April 19, 2021

RE #130: Scott O'Neill - From Broker to Owning $100M of Multi-Family

RE #130: Scott O'Neill - From Broker to Owning $100M of Multi-Family

Scott O’Neill is a Principal and Co-Founder of FSO Capital Partners. Scott O’Neill specializes in the acquisition, financing, syndication, and development of multifamily properties throughout Arizona. Since entering the Arizona market, Scott...

Scott O’Neill is a Principal and Co-Founder of FSO Capital Partners. Scott O’Neill specializes in the acquisition, financing, syndication, and development of multifamily properties throughout Arizona. Since entering the Arizona market, Scott has been directly involved as a principal in the acquisition, development, or disposition of over $15,000,000 of multifamily assets.

On this episode, Scott and Chris discuss his career in brokerage before pivoting into principal. Scott details his 100 cold calls per-day strategy to become successful right out of the gate as a broker, the founding of FSO Capital Partners, and his Ice Hockey Career. They also break down what the process of a multifamily deal looks like from acquisition to rehab and management. Scott also gives advice to brokers who are looking to move to the principal side of real estate. Enjoy!

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FortWorthChris

Learn more about Chris Powers and Fort Capital: www.FortCapitalLP.com

Follow Chris on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chrispowersjr/

 Follow Scott on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/Scottyo21

(02:12) - Scott’s Background

(06:07) - How did your father’s experience in the ’08 crisis impact you?

(08:41) - Scott’s Ice Hockey Career

(10:23) - How did you become successful right out of the gate as a broker?

(14:31) - Did you come up with this 100 per-day cold call strategy?

(17:24) - How do you think the pitch has changed from 2010 to 2021 in a market that’s clearly much better?

(19:12) - Is there a reason you were focused on small multi-family deals vs. “Elephant” deals?

(20:25) - What’s an All-Inclusive Trust Deed?

(21:16) - Carnivores, Omnivores & Herbivores

(23:15) - Scott Rounding Out His Broker Journey

(23:55) - Was there a deal in brokerage that you’ll never forget?

(24:50) - Did you ever run into Moses Kagan?

(25:46) - What is the usual ambition toward investing when it came to working with doctors and dentists?

(29:20) - What does FSO Capital Partners do?

(31:41) - What do you do and what do your partners do?

(33:10) - How do you find most of your deals?

(34:54) - What are you looking for to decide whether a deal is worth spending your time on?

(36:55) - How do you create value for a deal?

LIHTC - Low Income Housing Tax Credit

(39:46) - The Seller Perspective 

(40:36) - How do you get really comfortable with getting restrictions removed on a deed?

(42:34) - Why wouldn’t the seller go through this process themselves?

(43:39) - What are you doing with all the money you put into a property?

(45:46) - How long is the rehab taking?

(46:55) - How do you go about re-branding a property? 

(47:48) - Utilizing Bridge Debts and Raising Rents 

(49:54) - What was the interest rate on this deal and were there any covenants?

(51:14) - When do you start engaging with agencies to get a re-finance loan and how long does it take to get the loan?

(53:22) - How do you typically structure your deals?

(54:22) - 3rd-Party vs. Self-Management

(55:37) - How do you select management companies?

(56:24) - How do you think about growth going forward 

(57:34) - How are you set up to hold your 3rd-party property management partners accountable?

(1:01:17) - What excites you about the Phoenix & Arizona market?

(1:04:42) - What advice would you give to brokers who want to get in on the principal side?

(1:05:49) - Book Recommendations

Am I Being Too Subtle? - Sam Zell

Principals - Ray Dalio

Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki

Gary Keller - Millionaire Real Estate Agent

The One Thing - Gary Keller

(1:06:27) - What’s the best way for people to find you?

Twitter - www.Twitter.com/Scottyo21

Email -  Scott@fsocap.com

Phone - 310 365 4861

The FORT with Chris Powers is produced by Straight Up Podcasts