Christian OsgoodCEO, Multifamily Strategy · CEO at Multifamily Strategy

The only Secret to Creative Finance

17 Apr 2025 · 1 min

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In this monologue, Christian Osgood argues that there are no true secrets in real estate, but the key to "creative finance" lies not in clever tricks or a single strategy, but in understanding the full toolbox of financing options and selecting the simplest solution that satisfies both the investor’s need for cash flow and the seller’s objectives. He dismisses common misconceptions that creative finance requires being the smartest person or mastering one gimmick such as BRRRR, subject‑to, seller financing, or syndication. Instead, he emphasizes that the least‑creative, most straightforward path that aligns both parties’ goals is usually the right one. By applying this mindset, Osgood claims he was able to acquire his most recent $50 million of real estate starting from zero, illustrating the practical power of the approach.

Chapters

There are no secrets in real estate, but this might be the exception. I used to think that creative finance meant you had to be the smartest person to be able to put together deals that no one else could put together. Turns out that's not really true, and it's also not just one gimmick or one strategy. It's not the BRRRR method, it's not subject-to, it's not seller financing, it's not syndication. It's not learning just the one strategy that's going to get you there. It's knowing what tools you have, and the simplest answer is always the right answer. Whatever deal allows you to get what you need, which by the way is cash flow, and the seller, whatever their objective is, the least creative path between the two is typically the right way to close the deal. You're looking to close deals where everyone is stuck on the conventional method and you can get a little bit creative to make a ton of money. That's how I bought my last $50 million of real estate starting with $0.