Are you interested in real estate investing? If so, you’re in for a treat! In this episode of Multi-Family AP 360, I had the pleasure of interviewing Vessi Kapoulian, a real estate investor with experience in both residential and multi-family properties.
Vessi has 18 years of business experience, including 14 years of commercial lending and four years of business management sales and marketing. She started her real estate journey in 2017 and now consults a portfolio of investor real estate properties in Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia, with almost 161 doors across six properties. Vessi’s lending experience has helped her develop a conservative and analytical approach to assessing risk and investing prudently in real estate to maximize returns.
Vessi shares that she started her real estate journey by buying one home, then another, and eventually scaling into multi-family properties. She encourages listeners to take incremental steps to lead to their background in the residential space. Vessi transitioned to multi-family properties after working in sales and marketing and eventually commercial lending.
Vessi’s approach to underwriting deals in the current environment is conservative. She emphasizes the importance of evaluating the market and submarket, ensuring they meet key criteria such as population, job growth, and income growth. She also considers factors such as median household income levels, crime rates, and poverty rates within the submarket.
When evaluating the numbers, Vessi focuses on the top line, ensuring rent growth and vacancy assumptions are reasonable and in line with the market. She also dives into expenses, particularly insurance, taxes, and labor, such as property management fees. Adequate reserves are crucial, not only for capex and other improvements but also for operating reserves.
In the current environment, Vessi is conservative with rent growth assumptions, forecasting flat or no growth for the first year. She is also moderate in terms of rent growth assumptions, more closely aligned with historical trends.
Vessi’s recent success in filling the last two units of a multi-family property is a testament to her approach. She emphasizes the importance of taking charge of the business plan and not solely relying on property managers.
Vessi sees the current market as an opportunity to acquire properties at reasonable valuations. She notes that while valuations have adjusted, prices have not necessarily gone down, but there is a wider gap between buyers and sellers.
Vessi’s faith and morning routine help her stay focused and organized. She also shares that her decision to invest in real estate has positively impacted her life by providing an additional income stream and a sense of freedom.
Vessi recommends the book “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill for its focus on mindset and overcoming limiting beliefs.
So, if you’re interested in real estate investing, Tune in now, this episode of Multi-Family AP 360 !
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