’re a big trouble, aren’t we? He goes, yeah, we’re in big trouble.” Just from that perspective, nobody saw that coming. It’s the same thing here, I think there’s a lot of speculation and I’m not an economist. I certainly have listened to a bunch of economists and had some conversations with some pretty smart people. People think when the eviction moratorium is completely removed, that it’ll be 18 months and we’ll start to see all these foreclosures and all these people moving out. But is it 2023? Is it 2024? A lot of people wind up not moving forward, they get frozen in that, and I don’t think we can spend our time in what if.

[00:13:15] Esther: How do you say like some states don’t have that eviction moratorium and some states do so it’s gonna be very interesting to see what happens. This eviction moratorium is definitely a mess, it’s affected my clients. It’s affected family members of mine. It’s a whole topic in itself.

[00:13:30] Mike: Yeah. So how are things handled in New York?

[00:13:33] Esther: It’s tough. There are many people suffering. They have tenants that are taking advantage. I coined these people, professional squatters. They know what they’re doing. They’re very smart. They’re moving into places intentionally, not paying. In some cases they’re making the landlord’s lives miserable, especially if they live in the same complex. So it’s just horrible. If there’s someone that’s affected by the pandemic, we can understand them, but if it’s someone that’s doing something in spite or intentionally taking advantage, it’s very sad.

[00:14:02] Mike: Yeah, for sure. I like what you said, they’re professional squatters. Cause they know how to play their game and they played it before and they play it now and they play it now even better because the rules are in their favor. So if you’re in a place like New York or you’re in a place like Illinois, it’s not in the favor of the landlord. So based on that conversation, we really talked about a couple of places not to invest. Where do you like to invest and why?

[00:14:25] Esther: Right now we see the markets that are super hot. Where everyone’s flooded to- Texas, Arizona, Florida. Those are probably the hottest investment opportunities right now, the locations that people are going to.

[00:14:36] Mike: Why do you think they’re so hot?

[00:14:38] Esther: They’re more tenant friendly. It’s all politically based, pretty much the red versus the blue. But where you can find opportunities at any location. We are looking at opportunities in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. There are opportunities in all locations, you just have to know where you’re going into and under what circumstances.

[00:14:57] Mike: What are some of the metrics that you want to look at when you’re underwriting a deal today? To make sure that you’re making a smart choice? You’re making a smart decision as an investor or somebody who’s placing somebody else’s capital.

[00:15:09] Esther: So I always feel like it’s more than just a number like you can’t base a deal on a number. Obviously you want to look at the yield cost and the IRR and cash and all those metrics and returns, but you have to see the deal. What happened with the deal in the past, is it vacant? Is there value add? How much value add?

[00:15:27] There’s always a story behind the deal, more than just the number, that will tell you about the deal. So I feel like every deal has its own story. They have to read the book and study it and figure out every deal on its own. You can have deals that are two cap, but they’re 10% occupied and then fill it up, if it’s in a good location, so it matters. The location matters, the story matters, the cap rates matter, the IRR matters.

[00:15:52] To my investors, I aim to bring them the highest return spot. I probably will look at deals above 14, 15% IRR pending the story, if there’s more value add obviously there’ll be a little different. Some of them are ground up, so that’s a whole different story. There’s so many different metrics to look at.

[00:16:10] Mike: So when you talk about 14 or 15% IRR. Is that an overall deal IRR or?

[00:16:17] Esther: Annually.

[00:16:18] Mike: On the deal or on the investor return?

[00:16:20] Esther: The investor return.

[00:16:22] Mike: Okay. Good to know, because I think there’s a distinction there. I think we’re in a market today that there’s some uncertainty, there’s some things that we need to look at differently than you might’ve looked at three years ago. Some of that’s changed over time, over the last year with the pandemic. So how do you as a mom, as an investor and maybe a different answer for each one of those categories, but how do you make high stakes decisions today?

[00:16:46] Esther: Oh, that’s a good one. We’re super careful about every investment that we do make. Everything is really thought out. We hired an underwriter to take a look at everything as well. We have partners looking in, we’re taking a very intense look at every deal before we place a penny in there. Let’s say, if I’m going to be raising, I’m going to be placing my own money into every deal that I raised for. So I have to really like the deal personally to invest my money in there. We’re very cautious about where we’re placing our investments. We learned a lot from 2008.

[00:17:15] Mike: Were you doing any investing back in 2008? Was your husband doing investing?

[00:17:20] Esther: He was probably doing real estate at the time, but I wasn’t involved. But he had a lot of other businesses that he was involved in. Like import export, some food stuff, he was building something in Israel. Everything went south all at once. Those times were tough. We had two kids and then a little later had my third. Around that time, we went from living a luxurious lifestyle to not even having money to buy diapers. That’s how bad it was.

[00:17:42] Mike: So you come from a place where you could hardly buy diapers for your three kids, and now you’re in a much better place today and more kids.

[00:17:51] Esther: Everything takes so much time and people think that everything is so glamorous and everything look like roses and rainbows. It’s not like with a snap of a finger, everything takes a ton of time. There’s so much effort involved and so much hurt involved and things don’t always work out. So there’s so much more involved in that picture perfect success story than people see. There’s a lot that goes into it.

[00:18:14] Mike: You are a rockstar, there’s no doubt about that. I always tell people though, there’s that success, right? I’ve had it. I had great success. I built a couple of big companies. I lost everything, completely wiped out and had to rebuild. So I think that a lot of times people don’t consider that. They think, oh man, I can go into this business and just like that overnight be successful. It takes more than that. It really takes dedication, commitment. I can just tell by the tone of your voice and even watching you on social media in the midst of being a rock star, that you are dedicated to what you’re doing, you’re committed to what you’re doing. To your clients, to your business, so that’s a good thing and people need to see that.

[00:18:54] Esther: It’s interesting. I was just on another podcast right before I hopped on this one, and he asked me, “what’s your message you can give to people?” So I said, you know, you have to do what you love because there’s so many times that things don’t work out in this business as an investor, as a realtor, as a capital reserve equity investor. There’s so many things that don’t go right. Yes, I am guilty of making things look perfect, but there’s so much that doesn’t go the way I’d like it to go.

[00:19:19] So therefore, the only way I can continue doing what I’m doing is because I love what I do. So I don’t let that negativity or that disappointment bring me down. I grow from it and move on because I do enjoy this even though there’s things that I had to overcome. I did become a stronger person learning to overcome things that didn’t necessarily go my way.

[00:19:40] Mike: Yeah, there’s strength in that struggle. I would encourage you to keep doing what you’re doing, because I know I can’t be the only one that enjoys to watch people’s growth and how they transpire. I think people really need to be aware of the fact that it’s not all glamorous. It’s a simple business, but it’s not easy and you have to be willing to do what most people aren’t willing to do. There’s a lot of people that aren’t going to be willing to do what you do, right?.

[00:20:04] Esther: Yeah, I put those hours in. I work around the clock and between my kids, like my kids are number one. Like sometimes I’ll send out emails in the middle of the night and people are like, ” don’t you sleep?” So I work all around their schedule, there’s a lot of hours that go into it.

[00:20:18] Mike: So how old are your oldest and your youngest?

[00:20:20] Esther: Oldest is 15 and my youngest is going to be 3 end of October.

[00:20:26] Mike: Are any of them like twins or triplets and you didn’t adopt any of them?

[00:20:30] Esther: Non adopted, all me made. They’re all mine.

[00:20:33] Mike: Talk about technology a little bit. What technology systems do you like that help you in your business? What things work for you?

[00:20:40] Esther: My computer is my biggest asset, my biggest tool. My computer, my phone. It’s the sites that I use, the social media like LinkedIn Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp. I use all these social media platforms to conduct my business.

[00:20:55] Mike: Anything that stands out more for you?

[00:20:57] Esther: I really like LinkedIn. I like the professional environment on LinkedIn. I think everyone is out there to grow, which is beautiful to see. In general, it’s a very growth oriented platform and you have a lot of like-minded professional individuals that are all looking to succeed and help. There’s a lot of people that are helping the next person. It’s beautiful to see.

[00:21:19] Mike: That’s where you and I originally met, probably a year or so ago. I reached out to you and that’s where I meet most people today is on LinkedIn. Thank God that you know how to use Zoom. There’s a new tool for me on LinkedIn and that’s LinkedIn live.

[00:21:32] Esther: Yes. I’ve been on Yonah Weiss’ LinkedIn lives.

[00:21:35] Mike: Okay, yeah. I think that’s a quiet sleeper right now.

[00:21:38] Esther: Yeah, that could be.

[00:21:39] Mike: So talk about a couple of your favorite techniques for raising private capital.

[00:21:44] Esther: I’m just getting started on raising from LPs. Besides for this multi-family that I’ve syndicated, I’m kinda new to the LP side. I’m very excited to get it started though. To help people, teach them that they can invest in real estate and they can make money while they sleep. The benefits of real estate, the tax benefits, and you can make money on appreciation on depreciation. There’s so many ways to benefit from investing in real estate. So I like to inform people of that and educate them.

[00:22:10] A lot of people that have W2’s for example, they’re looking to place their money into a more stable, you can’t say that it’s a stable asset, but it’s a more stable in my opinion than other investments. You can anticipate the expenses, you can anticipate the returns. There are obviously surprises, but in general you can know what you’re getting into versus investing in tech, it’s a gamble. I’m passionate about real estate for that reason. I’m excited to help people invest, whether they’re investing as an LP or they’re investing as a JV or a GP or a KP, I’m happy to connect people, this is my hobby.

[00:22:45] Mike: Anybody needs a little bit of education today on the alphabet, call Esther or call me, and we’ll tell you what all those little GP and LP and JV and all that means. So we’ll educate you around that.

[00:22:57] This show’s called Insider Secrets and one question I always ask my guests is what’s one secret that you would share with people or, another way to even look at that, Esther, is somebody new coming in the business. What piece of advice would you give them today?

[00:23:12] Esther: Learn as much as you can, read books, listen to podcasts. Do a lot of research before getting in. Reach out to people, network, find people that you want to work with, whether you’re going to partner with them on deals or whether you’re going to use them as your attorney or as your mortgage broker. You want to form relationships with people as much as possible before getting into a deal. So there’s a lot to know and a lot of network to be done.

[00:23:37] Mike: I think relationship in this business is so important. I’m a connector, I love to connect people. If I know somebody who’s going to benefit you, I’ll connect you with them or them with you. I was on a call the other day and a woman got on and she was talking about the solar energy business. And I said, “Hey, I know a guy who’s in that business. You guys would probably be a great match.” I was able to connect them. We’re in a relationship business and I think it makes sense for you and I to know each other and for us to know other people around us and so it helps.

[00:24:04] Let’s shift gears a little bit as we’re winding down here. I always like to go to that fun section, and talk a little bit about you and three questions. One is what is your favorite tourist attraction?

[00:24:15] Esther: It’s been a while since I’ve gone on vacation. My favorite tourist attraction, I mean, I love Israel. The whole Israel. I’ll go back any day, as soon as I can.

[00:24:23] Mike: Anything specific in Israel, I’ve never been there and I’d love to go there.

[00:24:27] Esther: Must. The food over there is unbelievable. Every rock in Israel has its own history. Obviously the Western wall and under the Western wall, there are tunnels, which are really interesting to go and see where the temple was. Get as close to the temple as possible. So that’s a really interesting site, it’s a holy site.

[00:24:46] Mike: Yeah, for sure. It gives me chills just you talking about it. So you already said your favorite food, but do you have a favorite restaurant here or there?

[00:24:53] Esther: I eat only kosher, so I’m limited to restaurants out there. I can only kosher restaurants. It’s been a while since, but Israel, the falafels. Any good falafel shop over there is worth going for.

[00:25:04] Mike: There’s a place in Chicago. If you ever get to Chicago, it’s called Manny’s, you’ll be able to eat kosher there. It’s a historic spot and it’s a lot of fun.

[00:25:13] Esther: Looking forward to going there once.

[00:25:14] Mike: You ever been to Chicago?

[00:25:16] Esther: Not yet, no.

[00:25:16] Mike: You and your husband would probably have a great weekend or a long weekend here. There’s a lot to do, especially in the summertime. It’s a great city. How about a favorite book you’ve ever read?

[00:25:26] Esther: I don’t have that much time time to read either. But “The Power of Now” is a really powerful book by Eckhart Tolle. That is my Bible, my psychological Bible, and it kind of grounds me and it reroutes your purpose of the world and you just focus on the now instead of always like dying to go somewhere and dying to go to the next place. You’re gonna have to live in the moment, live in the present moment and just be.

[00:25:49] Mike: I guess with eight kids, a husband, and a business that you run, the Power of Now and living right now is really important in your life. So good.

[00:25:58] Esther: My husband’s been instrumental in me reading that book. He’s a living example of living in the now. He’s so healthy, his mind is so healthy that he knows how to, so I’m learning a lot from him. I call him my in house psychologist.

[00:26:12] Mike: Nice. Awesome. Sounds like things work well for you guys, and I’m glad for you. I want to thank you for being here today. It’s been great to get to know you a little bit more and learn a little bit more about your business. How do people get ahold of you, Esther, if they want to call you, pick your brain, talk to you about private equity or learn those ABCs from you a little bit?

[00:26:30] Esther: I am on LinkedIn as Esther Reizes Lowenbein. I am on Facebook, Instagram, message me anywhere. I always respond, that’s always me, I don’t have any other people doing it for me. I might not respond that second, but I’ll get to it and I’m super happy to help anybody that’s looking for advice or to invest.

[00:26:48] Mike: I can attest that you do always respond that’s for sure. Hey, thanks for being here. I appreciate it, and I look forward to continuing maybe doing some business down the road with you of some sorts. Best of luck to you, your kids, your husband, and in your new business venture as well.

[00:27:03] Esther: Thank you so much. Thanks for having me on. I appreciate it.

[00:27:06] Mike: You bet. Thanks everybody for being here this week. Another episode of Insider Secrets. Remember you can like us, love us on social media, anywhere that you hang out. You’ll find us, either me personally or My Core Intentions. And I look forward to seeing you guys next Tuesday. Have a great week.

[00:27:23] Kristen: Thank you, Mike, and thank you for joining us for another great episode of Insider Secrets. As always, Insider Secrets is brought to you by My Core Intentions. Join us on social media and visit mycoreintentions.com where you can get expert coaching on all things, multifamily investing and property management. We’re looking forward to having you back again next week for more Insider Secrets.

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