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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros podcast, host Erika speaks with Camden Francis, a young entrepreneur making waves in the real estate industry. Camden shares his journey into real estate, emphasizing the importance of education, responsible scaling, and leveraging technology. He discusses the challenges of managing properties remotely, the significance of building a strong network, and the lessons learned from mistakes along the way. Camden also highlights his future goals and the importance of continuous learning in the real estate space.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Camden Francis (00:00)
Yeah, you know, I’ve actually, so the first property that I was going to buy, you know, I realized that, you know, it wasn’t going to be a good investment. And I was told ⁓ that really right before going in and, you know, buying that property.So the reason for that was because it was a duplex and the duplex required me to pay a lot of the utilities upfront every single month, eating significantly into the property margins and the kind of the way the home was kind of structured. know, there weren’t it was for two kind of families, but there weren’t too many bedrooms or bathrooms in both the kind of, you know.
in both the bottom part of the house and the top part, right? So in terms of the bedrooms and the bathrooms, that allows you to basically rent out to more individuals.
Erika (02:23)
Hey everyone, welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m your host Erika and today I’m joined by someone that I’m excited to chat with, Camden Francis. He’s been making serious moves in the real estate world. Camden, I’m so glad to have you here.Camden Francis (02:39)
It’s a pleasure to be here. Thanks so much for having me.Erika (02:42)
think our listeners who are new to real estate are really going to appreciate your story. you know, let’s jump on in. Can you tell us more about what it was like getting in the real estate?Camden Francis (02:54)
You know, getting into real estate for me was a process. I first needed to kind of learn a lot of information. read, you know, several books and you know, those books kind of had some of the information that I needed. You know, I did research, you know, online asking peers that were in real estate and I even kind of got my own real estate advisor, you know, who could advise me, you know, throughout the process, the things that go well, the things that maybe don’t really go my way. You know, it’s good to kind of have multiple opinions. ⁓and kind of ask questions before jumping into something. So, you know, I did some due diligence, but it was a very, very good decision. Yeah.
Erika (03:32)
Yeah, and can you walk through more what the process was like scaling responsibly and calculating risk and all those things that could feel really overwhelming when you’re getting started?Camden Francis (04:31)
So for getting started for myself, I made the decision to go with a property management firm.and they had a lot of experience in real estate. They’ve been kind of doing this for decades and they were kind of coaching me through a lot of the kind of basic steps in terms of how to scale, what kind of leverage you can use. ⁓ For me personally, I kind of had a lot of investments stored away in a Fidelity account and I had a team at Fidelity that was managing those resources from some kind of tech company exit
as well as some other kind of money. And kind of what they are doing or what the property management firm has done is they suggested, you know, let’s take it alone. ⁓ Camden, have great credit, and you have that money sitting in the Fidelity account that we could use as collateral.
So, you know, I was able to take it alone on my first property. I got very great terms and I decided actually to buy the property in the Ohio area. I’m based in kind of Boston, Massachusetts, but the property prices here, you know, at 21, they’re a little steep, you know? So I wanted to really do due diligence, but also have a strategy and a game plan.
So I think that really has to go into scaling responsibly. It really, like what’s your setup? know, what kind of is the money that you’re accruing? You know, do you have a strategy and a team that can help guide you in the right direction?
Erika (06:11)
Absolutely, those are important steps. And with Camden, with the Ohio market, what opportunities and challenges are you finding there?Camden Francis (06:19)
Yes.With the Ohio market still being in Massachusetts and kind of building a portfolio there, ⁓ know, some challenges are not always being there. You know, so I’m determined heavily and relying heavily on the property management firm that I have calls with week in and week out that, you know, they have their due diligence process. And I realized, you know, whether, you know, this is kind of something to think about, whether I went to into the Massachusetts market or right.
A market that was miles away from me, miles and miles away from me. The due diligence that the property management firm is doing needs to be top tier. The tenant screening, making sure that the tenants are property screened. They’re doing background checks on the tenants. ⁓ They’re not rushing to place tenants. They’re looking for very high quality people that are renting your property.
Right? All of those kind of processes, you know, needed to be very thorough. ⁓ So in terms of some challenges, it’s not really it for me. It’s not being there, you know, physically as well as, you know, because I’ve lived in Massachusetts all my life, you know, I understand that market a little better. However, you know, by having the home prices, you know how it’d be a lot less.
buying a single family property instead of like a duplex I was able to save money on utilities because with the duplex you’re Paying a lot of the utilities with a single family You know the people that are living in the property the family is paying a lot of those utilities So it doesn’t eat away at you know the rent that you’re getting every month ⁓
So those are just a few things to think about. But I’ve had a pretty good experience so far. Pretty good.
Erika (08:16)
Yeah. And, ⁓ you know, I also think your background with tech has helped you out well. Can you share with our listeners with having that background, how it’s given you a unique perspective on real estate?Camden Francis (08:29)
Yeah, so, ⁓ you know, with tech in particular, especially where AI is right now, you know, we built our first AI company, ⁓ you know, right when AI was just getting kind of talked about a little bit before ChatGPT launched and what it was, it was an AI.advertising platform. So it was to streamline your advertising from end to end. In addition to that, you know, we’ve had a lot of success in the software space, but really what got me into, you know, kind of building businesses was my father. You know, he’s an avid entrepreneur himself, very accomplished as well as, you know, I read a book by Ray Dalio that inspired me and the book and his philosophy talked about building a portfolio.
And what that means is building multiple streams of income, multiple asset producing streams that can protect yourself at times where maybe things don’t go your way. So a crypto portfolio, but balancing that out with a tech company or having a large investment account.
like my Fidelity account, and balancing that out with real estate. So if one of these things doesn’t go well, you still have your other asset ⁓ that you can rely on. So that was really my approach to building wealth, was having a tech company or multiple tech companies and then having real estate and investments and kind of…
building that portfolio. So I would say that, you know, for a lot of the business, you know, or entrepreneurial individuals, really getting started with something that you’re passionate about. If it’s real estate, finding a strategy, kind of speaking with a real estate advisor, an avid real estate investor that’s been doing it for, you know, decades on end. ⁓
and just asking questions, attending events. There’s so many real estate events that maybe if you don’t have the income to jump into it right now, you could be spending this time learning. So when you do, you’re gonna have five years of wisdom, three years of wisdom that you could leverage to maybe avoid some kind of beginner mistakes.
Erika (11:22)
Yeah, and what you said right there about having the passion for what you do, I think that’s so important because, you know, there’s going to come a time where, you know, a deal goes sideways or you have to pivot. Camden, have you had one of those moments on your journey and what did you learn from it?Camden Francis (11:32)
Yeah. Yeah.Yeah, you know, I’ve actually, so the first property that I was going to buy, you know, I realized that, you know, it wasn’t going to be a good investment. And I was told ⁓ that really right before going in and, you know, buying that property.
So the reason for that was because it was a duplex and the duplex required me to pay a lot of the utilities upfront every single month, eating significantly into the property margins and the kind of the way the home was kind of structured. know, there weren’t it was for two kind of families, but there weren’t too many bedrooms or bathrooms in both the kind of, you know.
in both the bottom part of the house and the top part, right? So in terms of the bedrooms and the bathrooms, that allows you to basically rent out to more individuals.
And you know.
Thinking back on my journey, it’s been trial and error, countlessly learning. I really love to, before I purchase anything, ⁓ whether it’s a tech company, because we invest in businesses, we acquire businesses, you know, I really try to basically do layers of due diligence. So I recommend that for anyone getting started, you know, do your homework, do your research, ask questions. Can’t emphasize that enough.
Erika (13:01)
Is there any tools or software or systems that you use to make that due diligence go smoother?Camden Francis (13:07)
⁓ You know, I know that my property managementteam is always kind of doing data analysis and looking at, you know, software and property in their area and the software they kind of own, they kind of have their own unique software. ⁓ But I would say that for beginners, software is always helpful. Even kind of having a familiarity with, you know, using technology, right? So like Zillow, right? How do you use Zillow, right? How do you look at houses on there? There’s so many people that don’t have, you
confidence using ⁓ technology where when it’s really helpful so you can look at different software’s and you know utilize those to ⁓ you know have the right data to make informed decisions in the real estate space.
Erika (14:39)
Absolutely. And you know, earlier in the conversation Camden, when you were talking about getting started, you talked a lot about the relationships that you had built and finding an advisor. I want to go back to that for a moment for the listeners here who are looking to level up. They know they need to build their network. They’re just getting started. What kind of advice would you give them? Like where should they go when they’re just getting started?Camden Francis (14:48)
Yes. Yes.Mm-hmm. Yeah.
When I was just getting started, I really reached out to the people in my immediate network, kind of close friends and family. And that’s really kind of what I’ve leaned on. If you have close friends, maybe that, oh, in real estate.
invest in real estate. You know, it’s going to be a good idea to reach out, you know, to connect with them and really to hear about their approach, kind of their journey. Because to be frank, you know, some people absolutely love real estate and I love real estate. My plan was to get in early at 21 and to basically continue while I got an ad like 18, but to continue through, you know, the duration of my lifetime so I can kind of continue buying properties, continue buying properties. But some people don’t
like real estate you know and they have a different vehicle for their success so it’s asking the right questions ⁓ and kind of building a team so I have a real estate advisor I’m very kind of close with she’s actually my aunt she’s been in real estate for over 50 years ⁓ you know and then in addition to that I work with a property management firm you know property management team you know they have a whole team you know that does placing of tenants to
⁓ Kind of looking at new properties to acquire, new investments. And then also, you know, if it seemed like Fidelity, that’s constantly doing financial planning. You know, every time, you know, one of the companies are making money, you know, instead of putting it in a, like a bank account, ⁓ you know, I put it into the Fidelity account.
so that they can kind of manage it. Do financial planning and look at, Ken, what investments do we want to make in this quarter? What are we thinking? It’s really going in with a team. These people are all professionals. So you’re hearing this information from me. This information I’m getting from dozens of people. So this is some knowledge I’ve learned from several very accomplished individuals. And I’m breaking it down in a way that’s kind of easy to understand and digest.
Erika (17:00)
Absolutely. Is there anything that you would do differently now if you were just starting today with real estate?Camden Francis (17:07)
I would say I’m very grateful for when I started. I would say it’s really great to start early because, you know, starting early when you make a mistake, you know, it’s not overly burdensome, you know, hopefully. ⁓ I’m grateful for when I started, but, you know, I knew that I leveraged a lot of prior success in knowledge and wisdom. You know, I founded a charity. ⁓called Beyond the Crisis. When I was 16, it made the Boston Business Journal because of its impact. ⁓ And the charity was very successful because of our advisory board. We had a US congressman that did advocacy work for food insecurity. And then we had a president of a large global charitable foundation. So we won a lot of grants and we were able to help a lot of people.
However, kind of looking at how that business, or how that organization, it’s not a business, the organization, how that ran, right? ⁓ It was successful because of our leadership, because of the mentorship and the knowledge that was accumulated for a lot of years and was passed on to me to kind of run it successfully. ⁓ So in terms of the mistakes I made, they weren’t.
you know, paralyzing because I had people that I could rely on and trust. ⁓ I had good advocates for me. So, you know, taking that knowledge and applying it to my real estate journey, you know, I built a great team, you know, of people that I could rely on. And I would say that that’s made the journey a lot more fun. It’s made the journey just a lot more enjoyable. So.
Erika (18:41)
That’s ⁓ awesome that you’re enjoying the journey. ⁓ when it comes to what’s next on that journey Camden, ⁓ what’s the vision or goals that you have in mind?Camden Francis (18:44)
Yeah.I think ⁓ for myself really looking forward, it’s to continue to grow. Continue to grow this real estate portfolio, to continue to learn, to continue to meet with very ⁓ admirable people that are, they’ve been in this space a lot longer than myself. ⁓ I like to kind of build little small networks.
That’s kind of a plug to a company called Universe that is coming out soon. But I like to build small networks and those networks allow me to learn and gain information from very motivating and admirable individuals. I was inspired early on by Jack Doherty. He’s a young entrepreneur. Around my age of 21, I think he owns 30 homes.
30 homes at 21 years old and his real estate portfolio is right now like 60 million. So something crazy like that. So there’s, you know, always people to be admired by always kind of new mountains to climb. looking forward to it.
Erika (19:49)
Yeah, that’s awesome. And Camden, if someone wants to reach out, connect with you, you know, they’re looking for some advice, they’re just getting started. How can they reach you?Camden Francis (20:00)
Yeah.Reach me in my website, know, www.camdenfrancis.com. You know, I’ll respond over there. I have social medias, use Instagram. My Instagram is camfrancis1. You can reach me over there. You can send me an email at info at camdenfrancis.com. You know, there are a million ways to reach me. And another reason I did this podcast is I love, you know, Gen Z. You know, I want to be, you know,
kind of a resource for them. I’ll tell you all about my journey, the ins and outs, ups and downs. Looking forward to hearing from you guys. Awesome.
Erika (20:37)
Cameron, I appreciate you being on the show today and sharing your info for the next generation.Camden Francis (20:43)
My pleasure. I enjoyed the experience. It was wonderful. Thanks for having me.Erika (20:47)
Yeah. And for our listeners, if you enjoyed this episode, make sure that you’re subscribed to the Real Estate Pros podcast. We’ve got more conversations lined up with pros like Camden who are out there building fantastic real estate businesses. We’ll see you on the next episode.
