crebenmo

@DallasAptGP One of the most difficult things is explaining what we do. Imagine having to explain to someone that you help retail tenants with sale-leasebacks to strengthen their balance sheets, and then you sell those properties to 1031 buyers.

I’m often asked what I do. I usually say: “I’m in the apartment business.” In practice: --Investors partner with us to acquire neglected apartment buildings. --Our in-house construction team rebuilds them. --Our in-house property management team operates them long term.

@RandallHouseRE Congrats

First Sale of 2026: 62% IRR / 1.81x Multiple in 14-months. Flex Industrial in the right market remains strong.

@jt_ryder Spot on

Most people say they're 100% for cold outreach. Calls. Canvassing. Blasting the market. But if we're being honest (I will be), I've often stared at a call list thinking: - This person is too busy - This person already has an advisor - This person is above my pay grade - This person hasn't made a move in 20 yrs - Etc, etc. That's a smart, realistic view. And it's poison. You don't win the sales game by being right in the head; you win by ruthlessly killing your pessimism before it squashes someone's opportunity.

@jt_ryder Good reminder

Just make a call. When in doubt, make a call. When a deal falls apart, make a call. When a closing happens, celebrate with a call. When you think, “everyone is calling this person”, call. When you think, “what a wasted call this will be”, make the call. No call = I surrender.

@jt_ryder 100%

Warning for fellow CRE enthusiasts gearing up to hustle on the first working day of 2026. Everyone thinks CRE brokerage is all about hustle. It’s not. Hustle gets you commissions. Building systems gets you a career. The rookie lives on hustle. The pro stacks systems. You can thrive in the short term with hustle. You'll need sustainable systems for long-term growth.

@BobKnakal It's like Intellectual Property

Think you're selling an apartment building? Think again. Walk past any multifamily property and you’ll see bricks, mortar, windows, and maybe even a freshly painted lobby. But none of that is what you’re actually selling. What matters today isn’t what you see. It’s what you can prove. Thanks to the HSTPA (Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act), if you’re an apartment building owner in New York, your paperwork is more valuable than your penthouse views. You’re not selling a structure; you’re selling boxes of substantiation. Leases. Rent histories. Legal deregulation docs. If you can’t validate your rent roll? That building’s not worth what you think it is. And the most surprising? Even some of the most seasoned, sophisticated owners, RSA/CHIP members included, often don’t have airtight records. Every multifamily owner who even thinks they may sell in the next few years should conduct a full audit of their rent histories...now, not when a deal’s on the table and buyers start doing their own due diligence. Because in this market, the legal rent is the asset. Not the building.

@girdley What's the reason in your opinion? Why trucking?

There's no other industry where huge players fail so hard, so fast as trucking. I hung out with a guy who owned a 50-truck carrier. He drank like crazy the whole weekend and acted out. Now I understand why.

@girdley Has Wendy's gone down in your criteria?

Fast Food Restaurant Tiers Tier 1: • Chipotle • Chik fil A* • in and out burger • shake shack Tier 2: • McDonald’s • Taco Bell • Jimmy John’s • Panda Express Tier 3: • KFC • Subway • Burger King • Hunt Bros Pizza Tier 4: • Jack in the box • Popeyes • Church’s Chicken • Wendy’s

@LAMultiBroker congrats

Snuck one last deal in for 2025. Closed this 5-unit in WeHo yesterday for $1.4M. 17 days after hitting the market. Sourced an all-cash offer w/ zero contingencies from a client needing a 2025 closing (bonus depreciation). 53 years since it last sold! Happy seller, happy buyer.

@realEstateTrent What is the approx salary for an assistant?

Been about a month since I hired an assistant, and I’m dumbfounded that I spent all those years doing mundane things instead of focusing on the things that move our business forward. What a crazy blind spot, I’m glad I corrected it, and I’m looking forward to a new level of productivity in 2026!

@realEstateTrent Great pizza button

James runs pizza places in nyc. When the gala is over, he opens up one of his restaurants - and treats a lucky group to 2am pizza (in dresses and tuxedos). It’s epic - and it’s a much harder invite than the gala itself.

@ChrisRamsey60 You make money at the purchase , the sale later is a bonus

1. Learn real estate. 2. Get good at acquisitions.

@bavedikian When they realize no one wants it more than they do

Real estate owners often play the Grinch on deals that are close to the finish line. They fight over small concessions on tough spaces that have been vacant for years in the name of being disciplined. But a year later, when the space is still vacant, that "win" feels a lot like a lump of coal. Sometimes the smartest move is to stop being a Scrooge and just make the deal.

@girdley Something that will allow me to later do a sale leaseback with the real estate

You have to start a manufacturer in the USA meeting these criteria: - only private money invested - less than $1m startup costs - profitable by month six What do you pursue?

@MarkAllenMulti Cold calling is the only way

A 23-year old cold called me at 745a in late 2023. He had spent the last year at a local boutique multifamily shop and wanted to make a move. I often get emails or LinkedIn messages with interest like this, but this was the first time someone cold called me on my work line. In the initial interview, he was like a puppy one year out of college, but I could tell he was witty and fearless. We train as a team every other week, but my partner did 1on1 trainings with this broker once a week for a few months. The previous firm didn’t even have him licensed and just gave him a phone with no training. 2024 he make 15000 calls. The only times he takes a break is running down the road to Chipotle every day for a quick lunch break. He ultimately puts a deal under contract, and closes it before year-end to pay off his draw. He’s back at it in 2025 with a little more experience and training and still hammering out 300 calls per week after getting punched in the gut a few times. Relentless. He closed 4 deals this year, two of them yesterday, and he helped generate the company $1.3M in gross commission revenue. But you’re only as good as your last deal… Well, his 2026 pipeline is looking even better. He told me from the beginning that he was coming for the top broker spot, and I told him the door is open in our system if he’s disciplined and puts in the work. This guy may come running through that door.

@realEstateTrent Followed both

There are a couple of anonymous accounts on here that are totally unfiltered and a bit unhinged in what they say. I also know for a fact they are BRILLIANT real estate minds with very deep industry experience - which makes them among the most valuable accounts on this platform, by far. If you are in the real estate business, following them is a gift. They are simply the real deal: @EllliotttB @resetbasis

@realEstateTrent So true

The kid we hired for this role has now finished two years. I speak with him multiple times a day. He’s getting really good at the real estate thing. And yes he makes much more than $70k. Anybody who pushed back about this not being a good opportunity doesn’t understand life.

@BobKnakal Interesting, thanks for sharing Bob

Market Presence Means Going ALL-IN I talk to brokers all the time, veterans, rookies, everyone in between, and one of the most common misconceptions I hear is this: “Bob, I’m not a social media guy.” And I get it. When I started in this business, your Rolodex was your social network. Cold calls, mailers, networking events, those were the tools we had. And they still matter. I’m on the phone making calls every day. I send hard mail. I still believe in shaking hands and connecting in person. But today, that’s not enough. If you’re serious about creating true market presence, you can’t ignore social media (or any of the traditional methods like picking up the phone!). There are 165,000 investment properties across the four boroughs and 250,000 people who own them. You physically can’t call every one of them. You can’t meet them all at a networking event or a coffee shop. But if they see your posts, your insights, your deals, your thoughts on the market? You’re now in their world. They know your name. And as I always say: It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you. That’s what market presence really is. Making sure that when the perfect buyer, seller, or strategic partner is looking for someone in this business, you’re the first person who comes to mind. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by going all-in. Don't dabble. Commit. Because the moment someone’s looking for an expert in real estate… you want to be the one they already know. Thanks to @JamesNelsonNYC for having me on the Insiders Edge to Real Estate Investing Podcast. Watch the full episode here: youtube.com/live/FhnBgcFrW…

Christmas in Miami Beach is beautiful.

Financing a retail shopping center can make sense if the price is right. Refinance later when rates drop and win twice.