We are all about building generational wealth through real estate investing. And the reason we are such advocates for it and try to spread knowledge through The Executive REI Show is that it can profoundly change your life. One thing we love about this industry is that people with all backgrounds, all stories, all goals, and all paths can do this.
Our recent guest on episode 37, Ava Benesocky, is no exception. She’s the CEO and co-founder of CPI Capital, a Canadian company that partners with passive investors to acquire value-add multifamily real estate in the US. Through her various ventures, including CPI Capital, a book, and her YouTube channel, Ava is on a mission to bring the benefits of real estate investing to everyone.
Besides chatting about real estate assets and her story, Ava also shares how important it is to have an investor mindset and focus first on your health and well-being. These are just some of her secrets for success!
Ava’s Story: Go Big!
Before founding CPI Capital, Ava grew up and started her career in real estate in small rural town in the province of Alberta. She was initially highly successful in real estate because she was known and trusted in the small community.
Ava had big dreams though. She moved west to the large city of Vancouver, where she didn’t have any family, friends, or connections. Initial goals to take the city by storm fell flat—she didn’t know anyone, and real estate was a whole different game (think: housing prices 10 times higher than where she moved from!).
Not wanting to give up on big dreams, she networked and connected with her now-business partner. They built up CPI Capital, going first after a huge 250-unit for their investors. The company has continued to grow, giving Ava the chance to be involved in more initiatives such as supporting women in private equity and co-authoring a book, “From Ordinary to Extraordinary,” which inspires women to take action in real estate investing.
If we can learn one thing from Ava’s story, it’s this: dream big. Don’t let limiting beliefs stop you from going after big dreams!
Value-Add Real Estate
Ava’s company, CPI Capital, mostly invests in large institutional multi-family projects. They like projects with at least 350 units that are already built and have opportunities to add values. They invest through the syndication method, pooling money from investors to purchase these projects.
There are a few reasons why value-add projects are so desirable:
- On-site property and lease managers make day-to-day management easy.
- Adding value allows you to increase rents, therefore increasing cashflow.
- Due to the size of these buildings, small renovations can go a long way because they are multiplied by the number of units. Small investments equal huge increase in NOI (net operating income) and value.
Ava calls value-add multifamily homes “wealth building machines.” They offer great opportunities for people who want to be truly passive investors, allowing the syndication sponsor to do all the heavy lifting.
Build an Investor Mindset
Ava is an advocate for developing an investor mindset. It’s something she learned early on and tries to educate other people on.
Most of us follow the path we’ve been told: go to work, save your money, put it into a retirement account, and hope you have enough for retirement.
An investor mindset is totally different. It’s about asking where you can invest money that provides cashflow to protect you from sudden job loss. It also allows you to take care for your family in the long term. An investor mindset is one that seeks out opportunities rather than just following the status quo.
Here are the benefits of an investor mindset:
- Build generational wealth for the future as well as immediate cashflow.
- Exciting business opportunities that you may not have considered before.
- Live a lifestyle that you desire; once you’ve invested your money in sound investments, you can reap the rewards and enjoy your wealth.
An investor mindset is intentional. You must switch over from the status-quo way you were likely raised and seek out new opportunities to invest and build wealth.
Health First
We often focus on hard work and hustle—making real estate investing work for you. But what about the other side of things? Health and rest are just as important, if not more so. Ava emphasized how important it is to take care of yourself physically and mentally. If you are not healthy, how can you even enjoy your wealth and money?
Here are some things to remember when it comes to health:
- Taking care of yourself allows you to take care of and support others.
- Mental health is so important to make sound decisions and remove stress from your life.
- Physical health lets you enjoy life! If you want to build wealth to travel and explore, for example, you need your health to enjoy it.
We all know health is important. But this conversation with Ava was a reminder of how important it is—health is fundamentally important to achieving success through real estate investing, or any other business venture.
By putting your health first, you can become a better leader and investor. You will have the energy to enjoy all your hard work and the motivation to keep going forward.
Conclusion
Talking with Ava about building an investor mindset was so powerful. She has a lot of great advice and wisdom for investors, especially those interested in passively investing in real estate. Value-add multifamily properties are “wealth-building machines” and syndications allow you to simply invest and then sit back to watch the money roll in!
If you want to hear the full episode, make sure to click here or visit www.executivereishow.com. To connect with Ava, email her at ava@cpicapital.ca or connect on LinkedIn under Ava Benesocky. She is also offering a free copy of her co-authored book, “From Ordinary to Extraordinary,” so make sure to connect with her to claim it!
