Live Call With Jared Walter and his Growth in the Fund World

investment thesis a little bit. I know you've been involved in a lot of different types of deals, you know, big real estate, small real estate. Uh, I know you've got some businesses you own in Africa as well, so I'd love to hear a little bit about that. Um, but I mean, Jared, why don't you, uh, why don't you start off by introducing yourself a little bit, who you are, your background, and, and what you do?

Yeah, so Jared, and I actually came from Nuclear power was my last full-time, full-time real estate investor. I went from being risk-averse to evaluating things like triple checks and everything, and then moving into real estate, you got to kind of shift investor. Uh, took some classes. Jerry Norton, I forgot to mention that earlier, how to flip houses. Um, And just being a project manager, really in business, and the downturn was very lucrative for me. Everybody was scared. I decided to plow ahead, and I got a lot of great deals. I wish I could do it again, but that for now, with Jerome Powell, my buddy, raising interest rates and making it very difficult, but. Uh, that, that also got me into multi-million dollar commercials, the large development deals. And then Black Card just opened the door to meeting lots of great— the world, UK, Canada, um, you know, Europe and other places— and perspectives and very smart, very smart individuals. So I, I appreciate we have in Black Card, which has been It wasn't advertised as much that there's such a cool community, but be like a really good benefit.

Yeah, that we got a lot of high-caliber people. It's great. Well, look, I wanna— so you, you've syndicated a lot of deals, right? I know you've done a lot of single-family flips, and now you're kind of, you know, segue into more, uh, larger commercial real estate deals. Um, you know, talk me through, you know, a lot of, you know, a lot of people say it's just as easy to do a big deal as it is a small deal. Um, some people say it's easier to start out small. Like, what's your— how do you think about that from an investment lens? Uh, you know, what's your theory behind that?

Absolutely. I think big deals are better. Uh, they lend themselves— just, just even opens doors for you that you didn't even know existed. Some people won't even touch you on the thesis. Some people won't touch you unless you got a $100 million thesis. And so really, if it's possible and it and people are doing it, I I want to be a part of that. Open my mind of thinking about when you're on fund one, be thinking about fund two and three. Learn that for the sour. And that really opened my mind to just start really taking seriously across my desk and then not thinking about how much it cost. But if it was possible and profitable, there's a whole market of very wealthy and lucrative individuals who want to invest in me. And so it's just really that belief and understanding that, uh, security and the team and the profitability abound, and just to think bigger.

And yeah.

So, I've done that and it's really been great.

So, yeah. So, also on the acquisition, not only on the acquisition side, but also on capital raising side of things, a lot of people, some people just have one large investor that they raise a lot of money from. Some people self-fund all their deals. Some people have a lot of smaller investors and it kind of fits into the type of fund structure that you have. But what's your preference? Do you like working with smaller investors, bigger investors? What's your, you know, what area do you like to play in?

You know, I'm in transition, honestly. So I'll tell you where I'm at, where I was, and where I'm going. I syndicated a lot of deals with the 3 F's.

What is it?

Friends, family, just friends and family.

Friends, family, and fools.

Yes. But yeah, we did really Really good, and I really helped out the people that believed in me and believed in. I performed 100% every deal. They all made money every deal, and next deal we got that money. And so your relationship and your reputation will increase, and then people kind of know that. Then they then you begin to get trusted, and then bigger deals. They introduce you to bigger people, and then you're into the, the $100 million, and it's normal for those people, which that's hopefully becoming more normal.

Yeah, well, no, you're— I mean, you're spot on. You know, there's this natural escalation in the fund world, right, where you typically start off with the 3 Fs: friends, family, and fools. You know, then you'll start meeting with a lot of high-net-worth investors, right? You can raise check sizes of $100,000 or $250,000, or excuse me, maybe as high as $500,000. And then you start meeting the larger LPs that are even smaller family offices that can write checks of anywhere from $1 to $10 to $20 million. And then you get institutional-grade investors. I've had a couple conversations with some large allocators over the past couple weeks. I spoke with actually a pension, a sovereign wealth fund. And I was talking to them about their minimum check size and it was $300 to $500 million. So then you start to play with those types of people. So there's this, in everyone's journey, I love what you said, you start off small, you start with yourself, investing is the best place to start, and then you can grow and start meeting higher and higher caliber people. So something that we talk a lot about, I'd like to transition to is these funds. Um, I know, I know you syndicated, right, a lot of single asset opportunities before, um, but you've been transitioning more into the, you know, the fund, uh, mindset. Walk us through and, you know, talk to us about, you know, how you think about a fund and how maybe that paradigm shift has helped you a little bit.

Well, it's all about scaling. And, um, so funds have actually opened the door to Lots of things that I didn't foresee. A Reg D 506 fund and learning all the intricacies of Kim Kardashian getting busted and, uh, you know, having to pay that SEC fine, which is nothing for her. Learning the way to syndicate in a more broad, open-based fund, real estate-backed. Uh, what people are interested in, just seeing what the market It is, and what it what it basically was take a syndication that that model where I could do a $650 million syndication. It's not a fund, but it's it's more like a project. I call it the Walther Regional Transformation Project in its area that are all related to housing. 3D printing, uh, some, some realty development, and my own skyscrapers. I might put Walter Tower on there like Trump. I don't know. I like to have my name out there. Hey Dad, look at that, you know, kind of thing. It's like, that's for you, Dad, right? My city is begging me to do these projects. They've already primed the pump. And, uh, high-net family offices that have— I've actually been approved for that. Uh, it's not— but it also, that gives you credibility back to going to funds of building team and, and well-known people and people you don't know but run hotel chains, of great money raisers and networking. And there's just so much good activities. It's actually tripled or 10x'd my A syndication space there, depending on where the money's coming from, what they want. Do they want to be in a fund or do they want to be a syndication? Ambivalent. But now I've got an extra tool in my pocket to say, oh, we'll make this a fund or syndication, to whatever makes the person that's my partner happy. So that added to me, so I really like that.

Hey, I mean, you're spot on, right? Like, uh, you know, there's, there's pros and cons with each, right? With, uh, you know, from a syndicate to a fund. A fund, you know, there's more limited liability from the LPs. They're coming in as limited partners, right? Um, but some funds, you know, they want discretion over the assets, right? Or sorry, excuse me, some allocators, they want discretion over, uh, the capital that they're allocating. They want to be involved in the day-to-day. And others, they don't want anything to do with it, right? So it's really about catering your, your investment opportunities to To these LPs, and you know putting together a deal that makes sense. So Jared, why don't you talk to us about some of the deals you've been working on recently? I'd love to. I'd love to hear more about that.

Well, yeah, I've I mentioned a couple of them. You mind? This is one that just popped up from a post in Slack. I'll call them teammates, compadres. I don't know. Uh, posted, hey, I've got $150 million. They call it BTR. And I had just finished a conversation with an acquaintance friend and absolutely does that and got caught in this kind of whatever you want to call it downturn, or where he's got millions in assets and can't get the money out. And the— let's call it the machine— and he needed $2 million ASAP. And he needs, you know, a buyout million. The whole thing is $190 million. It's like 5 developments in different— and I was able to whip up the paperwork, whip up everything I needed, the pitch deck. Pretty good at pitch decks, but Black Card helped me find that focus with the ask, the question, the answer investors are looking for. So I got more honed in And refined. And I was able to do that in like 2 days. And now family offices are looking at it. They like it. I'm in deal— I'm in discussions right now. They may not do it, uh, but just things like that to be able— how I was successful flipping assets, and I was first, and I still am. Like, I'm quick. It's because you do— you know, you're, you're investing in parameters, your bots. And then as soon as the deer, let's call him, you shot that sucker and he's yours. You bag that one because you don't want deals to walk away from you. Scared to pull the trigger. So I'm very biased towards action and not just late. I was a nuclear engineer, a thorough thought through, and basically I'm in a duck guns just pointed in one part of the sky and a duck. Blue, and they're like, "Wow, how were you so fast?" I'm like, "I'm waiting for the right guy, and I shot it." So I don't think I'm fast. I'm so I've learned to be ready for great deals as they come, and with this downturn, they'll be show up. So that's one that's in process just right now. That's could be really lucrative thing could come of it, but I'm gonna kind of investigate. Push until I find out what's up. That's one of them.

Well, no, I think you, I think you'd bring up a great point. I've never heard that analogy per se, but I love it because, I mean, I feel like too many, you know, emerging managers or operators, they've, you know, they, you know, they're, they're just aiming all over the place, right? They don't really have a direction. They're, they're getting distracted. They've got shiny object syndrome, you know, and they're They're jumping all around and looking at all these different opportunities and they end up doing nothing, right? You chase 2 rabbits at the same time, you don't catch any of them. And I think that's crucial in your early stages of developing your investment practice and investment businesses. Set that target, right? Set that buy box, become an expert at whatever you're doing, and you're gonna build clout. With investors. You know, I was just listening to a podcast yesterday from, uh, you know, his massive, massive fund. And, you know, he just started with term loans. He didn't know anything about— he just did collateralized loan obligations, right, as his first fund. And, uh, you know, it's nothing crazy, but he just, uh, you know, issued collateralized debt. Um, but he, you know, consistently returned money to his LPs. Um, gain their trust, gain their confidence, and then he launched subsequent products. And I think that's, I think that's the best way to do it. So I think that's great.

I love that.

Um, well, let's— anything else on, you know, your core investment beliefs or, you know, how you think about the market or, uh, you know, anything that you'd like to tell the world about your, your investment practice?

Well, I'll give another example that's coming to mind. And my first commercial property that opened the door to this realm, it was a— it's a mixed-use. I was actually at it just a second ago, and I'll probably be working on something in a minute. But, uh, it was a mixed-use, 3 commercial spots and 20— It's got, um, housing allowance benefits from Section 8, but it's like, um, It's helping people get a home. They pay like a third of the rent, and it's a master lease, so they're all leased up. And there was like one vacancy down there. I met with the— I guess what I'm saying is, because I'm old school and I say what I mean, and I mean what I say, he could tell that. He was 83, I was 40 at the time, but we had the same, you know, we mean business, and I'm here Not to screw you over, and people can figure that out after a while. Of the, of the world. But, uh, we resonated and he gave me seller financing, 20-year amortized, for $250,000 down, and he wanted half down. So I raised from my other syndicator the $125,000, and I put zero net worth, $5.7 million. Dollars just because I raised the rents and do what you— and there's good commercial people out there. Peter Harris, uh, Commercial Property Advisors is who I share on the subject. So I just did everything I, I read and learned about, and then I put it to buy, and it was really undervalued. It was probably worth $4.2 million. The '80s Probably for $300,000 to $500,000 back in the day. For him, $500,000 to $2.5 million was a great deal. For me, getting up to $4.9 million and today $5.6 million, $5.7 million, it's a great deal. Seller financing, creative financing, uh, just working with people as they want it better for them. There's a big shift happening. I just want to briefly talk about those of us in our 30s, 40s, baby boomers, 60s, 70s, 80s that want to offload their assets. They want to do seller fees of avoiding large taxes. So they become—

Oh yeah.

The bank, and then money just exists because they own it in cash. They find a guy like me, he loves it, and then it's a great partnership. And then they make great money, ever anything, just being in the banks. So those are a lot of opportunities out there right now in this market. One of my protégés, he's about to pick up a $700,000, uh, $12,000, you know, same process. He's gonna make it worth a million in lickety-split. He's 25. Give me all of his profit.

Thanks.

But whatever, I just like to help people. So he's gonna— so yeah, that's the market right now. I think multifamily, well, it's the— because people can't buy, and then people want to get rid of their multifamily because they're just 73, 78, 80 for them.

Yeah. Well, you know, I mean, a lot of people look at a market like this and, you know, they say, well, oh, I can't raise any money. You know, it's sour fundraising environment. You know, the market's down, people are scared, there's a recession. Um, and you know, I can, I can somewhat empathize with them, but simultaneously, now is when the best opportunities are there, right? Like, uh, you're— you have the opportunity to buy deals at discount. Uh, when people, you know, are— when others are greedy, uh, you know, what's that Warren Buffett saying? Be greedy when others are fearful. Be Yeah, that's right. Um, so, you know, I think, I think it's an awesome time. So, and, you know, it's cyclical, right? Our markets are cyclical regardless. So, um, what better time to, uh, get out there, get a name with, uh, for yourself, and, and, uh, you know, grab the bull by its horns and, and, and try to knock down some deals? So I think that's great. I think that's awesome.

Let's shift a little more.

I'd love to hear a little bit more about your, uh, you know, your personal life, any habits, you know, how you I know you've got so many different business ventures going on, how you squeeze a personal life into that. Why don't you share a little bit about that?

I'm married for— geez, I better do the math right— 2005 to now, 18 years, something like that. You're supposed to know. And I got 4 kids, 12, 10, 42, thinking about having another. So family and balance is really important. Uh, family really balances you. But I found, I found this, and I read this other day, and, uh, there's like people that stay up late and wake up early in vain. Like, a good deal sells itself, and they kind of have momentum all on their own. We don't actually need to be so involved as much anxiety driving Maybe emerging investors, but good deals are good and they kind of have their own momentum. If you're the momentum, then the deal is not good enough. And I— numbers, or get different deal, and maybe that's one you shouldn't be, you know, putting so much weight behind. 3:52 in Pacific time, I'm done at 5. I don't care what needs to be done, I'm done at home. Now I work for myself. I run all these different businesses, but I personally make myself, you know, they're not going to get cut out because I— Dad needs to keep trying to work. Balance of having parameters in your life and putting your phone on silent, having time for you, and then community and socializing. Like, that's important. We don't need to be like a machine, uh, deals. I find that I'm actually More productive, rested, and full of life, ships, and other things. Things that really propels me when I get back into the saddle. I'm refreshed, out working through Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and then just really not paying it— You die early. Like, really not paying attention to, like, taking care of yourself, taking care of you, sleeping well. So I, I really try to have, uh, limits, and it's like much time on the machine and then you got to shut it off, right? But yeah, go back to it later.

Well, Jared, you know, I've, I've known you for several months now, and, uh, you know, something I appreciate about you is I think you do, uh, you know, you always find time to be present, right? You're always networking. You always have your camera on when you do like group calls. You're always raising your hand, and I think it's really benefited you in a lot of ways and given you opportunities to be involved in deals you otherwise wouldn't have. Do you have any philosophy around networking and maybe advice for others? Because face value, I think you've done a tremendous job at that.

Okay. There's a little secret I have to tell people. I've trained people how to make videos, and I've also led small groups at church for like 20 years. So I understand, and I know what it's like to have non-participatory, uh, participating. And so I'm really doing that as a— as not just for me, but I always try to have a thoughtful question. I always try to be engaged. I Always have my camera on. I'm always— because I find a lot of value and I'm here to give value. And I think really just prompts other people to learn. Now, maybe they're not part of a church or a network. Maybe they've never really been a part of that, but they are a part of it now, whether they realize it or not.

That's true.

And so really just engaging and helping the coach Like you on your Monday call, whatever whoever the coach is, and just I'm there to kind of serve and help stir the. There's a lot of good creative talent in there. I know there's a lot of good questions, but people may be afraid to look sound stupid, sound stupid. You know it's fine. We we don't, but we may learn, and you may have a gold mine. Nugget idea that we need. It's one of those things where I think it's worth the risk to engage, participate, turn your camera available. I put all the the black card office hours on my calendar to be there, so I just considered it part of my required. Nobody told me to do that because I need fun and I need to learn. Now the videos are great and I show almost all of them, but there's that intangible thing that you get being part of the office. Not replaceable. It's an intangible. You don't know what someone's going to say. You don't know what you're going to say. Yeah, bring life. So yeah, that's my answer on that.

Well, that's great. I love it. Appreciate it. Um, well, um, I know I caught you last minute before hopping on this today, and I appreciate you being here, but you know, where can, uh, where can people learn about you and your business? And, you know, if they want to, if they want to touch base with Jared.

Well, LinkedIn is always good. You could Google my name, Jared Walther. It's kind of a mix of nuclear history. It doesn't tell you the whole story, obviously. It's kind of like a— I will have more information about the Kenya project. I really didn't talk about what happened when I've been working in Kenya doing missions. For like 20-something years and 18 reputational relationships. I met with the governor. We're gonna pull the dollar infrastructure package for roads, hospitals, ambulances. They're having a big problem, just deaths or complications. So the governor really wants to focus on error 2, 3, 4, 5. building housing and things like that. So Doors are really not a business per se, it's more nonprofit, or as they say in the fund world, ESG. Political— it could just be nonprofit work, doesn't have to be an ideology. Political profit work is kind of my opinion. So I'm not afraid of the term. I know it's kind of gotten a twirl, but I just tell people, hey, my ESG Is nonprofit work that everybody probably— and, uh, not have an issue with. So yeah.

Yeah, that— well, I know you've—

I know you've been—

you've had several, uh, businesses and ventures over there. So yeah, we'll have to have you on again and, and get more into that. I know today we primarily focused on real estate and, and commercial real estate, but, um, yeah, we'll definitely love to hear— have to hear more about that. Um, but Jared, thanks again for your time. I know I caught you last minute today. Really appreciate you jumping on and sharing your story a little bit with the audience.

No problem. I'm like, hey, thanks for having me. And this was a Slack post that was just posted. I'm checking Slack and Leon, I'm like, I do, or I said we do. And this is literally told you guys being active in the community and being connected. And then he's like, hey, let's do this thing. But it's, I'm like, I'll rearrange my day. Yeah, I see value in this. So then I did, and here we are.

Well, I love it. We love to have you. I'd love to see you around. Well, appreciate it, Jared. We'll be in touch. Uh, thank you for, you know, sharing your, your, your wisdom today with everybody, and, and, uh, we'll talk to you soon.

Thank you.