Donovan

Very long re-introduction for the new followers! - grew up to working class parents who each made no more than $25/hr (still some of the most incredibly hard working people though) - my two brothers (I’m the middle) and I all shared a room until we went to college - went to Univ of Tulsa for petroleum engineering (hated that we lived paycheck to paycheck growing up so googled the highest paying major and did that) - graduated 2019, accepted FT role in Houston at large o&g company (w/ $30k in student loans) - within a few months realize no way I can do that for 40 years (commuting, traffic, too tired when you get home to do much else) - search YouTube for “something” else (looked at dropshipping, tutoring, Uber, real estate) - no friends or family that own businesses or RE so began consuming large amounts of Biggerpockets content and set my sights on house hacking - April 2020 (23 at the time) close on a new construction duplex with 0% down loan (didn’t have any money) - Covid has hit, very tough to get it rented but got it done (rented it by the room instead) - Immediately realize there is not enough duplexes in Houston for the amount of the demand (took me 6 months of looking to close on one) - Put together a sh*tty presentation and began pitching investors in FB groups to invest w/ me - 40+ people tell me some version of “no” (rightfully so) - a 66 yr old doctor in NJ agrees to get on board (give him 85% of upside, no fees, give visibility into bank account) - close on first piece of land August 2020 - get two more investors from FB groups - (no idea what Im doing just winging everything) - only thing I felt confident in was the 25% margins (w/o leverage) - get up to 12 land parcels with 3 investors by early 2021 - first duplexes take about 50% longer than I estimated (why the he*l do I need a driveway permit before I can order my electric meters??) - mid construction on my first few is when I get more active on ReTwit - share what I’m working on and get a few more investors from here plus going to @REconveneLA - this is all on the side of my engineering job - leave engineering job to join an amazing start up (Jan 2022) in the resi lending space @build_Upright (currently raising $20MM debt fund w/ $14MM raised) - through 2022 and 2023 continue to rinse and repeat building mostly the same floorplans - currently finishing up duplexes 24 and 25 soon with 19 more in permitting + 3 townhomes under construction - closing on a small $140k revenue cleaning biz this month with @651Michael (follow him to keep up with that) I turned 27 in September my goal is to continue learning as much as I can over the next few years where building relationships > money at this point I’m hoping this pays off over the next 27 years as I sit here probably with less liquid cash then you reading this 🙂

@SMB_Attorney @smblawgroup With a capital B .. congrats!!

Four years ago today, we launched the first-ever social media-driven law firm, @smblawgroup. Here’s how it’s going:

@EthanMannCRE Let’s go 🔥

Last June 2025, we purchased a distressed office building w/ a parking garage (171k SF) in San Francisco for $28 million dollars ($164/SF) on 2nd Street in San Francisco. The building was 8% occupied at close. Since the acquisition, we have leased the building to 62% occupancy with lease negotiations to be at 80% in the coming weeks. I’m a proud investor in the building, and fortunate to work on the lease-up of the building. This building is tracking to stabilize at an 11%+ yield on cost. Office values have increased in the last year since acquisition, but I believe there is still great buying opportunities out there. If anyone is interested in learning about investing in the SF office market, please feel free to reach out. Q1 2026 office leasing activity in SF hit a historic high of 4.1mm SF with record positive absorption.

@DDrolapas Crazy part that is still significantly below replacement cost

8 unit apartment building in San Francisco for $346 per square foot Nobody wants it. 2 unit apartment building down the street for $415 per square foot There’s a line out the door.

@barmiyeh3975 I’m afraid I must

@DonovanBuilds Californian here- please don’t. No more ugly buildings.

Excited to bring these throughout California Completely by-right

@JMGregorchuk When rates are sub 4% you should raise as much money as humanly possible and literally buy anything

Today, I'm speaking with High School Seniors about Credit, Debt, and Borrowing. What is the biggest lessons they need to know?

This is one of my first 10 duplexes that I developed (always reminds me of chocolate milk) Whether you hate it or love it the market will ultimately decide by how slow or fast someone buys/leases it Moral of the story: ignore design suggestions from twitter

@remotecleanguy Are you using BK? How does that connect to everything else?

Most small businesses don’t fail from lack of effort. They fail from broken systems. Your CRM should talk to your scheduling. Your scheduling should talk to your payroll. Your ads should feed directly into follow-up. Every part should connect. Even A-players underperform inside chaos. Put A-players inside a well-oiled machine? That’s where the real money starts printing.

@BenBear SF realtors should just price things at 2x what they think it’s worth, right?

SF is the hottest real estate market in the country, with 88% of homes selling over ask in April. Today we’re launching TurboHome Markets: a free prediction game that’s basically Zillow × Polymarket. Predict what 5 homes sell for daily, learn the market with AI driven insights, and win prizes like World Cup tickets. Play for free at turbohome.markets or starting tomorrow embedded in @sfstandard's game section.

Huge opportunity in California generate a massive amount of property tax revenue ($67B over a decade) by allowing smaller lots From the @AEI Housing Market Indicators Webinar just now

@MSUKyleBrown 15% unless you’re doing it all yourself

New construction contracting biz for 6x+ - I'll pass Also they are showing ~40% EBITDA margin; what do we think the actual margin is?

@nickeyhorn @molzer Buy the ring!!

@molzer Buy the ring. @DonovanBuilds

I’m in love. She fills my heart. She challenges me. She shows me what I am doing can be, & will result in so much more. She wants the best version of me; and that’s rare… I’m in love With the game.

@ThinkAppraiser I agree not that bad but tax hell is directionally accurate

@DonovanBuilds I think that’s a little harsh, I think the majority of the country thinks that California is just a giant skid row peppered with Starbucks and homeless people

CA through the eyes of the average X user

@aussieflya @GoodGuyGuaranty Just stamp it and send it back 😆

@DonovanBuilds @GoodGuyGuaranty 24 hours to turn around coordination with all conflict resolved 🤣

As an eternal optimist This is bullish for developers Cities may still take longer to review my submissions but for the consultants we hire to make corrections (civil, structural, etc) I will expect <24 hr turnarounds on comments

@iv_houston @follard That’s you my man!

@follard You’re the man @DonovanBuilds

Hey friends, please meet my friend /the Duplex King of Houston / Duplex Donny / Donovan Adesoro. He has an incredible story. Never met someone who is so widely respected by his peers. While sub-institutional development is full of bad actors and cowboys, D is the real deal! Let's build! 🛠️

@follard Appreciate you!

@muszynski9 Exactly

@DonovanBuilds Try. As a smaller firm w 4 offices we maintain senior and principal level staff being key contributors to design especially early on. Large firms pass projects down the food chain to less experienced engineers

@mindofachaser Exactly smh

@DonovanBuilds All this quick tech only for some clown in a town office to take 3 months to review a project because it has to be on a certain size and thickness paper or needs to be submitted with the PE stamp on each individual PDF file vs all as one combined file. Lol.

@muszynski9 You are one of the few great engineers then!

@DonovanBuilds The design is rarely the problem with schedules and timing. Its always navigating jurisdictional process and nuance of the individual job. The underlying engineering work is almost less time consuming once its setup. We rarely make changes to design after prelims.