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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros Pod, host Kristen interviews Lukasz Kownacki, owner of Forteca Estate, who shares his journey into real estate investing and property management. Lukasz discusses the appeal of short-term rentals, the challenges of working with family, and the importance of location and proper management in the real estate market. He also shares insights on future plans for Forteca Estate and offers valuable advice for aspiring investors.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Lukasz Kownacki (00:00)
And then I’ll say like the second thing is just like any other real Estate, you have to buy it right. Especially when during the pandemic and stuff like that, prices were skyrocketing and a lot of people were getting in, but that doesn’t mean the price was right. if you don’t get it right, it could be tough later on, especially now when there’s a lot of saturation and the market’s kind of dropping in some areas.Kristen (01:54)
Welcome back to the Real Estate Pros Pod. I’m Kristen and I’m here with Lukasz Kownacki who is the owner of Forteca Estate. He is also a real Estate investor himself. So we have a lot to get into. Thanks for being here, Lukasz.Lukasz Kownacki (02:05)
Hey guys, pleasure to meet you all. I’m happy to be here. Thank you, Kristen, for having me on the podcast.Kristen (02:12)
course, we’re excited to have you on. So, you you’ve been able to really scale an impressive portfolio and your property management company is global, which I’m dying to get into. Let’s talk about how you got into this industry to begin with.Lukasz Kownacki (02:26)
We got into it, I’m actually in the industry with my wife. We started when we were a little bit younger. Started, I guess, like most people, kind of look and purchase our first home. Didn’t know how we could really afford it, so we decided to buy a multi-family home in New York City, Long Island, which is an expensive market. We lived in one, rented the other, and that kind of got us started on understanding how real Estate works and how we could lend money to kind of a…let that grow on appreciation and cash flow and stuff like that.
Kristen (02:58)
Definitely. And did you jump into that full time or was it kind of a part-time thing for a while?Lukasz Kownacki (03:03)
It was part time for a while ⁓ and then once we started into the Airbnb part of things and realized this is something pretty cool, we really really enjoyed it. We kind of jumped in with two feet and went full time.Kristen (03:16)
That’s awesome. And I know with Airbnb’s, ⁓ there are like pluses and minuses to every way you do rentals. ⁓ What was so attractive about the short term for you?Lukasz Kownacki (03:27)
We did before we went to short term market we did do some long-term homes as well ⁓ What’s attractive about Airbnb’s it’s a little bit more cash flow Friendly and you’re able to add value to the home because of the business aspect on how much revenue can create ⁓ And it’s it’s had as a cool experience me and my wife were able to kind of design the homes together ⁓kind of envision these getaways for these couples from the cities to come and things like that. So it’s kind of more, guess, we were more connected with the homes instead of just giving the regular ⁓ home depot special as you can call it and just renting it long term to a renter for a yearly lease. And this is kind of more, ⁓ you can connect with the guests, get the experience and things like that.
Kristen (04:07)
Right?Amazing. ⁓ And talk about as you’re investing in a short-term rental, kind of the things that you look for that make it really attractive.
Lukasz Kownacki (04:25)
It’s the same thing as any ⁓ real Estate deal location is going to be one of the key factors ⁓ So, you know just a different aspect of it. So here we’re for making sure we’re on top of a mountain near a lake near mountains ⁓ Places near main streets means it main cities ⁓ Just so when people come they’re not too far from from certain attractions that are naturally there Of course, you could have the home have its own amenities and attractions but if you’re near ones that are naturally there and aroundand
It’s half the battle. So it’s definitely one of the main things.
And then I’ll say like the second thing is just like any other real Estate, you have to buy it right. Especially when during the pandemic and stuff like that, prices were skyrocketing and a lot of people were getting in, but that doesn’t mean the price was right. if you don’t get it right, it could be tough later on, especially now when there’s a lot of saturation and the market’s kind of dropping in some areas.
And if you have that high mortgage, then it’s maybe a little bit tough.
But if you know if you bought right, in any real Estate deal you have that equity in cushion so you’re already up so you can kind of withhold the storm.
Kristen (06:23)
Yeah, absolutely. And I imagine going through COVID where maybe short terms took a hit because travel took a hit. Talk about kind of being agile with the market and how you’ve been able to kind of pivot your strategy.Lukasz Kownacki (06:37)
So for us actually the opposite because a of people couldn’t travel they decided to drive and go to the mountains instead of flying to ⁓ across the world or to different countries and stuff so a lot of people were driving to you know the Poconos to the Catskills to the Hamptons and areas like that so actually that’s what our business really really took off and then we just kind of ran with it from there but now as the market is getting more people are getting in because short-termKristen (06:43)
okay.Lukasz Kownacki (07:07)
I’m ⁓Just keep adapting, you know?
Kristen (07:39)
Absolutely. ⁓ So you mentioned that you work very closely with your wife and you guys have built this company together. Talk more about that and how the positives about working with a family member and how you make that work.Lukasz Kownacki (07:53)
I think working with family is probably one of the toughest things to do but I feel like if you’re able to do it, you’re bound for a great success. You don’t have that trust issues, you don’t have lot of worries ⁓ because it’s family, it’s a person that ⁓ you grew up with or you’re with every single day so it’ll help. But there’s a lot of ups and downs. ⁓ You gotta learn to balance life, know when to turn it off, turn it on. ⁓ But having that support system and…both minds are going in the right direction and with that same goal in mind, it makes things a lot easier and lot more enjoyable, ⁓ which is kind of the greatest thing ⁓ for us. So I’m thankful and grateful that we’re able to do it together. definitely think to, if you can, it’s not for everybody, but if you can, it’s definitely one of the most exciting things for us.
Kristen (08:47)
Yeah. And what are some of your tips for, you know, when it’s that personal time and not that work time, kind of keeping things separate?Lukasz Kownacki (08:56)
Definitely a good schedule, time management, which we’re still working on ourselves. ⁓ Making sure you schedule in that time for yourselves and ⁓ not only talk about the business or about the work when you do schedule that time off. That’s probably the biggest thing. ⁓ And besides that, I think it’s just knowing your partner and knowing… ⁓It’s not just your business partner, also your significant other or family member. So you need to kind of learn how to balance it. But I think it’s just time management and being able to time block those times for you and completely time block it. Not, hey, I’m going out to dinner, but we’re going to talk about what happened at work. No, it’s just, hey, we’re at dinner, let’s talk about things about us, not just about work and business. So definitely, definitely tricky. But if you can get it done, it’s very, very powerful. I think it’s one of the most important things, especially in my life, I saw was you that support system.
Kristen (09:38)
Yeah.Lukasz Kownacki (09:49)
and you’re able to do it with someone you know you love, makes things lot easier and more enjoyable. So that’s the point of everything for us at least. So if you’re able to grow something and financially gear towards a goal with your significant other, I think you’re winning at life. So I think that’s amazing.Kristen (09:57)
Right.Definitely being intentional about that separation instead of just kind of, you know, going through it, which I think that really helps being intentional with the blocking out some time. So talk about for Tech Estate, how did you two form this company? When did you form it? Tell us everything.
Lukasz Kownacki (10:59)
So we always traveled, ⁓ we enjoyed it a lot, whether it was in hotels or we started doing Airbnbs. ⁓ And actually one of our friends stayed in a local home in the area, then we actually stayed as well. We reached out to them and asked them if they wanted to sell. ⁓This is right probably around 2019 or something like that, right before the pandemic and they were interested in selling. So we kind of started being creative how we could finance it and everything and that is kind of, we were already in long-term investing. So we did have a lot of homes, not a lot, but we had a few homes that were performing pretty well. ⁓
So this was something different. So we didn’t know really what to expect and how everything works. And we reached out to the Airbnb host and he was willing to sell. So we were able to purchase that property. And then after that, there was a house up the block which we ended up buying and out on that street they call us the Gala Heads because we have like six or seven ⁓ on that street. it’s, ⁓ that’s kind of how we started. And then from there we just went to different communities, different areas. Just took kind of what was working there to different areas and we kind of have our own
little system that we follow now. ⁓
Kristen (12:12)
Amazingand with the property management side ⁓ talk about that
Lukasz Kownacki (12:17)
So as we doing this, never were like advertising or marketing as a property management company. We were just managing and taking care of our self-owned homes.lot of people started reaching out to us because I guess they could see the numbers we were making through different platforms and uh… and softwares and they were looking for help and to manage their homes and the kind of word in the beginning was just word of mouth people were just reaching out to us for help and we started developing a business and hiring the right employees and having different sister companies for cleaning, maintenance handyman exterminators and all this other stuff to kind of make sure to
the whole Airbnb process was running smoothly and that’s kind of how it kept going. ⁓
Kristen (13:09)
Amazing. And you guys are actually global, so you have some ⁓ abroad properties that you manage as well. Talk about kind of the differences and kind of how you figure out how to be ⁓ compliant everywhere you go.Lukasz Kownacki (13:23)
So that’s the hardest thing is every just between towns is difficult in their communities and now you’re going to different ⁓ states and our countries. A lot of our investors when they come and they kind of work with us at first home, now they tell us, hey, we also have a few properties in Florida, a few properties in Poland or in different places of the world. Are you guys able to manage those? And a lot of stuff you are able to do remote and stuff, but you do need boots on the ground and you do need a good trustworthy system there. We both grew up, we’re born.in Poland, ⁓ especially my wife came coming to the States a little bit later. She has a good system there and the homes that were kind of areas so we were able to have a good trustworthy team in that area and then we do have friends in Florida and other places of the country on the state side which kind of helped us.
you know, be able to become and provide the same service as we did in the states, in all states. we don’t take on properties or jurisdictions where we’re not comfortable being able to provide the same services as we do now. So we’re kind of truthful to us, truthful to our clients, like, hey, yes, we could definitely do this. Or, you know, to be honest, you could probably find someone that’s local and then probably better, because that’s why we’re strongest.
Kristen (14:28)
Mm-hmm.Definitely,
definitely. And kind of as you were expanding your investing portfolio and you decided to take on your own property management, what were some of the things, I don’t know if you ever hired outside property managers, what were some of the things that you saw that you didn’t like that you wanted to fix yourself?
Lukasz Kownacki (15:40)
I feel a lot of investors probably could relate to this property management company. It’s great in the beginning, they’re a great sale, but then once it comes down to actually running things and showing you what’s coming and what’s coming out, it’s kind of not existent. So we learned that with properties we had in different states in the US after we moved, I lived in Maryland for a little bit.some short term, some long term rental properties there in a management company and just those, just you don’t really know what your property is doing, what shape it is in and just kind of up in the air and just hoping that it’s performing. I’m not really buying in right and…
talked about earlier in the show, kind of gave us that edge, I think properties could perform better for the better property management company. So that’s what we wanted to make sure. We’re there for our clients on that side, and especially because a big part of our portfolio ⁓ is our own properties. So even though there are properties, we do separate the two. Hey, we treat ourselves as an investor. We have to make ourselves happy on the investment side. So the property management company
Kristen (16:51)
Mm-hmm.Lukasz Kownacki (16:53)
employees from them have to make sure ⁓ that the investor which is sometimes it’s even us is happy and is performing the way it is for this to continue so.Kristen (17:03)
Amazing. Well, I mean, that sounds wonderful. And I know that you guys are the next phase of this is to build out some HOA communities. Can you talk about that a little bit?Lukasz Kownacki (17:12)
Yes, so that’s one of the things that we’re most excited for is kind of maybe growing into a community where we could have multiplesmaller cabins where large family gatherings could come or people could get together or even just someone wants to come away from the cities to kind of escape the city life for a little bit. We kind of want to focus on like like I said, a great location. It’s going to be key, mountain top around the lake or a creek or something like that. And we want to build kind of modular style cabins with a hot tub sauna, nice spa getaway. And then also have the option of a larger venue.
kind of barn area where if the group wants to rent for ⁓
for a party, an event, for a birthday, communion, christening, wedding, whatever gathering they would like to do, but even business gatherings, that’ll be option. So I think it’s something cool. There are definitely places out there that already do it, so we’re not recreating anything, just kind of ⁓ putting our own touch on it. And hopefully we’ll be able to make it into a way where we could just scale it and kind of drop it in different places of the states once we kind of get the system going.
Kristen (18:24)
That’s amazing. mean, I do feel like that’s the next natural step. And I think it’s a good ⁓ building off of Forteca. So, you know, to kind of wrap all this up, what would be a piece of advice that you wish you learned earlier in your career that you can share with us today?Lukasz Kownacki (18:40)
I wish I had met my wife a little bit earlier but that’s something we can’t control. one thing I think I would like to do earlier is just think bigger.this could grow bigger and start planning for that. If it takes you by surprise, you kind have to react and catch up and plan. But if you’re already thinking, hey, my plan is, because it was never a full-time goal for us, was kind of just to say, let’s invest properly and let this go and not thinking that it could get that big.
And so if you plan it with the mindset that, my goal is for this to be like this, you could put the right steps in play so you’re ready for the growth and to scale at a proper pace. ⁓ So for us, that was pretty tough because it’s just out of nowhere to start growing. And once it grows, it’s ⁓ so easy once it happens. The beginning, it’s like step by step, one house, two house, three house, four house.
Kristen (19:45)
Mm-hmm.Lukasz Kownacki (19:49)
And then now you’re up to like 10 houses a month and it just keeps scaling and scaling. once you get the train going, things are lot easier, but you have to have the systems and employees in place to make sure ⁓ it’s operating properly, obviously.Kristen (20:04)
Yeah, I think that’s really good advice. think people often get very focused on just more doors, more money, but you’re right. I mean, you can bottom out if the systems aren’t in place. So I think that’s great practical advice. ⁓ Well, this has been wonderful. Thank you so much for your time. Let us know or let everyone know where to find you.Lukasz Kownacki (20:22)
uh… yet that the checkers on instagram and tiktok, @FortecaEstate uh… if you ever in the area in the Poconos or uh… Catskills they should definitely visit one of our cabins uh… well some some of the needs and stuff so maybe we’ll definitely there hopefully we’ll be back on the show of the communities up and running uh… kind of uh… share some of that insights after that that’d be a greater we have a little thank you guys again for listening and uh… seems a great great uh… uh… podcast so that’s a lot of a helpful and knowledgeable information on here soKristen (20:53)
Amazing, yes. Thank you everyone for listening. ⁓ I know I got some good takeaways from this, so I hope everyone else did as well. So we will see you back next time, bye.Lukasz Kownacki (21:02)
Thank you guys, take care.
