From Realtor To Flipper To Commercial Investing With Neil Timmins

Today's Guest: Neil Timmins

Neil is the CEO of Legacy Impact Partners and has invested in real estate opportunities ranging from houses and apartments to industrial and medical offices. Neil’s entry point into the industry was as a realtor with RE/MAX. Longing to quit forfeiting time for dollars, Neil moved into real estate investing. Like so many other investors, Neil began with single-family homes but has progressed into assets consisting of apartments, offices, and industrial space. While he owns a company that completes wholesale, renovation, and rehab transactions, Neil’s passion is now in cash flow investing in commercial real estate. Over the course of his career, Neil has been involved in over $300M in real estate transactions and is the host of the Real Grit podcast.

Highlights From The Show:

We begin the episode with Neil sharing his background story and how he ended up in real estate. He shares that he started his journey in real estate brokerage 18 years ago, moved to single-family homes, and then to commercial real estate over the last few years. Neil shares that his mom, a stay-at-home mom, started a year before him. She has been in real estate for almost 20 years, and her entry point back into the workforce was as a realtor. She motivated Neil into it, and he knew if his mother could do it, he could do it better.

We then talk about what attracted Neil to the investment side of real estate. Neil shares that he had a tremendous run. He was making pretty good money and wanted to do more. The stock market was scary for him, and the best option for him was to invest in a rental property. Prior to this, Neil was doing some fix and flip, and the experience gave him an edge when it came to investing in rental properties. The deal went well, and Neil decided to pick a little more and go down the rabbit hole. Neil shares that he never went to listing appointments as a realtor but as an investor in the direct seller market. However, in some cases, when he couldn’t make the numbers work as an investor, he provided guidance on how to get the property on the listing.

Next, we talk about why Neil decided to move from fix and flip to investing in rental properties. Neil shares that being a realtor is a job, being a fix and flipper is a better job, but investing in rental properties is wealth building. He wanted to get onto a wealth-building path by acquiring assets and building his equity. On the single-family and apartment side, Neil has two sections of his portfolio, B and C. Neil also shares that they moved into commercial real estate about four years ago. According to him, the cash flow, the management of the property, and the ability to be efficient and get more returns are easier compared to single-family.

We then talk about commercial real estate and how Neil is investing in the space. Neil shares that he is an asset-class narcissist and is always looking for good deals to wrap his head around. He focuses on building true relationships, having an understanding of what will transpire in the market, and getting comfortable with multiple asset classes. Neil shares that he’s in apartments and he also invests with partners in deals outside his market such as in self-storage, industrial buildings, and offices. According to Neil, the industrial market has been a great asset class in the last four years, but the office assets were dramatically impacted as a result of COVID.

Lastly, we talk about how Neil manages his portfolio without making it a job. Neil shares that the first step is to delegate. Having the ability to delegate and build the right team with the right talents is a significant backbone. Give people the space to do it, own it, be accountable, and grow without micromanaging them. Managing your properties can become a job, but delegating the work will help you get your hands off the terrible. Neil also shares more about his podcast, Real Grit, which combines all the tools you need to build your real estate legacy.

Make sure you don’t miss another amazing episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast with Neil Timmins and get valuable information on how to move from realtor to flipper to commercial investing!

Notable Quotes:

“Being a realtor is a job, being a flipper is a better job, but investing in rental properties is wealth building.”

Neil Timmins

“Having the ability to delegate and build the right team is a significant backbone in managing your real estate portfolio without turning it into a job.“