For Your Own Good › Episode 55
How This Indian Couple Built a Million-Dollar US Real Estate Fortune
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About this episode
They left everything behind in India with $5,000 in savings, and built a real estate empire in the U.S. 🏠🇺🇸 From engineering and design to multi-million dollar Airbnb properties and boutique hotels, Harshad and Ishita's journey is the ultimate Indian immigrant success story. In this episode of For Your Own Good, we talk about: Leaving stable jobs and H-1B visas behind How they got into short-term rentals with zero capital Creative deals, burnout, relationship balance, and family back in India Making $1 million+ in Airbnb cashflow Why interior design is their superpower Building community and raising capital for hotels 🎙 Whether you’re an Indian immigrant, a tech worker, or someone dreaming of financial freedom through real estate—this one’s for you. Connect with Host/Guests: KASSIDY https://www.instagram.com/kassidy.warren Harshad https://www.instagram.com/harshad.lalan Ishita https://www.instagram.com/ishita.interiors YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KassidyWarren Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1UfWzqSpuL685ReFGn Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/for-your-o #ForYourOwnGood #KassidyWarren #FYOG
Key moments
- 0:04:17 “I had a career back in India.”
- 0:11:56 “you should plan on the first five years.”
- 0:21:10 “When we got married, I had $5,000 in my account.”
- 0:22:51 “$700 a month to someone else.”
- 0:30:28 “Every time where we had a pre a destined property, we bought it at a million...”
- 0:34:43 “you said, in Destin, whatever the most that you can afford in the best neighborhood, the...”
- 0:42:21 “We put $400,000 into it, and uh it appraised for 1.375.”
- 0:49:56 “For so, for so long, I was like, I'm never doing another residential property ever again.”
Read the full transcript
Auto-generated from the episode captions; may contain small errors.
0:00:00Harshad and the Sheita the power couple
0:00:02of 2025 in real estate wanted to become
0:00:04an astronaut that was my dream and then
0:00:06she comes along and then the life
0:00:08completely changes when we got married
0:00:10at $5,000 I was like six figures where's
0:00:12your money going like I have more
0:00:15savings than you even Indian rupees
0:00:17people from India coming to the US is on
0:00:19H-1B visas tech workers mainly you see a
0:00:22lot of engineers and doctors from India
0:00:24more than going back to India the
0:00:27freedom was biggest thing why do you
0:00:29invest in real estate. What is it about
0:00:30real estate that other people don't
0:00:32understand? All right, welcome back to
0:00:33the show. This is For Your Own Good. I'm
0:00:35Cassidy Warren. I'm here with Harshad
0:00:37and Nishita, the power couple of 2025 in
0:00:41real estate. I'm telling you, I love you
0:00:42guys and I'm so glad that we got to meet
0:00:45uh six, seven, eight months ago now, I
0:00:47think. Um you guys are doing such great
0:00:50things in design, interior design, not
0:00:52just paint and wallpaper, but you're
0:00:54also doing renovations and furnishings.
0:00:57Uh you're helping a lot of people. uh
0:00:59figure out their short-term rental
0:01:00business. Uh you're also investors
0:01:02yourself. Uh I love your story because,
0:01:05you know, I love a a great immigrant
0:01:07story and starting your own businesses
0:01:09and and coming to the US and showing
0:01:11that anybody can make it and be
0:01:13successful. Um and so yeah, thank you
0:01:15for being here today. Yeah, thank you
0:01:16for having us, Cassidy. It's been
0:01:18wonderful meeting you uh through Rick's
0:01:21mastermind. That's the first time we met
0:01:22and then we just been good friends and
0:01:25connected ever since then. So happy to
0:01:27be here.
0:01:28Thank you for having us. Yeah,
0:01:30absolutely. Thank you for having us and
0:01:31you are such an inspiration in our
0:01:33lives. You know, every day wake up in
0:01:34the morning and we get to see you and
0:01:36we're working out in the gym and all
0:01:39your posts and you have been such an
0:01:40inspiration in our life. Thank you for
0:01:42being a friend. I I appreciate that and
0:01:44I think that's why getting in community
0:01:46and masterminds and doing this podcast
0:01:49has been so much fun is because you get
0:01:50to really see what other people are
0:01:52doing and you get to genuinely like
0:01:54celebrate people's successes. Like I can
0:01:56feel it with you. you can feel with me
0:01:58like the groups that we're in, it's all
0:02:00about helping and building people up and
0:02:02like I absolutely love that. Whereas
0:02:05other places or some businesses or even
0:02:07some conferences or things can be really
0:02:09really like scarcity mindset or people
0:02:12are afraid of like talking about a deal
0:02:14because they don't want someone to steal
0:02:15it or whatever and they're not sharing
0:02:17ideas. But I think the only way that we
0:02:18can really grow in society in our
0:02:21industry is to like share our ideas.
0:02:23Yeah. I think you know one thing you
0:02:24mentioned and I'll just get right into
0:02:26it just just came to me. So you
0:02:28mentioned something about being
0:02:29immigrants and I just reflected
0:02:31something on growing up in India was
0:02:35such a competitive environment. It's all
0:02:38like cutthroat like we just grow up to
0:02:40become as soon as you're born. They make
0:02:43fun about it but there's some truth to
0:02:45that like you're either going to be an
0:02:46engineer either going to be a doctor and
0:02:48you're just going for the races. And
0:02:51what we doing now, investing in real
0:02:54estate, doing short-term rentals or the
0:02:56communities you're talking about is such
0:02:58a collaborative environment. So this
0:03:00whole mindset shift of going from
0:03:03competitiveness to collaboration. It's
0:03:06just something that's happen naturally,
0:03:09but I don't think a lot of people talk
0:03:10about that at least people who are
0:03:12coming from these immigration
0:03:13background. So we all about this. Okay,
0:03:14let's get to the let's get to the top.
0:03:16Let's get to the top. Right. So that's
0:03:18been very very um lightning enlightening
0:03:22in a way. Yeah, I think so. And and how
0:03:24long have you guys been in in the
0:03:25States? I came in 2004. So I've been
0:03:28more spend more time in United States
0:03:30now than I than uh back in India. So I
0:03:33was 17 when I left. Came here 2004.
0:03:36Wanted to become an astronaut. That was
0:03:38my dream. That's what got me here. Uh
0:03:40became an aerospace engineer. You know
0:03:42went through college,
0:03:45got a great job. Money in, money out. no
0:03:47financial education, you're just like
0:03:50just having good life, good bachelor
0:03:51life and then she comes along and then
0:03:54the life completely changes. Uh I'm
0:03:56like, "Holy cow, I have someone else to
0:03:58be responsible for." And she had that
0:04:00business acumen in a way like, "Okay,
0:04:02let's go do something. Uh let's like
0:04:04build something." And that got me
0:04:06inspired as well. And uh she came I
0:04:10moved here in 2018. Uh and that's when
0:04:12we got married and I moved here. So for
0:04:15me it was like a complete shift because
0:04:17I had a career back in India. I am
0:04:20starting all over again trying to figure
0:04:23out what are the next moves. or do I
0:04:25need to venture into masters or do I how
0:04:27do I find a career for myself and that
0:04:30to Iowa out of nowhere which I had not
0:04:32even heard that a place like Iowa
0:04:34existed back in India because you would
0:04:36hear about California, New York and um
0:04:40so yeah 2018 is when I moved and then a
0:04:42life happened trying to figure out what
0:04:45the next moves were. So while I figured
0:04:47out a job for myself and um we we just
0:04:51wanted to understand like we loved to
0:04:54travel was like a thing that connected
0:04:56us uh and that's what we wanted to do
0:04:59all our lives and how to become
0:05:02financially free was like the main goal
0:05:04like how can we not depend on our W2s
0:05:07because one of the biggest thing is we
0:05:08have our entire family back in India the
0:05:11whole corporate structure in America
0:05:12having a 15-day two week job uh you know
0:05:15leave that you get was not enough for
0:05:17us. If anything happened to our family,
0:05:19we wanted to go back. It was a big
0:05:21travel. So yeah, that's about it. So
0:05:24from there to now, rest is history. You
0:05:27know, my experience with people from uh
0:05:31from India coming to the US is on H-1B
0:05:34visas, tech workers mainly, right? And
0:05:37so you're you're in IT, that's sort of
0:05:38the path, aerospace engineering and all
0:05:40that. So that's sort of the path that
0:05:41you took. you don't find a lot of people
0:05:42or I haven't met a lot that go into
0:05:45interior design and architecture and
0:05:47that sort of creative space and I think
0:05:50maybe it's just because I'm not
0:05:50familiar. Is that a common job for
0:05:54someone in India to have or to come to
0:05:56the United States and and get into? No,
0:05:58it's not. Uh I mean I've seen a lot of
0:06:01people come here for masters in
0:06:03architecture but uh you don't see very
0:06:05many because you see a lot of engineers
0:06:07and doctors from India. So when I came
0:06:09here uh Harshad was on H-1B and I came
0:06:12as a dependent on his visa. So the way
0:06:15my visa structure works that I am
0:06:18allowed to work anywhere like I can work
0:06:21in in in Target, I can work at a gas
0:06:24station, I can work in an architecture
0:06:25firm, I can have my own business. So the
0:06:28freedom on my visas is immense. Um so
0:06:31when I came here I think there was a
0:06:33dash of luck that was playing with
0:06:36playing by my side. I got rejected with
0:06:38my on my M's program because I did not
0:06:40have enough prerequisites
0:06:42which in the hindsight had been such a
0:06:44blessing because I then was networking
0:06:48in my uh in my city with the friends and
0:06:51uh that Harshad had and I got connected
0:06:54to someone in an architecture firm where
0:06:56I always wanted to work. They gave me an
0:06:58internship based on my portfolio and
0:07:00experience that I had back in India
0:07:02which was immense and that was like foot
0:07:04in the door for me and that internship
0:07:07converted into a full-time job. So um
0:07:11that's how my career began in
0:07:12architecture and I was working in a firm
0:07:14that I always wanted to work and on the
0:07:17side since my career was already going
0:07:20in a right direction we were like okay
0:07:22what else can we do with our time that
0:07:24can have added benefit in our future.
0:07:28Yeah. And uh you mentioned only having
0:07:30two weeks a year PTO or time off the US
0:07:34corporate structure. Um, you know, I
0:07:37know like I know Neil and I know other
0:07:38folks that they go back to India to
0:07:40visit their family or their family comes
0:07:41here for months at a time, right? And it
0:07:44just doesn't seem like it fits with with
0:07:46the culture. And so is that was that a
0:07:48main driver or a big driver for you is
0:07:50is family and and and people back at
0:07:53home? I think both of us we both come
0:07:56from entrepreneurial background. Both
0:07:57our fathers have businesses. Uh so we've
0:08:01always seen and heard business talks in
0:08:04our family. Uh I think uh more than
0:08:08going back to India I I think the
0:08:10freedom was biggest thing and seeing
0:08:14while our parents had businesses and
0:08:16seeing the es and flows and the ups and
0:08:18downs of business. I think the passive
0:08:19income and making sure that we had
0:08:22substantial buffer and not depend just
0:08:24on
0:08:26one job was huge for us. So we just
0:08:30wanted to create different sources of
0:08:31passive income and then we can travel
0:08:34the world. We can Yeah. So that was
0:08:36definitely the biggest 100%. I mean you
0:08:38know what I want to want to touch base
0:08:40on was is also the immigration laws of
0:08:45the country shape a lot of what you see
0:08:47here. for someone from India wanting to
0:08:52come here being an entrepreneur it's not
0:08:54easy because of some of the regulations
0:08:56and laws and then the waiting lines and
0:08:58everything that's in play it's easy for
0:09:00someone India is like a doctor and
0:09:02engineer factory you know it's like it's
0:09:04easy for someone to go through that it's
0:09:05our schooling system it's just so heavy
0:09:08we cover topics that are taught here in
0:09:10first second year college back in our
0:09:1310th 11th standard so I remember when I
0:09:16came here in 2004 in the first two years
0:09:18of course I'm like holy cow I've already
0:09:20done all this I was just enjoying my
0:09:21bachelor of life and still getting 4.0
0:09:23no GPA all the way through. We have
0:09:25covered all that way ahead in time. So
0:09:27just the schooling system is a big big
0:09:29impact in just how everyone goes through
0:09:32that system. Then like you said what
0:09:34you're known as H1B is the big big what
0:09:37people see here for people coming from
0:09:39India is engineers and doctors because
0:09:41it's you have to be a science technology
0:09:44engineering math field. That's what that
0:09:46is. So there is not a lot of push from
0:09:49an immigration law standpoint or it's
0:09:51not maybe as advertised as much for
0:09:54artists or interior designers to come in
0:09:57in over here and then set up a new
0:09:59business. Now rules are changing. There
0:10:01are some new things that have come up
0:10:03now like you can get an entrepreneur
0:10:04visa uh person of extraordinary ability
0:10:08visa. So there are some more avenues now
0:10:12uh that people can pursue but that's not
0:10:14the mainstream thing and that's why in
0:10:16US you will see people who come here
0:10:18work for Apple, work for Meta, work for
0:10:20Google, work for all these big companies
0:10:23or there are doctors and we're used to
0:10:25going through college for years and
0:10:27years and studying and being in books
0:10:29and reading and just just being that
0:10:31nerdy self. That's kind of how we grew
0:10:32up. Now if you go back India completely
0:10:35different landscape there is a lot of
0:10:37entrepreneurship that happens back too
0:10:41in in our landscape in US we don't get a
0:10:43lot of visibility to that aspect because
0:10:45of the way the visas are set up and yeah
0:10:48and is is it a is the H1B and other
0:10:50visas sort of a trap for people with H1B
0:10:53I feel like there is there's restriction
0:10:56you cannot do like there are
0:10:57restrictions with that come with that
0:10:59visa that you can only work in that
0:11:01particular field that you were applied
0:11:03for. So that's the reason people have
0:11:06literally taken student loans. They have
0:11:08you know moved from their own country to
0:11:11build a career for themselves. Not we
0:11:13and we we know so many friends that
0:11:15probably have the capital to do what we
0:11:17are doing but do not have the guts to go
0:11:20against the system and you don't have to
0:11:22like you know uh each one they are
0:11:25restricted and they won't be able to do
0:11:26but their wives who are dependent they
0:11:29can start businesses but they are just
0:11:31nervous about taking that bold step
0:11:34which probably in our situation when we
0:11:36came like you know we only have one life
0:11:39like we got to take those chances and
0:11:42it's Not that it's illegal. You can
0:11:44legally have a business. Let's see how
0:11:46it goes. Uh but then there comes you
0:11:49there's always a trade-off, right? Like
0:11:50if you have to do something that is
0:11:52extraordinary, there comes like you have
0:11:54to trade off your time. You cannot go to
0:11:56parties. You cannot have all the fun.
0:11:59You cannot like you have to really
0:12:00hustle.
0:12:02after our 9 to5 I remember we would sit
0:12:04and work until like midnight and
0:12:07weekends were just jam-packed with us
0:12:09connecting and working on the board like
0:12:11what are the next steps a lot of initial
0:12:13phase just went on educating ourselves
0:12:16so that tradeoff of time that people are
0:12:18not willing to give is really pulling
0:12:21them back which probably at that time we
0:12:24were we were wanting to do and we were
0:12:27okay with trading that time and it's
0:12:29just like the first five years of the
0:12:31hard work that you put in pays off the
0:12:34rest 50 years for you. So, we were okay
0:12:36with that. Yeah, I think that's true for
0:12:39anyone that's starting a business or
0:12:41venture. Like, you should plan on the
0:12:42first five years. It's going to be hard.
0:12:44It's going to be really hard. And then
0:12:45the next five years will be hard too,
0:12:46but like the first five years you you
0:12:47kind of do have to go heads down a
0:12:49little bit and like people want balance.
0:12:51And maybe you can find balance in like
0:12:53sprints. Like maybe you do nine months
0:12:54of sprinting and you take a month off or
0:12:56whatever, but it just takes work and
0:12:59time and energy and especially I think
0:13:01you guys are a really shining example of
0:13:03this like to have jobs to be immigrants
0:13:06to find to to know the rules to to do
0:13:09this stuff. It's just absolutely
0:13:10incredible. And and I want to ask, is it
0:13:13typical in the culture for Ashida, for
0:13:16you or the wife to to be running a
0:13:18business or to feel confident enough to
0:13:20like go do that and say, "Hey, I want to
0:13:22do this."
0:13:24You know, I'll just say that I'm very
0:13:26very lucky to be born to parents who are
0:13:28super progressive. So being born to my
0:13:32father who has always talked business
0:13:34with me growing up. So I've heard his
0:13:36falls and I've heard his successes and
0:13:39he was the one who was encouraging Isha
0:13:42you need to have your own business. You
0:13:43cannot be working on a corporate
0:13:44structure. You need to have a control of
0:13:46your own. Uh and my mom has always
0:13:48instilled the fact that as a woman you
0:13:51need to be financially independent. It
0:13:54doesn't matter who your father is,
0:13:55doesn't matter who your brother is, who
0:13:56your husband is. I need to have
0:13:59financial independent. I need to make my
0:14:01own money. Uh so that has always been
0:14:04ingrained in me. Uh and that's why and I
0:14:06think I've been blessed to have in-laws
0:14:08like Hashalt's parents who have always
0:14:10again I have a great relationship with
0:14:12my father we talk business day in and
0:14:13day out. That's what we connect on. Uh
0:14:16and they have been cheerleaders. Like
0:14:18this morning I while I was on panel and
0:14:20they're calling me and they're
0:14:21congratulating me and pushing me and
0:14:23cheering me up. So it's it's just fun
0:14:25and to be in a born in a family has been
0:14:28an immense um it you know that is what
0:14:32I'm the result of that you know I agree
0:14:35though you know in our culture it is
0:14:39very rare like you said for someone to
0:14:41go on this journey that is not a job
0:14:44that is not a W2 job and in many ways we
0:14:47find ourselves getting I won't say
0:14:48alienated but as you kind of grow into
0:14:50the entrepreneurship we find less and
0:14:53less people we can connect to in our
0:14:55community because we just can't share
0:14:58what we are going through with them
0:14:59anymore. They can't relate to us. We
0:15:01can't relate to them. No one's fault. It
0:15:03is just how how our journeys kind of
0:15:06changed all and you know it just the
0:15:09whole cultural thing comes in where
0:15:12there is a thing about have a safe job
0:15:14you have a job you're getting good
0:15:16paycheck going one to the other have
0:15:18kids have a family and that's like the
0:15:20normal trend where everyone goes down
0:15:22and what we are trying to do here is
0:15:25sort of off the beaten path so everyone
0:15:28gets scared of the unknown it's like
0:15:30what's going to happen what if we don't
0:15:31have a job and there are real
0:15:34implications. So just going back to our
0:15:36situation, right? So we kind of talked
0:15:38about I'm in this position where I'm
0:15:39like I might be, you know, leaving my W2
0:15:42job. So for us, we have to consider the
0:15:45fact that because of the immigration
0:15:47laws, there is no guarantees that we can
0:15:51be in the country long term. Everything
0:15:53is tight. Your decisions are based on
0:15:55your circumstances. It's a risk for us
0:15:57to do what we are doing. So as we are
0:16:00kind of setting up our properties, our
0:16:02empire or whatever you want to call it,
0:16:04we have to always keep our m keep in
0:16:06mind that three years down the line, we
0:16:09may have to leave the country. How are
0:16:11we going to run our operations? How are
0:16:12we going to continue to do the business?
0:16:14So we're like, we'll figure it out.
0:16:16We'll make it work. Everything do it
0:16:18happen. But for a lot of people, that's
0:16:19scarce. For a lot of people, they don't
0:16:21they don't want to invest in real
0:16:22estate. They're like, what if I have to
0:16:24go back? What if something changes?
0:16:26Who's going to take care of all those
0:16:27things? So that fear factor, that
0:16:29unknown of the future holds people back
0:16:32from going down this. As things get
0:16:35lonier and lonelier and more isolated,
0:16:39how important is it for you two to stay
0:16:41connected?
0:16:43I'll let her answer that first. We So we
0:16:46have very different approaches to this.
0:16:47I'm a lonely person. I can kind of live
0:16:49just with her and not care about anyone
0:16:50else in the world. She's a social
0:16:52person. She needs that connection beyond
0:16:54just me, you know. Uh but I feel like if
0:16:58you and me are on the same page, we have
0:17:00our plan to take over the world. I'm
0:17:02happy with her and my two dogs. You
0:17:04know, I'm just kidding.
0:17:06Um I find uh marriages work every day,
0:17:10right? Uh and I think the beauty in
0:17:12marriage if you can find friendship and
0:17:14that's what I found in Harshad. he's
0:17:17become more of a friend because I
0:17:18remember in 2023 when we were living a
0:17:20nomadic life when we were traveling from
0:17:22one side to the other uh when work was
0:17:25the only thing because we didn't know
0:17:27there was so many uncertainties around
0:17:29us that Harsha literally started feeling
0:17:32like a colleague
0:17:34like the whole husband disappeared
0:17:37because we were like waking up to the
0:17:38boxes waking up to contractors just
0:17:40talking about work
0:17:42uh you know all and at night we it was
0:17:45just work talk every day in and out. So
0:17:48I think we had a aha moment or a
0:17:50realization moment after like 9 months.
0:17:52We're like I'm really looking at you
0:17:54just like a colleague like I've forgot
0:17:56and that's okay. Like that is the
0:17:58tradeoff again like business is not
0:18:00easy. It is isolating but the fact that
0:18:03you have a cheerleader who's who's still
0:18:05by your side who's still wanting to work
0:18:07through all the you know the ups and
0:18:10downs that comes with it and that's your
0:18:12life partner right like it doesn't Yeah.
0:18:15you talk about it and like, "Okay, well,
0:18:17we need to do some dates and not talk
0:18:18about real estate for a while, you
0:18:20know." Yeah. And the thing that we found
0:18:23because I I forgot until you mentioned
0:18:25it. We have a similar story where, you
0:18:27know, we were sleeping on air mattresses
0:18:29and all the properties. And you had to
0:18:31do it. You had to do it. That's what you
0:18:33did to be successful. There was no other
0:18:35real option. You needed to do the air
0:18:37mattress. There was the knock on the
0:18:38door at 6:00 a.m. I'm peeling the
0:18:40sawdust out of my eyes every morning.
0:18:42I'm not working out. I'm not like you're
0:18:44waking up, literally waking up and just
0:18:46unpacking boxes. You're doing the
0:18:49recycling runs, the trash runs. You're
0:18:51talking to the contractors in the
0:18:52morning, the afternoon, and the night to
0:18:54get them ready for the next day. And
0:18:55then you two are ordering stuff at the
0:18:58that night to make sure supplies show up
0:18:59for the next day. Yeah. It's I mean,
0:19:02this is the thing about doing a
0:19:03short-term rental business. It's really
0:19:04hard. And typically, it's a lot of
0:19:05couples that are doing this and you end
0:19:08up just it's just the two of you because
0:19:11there's no time for anything else but
0:19:12just the two of you to get this done,
0:19:14especially in those early days when you
0:19:16haven't figured out how to scale or
0:19:17bring on a team or help or anything. Um,
0:19:20and I remember just realizing that I was
0:19:24just talking work, talking this, you got
0:19:27to do this. And I was almost using
0:19:29Aaron, my wife, as a as a notetaker for
0:19:32me because I couldn't I couldn't keep
0:19:33everything in my mind. But, you know,
0:19:34and that wasn't fair to her, right? That
0:19:36wasn't fair to our relationship. And um
0:19:39yeah, and so I just like people don't
0:19:42understand. And that's like I remember
0:19:45looking like we've had so many moments
0:19:47where we look at each other and we just
0:19:49know that we just we understand what
0:19:51each other's gone through in these
0:19:52moments and that it deepens the
0:19:54connection especially when you can get
0:19:56through it. uh because there's just
0:19:58these things that you've done together
0:20:00that you have to do you have to do to
0:20:03make sure that the business survives and
0:20:04I just people that only want a paycheck
0:20:08they just don't understand and they
0:20:10can't and they won't and you can't blame
0:20:11them for that either and I think
0:20:13communication is the key I think to be
0:20:14able to talk to that person like I
0:20:16remember telling herself both of our
0:20:18personalities are very different so
0:20:20while we were going through a grind like
0:20:21you you know you and Erin went through
0:20:24hers is very very critical he will
0:20:26always look at the next thing. Okay, we
0:20:29we've done this. What is the next thing
0:20:30that we we got to jump in? And to me
0:20:33that becomes a little bit overwhelming.
0:20:34I'm like hash we have come so far. Can
0:20:36we take a moment and celebrate small
0:20:38wins? I do not want like allocates and I
0:20:41do not want this recognition but just
0:20:43small wins between the two of us. But
0:20:45that is something that I need to put it
0:20:46on the table for him to realize that is
0:20:48what I need. That's my love language.
0:20:50And then you work on it every day. You
0:20:52have to. It really is communication. It
0:20:53is communication and you do need to
0:20:55create a safe space for the other person
0:20:56to speak up and they need to have the
0:20:58courage to speak up as well and it's
0:20:59relationships are hard and when you add
0:21:01in entrepreneurship and immigr
0:21:04immigrating to the US like all of it.
0:21:06Yeah. There's so many layers to it. So I
0:21:08just think what you guys are building is
0:21:09is really incredible and you should call
0:21:10it an empire Harshad because you're
0:21:12building an empire. Uh I don't know if
0:21:13you're going to take over the world you
0:21:15know maybe that's a little a little
0:21:16ominous but um so let's get into it. So
0:21:19how did you discover real estate?
0:21:21like what led you down the real estate
0:21:23route to start investing? Well, so kind
0:21:26of ties back to our journey. So, as a
0:21:29bachelor, I had no financial education.
0:21:31When we got married, I had $5,000 in my
0:21:33account. My my my simple my system was
0:21:35very simple, actually. If my bank
0:21:37account went less than $5,000, I was
0:21:38like, "Oh, Okay, let's save up. If
0:21:40it's more than five, I'm okay. Let's go
0:21:41spend. It's great. It's party time." So,
0:21:44again, you I remember those days. No,
0:21:46that's that's pretty accurate. That's
0:21:48pretty accurate. And then she comes
0:21:50along like, "How long you been an
0:21:52engineer?" "7 years. How much?" "Wait,
0:21:54what? You only got $5,000. We We need to
0:21:56do something better." I was like, "Six
0:21:58figures. Where's your money going?"
0:22:01Like, I have more savings than you in my
0:22:04even if Indian rupees.
0:22:08He's like, "Well, come look at my video
0:22:09games. Come look at my video games."
0:22:12So, you're like, "Okay, let's find
0:22:14something to start doing on the side
0:22:15that we can both enjoy and start
0:22:17connecting on." So, um, that's kind of
0:22:19what we got into it. So, uh, we actually
0:22:21first got into multif family. We we got
0:22:23a forplex. We hated it because it did
0:22:25not really do much for her creative
0:22:26element, but that's kind of what the
0:22:28education was out there. This is like
0:22:302018. STS had picked up, but not as
0:22:33much. Uh, and at the time we started
0:22:36first doing health hacking. That was
0:22:38huge for us because like when you're
0:22:40starting the first the first whatever 10
0:22:4320% whatever you call it when you get
0:22:44just getting started is the hardest. So,
0:22:47we had a basement. We started renting it
0:22:49out. Uh, we started renting out $600,
0:22:51$700 a month to someone else. And that
0:22:54gave us that extra cushion to either go
0:22:56travel or either spend on education or
0:22:59like conferences, whatever that may be,
0:23:02you know. And then uh we said, "Okay,
0:23:04well, short-term rental seems exciting."
0:23:06At the time, we were traveling around
0:23:07and staying in Airbnb. I'm like, "Okay,
0:23:09why don't we do something like that
0:23:11ourselves?" But we didn't have the
0:23:13capital to go and buy something. Um so
0:23:16but we said let's just kind of look
0:23:18around and see what happens. And uh at
0:23:21the time we found a re a place uh and a
0:23:24realtor who had a
0:23:26like a duplex and we kind of pitched the
0:23:29whole Airbnb concept to them like this
0:23:31this is what we could do. We could rent
0:23:32it shortterm. They liked what we
0:23:34presented to them and they actually set
0:23:36up did like a partnership. It was like a
0:23:38creative deal where they said okay we'll
0:23:41rent the space to you. You guys run
0:23:44short-term rentals. We invested $15,000
0:23:47in furnishing the whole place. And this
0:23:49is the day when we assembled everything.
0:23:51We set up everything and we get
0:23:53everything done. No money for anything
0:23:54else. And it was 50/50. So whatever
0:23:57profits we made, we decided to split it.
0:24:00So it was not like an arbitrage, but it
0:24:03was more of a partnership wherever
0:24:04whatever revenue we got, whatever the
0:24:06net profits were were getting split
0:24:0750/50. So that just kind of gave us that
0:24:10confidence boost like oh this is
0:24:12possible we can make this happen and
0:24:14that allowed us to like save up enough
0:24:16for that next investment and at that
0:24:19time co hit. So we I remember the the
0:24:22the second property we were under
0:24:24contract February 14th was the day I
0:24:27forget which year now. Um yeah and then
0:24:31CO hit right after that which I think
0:24:34was a blessing in disguise because the
0:24:37regulations allowed us to pull 401k all
0:24:41of it without penalty. So we did that we
0:24:43would have pulled all that out put that
0:24:45into renovation. We did all the work
0:24:47ourselves. We did flooring, we painted,
0:24:49we we did all the work that came
0:24:51learning from YouTube videos and I wish
0:24:54we would have documented and had and had
0:24:58that brain power like what social media
0:24:59would have done to us. We just didn't.
0:25:01Um but we did all the work ourselves and
0:25:05we I mean the numbers were just
0:25:07mindboggling at that time. We bought the
0:25:09property for like 330, put 50K in our
0:25:11own sweat equity in it and in 6 months
0:25:14we were able to appraise that value for
0:25:16and cash out refi at 485. Um, so that
0:25:20was great. We could pull our money back
0:25:21and then that property was cash flowing
0:25:24six figures like the first year in CO
0:25:26where this property wasn't in front of a
0:25:28lake. So we were pulling a lot of people
0:25:30from Chicago, Kansas City who wanted to
0:25:32come and isolate themselves in during CO
0:25:34time. So on a 330k we doing like 120k
0:25:38and the good old days. The good old
0:25:40days. The good old days. Yeah. And this
0:25:43is phenomenal. And u Yeah. So that was
0:25:46like just an aha moment. And we
0:25:48literally just wanted to get into
0:25:49lifestyle investment. That was the goal.
0:25:52It was not about like building like an
0:25:53entire big portfolio. was like where do
0:25:56we want to go and in the realm of it do
0:25:59these value add projects and make these
0:26:02beautiful homes. And so when did it
0:26:05shift from
0:26:07we're just going to buy where we want to
0:26:09go to let's go do it as a business build
0:26:11an empire you know start creating
0:26:14something larger. It just happened
0:26:16naturally. I don't think we ever have
0:26:17like okay well let's go do this. It was
0:26:19we had the second property and I know
0:26:22you hear about this Burr model right by
0:26:24VRR but until you actually go through it
0:26:27and you see it all the way through from
0:26:29buying to refine like we got all that
0:26:31cash back. This is insane and and you
0:26:35know she loves doing she can Ishita
0:26:37would walk into a space and the first
0:26:39thing she okay I'm going to move this
0:26:40wall I'm going to change this here and
0:26:42just how her mind works. I'm like it's
0:26:44okay this is great. Uh so at the time it
0:26:47was just like let's go get a lake
0:26:48property. Sounds like a fun thing to do.
0:26:50So we went to Lake of the Ozarks, got
0:26:52our next place over there and then that
0:26:54time let's go get a beach property. So
0:26:55we went to Dustin, we got a place over
0:26:57there. And I don't think we thought
0:26:59beyond that. It was just like what what
0:27:01is inspiring us? What's inspiring us to
0:27:03own a short-term rental in a particular
0:27:05location? And I don't think we've been
0:27:07strategic. If we were being more
0:27:08strategic about it, we were like let's
0:27:10go pick one location and and grow in
0:27:12that market. It's there's lot of
0:27:14efficiencies in having multiple
0:27:16properties in one location but that was
0:27:18never the mindset at the time and what
0:27:21was happening for us is that as we were
0:27:23working on our own projects we were
0:27:25posting like I would post like oh this
0:27:27is the innovation work we are doing she
0:27:29used to do incredible work and I think
0:27:32back in 2019 2020 there was not a lot of
0:27:35focus on design you could pretty much
0:27:37take any property put it on air it made
0:27:39money but she never had that approach
0:27:41from the get- go she she put that effort
0:27:44into design and creating that curing
0:27:45that experience for the guest that was
0:27:47always very very important. So when we
0:27:49used to put kind of share that on social
0:27:50media on Facebook groups people saw that
0:27:53and and they started reaching out to
0:27:54like hey can you help us with our
0:27:55design? Can you help us with our with my
0:27:57short number? So that's how the design
0:28:00arm started just very naturally. It
0:28:03wasn't like an intention. It just like
0:28:06oh let's let's go do this. Let's go help
0:28:07out. I think our first design fee was
0:28:09like $3,500 for like a four or five
0:28:11bedroomedroom place, you know, back in
0:28:13the day at that point. This is how it
0:28:15started. And and I think we didn't
0:28:18realize that there was such a big gap in
0:28:22the market and and the need in the
0:28:24market for designers as the competition
0:28:26grew, as we kind of came off that COVID
0:28:30swell and then more and more people
0:28:32started getting into the marketplace. uh
0:28:34like we have to start really getting
0:28:36into this and we you know that allowed
0:28:39our design arm to really really start
0:28:41growing and slowly that started
0:28:44funneling the the active income and then
0:28:48like then and that's kind of what pushed
0:28:50us towards our next set of properties
0:28:51and investments. It's just beautiful how
0:28:53it happens like snowball right like
0:28:56while we were investing a lot of our
0:28:58friends were working
0:29:00in the engineering field were seeing
0:29:02what we we're observing what we were
0:29:03doing and they would hear the numbers
0:29:06and you know they were like what are you
0:29:08because all these people were just into
0:29:09stocks they would only talk about stocks
0:29:11they would only believe in stocks and we
0:29:12were like this is the real estate realm
0:29:15and out of which like one or two friends
0:29:17would believe in us and they partnered
0:29:19with us like hey guys we have the
0:29:20capital can you guys do the work and
0:29:22that's how again creative partnerships
0:29:24came for us and that helped boost our
0:29:27investment portfolio where I could put
0:29:29in my design expertise as well. Um but
0:29:32it was just so one side that investment
0:29:35portfolio was growing on the other side
0:29:38the word of mouth of my design was
0:29:39growing. So it was happening parallelly
0:29:42and the design influx was so much in
0:29:442021 that I was able to replace my W2
0:29:46income which is what allowed me to leave
0:29:49my W2 and take like okay let's just take
0:29:52leap of faith I've already replaced it
0:29:53and I was full-time into designing and
0:29:56ever since like you know we've just
0:29:57grown every year. Uh so now that has
0:30:00become like the biggest source in our
0:30:02investment pool like we are able to
0:30:04deploy that money in our investments.
0:30:06Yeah. And so you mentioned a couple
0:30:07things. You mentioned active income and
0:30:09you're in the real estate realm and
0:30:11people are used to stocks. So what is it
0:30:13about real estate now that you've done
0:30:14it, you understand it. Why do you invest
0:30:16in real estate what is it about real
0:30:18estate that other people don't
0:30:19understand are the benefits? For me I
0:30:21don't understand stocks.
0:30:24For me I like people don't understand
0:30:27real estate. I don't understand stocks.
0:30:28That's not tangible enough for me. I can
0:30:31touch and feel my real estate property.
0:30:33I know this is where it is going to be.
0:30:34If that house gets wiped up, I have the
0:30:36land that is in my name. That's what
0:30:39gives me peace of mind. Um and on top of
0:30:43it, the whole value and the whole burst
0:30:45strategy that we have done rinse and
0:30:46repeated thrice in our portfolio already
0:30:48by the time 2022,
0:30:51it was like an aha moment. Every time
0:30:54where we had a pre a destined property,
0:30:56we bought it at a million dollars, put
0:30:58250k in,
0:31:01year one, performed 276k and we were
0:31:03seeing that money come in our bank
0:31:05accounts, right? It was not like we were
0:31:06just talking some like stock market like
0:31:09on a Friday morning, we would hear like
0:31:11these other numbers like I was seeing
0:31:12that money come in and cash out refi
0:31:15like we could appraise that value at $2
0:31:17million at that point. That was just the
0:31:20numbers were talking in itself like we
0:31:22didn't have to and that made me believe
0:31:23more and more in real estate. Yeah. And
0:31:25so basically you put 250 in and you were
0:31:28cash flowing in in the six figures and
0:31:31then on that 250 the value grew up by a
0:31:33million dollars. So you 4xed your
0:31:35initial investment essentially. Exactly.
0:31:37It's a combination of things right like
0:31:39real estate is just it's just an
0:31:41interesting asset. Uh so you have the
0:31:44appreciation that you can create by
0:31:46that's completely in your control.
0:31:48Forced equity is how you do it, what you
0:31:50do it. You can be very strategic about
0:31:51it. It's not like stocks where you're
0:31:52putting money in and another company
0:31:55you're kind of like whatever happens in
0:31:57the stock market uh you know Trump say
0:31:59something and stocks fall down it's it's
0:32:00it's out of their control you know uh
0:32:03this is in your control you can control
0:32:05where forced equity is going and then
0:32:09then you have the cash flow component of
0:32:10it that just over year over year keeps
0:32:13building on top and US is great in terms
0:32:16of the tax regulations for real estate
0:32:18so you get on top of all of that you can
0:32:20do a cost segregation ation. We had W2
0:32:23income. I was able to write that off. I
0:32:25don't think I've paid taxes,
0:32:28you know, in the last three or four
0:32:29years. So, it's just because of real
0:32:31estate investments that are has to like
0:32:33depreciate all these assets and then
0:32:35being able to like write off all of
0:32:37that. So,
0:32:39everything just kind of just jumps on
0:32:41each other. And what I love the most is
0:32:44the fact that everything can be
0:32:46protected by insurance. So, we just had
0:32:48a property burned down. like you do all
0:32:50of these things, you can't get insurance
0:32:51on your stock portfolio, but you can get
0:32:53insurance on your on your real estate
0:32:55assets. So even if it doesn't work, even
0:32:57if it doesn't cash flow, your your
0:32:59primary the whatever you're putting into
0:33:01it is protected by insurance. No one
0:33:03will give you insurance on your stop
0:33:04ports. And to add to that, the whole
0:33:06heliloc strategy on top of it that you
0:33:09can borrow money off of your property
0:33:11and then deploy that money on another
0:33:13property. So it just becomes after the
0:33:14third is just as a snowball effect and
0:33:16it's just growing. So, there's so many
0:33:18avenues and it's that's that that's the
0:33:20reason we believe in real estate more
0:33:21than stocks. You're getting me excited
0:33:23to go buy more real estate because
0:33:25because it really is the only investment
0:33:26that does everything that you said. And
0:33:28so, you said uh you haven't paid taxes
0:33:30or maybe you paid a little bit, I don't
0:33:31know, but haven't paid taxes in the last
0:33:32few years. Have you made the most amount
0:33:34of money that you've ever made in the
0:33:37last three years? Yeah, I think so.
0:33:39That's, you know, our active income, our
0:33:41overall income is just grown probably 3x
0:33:45to 5x every year, but taxes have just
0:33:47gone down every single year. Yeah. So, I
0:33:49want people to hear that their income
0:33:51has grown 3x to 5x year over year and
0:33:55they're paying zero taxes. And that's
0:33:56not from just spending money on expenses
0:34:00or buying another truck or, you know,
0:34:03doing that stuff or like, oh, we did a
0:34:05bunch of meals or we had to buy all this
0:34:07stuff to reduce our tax bill. No, it's
0:34:09through buying real estate and
0:34:11depreciating it. And it is literally the
0:34:12only investment in the world. This is
0:34:14why I still say for most people buying
0:34:17an Airbnb is the best strategy because
0:34:20it's the most accessible way to get tax
0:34:22benefits through cost segregation
0:34:23depreciation because of the short-term
0:34:26rental loophole or the rules that allow
0:34:28everyday Americans, everyday workers to
0:34:31take advantage of these tax benefits. No
0:34:33other asset, no other investment can do
0:34:35that for you. So, I my advice to people
0:34:37that have a W2 job, especially if it's
0:34:39higher paying, is to go buy a house,
0:34:43like you said, in Destin,
0:34:45whatever the most that you can afford in
0:34:47the best neighborhood, the highest
0:34:49appreciating neighborhood or maybe it's
0:34:52a high cash flow area, but I like
0:34:54appreciation the most. So, uh, buy it
0:34:57nearby in the best zip code, whatever,
0:34:59the most you can afford. go fix it up
0:35:01and go force appreciation on that baby
0:35:03and let it sit for 5 years as an Airbnb
0:35:05and then either refinance or sell it and
0:35:07you've just made way more money and
0:35:10you've reduced your tax bill um even as
0:35:12a W2 employee. Yeah. And you know this
0:35:15year more than likely I I I hope and I
0:35:18think we're going to get 100%
0:35:19depreciation back. So that is huge and I
0:35:22think it's really going to steer the
0:35:24economy. uh you know I'm not trying to
0:35:25be political by any means but it is the
0:35:28reality of what we are living in and
0:35:30we're trying to just use that for our
0:35:32advantage in a way so uh this year is a
0:35:35great year to sort of plan for that and
0:35:37if we get 100% bonus depreciation back
0:35:40that is huge uh for short-term middle
0:35:43yeah I hope so I I don't know we'll see
0:35:45there's a lot going on there's just a
0:35:46lot going on that I don't know where it
0:35:48ranks on the order of things that are
0:35:50happening right now so I can't I can't
0:35:52tell you um but I did want to ask about
0:35:55your design approach, Ashidita, because
0:35:57you incorporate not just interior design
0:36:00elements, but you walk into a space like
0:36:01Harshad said, and you are like, I need
0:36:03to tear down this wall. I need to move
0:36:04this space. So, how do you approach your
0:36:07uh design in a space for people? Uh I
0:36:11think our investment portfolio has
0:36:12guided that a lot for us. Like what we
0:36:14did in our own investment portfolio is
0:36:16what we are suggesting to our clients.
0:36:18So when a client is coming to a prop
0:36:20with a project or uh a budget in mind,
0:36:24we are not only looking at that
0:36:26particular comp set. So let me take an
0:36:28example. If it's like a three-bedroom
0:36:30home, yes, we can do a market analysis,
0:36:32market data on a three-bedroom home com
0:36:34set and we can say these are the
0:36:36amenities you need and this will be like
0:36:38the ceiling of your gross revenue. But
0:36:41we are looking for opportunities. Are
0:36:43there any areas that we can probably add
0:36:47square footage? Can we convert a big
0:36:49room into two smaller rooms and add more
0:36:52heads and beds in the property? Is there
0:36:56land that the property is sitting on
0:36:57that has potential where we can add
0:37:00landscape to and create an extension for
0:37:03the home which becomes an oasis which
0:37:05becomes like the most attractive feature
0:37:06for the property.
0:37:08Now again tying back to what Harsh said
0:37:10earlier that gives us three different
0:37:12brackets where we are able to now tell
0:37:14the client that if you put X amount of
0:37:17money you are going to get your property
0:37:20is going to get appreciated to this. Now
0:37:23you're looking at the three-bedroom home
0:37:26going to a 5 to sixbedroom home. So you
0:37:28have completely appreciated the value of
0:37:30the money. Now your cash flow is
0:37:32categorized not as 3bedroom but as a
0:37:35five to sixbedroom home. So it's there's
0:37:37a significant growth right there and
0:37:40talk about the cost benefits like if you
0:37:42do a 75 to 100k you pour into
0:37:44landscaping project.
0:37:48So we identify those design elements
0:37:50that is going to give them 100% tax
0:37:53benefit in year one. So now you add up
0:37:56all these three that's appreciation,
0:37:58cash flow and tax benefit our clients
0:38:01are getting anywhere from 75 to 150% ROI
0:38:05on their cash on cash which is humongous
0:38:08unheard of right and we are taking
0:38:10advantage of my background in
0:38:12architecture my background in the fact
0:38:14that we are able to do and handle the
0:38:16high renovation projects and taking
0:38:19advantage of and helping other hosts to
0:38:21up their I love that you break it down
0:38:23that way Because when a lot of the
0:38:25designs that have started hitting the
0:38:27market are were, you know, heavy
0:38:28wallpaper, neon signs, like a lot of
0:38:30that stuff, you know, there's a lot of
0:38:32cash that's being poured into those
0:38:35designs to to get more cash flow, but
0:38:38the value of the property doesn't
0:38:39necessarily increase, right? And so that
0:38:41to me breaks the real estate
0:38:42fundamentals. You don't want to do
0:38:44something to the property that when you
0:38:45go to sell it, it's actually going to be
0:38:46worth less or you're not really
0:38:48increasing the value because then you're
0:38:50banking only on cash flow. And
0:38:52especially if you're taking investor
0:38:53money, then you have to pay back your
0:38:56investors at a multiple. And if you are
0:38:59only banking on the cash flow, that's
0:39:00really hard to do. You need the
0:39:02appreciation. You need the value
0:39:03increase. Uh and so I love that you
0:39:05break that down for people. We do
0:39:06something similar when we think about um
0:39:08our designs. Is it cash flow? Is it
0:39:10appreciation? And then we say, is there
0:39:12some sort of like foundational thing
0:39:13that needs to happen, right? And I think
0:39:14landscaping or backyard or whatever is
0:39:17is in is in that area. So, like if you
0:39:19add a pool to a Arizona property that
0:39:21doesn't have one, you've you've done all
0:39:24three categories, right? Because you've
0:39:26now uh increased the value usually by
0:39:28adding a pool and a hot tub. There's
0:39:29going to be more cash flow because it's
0:39:30an extra amenity and then it's a
0:39:32foundational element that you can build
0:39:33off of in the backyard that you know
0:39:36allows for more, you know,
0:39:37beautifification and everything of the
0:39:38of the property. So, that's I think
0:39:41where people should be thinking about
0:39:42when they go to design this stuff. So,
0:39:44love that.
0:39:46All right. hotels. Oh yeah, hotels. This
0:39:50is how we met. This is how we met. How
0:39:52we met. And so I think you know I know
0:39:55that you closed on the uh Lake Chalan
0:39:58property and then since then you're
0:40:02doing more. Can you talk about any of
0:40:04it? Uh yeah, we can. Uh so we got three
0:40:08hotels. Felixon is the one that is uh
0:40:11it's about 15 unit 13 unit currently
0:40:14that can go up to 17 unit and uh uh it
0:40:19was our first one that we got into and
0:40:22that's Lake Shelon Washington. Then the
0:40:24second one we're doing is under contract
0:40:27which uh is you're going to due
0:40:29diligence right now it's 21 units but
0:40:32they're effectively only operating as 15
0:40:34units. Uh but there's potential there to
0:40:37make it 25 units. Uh so that seems like
0:40:40the numbers are going to really really
0:40:41work on that one. Uh but hoping that we
0:40:44go through the due diligence on that and
0:40:45everything checks out. Okay. I'm excited
0:40:47about that. Um yeah, that's a good deal.
0:40:49That seems like a pretty good deal.
0:40:50That's a home run if you if there's
0:40:52nothing else that's nothing else that
0:40:53comes out of the crawl space. Yeah. So
0:40:56uh but that's like 60 days out. And then
0:40:58the third one is is actually the one I'm
0:41:01probably the most excited about in a way
0:41:03too. Not to say I'm not excited about
0:41:05the other ones only because it's a old
0:41:08decapricated jail that has been
0:41:11completely just sitting there not being
0:41:13used at all for the last 30 40 years. Uh
0:41:17and then we're converting that into a
0:41:19jail themed hotel. So this is where
0:41:22we're kind of talking about the
0:41:23experiential hotel space. Um and that is
0:41:27the one we are closing on the 18th. So
0:41:30that's the one that's uh happening here
0:41:31next week. So, you're already under
0:41:34contract, ready to close, is done. Yes.
0:41:38Yeah. So, that's happening on the 18th
0:41:40next week. So, where is that one? That's
0:41:42about an hour and a half uh of It's a
0:41:45town called Eenton in Georgia. Okay.
0:41:48Yeah. A town I've never heard of. Yeah.
0:41:50Yeah. That most people probably never
0:41:51heard of, right? Yeah. Exactly. And and
0:41:53the whole point of that is it's it's
0:41:54it's close enough to a high you know
0:41:57population density area and we're trying
0:41:59to create an experience that people
0:42:00would come there for the hotel. There
0:42:02are things there are lakes and other
0:42:03things and events in the area but we are
0:42:05not essentially creating the space that
0:42:07people are going to come for the other
0:42:09things and just find a place to stay.
0:42:11Our intention is that people are going
0:42:12to come to experience the hotel and
0:42:14there are other things to do for them.
0:42:16That's right. So it's a little bit
0:42:17slightly different but uh yeah so that's
0:42:20the the three different hotels that we
0:42:21kind of working on right now. And are
0:42:24you raising capital on that one or are
0:42:27you raising money? Uh very different. So
0:42:29kind of goes back every every deal is
0:42:31very different and uh you know this is
0:42:33going back to talking about partnerships
0:42:36and collaboration and that's kind of
0:42:37what we love the most about the hotel
0:42:39space and I feel like I need to kind of
0:42:42just so that I can give context kind of
0:42:43take it back a little bit from the STR
0:42:45world and why hotel space even began.
0:42:48Right. So, one of the last projects in
0:42:50the short-term rental we did, we've been
0:42:52talking about doing the Bur model, the
0:42:53rem uh the remodel and the forced equity
0:42:56uh on on the short-term rental side, and
0:42:58we had this pro project that we did, we
0:43:00bought it for $660,000.
0:43:03We put $400,000 into it, and uh it
0:43:07appraised for 1.375. So, we were going
0:43:10to pull a lot of our cash out, but that
0:43:12appraisal was just based purely on other
0:43:15residential comps. And it's funny when
0:43:17you look at the appraisal report when
0:43:18you get it, you know, they will tell you
0:43:20residential comps 1.375. If you do a
0:43:23cash income approach, $1.7 million. I'm
0:43:27like, we're losing the $400,000. I mean,
0:43:29if you had an income approach to this,
0:43:30this would have been 1.7 versus I'm
0:43:33restricted to 1.375
0:43:36because on the residential side, they
0:43:38have to use the comps. And they're like,
0:43:40we are doing so much of this value ad
0:43:42stuff. we need to go to the commercial
0:43:44space because that's where we can really
0:43:46maximize what we are doing and do that
0:43:48on the commercial. That's kind of what
0:43:49got us to hotel space. And
0:43:53the beauty of the hotel space is that
0:43:55now you're working on bigger things.
0:43:57You're finding people to partner with
0:43:59that can all bring what they are good
0:44:01at. So for example, Lake Shalon is a
0:44:05deal that that our partners Donna and
0:44:08they they're great. They're local to the
0:44:10area. They understand that area. the
0:44:12most uh Donna has been working in Lake
0:44:15Shalan as a general manager. What we can
0:44:18do is we can come in and provide our
0:44:20expertise, we should have expertise in
0:44:22terms of design and renovations and we
0:44:24also raise capital for that project. So
0:44:27that partnership was structured very
0:44:28differently in terms of what we are
0:44:30doing there. Now we move to the the
0:44:33weights flow again we're thinking about
0:44:36okay what value can we provide and then
0:44:38that partnership is structured.
0:44:40Same with the jail hotel. They all
0:44:42different partnerships and that's the
0:44:44beauty of this is that we are thinking
0:44:45okay what can we do that we can give the
0:44:49the most to this particular project and
0:44:52I think there's a quote that she loves
0:44:54using. So I'll let you say it about the
0:44:55the pineapple and the watermelon thing.
0:44:58So
0:44:59I mean what I say is like it's better to
0:45:01have a small pie of a small piece of a
0:45:04watermelon.
0:45:06Yeah, sorry. small piece of a pie than
0:45:09have a entire watermelon. Right. So,
0:45:11it's like it's better to have like a
0:45:12portion of it, something that is bigger
0:45:14than like a entire Yeah. And I like to
0:45:16say that hotels are a team sport. Like
0:45:18you wouldn't walk onto a football field
0:45:20alone to try to take on the other team,
0:45:22right? Not that there's any, you know,
0:45:24adversarial anything with with a hotel,
0:45:26but having partners, you're so thankful
0:45:29in the moments where the other people
0:45:31are doing the thing that they're really
0:45:32good at and it's the thing that you
0:45:34don't like doing and they're coming
0:45:36through and they're already thinking
0:45:37about it. They're executing, right?
0:45:38You're problem solving together, right?
0:45:40Things come up. It's so much better to
0:45:42have good people on your team than to
0:45:43just try to do everything on your own.
0:45:44Like, people look at giving up the
0:45:46equity and they see it as a bad thing.
0:45:47And that's just not how partnerships
0:45:49work. That's not how real estate really
0:45:50is done. And there's not a lot of people
0:45:51that are successful just doing stuff on
0:45:53their own. Um, and so I I I just love
0:45:55that you guys are doing that. I think
0:45:56it's so great. Uh, and you're preaching
0:45:59to the choir with the reasons for going
0:46:00to to hotels and commercial real estate.
0:46:03Same thing. We we just I just kept
0:46:05looking at all the amount of work that
0:46:07we were doing, all the effort that we
0:46:08were putting in and the refies and the
0:46:11appraisals and and you know, I'm very
0:46:13thankful for what we built, but it's
0:46:14like your time starts to be worth a lot
0:46:17more, especially when you know it can be
0:46:19worth a lot more. Uh and then with
0:46:22hotels, if you buy buy them big enough,
0:46:25you know, you're not even doing a ton of
0:46:26the work, right? You're being a leader.
0:46:28You're being, you know, a manager.
0:46:29you're like gone are the days of, you
0:46:32know, laying floors and doing pain or
0:46:34having to even manage individual tasks,
0:46:37right? So, for me, that's that's the
0:46:39thing that I'm looking forward to the
0:46:40most is being able to create something
0:46:41really special and really give other
0:46:43people the opportunity to shine and do
0:46:44what they do really well and operating
0:46:46in my zone of genius with with this
0:46:48stuff. Yeah. Yeah.
0:46:50I I feel like you know the communities
0:46:51in the hotel space fair is a team. It's
0:46:54a it's a team sport and I think that's
0:46:56where being part of these communities
0:46:58where you can connect with other people
0:47:00that are also wanting to do the same
0:47:02thing becomes so important when you're
0:47:04looking at the hotel space. Yeah. Can
0:47:05you take down a hotel on your own?
0:47:07Absolutely. You can totally do that. You
0:47:08can learn it on your own. But I feel
0:47:10like being part of these communities
0:47:11where everyone's wanting to do this has
0:47:13been so it's been such a shortcut for us
0:47:16like because we are learning from each
0:47:18other. We're learning from other
0:47:18people's deals. We're being cheerleaders
0:47:20for each other. We're supporting each
0:47:22other and also finding those
0:47:23relationships and partnerships to kind
0:47:24of grow together. Yeah. You joined how
0:47:27many months ago into the mastermind?
0:47:28Last July. Last July. And you have
0:47:31you're closing on three hotels and two
0:47:33of those are directly related to people
0:47:35that you met in the mastermind, right?
0:47:37Yeah. And then the ability to even know
0:47:39how to have the confidence. You guys are
0:47:41smart. you would have figured it out on
0:47:42your own but still even for me it
0:47:45accelerated the timeline to be able to
0:47:46close on a hotel and understand
0:47:47everything and it definitely accelerated
0:47:49for us like hotel space is a different
0:47:51beast than a short-term rental it is not
0:47:53the same as much as people want to
0:47:55believe that it's a hospitality realm I
0:47:56think it's a different and obviously the
0:47:59times are moving fast rapidly like
0:48:01technology coming in and the whole
0:48:02keyless entry and all the boutique hotel
0:48:04stuff that we're doing but still it is
0:48:06so crucial to have someone boots on the
0:48:09ground in that place like we wouldn't
0:48:10have never thought of getting a hotel in
0:48:12Lake Shalan if had it not been with our
0:48:14partners or we would not have partnered
0:48:16with or someone approach us to partner
0:48:18on a Wainesville property because we are
0:48:20local to that area and that is like our
0:48:22backyard. So that's where the strengths
0:48:24come together and then beautiful
0:48:25partnerships and beautiful deals happen.
0:48:27Well, and I think it's funny you because
0:48:29we came to the same conclusion with our
0:48:30STRs is, oh, we should just keep
0:48:32investing in Tucson more and more
0:48:34because we know the model, we know our
0:48:35buy box, we have the teams, we have the
0:48:37efficiency. Like, let's just keep and
0:48:39and it's too much to invest in a bunch
0:48:40of different markets all at the same
0:48:41time with short-term rentals because
0:48:43everything's on your shoulders. When you
0:48:45switch to hotels, it actually does open
0:48:47up the door to be able to go more remote
0:48:48because you can partner strategically
0:48:50and then the property managers that you
0:48:52hire. Yes. Can be local or or they can
0:48:54operate in those space and they're doing
0:48:55a lot of the heavy lifting on operations
0:48:57for you. So, it's not like you can have
0:49:00more hotels spread out across the
0:49:02country. Whereas, it's harder to do that
0:49:04with homes and short-term rentals.
0:49:06Right? I'm not saying it's easy and that
0:49:07there wouldn't be efficiencies of owning
0:49:09all the hotels in one area, but you can
0:49:12go find and buy deals and it's not going
0:49:14to be it's still going to be strategic
0:49:16for you to own in different areas. The
0:49:18beauty of like with short-term rental,
0:49:20there's this lot of variability. So, I I
0:49:22feel like there are advantages to both.
0:49:23So, as we kind of thinking about like
0:49:24our investment strategy, we are not
0:49:26going all in on hotels or all in on
0:49:28short-term rentals. We believe that
0:49:30there is space for both because kind of
0:49:33going back to the tax benefits, right?
0:49:35We get the tax benefits on the
0:49:36short-term rental side much higher than
0:49:38on the hotel side because everything's
0:49:40equity is going to do boil down. So I
0:49:42have to still keep short-term rentals in
0:49:45my kind of vision that we have to get
0:49:47one or two short-term rentals this year
0:49:49to make it work if I don't want to pay
0:49:51taxes. But I'm going to get the maximum
0:49:54equity and wealth generation on the
0:49:56hotel side. So there is pro, you know,
0:49:59you got to keep both of those in your
0:50:02wheel of space and try to work both of
0:50:04those. That's so funny. It's the same
0:50:05conclusion. For so, for so long, I was
0:50:07like, I'm never doing another
0:50:08residential property ever again. And
0:50:10then once I kind of like got over that,
0:50:12I was like, well, you know, if we bought
0:50:14if we bought a luxury flip, if we bought
0:50:17a million-doll property in a $2 million
0:50:20neighborhood, it's the fastest way to
0:50:22get lending. It's the fastest way to get
0:50:25your tax benefits. you know, we know
0:50:27what it is. We c we will cash flow, but
0:50:29we can generate a decent amount of
0:50:31equity and we get the tax benefits. And
0:50:34like you said with the hotels, you're
0:50:36not getting as much as you could on as
0:50:39an individual owner on a go the SDR
0:50:41loophole. That's three. Exactly. That's
0:50:42what I mean. Through the SDR loophole,
0:50:44it's like, okay, it's still a really
0:50:45good strategy. And so, I know I said I'm
0:50:47never buying a house again, but it's we
0:50:49probably will. It just makes too much
0:50:52sense, you know? So, well, this has been
0:50:54so much fun. I I love the two of you.
0:50:56I'm so glad that we met and that you
0:50:58guys are willing to come down here. Um
0:51:00I'm really excited for what you guys are
0:51:03going to be doing and for the rest of
0:51:04the world to see the things that you're
0:51:05doing and get to experience your stories
0:51:07and um your stories together. Uh where
0:51:11can they get a hold of you if they want
0:51:13to know more about short-term rentals,
0:51:15about interior design, uh hotels? You
0:51:18can follow us on Instagram
0:51:19ata.interiors.
0:51:21That's my handle. um DM me and I'm on it
0:51:25all day every day. So that's the easiest
0:51:27way to get in touch with me. Yeah, I
0:51:29think I need to work on my social media
0:51:30a bit better now that I'm trying to get
0:51:32out of my W2. But right now uh we have
0:51:35we a company is called Five Seasons
0:51:37Homestays which is our co-hosting sort
0:51:39of thing that's also a separate thing.
0:51:41Uh but uh fiveseasons homestage.com or
0:51:44on Instagram it will be harsh.
0:51:47Harshadalan. All right. All right. And
0:51:49Ashidita Interiors, uh, thank you so
0:51:51much. And we'll have all that in the
0:51:52show notes, too, for everybody. Uh, but
0:51:54as always, I appreciate you all out
0:51:57there. I love all of you. And this has
0:51:59been for your own good. Peace.
The systems behind these conversations — the deal underwriting, the tax strategy, the operators doing it live — are in Escape Velocity.