In this week’s podcast episode, K&K had the opportunity to speak with Michael Becker, podcast host of “Old Capital Podcast” and the Michael Becker Show, and syndicator for SPI Advisory. K&K has been following Becker for a while now, and we are excited for him to share his story with you all. For those who are looking to expand their real estate investments into other markets, such as Texas, then Becker may be able to help you better understand syndication and how it works.
There is a lot of capital out there. Many of our listeners or people who own businesses may have a lot of capital sitting on the sidelines – they want to invest, but don’t quite know where. One of the reasons why we wanted Becker on our podcast was to inform our listeners that they can invest with people like Becker – those who have a ton of experience in the market and have built lasting relationships over the years. These syndicators have a solid reputation for performing and doing well, therefore, brokers bring them their off-market deals and best deals.
Background of Michael Becker: Founder of SPI Advisory, LLC
Born and raised in Texas, and having attended the University of Texas, Becker really is an expert on “all things Texas.” Before founding SPI Advisory with Sean Mabarak, Becker worked at Wells Fargo as a commercial real estate lender for several years where he gained experience with general multifamily and multifamily assets.
After leaving Wells Fargo, Becker founded and became a syndicator for SPI Advisory where he’s been for over eight years. He has about 10,000 units in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin markets – so as you can see, Becker is a “very experienced guy with a really good company;” one office in Austin and one in Dallas…the two areas, in which his company focuses on for buying multifamily deals.
About ten years ago, Becker started buying real estate investments, and like many others who are just starting, he started with a three-bed, two-bath house located in Mesquite, Texas – paid either $75,000 or $76,000 for it, put about $10,000 – $15,000 worth of work in it, and rented it out for $1100. Becker ended up doing about 16 rent houses from 2010 – 2012 but eventually realized that wasn’t very scalable. Becker eventually did his first multifamily deal in 2013…and now in 2021, his company has about 10,000 units in the Texas market – talk about a come-up!
If you’ve been inquiring about multifamily investing podcasts, we would recommend tuning in to Becker’s new Podcast, The Multifamily Investing Show with Michael Becker, for valuable advice about how/where to invest in multifamily property.
A Look at 2021 in Comparison to 2020: What Does the Housing Market Look Like in Texas?
While COVID-19 has impacted the way, in which a lot of us conduct business, the housing market in Texas is thriving. Unlike other markets, Austin, Texas is seeing a tremendous amount of growth in population and jobs; thus, with corporate relocation, Austin, along with Phoenix, Arizona, has become one of the hottest markets in the entire country right now for real estate investing. In contrast to the California market with little to no inventory, Dallas, Texas in particular is flat and goes on forever – making it easy to build new multifamily or single-family units, as well as apartments. Right now, Dallas Fort Worth has approximately 800,000 market-rate apartment units and Austin has about 200,000 market-rate apartment units – that number is steadily increasing as the job market expands and people continue to relocate there.
Business Focused: What Does 2021 Look Like for SPI Advisory?
Currently, SPI Advisory is seeking to expand into a third market, San Antonio, Texas – one of the four majors in Texas and about an hour and a half from Austin. According to Becker, San Antonio is about the same size as Austin, with about the same number of units and population growth – which given the current housing market, seems like the reasonable thing to do. SPI is also actively trying to place a 1031 for one of their clients, do another syndication, and buy more deals in Austin – ultimately, looking to buy nicer, prettier, and better things.
If you’re in Texas and looking to invest in multifamily units, then you’ll want to hear what Michael Becker has to say. As a Dallas-based multifamily operator, he knows his stuff and understands real estate investing, and shifting from one market to another.