On this episode of the Best Ever Podcast, Ash Patel interviews Anders Jacobson, CEO of Brighton Capital, shares his journey from a 13-year sales career to building a portfolio of over 2,500 multifamily units. He discusses the importance of getting started in real estate and the role of syndication in his success. Anders also highlights the significance of addressing pain points for investors and the power of storytelling in sales and real estate. He offers advice on attracting new investors through social media and networking events. Anders emphasizes the value of adding free content and providing genuine value to others. He encourages individuals to overcome limiting beliefs and start taking action in real estate.
Takeaways:
- Get started in real estate as soon as possible and continue learning along the way.
- Address pain points for investors and offer solutions to their financial challenges.
- Use storytelling to engage potential investors and make the real estate experience relatable.
- Build networks through in-person events and social media platforms like LinkedIn.
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Transcript
Ash Patel (00:02.07)
Hello, best ever listeners. Welcome to the best real estate investing advice ever show. I'm Ash Patel and I'm with today's guest, Anders Jacobson. Anders is joining us from Raleigh, North Carolina. He is the CEO of Brighton Capital. They purchase mismanaged and underperforming properties, renovate and implement their systems to increase revenue and decrease expenses. Anders portfolio consists of over 2,500 multifamily units across the South.
Anders, thank you for joining us and how are you today?
Anders Jacobson (00:34.365)
I'm great, Ash, how you doing?
Ash Patel (00:36.278)
Very good, man. It's a pleasure to have you. Anders, if you would, can you give the best ever listeners a little bit more about your background and what you're focused on now?
Anders Jacobson (00:45.117)
Yeah, absolutely. So, uh, I, it was in sales for 13 years and the entrepreneurs started two companies and now I'm focused on, you know, helping people who are in sales or entrepreneurs, stop working for money and put their money to work for them in real estate. So we buy, uh, multifamily assets, uh, across the Southeast and alternative assets as well and bring on salesmen and entrepreneurs who are looking to make passive income and really get that freedom that they're really looking for.
Ash Patel (01:25.542)
You started this in 2018, is that right? Okay. 2017. Can you give me the blueprint that you followed or the roadmap on how you got from just starting in 17 to 2,500 units and now helping others as well.
Anders Jacobson (01:28.905)
That's right. 27, end of 2017.
Anders Jacobson (01:47.741)
Absolutely. So at the time I just started my first company. I was in the door to door solar industry and had done well in it and started my first company. I had been burned by the stock market and lost a good chunk of money being newly married that hurt. And I had done a ton of research. I had read as many books as possible, listened to as many podcasts as I could.
This was a big one that I listened to, which is cool coming full circle here. But I listened to as much as I could and read as much as I could, attended events, to try to figure out what the ultra successful were doing. And kept coming back to just the one common denominator was commercial real estate and multifamily. And so in end of 2017, I invested in my first deal as a limited partner LP.
Um, I didn't know what I was doing at all on the real estate side. I didn't have the time or really energy to go out and find my own deals because I was running my business and just super busy. And so that was the best route for me was to invest passively. And it was amazing because I was able to focus on what I was passionate, passionate about and love doing, uh, and allow somebody who I trusted as an operator to, you know, manage the property and bring me passive income, tax benefits, and really start, you know, diversifying my investment portfolio.
And so I started that way and started to grow my portfolio passively and then had some connections through some mastermind groups where I was able to get more active and I, I've tested the waters on some smaller properties. I did a few duplexes, fourplexes and just kept coming back to liking the larger multifamily deals, just the economies of scale. And I had a nightmare property of four unit that really pushed me over the edge to go all in on large multifamily. So in 2021, I joined a group specific for multifamily to really learn the game, find partners that I would want to work with and grow with. And that's when my portfolio really took off where we started to buy lots of properties in the Southeast, Texas. And that's how I got here today.
Ash Patel (04:28.742)
Anders the 2500 units is that are those deals that you syndicated or your partners on or your LP GP on? Let's break those down.
Anders Jacobson (04:38.905)
Yeah, combination of both. Some, some are limited partner positions, but the majority are either JV or GP positions, um, where I'm a owner of the property and manager.
Ash Patel (04:55.398)
And out of those, how many of those are ones that you found the deal, you raise the capital, you put the team together?
Anders Jacobson (05:03.057)
Um, out of those about four of the deals, um, only a few hundred units where I personally did everything, the majority are, I helped raise capital and helped on the asset management side, but one of my partners or operators found the deal and put it together and I partnered with them on it.
Ash Patel (05:25.782)
What would you say your primary role is in multifamily syndication?
Anders Jacobson (05:31.141)
Yeah, mine's capital raising and investor relations.
Ash Patel (05:34.96)
Got it. And how did you start out capital raising?
Anders Jacobson (05:40.469)
It started out just without me even really knowing I was doing it. I was investing in some deals early on and I loved it and people who were working for me and just friends in the industry and friends and family were asking me what I was doing on the investment side. And again, I'd been burned by the stock market and so I was trying to find a safer, more reliable route.
And so I just told them what I was doing. I said, Hey, I've invested in these properties. This is how it works. This is why I like it. And they were super interested. And I said, well, if you find anything else, let me know. I'd love to check that out. And so as I, you know, grew and kept finding deals, I just let my friends, family, uh, employees, coworkers know. And they started investing with me and these deals side by side. And so.
That's kind of how it happened. And then once I exited my, my solar company, I knew this was the route I wanted to continue on and I loved helping others find an avenue to really put them on track for that financial freedom. Um, the way that I had seen it happen for us and me and my family.
Ash Patel (06:59.666)
Anders, how did you monetize those investments from others?
Anders Jacobson (07:06.641)
Um, well, I, again, I didn't really have a part in how much money they were putting in and I didn't get any kickback at all. Um, on anything that they were investing in the deals, I was just helping them out. There was no benefit for me at the time. Um, now that I've started to partner, uh, on these deals and, you know, I'm doing it full time, there's obviously some, some benefits for me and the sound kind of making a living by helping other people. But, yeah, at the time there was no kickback or monetization for me.
Ash Patel (07:40.606)
I get it. And now what does that look like? What does your revenue stream look like from the capital raising? Not in terms of dollars, but how does that work in terms of being given percentage points of a GP or given acquisition fees? Let's dive into that.
Anders Jacobson (07:58.981)
Yeah, absolutely. So as a capital raiser, you have to participate in more than just capital. If you want to participate on the GP side. So I have asset management roles as well for my background for starting businesses. I'm helping in various ways throughout the asset management process and after we close on the property, but
On the capital side specifically, there's a percentage given to me that is agreed upon upfront say how much can you raise before we ever put the deal under contract and I let them know we agree on our percentage and kind of move forward. And then that percentage of then of the acquisition fee or sorry that percentage of the capital raising portion is then paid out through the acquisition fee.
Ash Patel (09:01.918)
Okay, so you get a cut of the acquisition fee and then you get a percentage of the GP based on the amount of capital that you bring in. Okay and listen, this is a great model when the market's going up, you look like an absolute rock star because a lot of people who their only alternative was a third party money manager or the stock market, right?
Whatever they chose to invest in, they don't have access to a lot of these alternative investments. So you're everybody's friend when the arrow is going up and to the right. Have you encountered situations where deals maybe didn't go the way they're supposed to or there's pause distributions?
Anders Jacobson (09:45.533)
Luckily, I have not yet. I've been extremely selective. All the operators that I've worked with are ones that I had invested with on my own. So I'd put my own money at risk before I brought it to any of my investors. And I'd seen how they operated, how they communicated, how their underwriting was, whether it was super conservative or super aggressive, and try to be very, you know, have a very low risk tolerance when choosing, you know, partners. And so luckily we haven't ran into that yet where we haven't had pause distributions and we haven't had really any major issues that we've run into.
Ash Patel (10:30.37)
Do you negotiate a higher return for your investors versus all of the other retail investors that just happen to find this indicator?
Anders Jacobson (10:40.241)
Um, yeah. So we actually have a, um, fund right now. We've negotiated a higher return for our investors. Um, and it's a short-term rental fund. So yes, we, we're always trying to negotiate higher returns from my investors, kind of give them that, that carrot to invest with us rather than directly through the operator and the operator loves that as well.
Ash Patel (11:05.462)
What is the one key factor you look for in an operator when you're considering investing?
Anders Jacobson (11:14.033)
Um, that's a tricky one. I would, I would say track record is huge. It's really hard for me to partner with a brand new operators just because I want to see their deals, how they've gone full cycle. Um, what their initial projections were, uh, compared to actuals. So I would say track record is, is the biggest, you can't really, you know, BS your way around the track record and the results.
Ash Patel (12:29.686)
All right, Anders, I gotta ask you a question. In terms of presenting deals versus selling them, now there's a fine line there and it's more than just presenting. You've got a sales background of 13 years. Give me a really good description of how much you're selling versus presenting because everybody wants to close, right? Nobody wants the hard pitch, but you gotta offer some encouragement. Walk me through that process. If I'm somebody who's lukewarm on investing, yeah, you know, we'll talk about it, or, you know, tell me more, send me some information in the mail. What are some tactics that you use to close deals?
Anders Jacobson (13:20.373)
That's a great question. So the thing that I always am searching for in sales or now in real estate is you gotta find that massive pain. What are the pain points that investor has felt? And every investor has felt something along the way.
Every person has felt that pain when it comes to finances. Maybe they have a job that they have a fixed amount of income they're making or maybe their portfolio they've invested through a financial advisor and it's not growing the way they want it or they have a 401k and they can't touch this money for a long period of time. So you just got to find out what they like and don't like and where those pain points are and then hit on those. The great part about real estate and why I love it and why I'm focused on it now is because I don't feel like I'm really selling any property.
The numbers and the industry in this vehicle really I feel like is the best in the world. It's the most consistent, most dependable and that's why I love it. And so it's really I'm trying to help them make a decision, not trying to sell them. Nobody wants to be sold. I walk into a shoe store and.
They say, hey, what are you looking for? I say, oh, nothing, I'm just checking things out. Even if I know exactly what shoe I'm going there to find, because I just don't wanna be sold a product. It's just kind of a natural human instinct. And so I'm really, my job is just to help them make a decision, not trying to sell them on a property.
Ash Patel (15:04.338)
Let's replace the word sales with encouragement. So we've established sales is a dirty word, but I got to share a story. You know, back in the day, if I had a vacancy for a restaurant or a retail space, I would simply present it. You know, I get a call from a potential tenant. They come in and they look at this restaurant, they take measurements and. Okay. I'll get back to you. Or I've had people, you know, ready to write a check.
And I say, okay, let me send you the lease and then we'll meet up for signing it in the check. And all of that was a failure on my part because I should have offered a lot more encouragement, right? You know, I had people that were so excited when they saw the space and they knew it would work for them. And then they disappeared. Excuse me.
And in hindsight, if I had said, hey, you know, how can you envision the flow of this space? What kind of boutique items or furniture would you put in here? You know, what kind of food would you serve if this was your restaurant? What would the menu look like? You get them to envision themselves in that space and become emotionally tied to that. Right. And again, I learned that much later than I should have. But in terms of those types of interactions, what do you do when you're presenting deals to potential investors.
Anders Jacobson (16:33.749)
I feel like it's all about the storytelling. So you have to really, when I find a deal or am partnering with the operator, I dig super deep into the story. Like how do we find this deal? Why is the seller selling? What do we do to make them interested in selling? Is it off market? Did a broker help us? Really, what's the story behind it? Why is it a win-win for both sides? And then figuring out how to tell that story.
So sales, it's all a storytelling, you know, industry. If you can tell a story, right, you can sell anything. And in real estate, there's always a story behind each property. For example, we just bought a property just outside of Charleston, South Carolina, and it was one of the best stories ever. A family had owned this property for 40 years, and we came in and they said they'd received over a hundred calls every quarter from brokers trying to buy this property.
And we were lucky to have a partner that lived in the area and made a personal connection. And they said, yeah, we're not really interested in selling, but we were able to have our broker get in touch with them and say, what if we can buy this property and you make the same amount you're making now through seller financing? We pay you a monthly payment, you have the same profit, but we take it off your hands, you have no risk.
And we were able to do that. And this story that this family had owned it for 40 years, this daughter was managing it all by herself, rents were $1,000 a month below market. That's the story that we're able to kind of craft and tell our investors that really, get them interested and help them, encourage them across that finish line, like you said.
Ash Patel (18:28.166)
What are some pain points that you've addressed and solved through real estate investments for your investors?
Anders Jacobson (18:35.693)
So again, I'm focusing on door to door salesmen and entrepreneurs. So as a salesman myself, I had these same pain points where I was constantly working for money. And only money that was coming in was commission based off the sales that I made. And so every day I was waking up back at zero. I could have the greatest sales day ever. I could sell seven, 10 solar accounts.
And then the next day I wake up back at zero. And so it was just this constant kind of hamster wheel and cycle. And so many salespeople, you know, deal with the same, same thing. They're, they're great at what they do. They make a lot of money, but it's just this constant kind of groundhog's day experience and they're only making money if they make sales and so being able to help them get their money into a vehicle that's passive where they don't have to put any of their time energy into it. And they are still able to receive, you know, income stream. I'd also receive tax benefits. It's really an amazing experience and really fulfilling for me. Um, and so that's, that's the biggest pain point. I think we would focus on.
Ash Patel (19:52.698)
Anders, at some point you run out of friends and family. And I would imagine you've got a lot of friends with being in sales, but at some point you run out. What are you doing to attract new investors?
Anders Jacobson (20:05.433)
So there's a few ways I run the multifamily meetup group here in the Raleigh area. Also have started to get super active on social media. That was something that definitely out of my comfort zone, not something that I did before, but am now very active on LinkedIn specifically, sharing my story, sharing free knowledge information to potential investors who can get that connection with me and see if we're a good fit. So social media and then in-person events are definitely top of the list as well.
Ash Patel (20:46.53)
Do you walk a fine line on social media? Are you a registered 506C?
Anders Jacobson (20:53.277)
We do 506B and 506C offerings, so have to play that game where if it's a 506C, we're not just blasting it everywhere, but we do advertise a little bit there. The 506B, obviously, we don't at all and are only working with investors that we have prior relationships with. So yeah, a little bit of both.
Ash Patel (21:19.27)
What's been your experience on LinkedIn to get the most traction?
Anders Jacobson (21:25.533)
I think being just a little bit vulnerable with your story and just really sharing what your experience has been. So for me, sharing a lot about my sales history and the hardships that I went through and why real estate really was that answer that I was looking for, that's gotten me the most traction because people can really feel that emotion and can relate to it. And they can really sense, I think, whether you're being honest or you're just posting stuff just to get them into your lead funnel.
Um, so really trying to be genuine and honest and, uh, vulnerable in some cases to, uh, to share your story on.
Ash Patel (22:17.186)
What are the biggest mistakes do you think people make on LinkedIn?
Anders Jacobson (22:23.785)
I see so many accounts that are just extremely salesy, right when I see it, it turns me off a little bit, kinda like when you walk in the store and you just don't wanna be sold, right when they walk up to you and ask if you're looking for anything. I see a lot of posts on LinkedIn that are just kinda right in your face. I think just again, telling your story is the best route rather than just pitching people nonstop every day. Because eventually, people get sick of being pitched a deal.
Ash Patel (23:01.63)
Yeah, I think adding value in solving problems, right? Solving those pain points. So, you know, I remember I was struggling with time management. I'm sure I had a post where I shared something I'm working on, something that worked for me. Um, and then sharing wins. I think you got to do that with a grain of salt. If you share, I hate seeing the posts where just closed. Awesome. Like that's great.
But, you know, how about we close this deal and here's the biggest lesson we learned. Or this almost didn't happen because this happened. Make sure you don't encounter this issue. So adding value, I think is very important and solving pain points. Right. Um, if you overcame a mindset struggle, throw that out there on LinkedIn and share that struggle and share what you did to help others.
So I agree those genuine posts are great and the hey look at me posts get really old.
Anders Jacobson (24:04.885)
Yeah, I agree. I mean, adding, adding value, just like you said, sharing your experience and just saying, Hey, this is where we went wrong. These are ways that we, you know, found a solution to the problem, um, are definitely key in those posts, because if you're adding free value, then people will be drawn to that because you're not asking for anything in return. You're saying, Hey, I'm going to give you this free content, this free value. And eventually.
People naturally don't want to take things for free. They want to, you know, exchange values. So they say, all right, if you're gonna keep giving me this free content and I'm gonna keep consuming it, eventually, you know, maybe I wanna give you something back for all the free content that you give me. And that's where they, you know, reach out and are interested in investing.
Ash Patel (24:53.182)
If somebody reaches out to you on LinkedIn, what's the process from there? They send you a message. Hey, tell me more.
Anders Jacobson (24:59.237)
Yeah, I first thing I want to do is just hop on a phone call with them. Uh, I like the personal touch and just the communication. I want to hear their story, you know, what's been good for them, bad for them. So I'll hop on a phone call and if we feel like it's a good fit, um, and they'd be, you know, uh, an ideal fit for our investor club, then we'll add them into our club and they'll start getting access to the opportunities that we come across.
Ash Patel (25:26.666)
What is the club? Is it just your email list of potential investors?
Anders Jacobson (25:32.669)
Yep, email list. There's newsletters, there's free content, free value, of course. And then we're starting to develop more with that club where there's potential meetups, in-person events that we offer as well.
Ash Patel (25:56.822)
What's some of the free value that you offer?
Anders Jacobson (26:00.349)
So many of the people who join our investor club are brand new. They've been in sales for, again, entrepreneurs that they've never invested in real estate. Most of their experience is just in the stock market. And so I really, from my sales background, always valued simplicity. And so we really break down what certain definitions are in this industry made up these random words to try to sound smart. I'm convinced.
So many people don't know what anyone's talking about when they are reading an article about a syndication or someone's trying to mark us a Milchapp or trying to explain something in an article. It just goes over their head. And so I really try to break down what these definitions are, try to make it as simple as possible so that their eight-year-old, 10-year-old kid could watch the video or read the article and understand what's going on.
Ash Patel (27:02.742)
What's the biggest mistake you've made in your real estate career?
Anders Jacobson (27:09.722)
Uh, made a lot of them, but the biggest one I would say is investing in a market that I was not, uh, you know, in close proximity to with, uh, very tenant friendly laws. So I got into a property that was an absolute nightmare. And because the laws in the state were very, you know, leaning towards the tenant. It was a painful property for me for a lot of time until I sold it.
Ash Patel (27:46.482)
Anders, I would imagine we have a number of best ever listeners who will tell you, I'm not comfortable posting on LinkedIn or any social media. I'm a private person. But at the same time, they might be great operators and they might be able to benefit by getting investors on board. What's your advice to those who tell you, I'm not big on social media. I'm private. I, all those excuses. How would you encourage them to put themselves out there on social media?
Anders Jacobson (28:18.985)
say it's a limiting belief, just kind of breaking through that barrier. One of my mentors asked me the question, he said, why are you getting on social media? He said, are you a consumer or are you a producer? Because if you get on there and you just scroll, he's like, you're really not getting much benefit. And he's like, but if you can produce and really add value to other people's lives, you're making an impact on who knows how many people. And so.
Yeah, I think people enjoy sometimes seeing what their high school buddies or college buddies are doing and just keeping in touch. But are you really adding value by posting about your family's awesome vacation compared to teaching them or adding value of telling them what you're doing and the mistakes you've made, the problems you've been able to solve. I truly believe it's more beneficial to those in your life and those out there in the world. And so do it, push through that limiting belief and just start doing it. And it starts to become a lot easier.
Ash Patel (29:28.802)
Good answer. What is your best real estate investing advice ever?
Anders Jacobson (29:35.337)
Get in the game. Everyone wants to wait. And the best time to get in real estate is now. Definitely get educated. Learn as much as you possibly can. But start now. Because the sooner you start, the sooner you can start adding properties onto a conveyor belt. And you can start gaining that passive income, the appreciation, tax benefits.
And you'll learn once you once you dive in, you're going to learn a lot very quickly, um, a lot more than you can from listening to podcasts or reading books.
Ash Patel (30:15.178)
What is one thing that you do to get in the right networks? Surround yourself with the right people. How do you do that?
Anders Jacobson (30:26.353)
Some of it was luck to begin with. I just kind of randomly connected with people at events, but I would say go to real estate events, get in person with people. That's the best way to network. And you can ask them, those who have been successful and say, hey, are you a part of any group? Is there any group that I should be joining or a part of?
And people in this industry I've found are, they're go-getters, but they're also go-givers. They're happy to share and help you because they were once in your shoes. I was once a newbie, didn't have a clue what I was talking about, didn't understand anything in the multifamily space, and now I've learned a lot. Definitely not the smartest in the industry, but I'm happy to give back and share because people did that for me.
Ash Patel (31:21.314)
Have you gone to the best ever conference or are you planning on going?
Anders Jacobson (31:25.509)
I am planning on going. I have not gone. I actually planned to go last year and then I have a one year old now but had a newborn and he was super sick last year and I had to cancel plans but yes I planned to go.
Ash Patel (31:39.546)
Yeah, in terms of networking, it's probably the best real estate networking event that I've ever been to. And it's cool because there's not a bunch of people selling stuff, right? Really, no one's selling anything. It's there just to network. I mean, so good, man. I'll see you there. You ready for the best ever lightning round? All right. What's the best ever book you recently read?
Anders Jacobson (32:04.457)
Who not how? By Dan Sullivan.
Ash Patel (32:07.734)
Yeah. What's the best every way you like to give back?
Anders Jacobson (32:11.965)
We like to do service our family locally. Yeah, we like to go and do service projects. Also again, give free education, free content, doing a local meetup, it's not paid.
Ash Patel (32:26.27)
And Anders, how can the best ever listeners reach out to you?
Anders Jacobson (32:30.225)
Best way looking up on LinkedIn is easy or you can go to our website at Brighton capital.io just click join the club put in your information you'll get an email or you can set up a call directly with me.
Ash Patel (32:43.514)
Anders, thank you for your time today sharing your story. It came out of a 13 year sales career and you just started randomly investing as an LP into real estate deals, brought your friends and family along and now made it into a career. So great story, man. Thank you for sharing it.
Anders Jacobson (33:00.681)
Thanks, Ash. Appreciate you.
Ash Patel (33:02.55)
Hey, best ever listeners, thank you as well for joining us. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a five star review. Share this podcast with someone you think can benefit from it. Also follow, subscribe and have a best ever day.
