Subscribe via:
Show Summary
In this conversation, Devin Peterson shares his journey into the real estate and mortgage industry, detailing his early experiences, the challenges he faced, and the lessons learned along the way. He discusses the founding of Pro Alpha Capital, his investment strategies, and the importance of community in Sarasota, Florida. The discussion highlights the entrepreneurial spirit and the drive to create a lifestyle that aligns with personal values and goals.
Resources and Links from this show:
-
Listen to the Audio Version of this Episode
Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Devin Peterson (00:00)
100%, yeah. I mean, everywhere you go is an opportunity you know to get to the next level or have that next conversation. I was wearing a shirt in the gym one day, it said Surf Costa Rica on the back, guy came up to me, he goes, you surf? I said, yeah, I dabble. He goes, oh, I just got back from a trip in Costa Rica. Next thing you know, six months later, we close alone. Golf courses, man, I can’t tell you how many deals I’ve closed on the links. And then it’s just, again, wherever you go, just like.being curious and using your ears.
Dylan Silver (02:00)
Hey folks, welcome back to the show. Today’s guest, Devin Peterson, is the founder of Pro Alpha Capital, smart capital for real estate investors. They’re in the commercial and investment property loan space. He’s also a University of Miami graduate with a degree in Economics. Devin, welcome to the show.Devin Peterson (02:20)
Dylan, it’s great to be here. Thanks for having me. How are you doing?Dylan Silver (02:22)
I’m doing well man, it’s great to to connect with you. We were chatting a little bit before hopping on the show here about Sarasota, about where you’re at currently, about St. Pete. But before we touch base on that, I do want to ask you how you got into the real estate space.Devin Peterson (02:37)
Yeah, I would say I tripped and fell into it you know. Long story short, I had a family relative that had been working in the mortgage industry lifelong time. And at a very young age, I’d kind of watched him very closely and admired the way he cared himself, admired the he was successful.And then we were out playing golf one day. I was probably about 17, 18 years old and we were having breakfast, you know, having some pancakes and sausage, whatever. And he’s like, well, what do want to do? I was like, oh, maybe law school. I don’t know. I don’t want to work 80 hours a week, blah, blah, blah. And he goes, well, whatever you do, make sure you choose a career that reflects the lifestyle you want to have and not a career that’s going to dictate the life you’re going to live. And before I took my next bite, I was like, done. Like, where do I sign? You know?
Dylan Silver (03:23)
Okay. ⁓Devin Peterson (03:26)
So that was it. And then I went full regalia. I neverlooked back. You know, I went to college. I did some of my LSAT stuff, but hopped right into loan origination. And boy, has it taught me, you know, more than any degree ever has for sure.
Dylan Silver (03:35)
Thank you.Now, were you getting active and and then getting into the mortgage space while you were in school?
Devin Peterson (03:47)
I was, yeah, part time. I was taking my endless classes. I was doing some marketing. I was collecting docs and I was just kind of watching videos and you know basic YouTube university, just taking a general interest and the world of you know mortgage um you know notes, origination, real estate investing overall and something just, it was so captivating to me because it all kind of tied in together.And that’s how I really got started. You know and it was 2017 at that time when I first moved to Miami, end of 2017, you get 2018. And this was all pre-COVID and you know business was great in the mortgage space. And so when I got started, rates were rather low, they got even lower. And then COVID hit, the world turned upside down and they popped. So I saw the lowest of the lows and the highest of the highs all in a span of three years.
Dylan Silver (04:33)
Okay.And so when we’re talking about that time period, you’re in school, you’re seeing a market transition really in the real estate space. You’re also in Florida, which tends to be even more impacted by these types of events. I want to get a little bit granular on your your day to day. So you’re going to school economics, right? University of Miami, you know, so I can imagine you’re probably thrilled to be there, just campus, right? But you’re also realizing you’ve got a
Passion for the the mortgage space walk me through those first couple deals walk me through, know What were people saying to you? Did you have a peer group that was heavily involved in real estate? Or did you kind of feel like I’m on this on my own? What was it like?
Devin Peterson (06:07)
That’s an unreal question. It was a very terrifying, for me at least, was a very terrifying, lonely beginning. And I I say that with a heavy heart, but in a positive light, just because that’s what this space is all about. It is a burn to learn industry. So my first couple of deals were a grind. You you spend hours and weeks and months studying to take the test and pass it. And all of sudden it’s like, okay, now I have to produce.And In an industry where everything is commission based and you have no salary like I said You know you put all your eggs in one basket and burn every other bridge around you and that’s the type of person I am I just don’t give myself a way out right so I networked with everybody in school I’ve you know would find people on the golf course who were successful I would go up to random people on the putting green that I knew had nice cars like hey How did you get that nice car and like ⁓ I bought 50 rental properties, and I worked in this space. Oh great. Tell me about it, right?
Dylan Silver (06:42)
Okay.Devin Peterson (07:02)
I’ve just always been a person who studies people. I’m very interested in individuals and how they accomplish their story of success. And I think there’s that generalDylan Silver (07:03)
Yeah.Devin Peterson (07:12)
sense of curiosity that like kind of drives my day to day is what’s led me to be so successful because, you know, at the end of the day, humans love helping humans, right? We are, you know, a passionate species and we want to be able to share ideas with one another. and so, you know, my the very very you know beginning of my career,Dylan Silver (07:14)
ThankThank
Devin Peterson (07:32)
was a lot of falling on my face and getting back up. And I knew if I just you know kind of learned from falling instead of you know backing out, getting up from the table, all the chips would fall and they did. And so I then found that it’s a very wide space to be have your hands on a lot of different tools between the loan products, conventional FHA, you know VA, USDA, non-QM, DSCR, hard money. And you can’t be, again, like we say, of all trades. So I found my niche.and real estate investing, which was a non-QM investment DSCR space. And then that led me to kind of start my own portfolio of mid and short term rentals. And I have a business model that I’m gonna you know kind of put on autopilot for the next year. That’s once pro alpha capital is stabilized, then I can move on to my next passion project. ⁓
Dylan Silver (08:19)
Now,I I want to ask you about the the starting of a career while also being an economics major. I don’t want to gloss over that, right? Because I imagine you’re starting to see your business take off, you’re starting to get traction, you’re in school. So this has got to be fascinating for you. And then also like proof of concept. Do you remember that time period?
when you’re starting to see, this is working.
Devin Peterson (08:49)
Yeah, 100 % and then I realized my degree isn’t worth anything. You know I was I was in school in University of Miami, honestly, to have fun and you know live the best days of of my youthful 20s and I did, for sure. But yeah, it was so inspiring and eye-opening to see, wow, the classes that I’m taking right now.Dylan Silver (08:54)
Ha ha ha!Devin Peterson (09:10)
have no effect or input in the success of what I do in the real estate space or loan origination. It was purely the school of hard knocks for me. And so I knew before I even graduated, like I’m not going to law school. Like I don’t want to work 80 hours a week. Like I want to be able to, again, like I said before, have that lifestyle, you know that job that reflects life I want to have. And so when I closed those first couple of deals, I was like, this is it you know. This is just like,Dylan Silver (09:25)
Yep.Devin Peterson (09:37)
Why would I want to do anything else when I can go to the gym at 10 o’clock or go golfing at at 12 o’clock? If I don’t want to work today, I don’t have to. But just being able to be in control, I think of my own life was like the selling point for me at that time in my career because you graduate, you’re scared. I was I was a C plus student. I was a C to get degrees kind of guy. I wasn’t that smart. You know But I figured it out. And I I think the most important…Dylan Silver (10:00)
Hey. Hey.Devin Peterson (10:06)
thing about it was knowing my place was I’m very you know talkative, I like to communicate, and I like to problem solve, and I like to help people. And you know it just all kind of you know fell into place at that time. So yeah, it was very inspiring.Dylan Silver (10:22)
And when youmentioned that you know golf, going to the gym, you also mentioned being passionate about people. When we talk about the real estate space in general, it really is a a referral business when you’re starting out. And so those places, the golf course, the gym, right the areas around you, those can be a gold line. think people often pass that up.
Devin Peterson (11:21)
100%, yeah. I mean, everywhere you go is an opportunity you know to get to the next level or have that next conversation. I was wearing a shirt in the gym one day, it said Surf Costa Rica on the back, guy came up to me, he goes, you surf? I said, yeah, I dabble. He goes, oh, I just got back from a trip in Costa Rica. Next thing you know, six months later, we close alone. Golf courses, man, I can’t tell you how many deals I’ve closed on the links. And then it’s just, again, wherever you go, just like.being curious and using your ears.
I overheard a conversation at a dinner table about three, four months ago, group of small, tight-knit investors. They said a couple of trigger words and I was like, I know exactly what to talk about. Went up, introduced myself. Next thing you know, I’m underwriting a $46 million, 260 unit multifamily in Connecticut for this guy and we’re like the best of friends. So it’s it’s just like, it’s that sense of curiosity. It’s that natural instinct just to like,
Dylan Silver (12:10)
Unbelievable.Devin Peterson (12:16)
Don’t think twice, like go, because you don’t wanna regret not taking action. Yeah.Dylan Silver (12:22)
Doing it, not doingit. I want to pivot a bit here, Devin, and ask you about Pro Alpha Capital. I imagine you graduate University of Miami, you’ve got a business going. Why did you decide, hey, I’m going to go start my own, I’m going to build Pro Alpha Capital? Was there something specific that you really felt passionate about that inspired you to do that?
Devin Peterson (12:42)
Yeah, it was, I’ve always, so I come from a family of entrepreneurs, not in the mortgage or real estate business, general contractors, but self-employed. I’ve always had that you know entrepreneurial drive in me. I was never good at listening to anybody else or listening to the rules or being told what to do. But again, my first job out of college was working in the mortgage space and it was for a family member.And, you know, I kind of, you know, he took me under his wing. I learned a lot. But I always knew that I I wanted something bigger and I wanted to to serve more people and not just myself. And so I I started Pro Alpha Capital with the mindset and, you know, the purpose of training other loan officers to improve their lives. Right. So our, our team is not just a sales force. It’s a family.
And a lot of our originators come from a space and a background of like they work in the black box. They’re sick of their lives. They love their salaries, but they hate the hours that they work. And so it’s not just, you know, it’s not all about the money that you make. It’s about the life that you can spend and the time that you have with your family and friends. And so we’re very, you know, modern forward thinking type of company when it comes to, Hey, this is not nine to five. You create your schedule. As long as you get your stuff done.
Dylan Silver (13:54)
Yeah.Devin Peterson (14:06)
and you are held accountable, you have an accountability system, you know we’re not gonna be on top of you. And I think that’s the difference between good success in the sales industry and not being successful in the sales industry. So you know we’re we’re kind of driving that mentality in everybody and kind of create the best version of themselves for themselves.Dylan Silver (14:20)
Thank you.it. ⁓
In addition to the idea of you know ⁓ a a company that that is building a a family, a community, you had mentioned before hopping on here that you’re involved in a number of different asset classes. Of course, you’ve got multifamily, but you also still leave the option open for uh traditionally FHA loans for your loan officers within within your company. Is there an avatar of a deal when you’re looking at a deal? For instance, is it…
Is it small multifamily? Is it larger multifamily? Is it office space or is it really across the board?
Devin Peterson (15:01)
Like, so when you say avatar, you mean like something that I really focus on and what I want to do myself? Myself, my own flavor is anything that’s multifamily, anything that’s non-owner occupied. And just because, you know, of what the end game looks like can be so different. Like, you know, if you’re going to buy a home as an owner occupied, you know, borrower, like you’re going to live in it and that’s it, right? But like,What is the exit? What is your strategy? What is the purpose behind buying this, you know, two door or this, you know, fix and flip? Are you going to sell it? You’re to hold it? Can you Airbnb it? Are you going to throw some section eight tenants? Is there a cool midterm rental strategy? you know, when you’re talking about multifamily units, 50, 60, a hundred units, are you following the Walmarts, right? Are you following the new, company that would just put 5,000 jobs in the open market, right? And now you have that, you know, kind of cornered suit so.
It’s it’s really just the different flavors that kind of you know spark my interest in real estate investing and gathering all these golden nuggets. I I see so many different strategies. And again, being a loan officer enables me to have these conversations with all these different investors and just bookmark that and be like, wow, that’s a win. That’s a win. That’s a win. And then like, I can reference that in my own life and like, hey, it worked for this person or that person.
Dylan Silver (16:42)
Yeah.it.
Devin Peterson (16:58)
How come I can’t do it? So again, circling back to like, why I think this industry and this career is so cool is because it pays more dividends in the conversations that you have with people than the salary that you make, right? Um but you know, that’s kind of the avatar for me is definitely like, I hope I answered it correctly, like the creative investment space.Dylan Silver (17:11)
Yep.No, yeah, absolutely.
I think it’s interesting because uh this this is a different space than what most people who are in the the mortgage space plan. we we when talk think about the mortgage space, someone started now, you know early on in a career, you know recent college graduates, let’s say, they might say, okay, well, I’m going to go stay in this space, traditional, and then maybe I’ll become a broker, and then maybe uh I’ll have a team underneath me. You went the…
investment route, my hat goes off to you because I think there really should be more people in that space because there’s so many people who are interested on the sidelines because they might not know somebody. Well, they’re really just like one conversation away on the golf course or in the gym from meeting, you know, with Devin Peterson.
Devin Peterson (18:00)
Yeah, it’s life changing, man. I one rental can change the opinion and outlook of anybody’s life, and that’s that’s why I do it.Dylan Silver (18:06)
I wanna ask you before we wrap here about Sarasota. I know you’re in Sarasota. We were talking a little bit before hopping on this show here. I’m actually passionate about that whole area. I haven’t been out there. I haven’t been to to Sarasota, West Coast of Florida, but I’ve heard great things. And you were mentioning just how great the community is out there.Devin Peterson (18:25)
⁓ unbelievable. Second to none. I’ve lived in so many different places in Florida, East Coast, middle of Florida, West Coast. And as I was mentioning, it is such a tight knit community. It is a very big small town feel. Everybody knows everybody, especially for those who are self starters, entrepreneurs, uh even you know for the younger crowd. I mean, when I moved here, I got involved with men’s groups.beach workouts, Bible studies, you know run clubs, there’s women’s groups if you’re a significant other or your wives. It is just so, it’s it’s just like heaven on earth living down here. I mean, minus obviously, yes, we have palm trees and beaches and white sands, but it’s just, again, being able to build a good community with good people who all have your best interests at heart is really…
an integral part of anybody’s success. And so I think Sarasota is like a top place to live in that that respect. Yeah.
Dylan Silver (19:17)
Yeah.100 % I think a lot
of people may be pleasantly surprised to hear that I know I certainly am it’s put in Sarasota on my map of places I may want a property at at some point in time We are coming up on time here though Devon where can folks go to reach out to you if they’re interested in learning more about pro-alpha capital
Devin Peterson (19:26)
Yeah.It’s
Yeah, absolutely. So any loan interests, anything related to mortgages, you can reach our website at pro alpha MTG that’s short for mortgage MTG pro alpha mortgage.com or you can reach me out on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter at pro alpha Pete. So that’s my handles and all the social medias always posted some great golf content. It’s very amusing. People love it. Play a little golf, provide a little value and yeah, anything you can find it there.
Dylan Silver (20:05)
Devin, thank you so much for coming on the show here today.Devin Peterson (20:08)
Awesome Dylan, thanks for having me. It was a blast.
