Leverage can be a good thing for your real estate business because it allows you to do a lot more than you can by simply using your own resources. But too much of a good thing can also be bad. As a new investor, you need to learn that you have to be careful with leverage because when you get overleveraged, that’s when you get into trouble. To actually run a successful real estate business, or any business for that matter, you have to build cash flow in one way or another. That’s what today’s guest, Dylan Tanaka, has to say to anyone who’s trying to build a real estate business in this rapidly shifting market. Dylan has been in the business for over 20 years, so he clearly knows what he’s talking about. In this episode, he talks about his observations and predictions of the real estate market in Metro Detroit and beyond, his ideas on the importance of relationships and active listening, and a lot more. Tune in to hear more of his insights! — Watch the episode here Listen to the podcast here Why It’s Dangerous To Be Overleveraged In Real Estate With Dylan Tanaka In this episode, I’ve got my good friend, Dylan Tanaka, here. Dylan, thanks for being here. Tim, I’m super excited to be here. It’s been a long time coming and I finally get to be in the studio and chop it up with you. Dylan, why don’t you take 1 minute or 2 to tell the readers a little bit about yourself? I’m from Metro Detroit. It’s one of my famous sayings. I’ve been investing in real estate for many years. I’ve done everything from single families to multifamily, borrowing money, lending money and everything in between. I start every episode with a segment I call the Bottom Line Up Front. When I was in the Marine Corps, if we were briefing the general, they always taught us to lead with the most important thing in case they had to get up and leave or something. What I want you to do is take two minutes and talk directly to the audience. What are some things in this market they should be focused on, paying attention to, things they should be trying to do or maybe some things they should avoid? Give the audience the bottom line up front. The most important thing that new investors need to learn and be very careful about is leverage. When you get over leverage, that’s when you get in trouble. We might be moving into a bit of a real estate shift. Everyone is talking about it. I haven’t quite seen all of those numbers come through, but since I’ve been around long before the foreclosure boom and then after those days, I know what happens if you get over-leveraged. Lesson number one is to make sure that you don’t get over-leveraged. It’s easy to do, especially if you’re good at finding lenders or private money. The second most important thing I would say is you have to be able to be nimble. We talked about this the last time we sat down. You have to be able to look in a lot of different directions. Business is not just one way. I’ve been in the business for many years and I’ve done almost every segment of single-family investing and a little bit of multifamily. It’s because the market forced me to do that. If I wasn’t able to shift myself, pivot and do different things like partnerships, taking on my deals, working things out with private lenders and all those different aspects of real estate investing, I’m going to end up failing. Let’s talk about that. I’m a lender. We were pushing some 80% loan-to-value products. The industry as a whole pulled back from that a little bit. If someone’s business is built on max leverage, what are some symptoms that are maybe diagnosed? Weakness is what it is. Most entrepreneurs will tell you this, not just real estate guys. “Cashflow is air.” You have to create that cash coming in. If you’re leaning on those lenders, always using their money and not having any of your own, there’s no cushion. We’re in Dallas, but we’re talking to people worldwide. Every market is different. It’s the thing that I always say, “When the tide goes out, they’re going to see who’s not wearing their bathing suits because it can get tough.” I don’t ever want to sound negative, but I want to be real. We all want to be in this business. I want every single person to be successful so do you. The better you’re doing, the better they’re doing and the better we’re all doing because a rising tide lifts all ships, especially as real estate investors. It’s hugely dangerous to be over-leveraged. As a newer investor or even someone who’s been in the business a long time, you’ve got to learn how to use your cash or bring that in somehow. In Metro Detroit, what are your areas of focus? You’re a hybrid agent and investor, so you play on both sides of the closing table as the advisor and execution. What are you personally focused on? I shifted myself a couple of years back and said, “This market has been crazy,” especially in Metro Detroit. We were talking about Jimmy Kimmel and Johnny Carson, which tell our age. He’s a lot older than me and I’m older than Tim. We were talking about the late-night guys and Detroit was the end of the butt of the joke or however that was. The city itself is better than it’s been my entire life and probably halfway through my parents’ life. I see values going up. I don’t think that even in Detroit or nationwide, we’re going to have that crazy slide that we did before because you and I both know that it’s much harder to get
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