From retired airline pilot to multimillionaire real estate investor, Chris Strayve’s journey is nothing short of inspiring. In the first part of our multifamily millionaire series, you’ll discover how Chris increased his net worth 15 times through strategic multifamily investments.
This post is the first segment in a series where we highlight everyday people who turned their dreams into reality, showcasing their inspiring stories. Today, we interview Chris Strayve, our student whose net worth increased fifteenfold through the power of real estate investing. In this interview, Chris, a retired airline pilot, shares his journey, the challenges he faced, and the opportunities he sees today in the commercial property market.
Meet Chris: From Airline Pilot to Multifamily Millionaire
Peter: I have a very special guest here with us today. Chris Strayve, he is a longtime student of ours, multi millionaire, and he’s here with us to share his story today. Thank you, Chris, for joining us.
Chris: It’s great to be here always, Peter.
Peter: I recorded you a few years ago and a lot of this happened and changed since then real estate wise. I want to catch up with you, but before we do that, Chris, so our audience doesn’t have to go back and watch the original videos, can you give us a little clip as to your why?
Chris: Sure. Way back in 2016, I had four years to go to retire from the airline and I was chatting with my wife, and we were looking at what we had to retire on. It was all in one place. It was a 401k with my company, and we concluded that we needed to diversify a little bit in order to have a better foundation for our retirement.
I remembered the story of my dad. He went into commercial property right after he finished his 30 years in the Navy; went into a freshwater supply plant and sewage facility that he built with three other guys and ran it for a few years and sold it to the city for quite a sum. It was commercial property, very odd section of that industry, but I remembered that. So that’s what the key was. I realized number one, that I didn’t know anything about commercial property and that it would involve some dollars quite a bit over time.
So, I needed to find someone who could help me. To make a long story short, I scoured books, websites, saw some of your publications from before, and gave you a shot and several others. After several interviews with you and some of your team, our relationship began. I’m so thankful that I went with you as my mentor and I’m so much better off with greater diversification for my retirement.
Chris’s First Multifamily Property: 90-Unit Multifamily
Peter: Awesome, thank you for sharing that with us. So, what did you purchase under our mentorship?
Chris: The first, property I purchased was a surprise to me and I think to you also. It was a 90-unit multifamily property, probably a little bit large. We talked about that a lot when we started off together, the pros and cons. So that was my first property, a 90 unit multifamily here in the greater Houston area.
Peter: You bought it for what? $3,050,000 I believe? Something like that, right?
Chris: Yeah, just a smidgen over $3 million.
Peter: And today it’s worth about $4 to $5 million?
Chris: Close to 5 million, that’s correct.
Chris’s Second Property: 170-Unit Boat and RV Storage
Peter: And then from there, you refinanced, pulled all your money back and then you wanted to do the next deal. Share with us the next deal.
Chris: Sure. The complexity of buying the apartments was such that I wanted, like you said, to refinance after a year. And I wanted to diversify into something different other than multifamily just to have a greater foundation and commercial property. I got interested in storage and nothing really happened from 2017 till two years later in July. Having followed your advice to develop relationships with brokers and financers, investors and banks, one of them called me. I had probably at that time about seven brokers that were always sending me deals. Within a few hours, I was at the site about 20 minutes from my house, and it was a 170- unit Boat and RV storage facility. I called you and we started talking about the differences in this type of property, different nuances, things to be careful about pros and cons, et cetera, many times.
Financing
And so I turned in an LOI, then we got a contract and ended up buying it in December of 2019. So basically, three years after I bought the apartments, we bought the storage facility and then did a huge expansion and doubled it’s size a year and a half later using an SBA loan.
Peter: With basically no further down payment?
Chris: Right. They took my experience from the apartments, which was only three years, but things had gone so well, and it was just a blossoming profit loss statement at the apartments, and they liked that. The SBA loan was very good. It was a variable rate and then the expansion was with the SBA through the same bank that to help me buy it.
The Importance of Relationships in Real Estate
Peter: So, you doubled the size of the storage facility and then you were able to bless your family by having your daughter manage the entire facility.
Chris: Yeah, that gets back to an important point, Peter, because you talked about relationships being the golden thread through all commercial property. We got down to 4 people bidding on the storage facility and you had suggested writing a personal letter to the owner. I did, and it mentioned that my daughter was going to be the manager, and this would be a family business. Like it had been since the 1970s when the seller’s dad had started it. Her dad had passed on and she was selling it for the family.
So, that was so wonderful for her to see. And she’s gone by and seen it several times since she sold it to us. It was almost a personal relationship, we developed a good relationship, which really helped seal the deal for us. And it was sincere. So yes, Margie continues to run it. She’s doing an outstanding job and it’s been great for me because I can oversee it so that I don’t be hands on.
Purchase Price and Expansion
Peter: Absolutely. Do you mind sharing the purchase price and then now after doubling the size of it in several phases, what is it worth now?
Chris: If you’d asked me that question before the Fed had raised interest rates! The combined buying and then expansion comes to $4,000,000; roughly$ 2,000,000 or so to buy it, and then another $2,000,000 to expand it. We went from 170 units to, I think, the way Margie has it configured now, it is about 306 units.
New Value
We get offers every other day from all over the place to sell it. At the old cap rate in before they raised rates two years ago, I could have sold it for like $11.5 to $12 million, just due to the massive income that it had. The net operating was incredible, and the cap rate was so low and now that’s changed. Now I would be humble and say probably $9,000,000. So, we have four into it and it’s more than doubled since 2019.
Achieving Financial Freedom: Life Changes as a Multimillionaire
Peter: Great job. All right, Chris. Next question is, now that you have achieved what we call multimillionaire status, what has changed in your life and outlook?
1. Less Financial Stress
Chris: Well, there was a certain level of de-stressing because we diversified, which was our goal, and we continue to do that. We anticipate selling the apartment complex and doing something else with the net proceeds. So, we’re continuing to work in commercial property, which has changed my life because I enjoy it so much.
2. Productive and Rewarding Retirement
When you retire, you need something to do and I love the business and it’s very productive, obviously. And so that’s the practical side. It’s the mental side. I have had the opportunity in two other neat areas. I’m helping a young man who’s in his twenties that wants to get started on a very small-scale commercial property. I thought, well, I could do that as personal friends. And so, I’ve started doing that. That’s gives me great joy. I just love passing down what you’ve shown me over the years, which works. So that’s great.
3. Giving Back
The other thing is, Kim and I have certain nonprofits we like to contribute to. Some are religious, some are not, and then helping some extended that need help financially. So, we are able not only to continue that level of giving to others in need and others involved in things we value, but also to increase it. Which is phenomenal for me. I am retired now and we’re able to share more of our wealth than before I retired. So, it’s kind of a holistic, good experience for us.
15X Increased Net Worth
Peter: You mentioned increase and you and I spoke last week, and you were sharing with me what your wealth has increased a certain X number. Do you mind sharing what that is?
Chris: Oh, I don’t mind at all. Our net wealth today would be about, with the current values, would be about 15 times.
Peter: Incredible! With the decision, I’m not going to say simple decision, but with the decision of taking all the years of work with the airlines, all the retirement savings and putting it into commercial properties.
Chris: We did borrow against our 401k a couple of times. We didn’t take it all of course, that wouldn’t have been prudent, but we did do that and like you had advised me, other people’s money is out there. I sure went after it! I did what you told me, and I contacted the hard money people. And they helped me with the apartments. They were good people out of Dallas, and they wanted me to succeed. They visited a lot, and it was great. Not all hard money lenders are like that, but you taught me how to discern and how to filter out. And then of course you said get some creative financing from the owner, which I did. And as you mentioned earlier in this video, a year later, I wanted to put all that together into a standard loan
Chris’s Pearls of Wisdom
Peter: Awesome. Thanks for sharing that. Next, I was wondering if you could share a few pearls of wisdom. Our channel is for beginners and intermediates, some advanced and what you’ve achieved in the last few years is incredible. I know you learned a lot over those years because I’ve been with you the whole time. Could you share Chris’s pearls of wisdom?
Pearl #1: Get an Experienced Mentor
Chris: Yes, I want to emphasize what I’ve emphasized before, and that is, you need a competent, dedicated, committed mentor in your back pocket. If you haven’t done this business in the past, and even if you have, and you think you need a mentor, YOU DO and you should get one. Of course, I went with you and you went with me and you did your due diligence when you were looking at me and what my motivations were and what I was bringing to the table before you brought me aboard. And I appreciated your doing so.
Accessible Mentorship
So, you must have a good mentor, an accessible mentor. That’s something I always emphasize. Of course, the foundation is your experience, Peter: your good experiences, your not so good experiences, and your willingness to share them and articulate them in such a way that it helps me right now.
I can remember, and I thought about this this weekend, was that the number of times I’ve contacted you and you’ve gotten back to me very quickly that day or the next day, either by a phone call or a, an email and then setting up a phone call later to really go over what I needed. You were accessible. It was almost immediate, and it always worked.
Listen to Your Mentor
I’ve shared with you, there were five times in the last nine years that I almost made a decision that you didn’t recommend. And in some of those, you said, well, you could do this or this, but I would recommend this. You gave me the leeway, of course, to go my direction, whatever that would be. I always went with you. Five times I didn’t want to, but I did. And I don’t even want to think about what would have happened since then; the consequences if I hadn’t listened to you. So, you need a great mentor who’s there for you, who’s really investing in you because they want you to succeed and have the joys of successful commercial property investing.
That was critical for me. And you’ve always been there for me, and you don’t hesitate to level with me, to be honest with me, when you agree and disagree. Some of those decisions would have lost me several hundred thousand dollars had I not done what you said. So, I just say mentor, mentor, mentor. Go with Peter Harris, he’s proved himself to me. Great experience, great accessibility, who will dedicate himself to seeing you become successful. That’s the greatest pearl right there.
Pearl #2: Cultivate Key Relationships
Peter: Thank you for sharing that. How about another pearl of wisdom from you Chris?
Chris: Sure. This on kind of surprised me, but you shared it very early on before I bought anything. And that is a commercial property is about relationships. When you get a deal and you close it, everybody’s happy on both sides of the table. That was new to me because I always thought, you got to have winners, and you got to have losers. And it’s not true. Really you strive for everyone to come out. At least content and glad the deal went through and so I kept that in mind, and it really helped me and my relationships with brokers, with bankers, with the hard money people, with the sellers, and now with someone who’s buying the apartments.
What that has given me is it cultivated a consistent pattern of communication that the other party picks up on, the fact that I want this to work for their good and my good. It really helps smooth the way and get past a lot of hurdles early on. You develop a bank of relationships; of people you can go to for other people’s money in the different avenues and the different sources because you have relationships.
Yesterday I got some deals from a particular broker in the target area I have for my next project. And he’s feeding me stuff and he’s giving me good deals to look at. I want to do a 1031 Exchange when the apartments sell, so I have to be ready and you’re guiding me in that right now, which I appreciate. So, relationships, relationships, relationships, and be positive. If you see relationships that aren’t going the direction they should, you might want to think about fixing it or backing out. There are so many deals out there.
Pearl #3: There Are Opportunities in Every Economy
If I may add one more pearl, and you have it in your manual, the cycles of commercial property: Are you going to buy? Are you going to sell? Can you do both in this market and all that sort of thing? And right now, commercial property is really getting hit hard because of extremely high interest rates and bank issues. But there are so many sellers now they’re in my neighborhood and up here in my target area, because what you say in your manual is true. The economy is always good for commercial property. You just need to know what side of the table to be on and what to pursue.
So, I just want to emphasize that there are always or buyers, just go out there and you find them. Also, like you had trained me so long ago, you’ll find people that will thank you for offering them the opportunity to talk about selling their property. They wanted to sell; they just hadn’t got to the point yet of recognizing it. You know, one of my brokers called and said there are 780 distressed multifamily in the greater Houston area and some of them are literally about to put their keys on the doorsteps to some of their banks. These are opportunities for us. So that would be my third pearl, hang in there, keep the fundamentals, keep doing what you’re doing and you will enjoy it and you’ll be successful.
Final Thoughts
Peter: Thanks for sharing those three pearls of wisdom. Those three are so true, Chris. Thank you for sharing everything. Do you have anything else you want to share with us?
Chris: Yeah, I would say stick with the fundamentals that Peter shares with you. Stick with the fundamentals, no matter where the economy is, and if you’re buying or selling, and don’t waver from them. And when you want to waver, call Peter, talk to him about it. Go with those weekly question and answer times that I used to just consume that helped me learn from other people learning to do this and from you. Stick with the fundamentals and you will be successful.
Summary
Under our mentorship, Chris’s first significant acquisition was a 90-unit multifamily property in Houston, purchased for slightly over $3,000,000. Today, its value has appreciated, and he has it under contract to sell for $4,900,000, with plans to do a 1031 Exchange into higher class multifamily or larger self storage property. A key strategy to note here is that after Chris had renovated the units and increased the rents and value, he refinanced and pulled out his down payment. So, Chris’s down payment and renovation costs have been recaptured.
Chris’s next major project was a 170-unit RV storage facility, where he doubled its size with an SBA loan, a milestone that marked a major turning point in his journey. The purchase price and renovation costs combined were $4,000,000. Today, its value has appreciated to nearly $10,000,000! This project not only increased his financial portfolio but also became a family business, with his daughter managing the facility.
Key Insights
Chris generously shared his wisdom, offering aspiring investors key insights into achieving success in multifamily real estate:
- Get an Experienced and Accessible Mentor: Chris credits his success to the mentorship he received, and his first pearl of wisdom is to get a mentor who can help you navigate the complexities of commercial real estate and prevent costly mistakes.
- Cultivate Relationships: Each step along Chris’s journey has been marked by building and nurturing key relationships. These connections, from brokers, bankers, other investors, and sellers, have been instrumental in facilitating lucrative deals and overcoming challenges.
- Seize Opportunities in Any Market: Regardless of economic conditions, there are always opportunities in commercial real estate. Understanding market cycles and knowing what and when to buy or sell is crucial for long-term success.
We have previously featured Chris in several videos. Check them out and discover all the details of how mentorship and multifamily investing increased his wealth 15X!
How Chris Became a Millionaire in One Year
Questions or Comments? Text PETER to 833-942-4516.
Every Successful Multifamily Investor Has a Mentor
Remember, the best time to buy real estate was five years ago. The second best time is today! Apply here and get mentored by me and my team: Commercial Property Advisors Protege Program
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