What this episode teaches an operator: how the discipline of professional sports converts into real estate execution, from house-hacking to multifamily syndication to buying land ahead of a legal wave.
Hakeem Valles played tight end for the Detroit Lions, New York Giants, and Arizona Cardinals, then took the same discipline into building: a house-hacked quadplex in Arizona, a duplex in Detroit, an 82-unit St. Louis syndication that fell apart and taught him more than the wins, and 40 acres in Michigan positioned before cannabis legalization. He and Abel Pacheco also break down his content machine: TikTok from 55 to 142,000 followers in five months, and why the follow-up is where the fortune actually lives.
In this episode: What does NFL adversity training do for an operator? How do you pick a market with demographic research? What did the deal that fell apart teach? Why buy land ahead of legislation? How does free attention on TikTok convert to investor relationships?
Three takeaways: the skills that survive a locker room survive a market cycle. A dead deal that teaches you underwriting is cheaper than a bad deal that closes. Attention is free real estate right now, and the fortune is in the follow-up.
"If I told you you could buy real estate in New York City in 1940 for pennies on the dollar knowing it was gonna be New York City, you would do it every single time. I'm telling you that this is gonna be the same exact thing, except this real estate's free." - Hakeem Valles
"The fortune's in the follow-up." - Hakeem Valles
Connect with Hakeem: on TikTok and LinkedIn.
Abel Pacheco helps operators get the ideas out of their head and into an AI operating system that runs the business, so one operator can run like a team of five. If you're ready to install it, not just learn it: www.5talents.ai. Multifamily investors: www.5talents.ai/multifamily. Host of the 5 Talents Podcast.