Summary
Welcome to another episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast!
In this episode, Caleb Talley, Jeff Amerine, and Matthew Ward talk with Eric Shirley, the Director of Acquisitions at Four Oaks Capital. Eric began flipping houses in college before turning his focus towards multi-family complexes. A year and a half ago, he teamed up with a few of his biggest competitors to form a superteam of sorts. Caleb, Jeff, Matthew, and Eric talk about Four Oaks Capital’s three main pillars, educating investors to build trust, and which markets will be the next to get hot! As always, thanks for tuning in!
Shownotes
(1:44) Introducing Eric Shirley
(5:26) Purposefully partnering with investors
(12:23) Implementing systems to keep the machine running
(14:50) Predicting the next big market and what success looks like
(23:37) Teaming up with your biggest competition
(26:30) Anticipating challenges
(29:10) Finding accredited investors
(32:48) Advice for the younger self
(35:10) Wrap up
Links
Diary of an Apartment Investor
Quotes
“You could buy a house on a Friday. Two weeks later after putting a little work into it, you can make 40, 50 grand. It was my first taste of real estate.” (4:04)
“It was really just a product of need, knowing that what I was doing wasn’t going to fill my long-term goals, and that’s not the way I wanted to do it. So just looking for a more efficient way.” (5:11)
“At this point, we look at 100-120 deals a month. We’re submitting maybe 2 offers a month based on that deal flow. So, we sift through a lot of less than ideal opportunities to find the diamond in the rough, but that’s our commitment to our investors to find those kinds of unicorns that still exist.” (7:12)
“That was probably our biggest learning curve was kind of the systemization and the process implementation, and creating those from scratch. At the end of the day, I don’t want a business where I am the business. I want a business where when I stop being the business, it continues to run like a well-oiled machine. And those things don’t come without processes and procedures.” (12:52)
“I think for a lot of us that have had success in whatever facet of life, being self-aware enough to recognize where you’re weak is hard, and being able to not only recognize it, but then pass it off to someone else [who has that] strength, and having that trust and accountability. That took some learning, and we had to make some pivots internally of certain folks that we thought were going to be a better fit [in one position]…turned out to be a better fit [in a different position].” (24:23)
“That’s where I think we really separate ourselves from the pack. It’s never about us. It’s always about our investors. Everything we do is in the best interest of our investors, and I think that shines through our dialogue.” (26:16)
“I think it’s really imperative for folks like us to educate, to instill trust, and to deliver, so that when people see the benefits that real estate investing on a passive level can have, they have a trusted source to turn to.” (28:46)
Blog
Some people spend their whole childhood knowing what they want to be when they grow up. They study, train, and work towards their ultimate goal of their dream career, while others sort of fall into a career they love. They take a chance on a random opportunity that turns out to change their career paths forever.
Eric Shirley falls into the latter category. He was a sophomore at the College of Charleston when a buddy from high school that flipped houses moved in with him. He taught Eric the ropes, and before they knew it, they had flipped 36 Charleston, South Carolina houses in two years.
“You could buy a house on a Friday. Two weeks later after putting a little work into it, you can make 40, 50 grand. It was my first taste of real estate.” (4:04)
Over time, he evolved from fixing and flipping houses to buying and holding houses. He had a residential portfolio, but he didn’t see a future with the type of success he hoped for. As he began studying multi-family housing, he was drawn to the idea of forced appreciation rather than relying on market value.
“It was really just a product of need, knowing that what I was doing wasn’t going to fill my long-term goals, and that’s not the way I wanted to do it. So just looking for a more efficient way.” (5:11)
He went into business with another friend, and the pair started their first company. A year and a half ago, Eric and a few of his competitors started talking about working together. Why compete and drive up the prices for each other when they could team up to realize their full potential? And from this, Four Oaks Capital was born.
With all four partners joining together with their successful backgrounds, there was sure to be a fair share of challenges, but hard work and good culture have kept them on the path of success.
“I think for a lot of us that have had success in whatever facet of life, being self-aware enough to recognize where you’re weak is hard, and being able to not only recognize it, but then pass it off to someone else [who has that] strength, and having that trust and accountability. That took some learning, and we had to make some pivots internally of certain folks that we thought were going to be a better fit [in one position]…turned out to be a better fit [in a different position].” (24:23)
Eric and his partners pride themselves on the way they treat their investors. At Four Oaks Capital, they take care of investors as if they are partners.
“That’s where I think we really separate ourselves from the pack. It’s never about us. It’s always about our investors. Everything we do is in the best interest of our investors, and I think that shines through our dialogue.” (26:16)
To ensure that they provided the best possible experience for their investors, the partners at Four Oaks Capital invested passively with other syndicators. They found that there was constantly a lack of transparency, communication, and education from the businesses they invested with. The company now stands out by prioritizing these areas and putting its investors’ needs above their own.
“That’s where I think we really separate ourselves from the pack. It’s never about us. It’s always about our investors. Everything we do is in the best interest of our investors, and I think that shines through our dialogue.” (26:16)
You see evidence of this in the properties they choose to invest in. Rather than taking a majority of the properties they see – or even 10% – they are incredibly picky about what they decide to present to investors.
“At this point, we look at 100-120 deals a month. We’re submitting maybe 2 offers a month based on that deal flow. So, we sift through a lot of less than ideal opportunities to find the diamond in the rough, but that’s our commitment to our investors to find those kinds of unicorns that still exist.” (7:12)
Similarly, they believe in educating and protecting their investors. They see a lack of trust in their market, and they have set out to change that. Because they have already gone through the wringer of educating and preparing themselves, they want to pass on their knowledge to their investors.
“I think it’s really imperative for folks like us to educate, to instill trust, and to deliver, so that when people see the benefits that real estate investing on a passive level can have, they have a trusted source to turn to.” (28:46)
Are you interested in partnering with Four Oaks Capital? Schedule a call with them today!
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