Quitting Corporate Life with Flare and Flipping Multifamily Properties

For today's episode, I'm absolutely thrilled to welcome Jimmy Murray. Jimmy is a millennial house hacker turned corporate dropout, a specialist in flipping 2-4 unit multifamilies, and the Co-Founder of Lyon Property Management Company that operates across Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts. Jimmy also co-hosts the Cashflow Kings Podcast along with fellow millionaire investor Frank Patalano.

Jimmy opens up and talks about his childhood and that his family had no background in real estate investing. His dad was a contractor, one of the best finish carpenters in New England, he said his dad did not want Jimmy to end up like him. He frequently advised Jimmy to take up some books and start learning and he always insisted that everyone must work smarter, not harder. Jimmy credits his parents with his strong work ethic that was instilled in him from a very young age.

Jimmy went on to get a degree in finance, but his mind was on starting a business to buy multifamily properties. He remembers the dismissal he received when he presented this idea to his father, who thought it was nothing but nonsense. Jimmy was certain that multifamily would help set him up financially, and when he finally did buy one, his dad told Jimmy that he had made the biggest mistake of his life. He conveys the idea that even though parents are acting out of their love and are simply trying to protect you, you can be set back by their opinions, especially if it concerns a topic they are not aware of. Jimmy stresses how important it is to realize that you need to continue to follow what's important for you and educate yourself. Jimmy claims that anyone capable of elementary mathematics could get into investing in multifamily properties.

Initially, Jimmy says his goal was to make it to Wall Street, make a ton of money, and eventually get into real estate. Jimmy then landed a dream job with a huge private firm after graduation, only to realize that it was not his dream job. The job definitely set him up financially, though, and made him capable of venturing into the real estate world.

On starting a company of his own after quitting the corporate job, Jimmy shares that it can be a struggle to focus on the right things. There are some things that naturally we like to do and we really need to have this self-awareness. There are other things that we don't want to do, so for those tasks, Jimmy recommends hiring people as quickly as possible. Along the way, it is helpful to make a list of the things you most enjoy and the things you least enjoy, so you can hire appropriately and start to pivot as you grow your company.

Jimmy said the biggest thing is actually making the jump. People always hold themselves back, thinking about hitting rock bottom. But the truth is, if you really screw up and you hit that rock bottom, you can always rebuild, and you just gotta figure it out, and you gotta be willing to put in the work. Being successful is really about having the right systems in place and recognizing what's really important that you need to jump on right away. Jimmy stresses that real estate is a relationship-based business and it is very important to network and build strong relationships with your tenants and contractors.

We talk about his podcast, Cashflow Kings, and Jimmy shares the goal has never been to monetize the podcast, but use it as a way to give back and educate other investors. Jimmy lets us know that financial freedom is a massive thing for him. Having financial freedom over your time and assets is huge. He says it is easy to become a millionaire in the stock market, but it's much more exciting for him to leverage his retirement assets to invest in real estate.

His thing is to just wake up every day and take action. He recalls listening to a guest on the podcast who said that massive actions equals massive results. And that's one of the things he puts to work every single day, go out, take action, and you're going to learn a tremendous amount. That's what's really going to fuel your growth.

You do not want to miss this fantastic episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast that is packed with actionable advice! Just a ton of truth bombs to learn from in this engaging and educational conversation with Jimmy Murray!

Notable quotes:

“If you can add, subtract, and divide, you can buy multifamily.”

Jimmy Murray

“Now that I know what I know, I would have tried to leverage everything to the hills to really grow the portfolio to gain that momentum.”

Jimmy Murray

“If I could go back and talk to my 2008 self, I'd go, dude, you need to figure it out, raise money, buy properties, and build a portfolio.”

Mike Simmons

“My whole life is guided by the books that I read to shape my mind.”

Jimmy Murray

“My advice would be to lean on other people that have had that experience. Ask them what the feeling was, what was the big thing that got them over the hump.”