Jun 9, 2022
Building good relationships with your investors is a must for
Keisha. She believes that having a deal is a marriage.
You will be with them for several years, and creating that good
environment for them ensures that they understand before investing
in a deal.
Keishia is an army veteran with six years of service in the Army National Guard. During her enlistment, she was a Human Resource Specialist and also deployed to Kuwait as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. She has also pursued education by earning a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry as well as a second Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and a Master of Arts in Homeland Security.
Following her enlistment, she began investing in real estate in 2011 and has been expanding and managing her portfolio of properties for the past 10 years. In April 2021, she decided to take the next step on her entrepreneurial journey by founding Kennedy Remedy Investments. Kennedy Remedy Investments will focus on investing in commercial multi-family properties in Virginia, with plans to expand to other southeastern states.
[00:01 - 03:36 Opening Segment
- Keisha Kennedy focuses on multifamily real estate
- She started investing eleven years ago and has been successful so far.
- She is a passive investor who buys bank foreclosed properties and then invests in new multifamily properties
- Focusing on apartment investing and she thinks she can do it alone until she finds out about apartment syndication.
[03:37 - 15:32] How to Become a Limited Partner in Real Estate
- Keshia suggests educating yourself first before investing.
- Through syndication, a partner can have a faster growth rate than if they were to do it independently.
- General partner vs. Limited Partner: What’s the difference?
- General Partner is Active Investing
- Limited Partner is a Passive Investing
- Keisha does both
- Surrounding oneself with investors and picking deals based on personality
- Living the Luxury Life as a General Partner in Kuwait
- Keisha recommends becoming a general partner while living in a different country, giving you more perspective on the industry.
- Establishing good relationships with operators and investing in deals
- Keisha also shares how she started building her investor base
[15:33 – 18:26] Secrets to Keisha's Success: Building Financial Freedom and generational wealth
- The key to Keisha’s success is credibility and building a brand
- She emphasizes the importance of time blocking and auditing one's progress to ensure that they are making the most of their time
[18:27 - 20:17] Closing Segment
- Reach out to Keshia
- See links below
- Final words
Tweetable Quotes
“I believe in educating all of my investors first and foremost, prior to them investing in apartment syndication, because this is foreign investment for most. And a lot of people have never heard of it.” – Keisha Kennedy
“I built those relationships prior to investing with them. Because it's just like a marriage. If you're investing in a deal, you're with them for X amount of years. As long as the deal makes sense, as long as the numbers pencil, and as long as I have that relationship built over. And I really look through the deal. Then I will go ahead and share that deal with my investors and ensure that they understand prior to investing in the deal.” – Keisha Kennedy
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Connect with Keisha Kennedy on Instagram and LinkedIn. Visit her website
you may download The Beginners’ Guide to Investing as A Limited
Partner here:
Connect with me:
I love helping others place money outside of traditional investments that both diversify a strategy and provide solid predictable returns.
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Email me → sam@brickeninvestmentgroup.com
Want to read the full show notes of the episode? Check it out below:
[00:00:00] Keisha Kennedy: Massive action equals massive results. And because I'm putting in the work, that's how I'm seeing the results
[00:00:16] Sam Wilson: Kesha Kennedy is
the founder of Kennedy remedy investments. Her company focuses on
building strong partnerships with fellow passive investors in
multifamily. Keisha, welcome to the show.
[00:00:26]Keisha Kennedy: Thank you for
having me, Sam. I'm so excited to be here with you
[00:00:30] Sam Wilson: today. Awesome. Glad to
have you on the show.
[00:00:32] Three questions. I ask every guest who comes on the
show in 90 seconds or less. Where did you start? Where are you now?
And how did you get.
[00:00:39] Keisha Kennedy: Sure. I started
investing about 11 years ago in the residential space and I have
been still investing and I'm investing from a reside in a country
called Kuwait. I am from Richmond, Virginia, and currently I help
fellow investors invest in apartments through apartment
syndication.
[00:01:01] Sam Wilson: That is great. So 11
years ago you were investing in multi-verse give me a single. In
what capacity were you buying them as turnkey properties? Were you
buying them as, you know, buying them and managing yourself? What
did that look like for you?
[00:01:17] Keisha Kennedy: Yes. I started
buying bank foreclosed properties, so. Those are no longer in
existence, the prices that I was paying.
[00:01:25] Right. And I was self-taught and I figured it out on
my own. So my first property I paid $29,500 for it came with the
lot next door. And I invested in this property in 2011. The
property was built in 2010. So all I had to do was go in and pull
up the flooring, lay down new flooring and stick a for rent, sign
outside and figure it out.
[00:01:49] Sam Wilson: Wow. It was a year old
property you bought for $29,000. Now this was an REO or was this a
foreclosure at the auction block?
[00:01:58] Keisha Kennedy: Now this was the REO
through the bank. Wow. And it came with the lot next
door.
[00:02:05] Sam Wilson: That's crazy. That's
crazy. Why? 9,500 bucks you've replaced the flooring and put an REO
or put a for rent sign out front.
[00:02:13] Where did your business go?
[00:02:15] Keisha Kennedy: Yes. And so the next
year I said, man, this is pretty simple. Let me continue to grow
and to invest in other properties. And so the following year I
invested in another deal that was a bank foreclosure, and then
continued the cycle. And then last year I decided to, I wanted to
scale into apartments and I thought that I had to do it all
alone.
[00:02:36] And, but this. I'm not going to be, you know, I'm not
gonna figure it out on my own. I'm not going to be self-taught. I
went to educate myself. And so when I started educating myself
through podcasts, reading books, blogs, and joining Facebook
groups, I came across that little key term called apartment
syndication and realized that, Hey, I can have a partner in scale
much faster.
[00:02:59] And so that has been the key to success to scale so
fast within the last.
[00:03:04] Sam Wilson: What do you, what were
some things, you know, syndication is its own. It's its own kind of
sub world or subculture, if you will, because I was speaking to a
very successful single family investor here in Memphis, then. You
know, I don't know, 800 a thousand homes.
[00:03:19] And he goes, man, I still don't understand
syndication. I have no idea how that works. I mean, so there's a
lot of nuance to it, but I guess, were there some things that you
thought that certain things had to be in place or worked in a
certain way? That aren't actually how they work? That once you
figured it out, you're like, oh wait, this is very different
than.
[00:03:36] Keisha Kennedy: Yeah. So I assumed
of course that I had to be the one to sign my name on the loan and
on the debt. And that is not the case and it's called leverage. And
that's why I'm able to scale so fast. As I mentioned earlier
through apartment indication and just, you know, as a general
partner on a deal. Active in the deal.
[00:03:58] Whereas a limited partner is passive in the deal. So
limited partner investors, their capital, and the general partner
is active. And so I have invested both as a limited partner and an
active partner as a general partner. And so I'm getting the best of
both worlds at this point.
[00:04:18] Sam Wilson: Right, right. Yeah.
[00:04:20] You said you mentioned something about signing on
debt. I mean, as a general partner, You are signing on the debt in
some capacity, whether or not it's recourse or non-recourse is, you
know, I got something else to talk about. So is that one of the
things you've I mean, when you say leverage via syndications for
the debt side of things is that what you mean by that?
[00:04:38] Where you're able to bring in other partners that can
help you take it down and sign on the debt?
[00:04:43] Keisha Kennedy: Correct? Correct. So
we have key principles and sponsors that bring the net worth to the
deal. Right. And so that's what I meant by not myself, me
personally, I do not have to sign on the debt just yet. I'm still
building my net worth and eventually I will, but I'm so blessed to
partner up with people that are willing to sponsor and be a general
partner and a key principle
[00:05:04] Sam Wilson: in the deal.
[00:05:05] Right, right. Yeah. That's necessary, absolutely
necessary bringing on either a balance sheet. Or KPI's that have
the net worth to to make the deal go around. That's a that's really
cool. How did you get involved in your first deal? And tell me
about that experience, that process, why you decided that was the
deal for you deal as you passed on.
[00:05:24] Give us, they'll tell us about the first deal first.
Then we'll talk about deals. Maybe you've passed.
[00:05:28] Keisha Kennedy: Yeah, absolutely. So
I'll tell you about my first limited partner deal that I invested
in on. And then I can also tell you about the first co GP deal that
embassy and on. So the first limited partner deal was located in
Richmond, Virginia.
[00:05:43] I am from that area. And so that was the first deal I
invested in a year ago, back in may of last year. And so I was
still new to the commercial space. However, I had to educate myself
and understand the terms, cause it's just like speaking a second
language. And so I already knew the market. I knew where I was
going.
[00:06:03] I just had to understand how the numbers, you know,
work in the commercial space. And so. I consider it a home run
because you invest your capital in the deal. After two years, there
was a cash out refi. So I was getting a hundred percent of my
invested capital back. And then I was still remaining in the deal
until it's, it sells, you know, between year five and seven.
[00:06:28] And then there was an exit strategy. One of the exit
strategies is to sell each unit as. A condo. And so this was a,
no-brainer already had the capital just sitting in my account and I
wanted to make my money work for me and test out how it, you know,
the perspective of being a limited partner since eventually I
wanted to become a general partner.
[00:06:49] And so I was really excited about the deal I'm from
the area. And I knew that I would, you know, get my money back in
two years. So that was a no-brainer and I consider that a home run
for my first limited partner
[00:07:01] Sam Wilson: investment. Has that
deal
[00:07:03] gone as you expected?
[00:07:06] Keisha Kennedy: Yes, it has. It has.
And that has also allowed me to invest in other deals.
[00:07:12] So the first deal I invested in was 27 units in
Richmond, Virginia. the home run deal that I just mentioned. The
second deal I invested in was in Florence, Kentucky that same month
in may of last year, 81 units followed by two more deals, which was
student housing in July.
[00:07:28] So 19 units in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and then 24
units in Columbia, South Carolina. And those four deals I invested
passively as a limited partner. And then fast forward to October, I
had my first opportunity as a co GP on 56 units in Waco, Texas. So
this time I was more active in the deal, so I helped raise capital
and then I also helped asset manage.
[00:07:55] So that was my first coach GP opportunity alongside I
also invested as an LP and a month ago we close on 120 units in Des
Moines. And I invested both as a GP and as a LP. And currently we
are working on 174 units in Tulsa, Oklahoma. So I'm really excited
about that. Followed by a couple of other deals that we have in the
pipeline.
[00:08:22] So a lot has transpired within the last year. And
again, I am investing from Kuwait outside of the country. So I hope
this inspires you along your journey, whether you're on a journey
or you're thinking about investing in real estate and just remember
me that I am investing outside of the U S and if I can do it and
make it happen.
[00:08:42] So can you
[00:08:43] Sam Wilson: bright? Yeah,
absolutely. I love the I love the starting as a passive investor
first. I feel like that's where a lot of people should start. Cause
they ask me all the time, Hey, what's the, you know, if I want to
kind of grow bigger, it gets, you know, do some bigger assets. I
would say start as a passive investor, like start there.
[00:09:01] I mean, assuming you have the capital to do so to
great way to learn. Early on and get a front row seat to how deals
are packaged up. The things that people are doing, the investor
communication styles, like you get to learn so much, it's a pay to
play program. Yeah. But it's also pay get paid to play program.
[00:09:18] So, it's not a bad way to do it, especially if you're
halfway around the world.
[00:09:24] Keisha Kennedy: Yes. I love how you
put that in. And I also highly recommended as well. You know, a lot
of people want to be so eager to jump into the general partner
role. And I advise, you know, the same thing, go ahead and learn
from an LP perspective.
[00:09:40] So that way, when you are a GP, you can speak about
your experience and that also builds credibility.
[00:09:47] Sam Wilson: Yeah, well, for sure.
And you get to see, , what other sponsors are seeing, what they're
thinking, why, , why have they chosen to invest in this particular
market or this particular asset?
[00:09:58] And I think those, all of those are just little and
again, none of it's going to be the thing that's oh, this is the
pivotal moment, but it's going to be all the little building blocks
that help you along the way. How did you select. Your general
partners to be a limited partner with, out of the gate.
[00:10:15] I mean, that's five different, , student housing in
Scranton, Pennsylvania is not the same as an 81 unit in Florence,
Kentucky. Those are very different asset classes that I'm imagining
with different options.
[00:10:26] Keisha Kennedy: Yes, absolutely. So
out of the first four deals that I invested in as a limited
partner, three of them are under the same operator.
[00:10:35] And two of the student housing is under the, is with
the first operator that I invested in at, from Richmond, Virginia.
So. My thing is about relationships. Whether I'm eliminate partner
or a general part, I'm going to make sure that I like no interest
the operator. And I felt comfortable after the first deal.
[00:10:55] So I was even more comfortable investing in the two
student housing deals as well.
[00:11:00] Sam Wilson: Got it. So they were the
same operator. That's really interesting. How did you have
competence in this operator for student housing and multi-family
apartments? I mean, cause again student housing, especially seems
like a much more nuanced nuanced assets.
[00:11:15] Keisha Kennedy: Yeah. Yeah. So both
of the operators actually have experienced on the residential side
and in smaller multifamily units as well. One of them in particular
came from the hotel industry. So I was able to leverage his
experience and, you know, believe in him. It's all about trust,
like it, knowing who you are investing with prior to investing in
the deal.
[00:11:37] Right. So. I was comfortable in deploying capital in
the deal. The deal made sense. I did my due diligence, the numbers
worked. And so I executed and I'm so proud that I did because man,
the returns on that, because you know, you get to charge per bed
versus, you know, three bedroom, two bedroom in some really excited
when both of those deals exit.
[00:12:00] Sam Wilson: Yeah, no, that's really
cool. I love that. And now let's talk about the general partnership
side of things. I mean becoming a general partner while living in
Kuwait and working as, you know, as a, you're a veteran working as
a military contractor. I mean, at what hour of the day are you
doing this? And then how are you making sure that what you're
packaging up and bringing to your investor group is the right
answer.
[00:12:26] Keisha Kennedy: Yeah. So I am seven
hours currently. I'm seven hours ahead of Eastern standard time. So
right now, as we record this podcast, it is 7:19 PM here. So the
time difference is crazy. I'll be honest. There are some nights
where I'm up late. Early in the morning and even up in the middle
of the night, but it's how bad do you want it?
[00:12:48] Massive action equals massive results. And because
I'm putting in the work, that's how I'm seeing the results all the
way from another country again. And so I have to balance and manage
my time. I do a lot of time blocking. I do time auditing as well.
I'm a big believer in also working out I'm a bodybuilder.
[00:13:09] So I find discipline in that and it helps me, as far
as like my mental health and relieve stress and things like that.
So if I can beat myself mentally and the gym, then I can, you know,
face anything when it comes to adversity and challenges in life.
And so the military has also taught me to be disciplined and, you
know, go after what I want.
[00:13:31] So. I believe in educating all of my investors first
and foremost, prior to them investing in apartment syndication,
because this is a foreign investment for most. And a lot of people
have never heard of it. I didn't even hear about it. And so last
year to be honest, so I educated myself and so I want to educate my
investors first and foremost.
[00:13:51] And so I ensure that the deal makes sense. And it's
something that I personally wants to invest in. And once the deal
does make sense. And I built that relationship to work with other
general partners in the deal, because I built those relationships
prior to investing with them. Because it's just like a
marriage.
[00:14:08] If you're investing in a deal, you're with them for X
amount of years. And so as long as the deal makes sense, as long as
the numbers pencil, and as long as I have that relationship builds
over. And I really look through the deal. Then I will go ahead and
share that deal with my investors and ensure that they understand
prior to investing in the deal.
[00:14:31] And again, this is happening all the way from Kuwait
outside of the U S but I'm investing in the U
[00:14:36] Sam Wilson: S how has that worked
for you? So now this is a lot of questions, or, you know,
especially if those are scaling the question of how am I going to
raise capital? How am I going to build an investor base? How have
you gone about building an investor base?
[00:14:52] Keisha Kennedy: Yeah. So I started
with zero emails again. I started last year and I have an email
list of over 600 people and it took some time. It did take some
time. It took a lot of work. I post every day on social media. So I
use that platform to educate, inspire, and motivate as many people
as possible. And so, because I am speaking about my real estate
journey, I am attracting investors on a daily basis.
[00:15:23] I am also using a lead magnet. And then I'll also
mention previously that I had. So every month I have an educational
webinar. I started this back in January. And so I have guest
speakers that come and, you know, educate my investors on different
topics like this month, tomorrow, actually, we're speaking about
infinite banking.
[00:15:43] Back in January, we spoke about leveraging your
self-directed IRA and being able to invest in apartments. You know,
the next month we had spoke about investing in apartment
syndication and just walking through investors on. How they can
invest pass Libby passively in a syndication through a sample
deal.
[00:16:02] So again, I started with zero investors a year ago. I
am constantly being requested to come speak on podcasts because
people are blown away by how am I investing from Kuwait in the U S
and it's all about credibility, you know, building your brand. And
then I'm basically just using social media as a platform to, as I
mentioned earlier, to educate, inspire, and motivate, and just
speak about my personal journey in real estate.
[00:16:33] Sam Wilson: I love it. That is
awesome. Yeah. And I love the idea of time blocking time auditing,
and then just saying, Hey, how you know, what was your question?
You said earlier, how bad do you want it? And I think that's the
question that many need to answer when they're not seeing. Not
seeing results as well.
[00:16:48] How bad do you want it? And then take the necessary.
So, you know, get in the middle of the night and doing a webinar,
I'm sure is not priority, you know? Cause I guess that'd be,
especially if you have people in the, all, you know, you're doing a
seven o'clock or 6:00 PM webinar here in the central standard
time.
[00:17:03] That means you're up at one in the morning or no,
it'd be two in the morning for you hosting a webinar.
[00:17:09] Keisha Kennedy: Exactly, but it goes
back to Sam. It goes back to your why, you know, why am I doing
this? I'm doing this to not only help myself, but to help others
build financial freedom, generational wealth, you know, educating
fellow veterans.
[00:17:24] And you know, my, my target investors are fellow
veterans because I'm a veteran. My father was a veteran, my
grandfather, my great uncles. And then also minorities. There
aren't many mines. Minorities in this space, especially women. And
so I am being the voice to help others, you know, to acknowledge
and let them know that, Hey, I started from nothing and you can as
well.
[00:17:47] And so just helping, bridging that, that wealth gap
and continue to inspire, educate, and motivate others. I love
it
[00:17:55] Sam Wilson: . I love it. Yeah,
that's absolutely awesome. You know, that the idea that anybody can
do, this is just something that people certainly need to hear. I
had an interview with somebody else earlier this morning, and it
was nine years ago.
[00:18:06] They moved to the U S with 180 bucks in this. And now
he owns like $40 million in real estate. It's like, okay. He goes,
Hey man. You know what? Nine years ago I had nothing. I was broke.
But if I can do it, so can you, so that's really cool. Keisha,
thank you for taking the time to come on today and tell us what the
secrets to your success.
[00:18:25] And it sounds like a lot of it is. They get it done.
You put your nose to the grindstone, figure out your plan and go
implement it. And you've given us a lot of things here really, to
think about. So certainly appreciate that if our listeners want to
get in touch with you or learn more about you, what is the best way
to do.
[00:18:40] Keisha Kennedy: Yes. So I have a
free guide. It's the beginner's guide to investing as a limited
partner in apartment syndication. So if this message earlier
resonated with you, feel free to get it from my website at www of
course dot Kennedy, like the president, K E N E D Y. Remedy, R E M
E D Y. Investments with an S.
[00:19:02] So Kennedy remedy investments.com backslash. We are
the remedy to your investment. So that's the first thing. And then
the second thing is to reach out to me on LinkedIn. I love getting
on phone calls and getting to, you know, getting to know my future
and fellow investors. And you can find me on LinkedIn Kesha.
[00:19:23] K E I S H I A Kennedy. And I am also on Instagram, so
Kennedy remedy. And then of course on Facebook, we have Kennedy
remedy investment. So feel free to reach out and I would love to
connect with each and every one
[00:19:38] Sam Wilson: of you. It's a lot of
great ways to connect with you and we'll make sure that we also put
those in the show notes, Kennedy, excuse me, Kennedy Collie.
[00:19:45] He got me saying Kennedy. The last thing you said
Keisha, thank you for coming on the show today. I certainly
appreciate that.
[00:19:51] Keisha Kennedy: And thank you for having me. It was a blessed.