WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.620 Hey, welcome back to Vision Pros Live. I've got 00:00:02.620 --> 00:00:05.740 Fiquan Bilal today, and I'm really excited to 00:00:05.740 --> 00:00:07.940 hear all about your vision. Fiquan, why don't 00:00:07.940 --> 00:00:10.779 you go ahead and talk about that, introduce yourself 00:00:10.779 --> 00:00:13.039 a little bit, and then we'll get rolling. Thank 00:00:13.039 --> 00:00:15.060 you. I really appreciate you having me on the 00:00:15.060 --> 00:00:19.140 show, Sue. So, vision. For me, it's growing up 00:00:19.140 --> 00:00:21.699 from where I came from in a low -income community. 00:00:21.940 --> 00:00:23.960 You know, when I got into real estate, it gave 00:00:23.960 --> 00:00:25.920 me the feel of importance because I was able 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:29.660 to uh handle the blighted property issues some 00:00:29.660 --> 00:00:32.060 well not all of them some of them right that 00:00:32.060 --> 00:00:34.820 we had in the community whether they were dilapidated 00:00:34.820 --> 00:00:38.039 properties from burnouts or just vacants and 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:40.719 it was a really good feeling and and to this 00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:42.679 day it gives me my fill of importance to be able 00:00:42.679 --> 00:00:44.939 to go back to those communities revitalize the 00:00:44.939 --> 00:00:47.359 properties put them back on a tax roll give a 00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:50.020 residence a better place to live and the vision 00:00:50.020 --> 00:00:53.359 is which we call you know our b hag our big hairy 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:57.850 audacious goal is to Provide housing, meaning 00:00:57.850 --> 00:01:01.390 rentals, affordable housing for 5 ,000 residents. 00:01:01.689 --> 00:01:05.870 And that can take 10, 15 years to get done. But 00:01:05.870 --> 00:01:08.209 that's the ultimate to be able to provide housing 00:01:08.209 --> 00:01:10.890 for 5 ,000 families, quality, affordable housing. 00:01:11.530 --> 00:01:15.989 Because it's not really much value being added 00:01:15.989 --> 00:01:18.010 unless there's new construction and they have 00:01:18.010 --> 00:01:22.269 to put 15 % because of the law, low income people 00:01:22.269 --> 00:01:25.060 mixed with the property. That's the only way 00:01:25.060 --> 00:01:28.840 that those type of the people that live in those 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:31.120 communities will see something brand new. Most 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:33.879 of it is old property. So we what we do is we 00:01:33.879 --> 00:01:36.920 go in and make them beautiful and just transition 00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:41.579 complex to community. That's really cool. And 00:01:41.579 --> 00:01:44.019 that can make such a huge difference, like the 00:01:44.019 --> 00:01:46.579 ripple effect of what that does in a community. 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:52.060 Like, tell me about that. Yeah. So complex to 00:01:52.060 --> 00:01:55.469 community is. um is actually i was at a conference 00:01:55.469 --> 00:01:57.909 and there were a lot of other real estate business 00:01:57.909 --> 00:02:01.030 owners and it was a young lady that was talking 00:02:01.030 --> 00:02:05.230 about you know their models is they go they buy 00:02:05.230 --> 00:02:07.530 a property that's underperforming they renovate 00:02:07.530 --> 00:02:10.509 it you know and better curb appeal they could 00:02:10.509 --> 00:02:13.409 generate rents and make more profits and there 00:02:13.409 --> 00:02:15.530 was another person that was saying well what 00:02:15.530 --> 00:02:18.069 happens to the people that live there right does 00:02:18.069 --> 00:02:20.030 the mindset of the people change right if you're 00:02:20.030 --> 00:02:23.229 dealing with like low -income affordable housing 00:02:23.229 --> 00:02:27.349 type of a client so um you know during that conversation 00:02:27.349 --> 00:02:29.689 it kind of dawned on me complex to community 00:02:29.689 --> 00:02:32.650 because not only the mission is to make the place 00:02:32.650 --> 00:02:35.409 a better place to live but also to try to shift 00:02:35.409 --> 00:02:37.270 the mindset and the people what i mean what do 00:02:37.270 --> 00:02:39.750 i mean by that there are several non -profit 00:02:39.750 --> 00:02:42.409 agencies that will come to the function room 00:02:42.409 --> 00:02:45.169 at your property and teach people how to do resumes 00:02:45.169 --> 00:02:48.289 um you can do zumba classes on saturdays for 00:02:48.289 --> 00:02:51.139 the seniors you can do so many different things 00:02:51.139 --> 00:02:54.080 where um it doesn't cost the property owner much 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:56.639 money it's just called collaboration with different 00:02:56.639 --> 00:02:59.199 vendors um you can do back to school programs 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:01.180 give out book bags and a whole bunch of stuff 00:03:01.180 --> 00:03:05.919 so um that helps show that give value and that 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:08.199 changes the mindset in those communities and 00:03:08.199 --> 00:03:11.360 that's really how you go from complex to community 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:13.199 and also there's programs where they teach people 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:15.539 how to get home ownership on their own their 00:03:15.539 --> 00:03:19.240 own Right. For those little micro homes they're 00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:21.800 doing now. There's a lot of government assistant 00:03:21.800 --> 00:03:24.360 programs that you can make the residents aware 00:03:24.360 --> 00:03:27.539 of so they can transition from the rental into 00:03:27.539 --> 00:03:30.460 possibly their own home. What is have some type 00:03:30.460 --> 00:03:33.659 of financial literacy understanding. So that's 00:03:33.659 --> 00:03:36.360 incredible. I mean, and having that all where 00:03:36.360 --> 00:03:38.860 somebody lives. So it's very convenient for them. 00:03:38.919 --> 00:03:41.740 Have you been doing like how long has this been 00:03:41.740 --> 00:03:44.300 going on that you've been involved and what kind 00:03:44.300 --> 00:03:47.099 of results have you seen in? the complexes you've 00:03:47.099 --> 00:03:49.979 built yes i've been in real estate for about 00:03:49.979 --> 00:03:53.259 26 years and i transitioned to the bigger multi 00:03:53.259 --> 00:03:55.699 -families like right after covet we were doing 00:03:55.699 --> 00:03:58.300 a lot of rentals here in new jersey smaller two 00:03:58.300 --> 00:04:00.900 family four family six families i think the biggest 00:04:00.900 --> 00:04:03.520 one i owned was a 12 unit and then after covet 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:05.639 you know we had a lot of new yorkers coming over 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:07.800 to i'm in north jersey so we had a lot of new 00:04:07.800 --> 00:04:11.219 yorkers moving over values went crazy so we started 00:04:11.219 --> 00:04:14.150 to divest that portfolio then we kind of took 00:04:14.150 --> 00:04:16.550 the war chest and went to the southeast where 00:04:16.550 --> 00:04:19.870 we can actually create a bigger impact and our 00:04:19.870 --> 00:04:22.910 target is buying 40 unit buildings to maximum 00:04:22.910 --> 00:04:26.170 140 unit buildings somewhere around 70s 80s build 00:04:26.170 --> 00:04:31.529 um so we started at the covet um the whole uh 00:04:31.529 --> 00:04:34.730 shift on the business model as far as complex 00:04:34.730 --> 00:04:36.910 the community was something that we've just implemented 00:04:36.910 --> 00:04:40.800 a little less than a year ago so after we went 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:42.939 through the process of buying buildings and working 00:04:42.939 --> 00:04:45.860 through the processes and gearing them up for 00:04:45.860 --> 00:04:48.720 you to refinance or exit you know going to these 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:51.180 different functions was where that finally hit 00:04:51.180 --> 00:04:54.300 me so we are seeing positive results from that 00:04:54.300 --> 00:04:57.439 if you have again there are vendors that are 00:04:57.439 --> 00:04:59.839 non -profit that you can partner with so it doesn't 00:04:59.839 --> 00:05:02.259 cost you as an operator money you just have to 00:05:02.259 --> 00:05:04.980 have your facility open and available for them 00:05:04.980 --> 00:05:06.740 and then the marketing right and it's a slow 00:05:06.740 --> 00:05:09.040 process right because it's different it's new 00:05:09.529 --> 00:05:11.410 once people hear it's free then they'll start 00:05:11.410 --> 00:05:15.509 getting involved so those things are um you know 00:05:15.509 --> 00:05:18.050 they give good results uh at first again the 00:05:18.050 --> 00:05:20.529 challenge we have with low attendance uh but 00:05:20.529 --> 00:05:23.769 we just had to keep like anything marketing marketing 00:05:23.769 --> 00:05:26.209 marketing showing the value then you get cheerleaders 00:05:26.209 --> 00:05:28.629 people start to talk and then you see it grow 00:05:28.629 --> 00:05:31.170 from there well that's great it's amazing how 00:05:31.170 --> 00:05:32.910 you still have to market things that are free 00:05:32.910 --> 00:05:38.379 right So what got you into this, you know, from 00:05:38.379 --> 00:05:41.339 the start? This is a this is really ambitious 00:05:41.339 --> 00:05:44.240 and cool project. Well, yeah, I mean, what got 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:48.339 me started in real estate was the ability to 00:05:48.339 --> 00:05:52.980 be free. Right. So when you think of freedom, 00:05:53.139 --> 00:05:55.079 we have our careers. We go to school, whether 00:05:55.079 --> 00:05:57.120 it's a doctor, lawyer, dentist, whatever you 00:05:57.120 --> 00:05:59.379 are, you know, you are passionate about that. 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:01.360 So you're going to do that. But as the years 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:05.220 go by, you want to really see what other things 00:06:05.220 --> 00:06:07.660 you can do besides traditional investments. Like 00:06:07.660 --> 00:06:10.519 with the regular person who have a job, I'm going 00:06:10.519 --> 00:06:13.579 to put money in my 401k. I'm going to buy a bond 00:06:13.579 --> 00:06:15.000 or I'm going to do this and that. I'm going to 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:19.000 earn 4%, 6 % or whatever it is on the stocks. 00:06:19.160 --> 00:06:21.000 And they never really look at alternative assets. 00:06:21.279 --> 00:06:26.019 So my mind shifted over 26 years ago where I 00:06:26.019 --> 00:06:28.120 took the leap of faith and got started in the 00:06:28.120 --> 00:06:30.920 business. And it's been a journey. the global 00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:35.100 financial crisis of 08 the dot -com bus 2000 00:06:35.100 --> 00:06:39.019 in the early 2000s um actually that was before 00:06:39.019 --> 00:06:42.600 2000 and then uh covet right so there's been 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:44.939 different peaks and valleys along the journey 00:06:44.939 --> 00:06:48.959 but again it's if you're passionate about something 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:51.500 you will figure out a way on how to get it done 00:06:51.500 --> 00:06:55.699 and then what's your the profile of your ideal 00:06:55.699 --> 00:06:59.939 investor So these are busy professionals, maybe 00:06:59.939 --> 00:07:02.139 business owners that have 20 plus employees. 00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:05.040 They have a net worth of a million dollars, not 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:07.620 including their primary residence. They earn 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:09.279 at least a couple hundred thousand dollars a 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:12.240 year or more. So that's that's the avatar. That 00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:15.199 could be a dentist, a doctor, a lawyer, a busy 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:18.939 professional, an I .T. person, just people who 00:07:18.939 --> 00:07:22.420 are working a typical nine to five or running 00:07:22.420 --> 00:07:26.529 a business. and don't have uh the resources or 00:07:26.529 --> 00:07:28.970 the knowledge on how to invest in alternative 00:07:28.970 --> 00:07:32.550 assets so it's an education process you know 00:07:32.550 --> 00:07:35.649 we provide the education uh we actually show 00:07:35.649 --> 00:07:38.649 people what we do how we underwrite deals and 00:07:38.649 --> 00:07:42.290 we give them the ability to partner with us that's 00:07:42.290 --> 00:07:44.870 great so they might be you know actively searching 00:07:44.870 --> 00:07:48.269 for some passive income streams you know that 00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:50.560 not going to require you said they're busy so 00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:52.920 of course not requiring their sweat equity in 00:07:52.920 --> 00:07:54.779 this they just want to be able to park some money 00:07:54.779 --> 00:07:57.120 someplace and have it grow is that right correct 00:07:57.120 --> 00:08:00.519 correct and finding a sponsor that is market 00:08:00.519 --> 00:08:03.240 cycle tested finding a sponsor that's going to 00:08:03.240 --> 00:08:06.100 communicate well good bad or ugly because it's 00:08:06.100 --> 00:08:08.480 never a perfect journey right we we watch the 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:11.139 stock market go up and down all day you know 00:08:11.139 --> 00:08:14.939 gains and losses but finding the sponsor for 00:08:14.939 --> 00:08:17.220 alternative assets that you have direct access 00:08:17.220 --> 00:08:19.730 to That will be able to communicate with you, 00:08:19.750 --> 00:08:21.910 give you frequent updates, answer the phone when 00:08:21.910 --> 00:08:25.089 you call, you know, and who has that experience. 00:08:25.269 --> 00:08:28.810 That's their only job in learning how to do due 00:08:28.810 --> 00:08:31.790 diligence on that particular asset. Once they 00:08:31.790 --> 00:08:35.009 overcome, you know, that, then, you know, pretty 00:08:35.009 --> 00:08:37.789 much is whenever they're ready. Oh, that's great. 00:08:37.870 --> 00:08:40.570 And it seems like probably these investors would 00:08:40.570 --> 00:08:43.309 also have a mind towards, you know, community 00:08:43.309 --> 00:08:47.070 building, you know, community improvement. For 00:08:47.070 --> 00:08:49.809 sure. yeah we like to align ourselves with that 00:08:49.809 --> 00:08:52.950 investors that sort of vibrate to the same frequency 00:08:52.950 --> 00:08:55.549 right so some and there's nothing wrong with 00:08:55.549 --> 00:08:57.470 this some investors like to chase yields they 00:08:57.470 --> 00:08:59.789 want to get the thing that's paying the highest 00:08:59.789 --> 00:09:02.990 return or eight percent or ten percent um and 00:09:02.990 --> 00:09:05.549 some investors will say you know preservation 00:09:05.549 --> 00:09:07.809 of capital i don't want to lose principles so 00:09:07.809 --> 00:09:09.610 preservation of capital is important i want to 00:09:09.610 --> 00:09:12.889 make a return um and i want to create an impact 00:09:12.889 --> 00:09:16.759 over i want my my dollars to do good so Those 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:19.080 are the investors that we try to resonate with, 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:22.159 you know, collaborate with and team up with the 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:24.820 people who really want to make an impact. They're 00:09:24.820 --> 00:09:27.279 on that part of their journey now where they 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:29.759 have enough money from working or whatever, their 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:32.840 business. Now they want to make an impact and 00:09:32.840 --> 00:09:35.559 change. Oh, that's great. This is a good way 00:09:35.559 --> 00:09:39.039 to do it. Tell me a little bit about what's your 00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:41.620 vision for your company like on the longer term? 00:09:42.489 --> 00:09:45.649 Yeah, I mean, it's really to provide quality, 00:09:45.649 --> 00:09:49.250 affordable housing, period. I mean, that's just 00:09:49.250 --> 00:09:52.909 to sum it up, quality, affordable housing. As 00:09:52.909 --> 00:09:55.769 you know, it seems like we're moving to a European 00:09:55.769 --> 00:09:58.210 model where we're going to become a renter's 00:09:58.210 --> 00:10:01.090 nation because the pricing of housing is insane. 00:10:01.230 --> 00:10:04.409 Right. And what we were able to afford years 00:10:04.409 --> 00:10:07.269 ago, you know, our kids or their kids in the 00:10:07.269 --> 00:10:09.350 direction it's going, it's going to be not affordable. 00:10:09.490 --> 00:10:11.840 So everyone is going to be. riding around on 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:15.559 bicycles and renting apartments you know we're 00:10:15.559 --> 00:10:18.340 shifting to a european model so my vision is 00:10:18.340 --> 00:10:21.240 to be one of those operators that can continue 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:24.379 to supply the market with affordable quality 00:10:24.379 --> 00:10:27.799 housing so i come from that there's a need for 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:29.759 that there's good people in those areas that 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:34.100 just can't afford a rent bump or can't afford 00:10:34.100 --> 00:10:36.659 to get the subsidy they need in order to you 00:10:36.659 --> 00:10:38.960 know have good housing so that's the vision quality 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:41.960 affordable housing That's great. Do you have 00:10:41.960 --> 00:10:44.759 plans to expand outside of New Jersey? I mean, 00:10:44.779 --> 00:10:47.220 there's plenty of housing there that needs your 00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:52.799 help. Yeah, right now we're actually in three 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:56.960 states. And in the southeast, which is Georgia 00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:00.480 and Alabama, is now where we do our ring tool. 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:03.740 Our multifamily is there, anywhere from 40 units 00:11:03.740 --> 00:11:06.559 to 150 units. And that's where we do our impact 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:10.049 project. Here in New Jersey, We do luxury spec 00:11:10.049 --> 00:11:14.169 homes. We build new luxury homes from the ground. 00:11:14.710 --> 00:11:18.730 The market in North Jersey is still good. The 00:11:18.730 --> 00:11:21.210 average house we sell can be anywhere from $1 00:11:21.210 --> 00:11:25.029 .5 million to $2 .5 million sales price. So that's 00:11:25.029 --> 00:11:28.029 what we do here in New Jersey. Those are short 00:11:28.029 --> 00:11:31.289 -term deals where you buy, fix, and sell. And 00:11:31.289 --> 00:11:34.230 in the Southeast, our rental portfolio is more 00:11:34.230 --> 00:11:38.179 long -term. because it takes five or seven years 00:11:38.179 --> 00:11:41.299 to truly stabilize and see the value out of the 00:11:41.299 --> 00:11:43.720 property. And then you can exit through a sell 00:11:43.720 --> 00:11:46.139 or refinance and hold on to it. So that's a longer 00:11:46.139 --> 00:11:49.379 term investment. But those are the two verticals 00:11:49.379 --> 00:11:52.299 that we do in the business, rentals and buy, 00:11:52.340 --> 00:11:55.059 fix and sell. That's great. So are you back and 00:11:55.059 --> 00:11:56.919 forth? I don't know how much boots on the ground 00:11:56.919 --> 00:12:00.200 you have to have doing this. I'm sure you're 00:12:00.200 --> 00:12:01.960 traveling quite a bit. I'm an active operator. 00:12:02.809 --> 00:12:05.950 You have some guys that are just looking at spreadsheets 00:12:05.950 --> 00:12:07.990 and, you know, underwriting deals from their 00:12:07.990 --> 00:12:10.149 computer and never make it to the property. I 00:12:10.149 --> 00:12:12.750 like to kick the tires. There's an old saying 00:12:12.750 --> 00:12:15.129 of football coach Jimmy Johnson used to walk 00:12:15.129 --> 00:12:17.990 the field before the game. That's the type of 00:12:17.990 --> 00:12:20.129 person I am. I like to go kick the tires, be 00:12:20.129 --> 00:12:22.789 involved with the underwriting process. I am 00:12:22.789 --> 00:12:26.289 down there twice a quarter checking this stuff. 00:12:26.350 --> 00:12:28.850 Sometimes it's planned visits. Sometimes it's 00:12:28.850 --> 00:12:31.009 unplanned, meaning I pop up on them without them 00:12:31.009 --> 00:12:34.909 knowing. And, you know, I love it. My heart is 00:12:34.909 --> 00:12:37.110 still on fire for the business after 26 years. 00:12:37.370 --> 00:12:41.289 That's really saying something. Did it surprise 00:12:41.289 --> 00:12:43.950 you that, you know, 26 years later, you're still 00:12:43.950 --> 00:12:47.590 going for this? No, I was just telling my sons 00:12:47.590 --> 00:12:51.129 the other day, I was saying, because we were 00:12:51.129 --> 00:12:53.029 talking about legacy and everything else. And 00:12:53.029 --> 00:12:55.029 I was telling them, hey, legacy is what you leave 00:12:55.029 --> 00:12:58.250 in somebody, not what you leave for them. And 00:12:58.250 --> 00:13:00.769 I believe the highest value besides teaching 00:13:00.769 --> 00:13:02.809 you things like having good morals, being responsible, 00:13:02.970 --> 00:13:05.470 being honest, trustworthy, communicative, besides 00:13:05.470 --> 00:13:09.070 the parent things, as far as business wise, I 00:13:09.070 --> 00:13:11.210 was telling them, hey, I think this is the highest 00:13:11.210 --> 00:13:14.029 value that I can transfer to you guys is the 00:13:14.029 --> 00:13:16.850 knowledge that I have in this business. And it's 00:13:16.850 --> 00:13:20.570 almost like every business owner that I hear 00:13:20.570 --> 00:13:24.629 that the city have a chiropractor set up. Right. 00:13:24.690 --> 00:13:28.029 And. They know that that's a good business for 00:13:28.029 --> 00:13:29.409 them to make money because they're doing it as 00:13:29.409 --> 00:13:32.230 their career. They have children. And most people 00:13:32.230 --> 00:13:33.909 assume the children is going to assume the business, 00:13:34.049 --> 00:13:36.950 take over because they already built the foundation 00:13:36.950 --> 00:13:39.990 for it. It's easier to pass the baton. You see 00:13:39.990 --> 00:13:43.210 that in dentistry a lot too. And most businesses 00:13:43.210 --> 00:13:46.129 that mom and pop own is transition to the kids, 00:13:46.149 --> 00:13:48.110 get the kids involved at a young age. But then 00:13:48.110 --> 00:13:49.389 you see the other side of that where the kids 00:13:49.389 --> 00:13:51.610 don't want to be involved with that business 00:13:51.610 --> 00:13:53.529 at all. They want to go a whole different route. 00:13:54.009 --> 00:13:55.549 which is nothing wrong with that either. But 00:13:55.549 --> 00:13:58.049 the point I'm making is that I always share with 00:13:58.049 --> 00:14:01.250 my kids that that's the highest value business 00:14:01.250 --> 00:14:04.230 -wise I think I can transfer to them is because 00:14:04.230 --> 00:14:06.529 the time that I've been doing it, the things 00:14:06.529 --> 00:14:09.389 that I've learned, that will kind of give them 00:14:09.389 --> 00:14:13.529 the cheat code, if you will, to get done. That's 00:14:13.529 --> 00:14:15.429 cool. Are they old enough to appreciate what 00:14:15.429 --> 00:14:18.490 that means? Oh, for sure. For sure. That's great. 00:14:18.909 --> 00:14:22.669 That's so cool. That's really neat. Well, fantastic. 00:14:23.090 --> 00:14:25.129 Thank you for being here today. I'm really happy 00:14:25.129 --> 00:14:27.350 that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live. I'm looking 00:14:27.350 --> 00:14:30.610 forward to seeing your reactions as these episodes 00:14:30.610 --> 00:14:32.409 continue to move forward. This is going to get 00:14:32.409 --> 00:14:35.029 more and more fun. We'll have more and more engagement 00:14:35.029 --> 00:14:37.110 as well. We'll invite people to participate in 00:14:37.110 --> 00:14:39.289 the show. And thank you for giving us your time 00:14:39.289 --> 00:14:41.570 and attention. Have an excellent time building 00:14:41.570 --> 00:14:43.909 out your vision and becoming a vision pro yourself.