How Ethan Temianka Built a 270-Home Rental Portfolio in Columbus

Ethan Temianka (00:00)
I’ve been through some dark times, difficult times. I mentioned before, we had when we were starting out, we had a line of credit that we used for some of the acquisitions initially on that when the stock market went down, my investor and I had margin calls every day. We’re dealing with some very difficult times managing that before we were able to stabilize a lot of this. And so it’s believing in your vision, right?

Quentin Edmonds (01:51)
Hello, everyone. Welcome to the *Real Estate Pros* podcast. I am your host, Q Edmonds. And indeed, I’m excited to be here today. I have a fantastic guest. And man, listen, I’m gonna let him t take you through the journey, tell you kind of

Let him tell you where he is, where he comes from and and what he’s up to. and I and I cannot wait for us just to learn from his experience. A wealth of knowledge. He’s been in different, transitional phases of his career. And so I’m I’m excited. I’m excited for him to tell you everything that he’s doing. And so I want to introduce you all to Mr. Ethan. Mr. Ethan, how you doing today, sir?

Ethan Temianka (02:24)
I don’t walk you.

Quentin Edmonds (02:25)
Absolutely, man. man, I’m glad so glad you’re here.

glad that we’re doing this together. I tell people this is a collaborative effort, So we’re doing this together. And so Mr. Ethan, I am the type I like to dive right in. So I would love for you to tell the people what’s your main focus these days. if you don’t mind, give us a little bit of a backstory, kind of the origin story, kind of how you got to where you are, and then tell them what markets you’re operating in. And I know for you that’s that’s a bit of a journey as well, too. So man, this I’m putting it in your hands, you have the floor.

Miss E can talk to us, sir.

Ethan Temianka (02:57)
Cool. Yeah. I mean my story started back in two thousand eight from Southern California originally. after the market crashed, I saw an opportunity. I had been working in commercial redevelopment at the time. obviously it was a lot very difficult at that time to get deals off the ground. there’s lot of uncertainty in the market.

but one thing I noticed was that houses had gone down in value so much that there was an opportunity. And it wasn’t just a value-based opportunity, but I was looking at these houses and seeing them as 12 caps. I was looking at rents at the time and just seeing, look, if even if the market doesn’t come back up in the residential space, you can rent these houses and get a decent return. 12 caps don’t really exist these days, but back then they were everywhere. And so I was in my twenties, kind of just getting started. My boss at the time,

fortunately allowed me to talk to some of his investors. And I started just piecing together deals in California, going and buying out houses in the Menifee area, desert area, Beaumont, a couple of those cities around there. And would manage it myself, find tenants, get them renovated, manage the house. And we were hitting 10, 11, 12 caps easily. So started piecing those together, learning on the fly as I was doing it, and kind of doing it as a side hustle, so to speak, before side hustles were really a thing back then.

Yeah. but yeah, over several years I picked up about fourteen houses with with investors. at the time, I wasn’t very well off. So I, everything was through investors at that time. I was really just hustling. And 2012 moved out to Arizona, was kind of gonna test the Phoenix market, had a couple investors who are gonna invest quite a bit. but by the time I had my shop set up and was ready to go and they sold their company, it was about nine months after they expected it to sell and close.

the Phoenix market came back up about 30 or 40 percent, the residential market really quickly. And so I kind of said, look, we missed the the major opportunity that I had seen initially. And so I started exploring, looking for other deals in the Midwest, which I thought was kind of the next, the next area that I wanted to explore. came across a portfolio deal in Columbus, Ohio for 40 properties. It was in lower income space where I saw a lot of opportunity in some of these transitional areas. that I thought, hey, I was buying houses for 20, 30, 40 grand a piece.

And California money, that’s nothing, right? It seems like free basically. so I ended up buying quite a few houses with my investors. at one point we had about 270 houses here in Columbus. and went through a lot of growing pains, certainly. especially living in Orange County and still trying to manage everything out here with third party managers, third party contractors. you get a lot of contractors that aren’t the best. I had quite a few management companies that were weren’t the best either. And

also, when you’re buying houses that cheap and you have someone move out, my goal wasn’t to be a slumlord and just, keep the house as is, right? I was trying I was trying to make these livable, make these, improve the area, have a bigger vision for what I was trying to do. And so a lot of times our re rehab costs were more than the acquisition costs on the property. So when you have a lot of move outs at that stage and you’ve spent a lot of your initial capital on acquisitions, it was very difficult to manage that.

So we ended up consolidating for quite a while. I had maybe 180 houses. We sold off quite a few in other areas and are really focused on the south side of Columbus. we have Nationwide Children’s Hospital, one of the premier children’s hospitals in the country. a nearby neighborhood called German Village is a really nice area here with million dollar homes. And so I was buying houses right around the children’s hospital, which is east of Parsons Avenue, which is kind of a dividing line here on the south side.

And at the time, a lot of people said, don’t touch the south side, a lot of crime, a lot of gangs. but I said, I see opportunity here. And so we went all in. like I said, we had about 180 houses down here for quite a few years, got through kind of the difficult time by selling off some of the other portfolio, focusing on our renovations, doing it properly. and then in 2017, I actually moved out here to start my own management company, start my own renovations company. Yeah. and so I built those from the ground up.

And was really able to get more of a handle on everything we were doing. So that every single move out we had, every single renovation we had, I was able to walk the property with my guys, do exactly what I wanted to do with the property. and yeah, we helped stabilize the neighborhood. I was kind of the first one in here doing that. But then, all of a sudden it started growing, other people were started doing the same. A lot of flippers came into the area. and now we have new builds selling for over six hundred thousand, which is crazy. Yeah. So

It took a lot years to do that, a lot of growing pains. I always joke that, know, all my gray hairs came from my Columbus years. but it was it was an invaluable experience. obviously, the values of those properties have gone up quite a bit. and so I’ve done very well in my kind of principal business out here. And then over the last four or five years, I’ve transitioned back into commercial redevelopment. And so I’ve taken a lot of the that equity from those properties that we’ve sold off. We’re only at about a hundred houses now, so we’ve sold off

another 80 or so. And so now we have a really good portfolio and I’ve been able to get financing. as I mentioned to you before, when I started this, there really wasn’t a whole lot of commercial product for lo for loans on houses. but around 2017, 2018, that really started opening up and you’re seeing a lot more portfolio loans. So I was, especially with rates at the time over those years being very low and after COVID, I was able to stabilize the portfolio quite a bit, look liquidate as well.

and get some very, very good portfolio loans on a lot of those properties. And then I’ve been able to take a lot of that wealth from the sales and from the loans and then transition that into my current business, which is a redevelopment play that I was telling you about a mixed-use project down in Grove City, which is a suburb here in Columbus. And so we have about six acres in the heart of the town center. And our plan is a mixed-use redevelopment of a food hall, retail, restaurant, four bars, and a large public plaza.

Quentin Edmonds (08:36)
Yeah, yeah. Ethan sir, thank you, man. Thank you for taking us through the journey, taking us to where you are, kind of how you got there, what you’re up to now. a little bit about what’s next. I appreciate it, man. And and so, because you’ve you you’ve done transitions, you stabilize the whole community. I’m gonna love asking you this question. So everybody that comes on, I make a statement that destiny has no wasted moments, right? We go through the journey and we

From each leg of the journey, from the failure, from the success. And it kind of reinforces the people who we are now, the way we think, the way we do business. Absolutely. Yep. And so I would love to know, man, throughout the journey, what has the journey revealed to Ethan about himself? Has it revealed discipline? Has it made you humble? Has it increased your, your innovation? the way you look at it? Like tell me what the journey has revealed to you about yourself.

Ethan Temianka (10:14)
Yeah, absolutely humbling for sure. I’ve been through some dark times, difficult times. I mentioned before, we had when we were starting out, we had a line of credit that we used for some of the acquisitions initially on that when the stock market went down, my investor and I had margin calls every day. We’re dealing with some very difficult times managing that before we were able to stabilize a lot of this. And so it’s believing in your vision, right? A lot of people they get into something and if it doesn’t work right away, they

give up or they think they failed. And, I would just say if you have a long term vision for something, stick with that vision. even if in the hard times, that’s when you really get to know yourself and understand what you’re capable of. Yeah. like I said, I moved out here because, we had contractors who just lied about things and bezel money through an employee of mine. I mean, all kinds of stuff like that. And until you actually get a handle on it and get your hands on things, things can go south. So

For me, having to move out to Columbus, Ohio was very difficult at the time. I had, a good life in Orange County. I was like an elected official at the time, actually. Had to give up my position for that and move into one of my investment properties, believe it or not. A property that was so bad I got it for free. and so I, I renovated it and literally lived in that house for about a year. and so it was very humbling, moving from Orange County to here, going through those hard times. I wasn’t well off. obviously the time was still

Trying to make my way and build the wealth. and so yeah, I mean h being humbled is a good thing. I think everyone needs to be humbled at least once in their life. and so that I learned a lot through that process. I learned a lot about myself. it’s not about being flashy or showing off what you have done. I think for me, I I told you I don’t do a whole lot of podcasts, I don’t really market myself a lot. it I really just kind of stick my nose down and and one thing I would also say is even when no one’s watching.

Do the right thing. being a good person, having integrity and believing in the work you do is very important. And even if there are naysayers or people who doubt you or people who say you’re doing bad things or whatever, if you know that you’re doing the right thing and you can you can look up to the sky and know that you’re you’re good with the big man upstairs because you’ve done things right all along, then that’s okay. stick with your vision, believe in what your vision is, and and always go towards that vision.

Quentin Edmonds (12:26)
Sir, Mr. Ethan, thank you, sir. Thank you for that reflective answer, reflecting on just the journey. I always like to ask that question because as the at at the heart of each each business is the business owner.

That’s that’s the heart. And so just sometimes maybe think about the journey, how I got to where I are where I am. One of my mentors say when who you are, what to do. So knowing your why, I think is big. And so again, man, I really appreciate that answer from you, sir. I would love to know, let’s talk a little operations. I would love to know what’s one operational thing that you’ve put into place, let’s say the last two years.

that has really helped you be successful or maybe even just change the way you went about business.

Ethan Temianka (13:07)
Yeah, I think surround yourself with good people. people who have integrity and believe in their work too. You’re not going to be able to manage every single employee and everything they do each and every day. So helping them understand what the vision is and what your beliefs are, and what you want to see. So that, we had a 1.24 employees in the field in the renovation side. Now we’re down to three because we don’t, we don’t have as many move outs, things have stabilized, obviously.

but those three guys that I have now are my best three, right? They’ve been with me for probably almost a decade now on average. And it’s guys that I can rely on that I know are gonna show up, they’re gonna do what they need to be doing on each each and every day. my employee in the the management side, she’s been with me also for about a decade. And, stability, find people who wanna be there, who wanna work with you because you’re doing things the right way. that’s really the main the main thing. People who are gonna treat their tenants well.

my my property manager has a good relationship with all of our tenants for the most part, which is not always easy. Yeah, there’s always a little bit of conflict with tenants, but it also just comes down to serving the tenant and doing things the right way because when they have maintenance issues, when things go wrong in their house, you have to be able communicate that and you have to be responsive. Yeah. So, when we have problems in our house, we we’ve gotten a lot of five star reviews from our tenants over the last couple of years. It’s something we’ve actually pushed for to say, hey, look,

We respond to you right away. We’re not perfect, but you know, we’re com gonna communicate with you and we’re always gonna try to do the right thing. And and so we’ve actually, as a property management company, that’s pretty rare. get a lot of tenants who actually will go on Google and other sites and and give you praise because it just doesn’t exist these days. and it helps also that we’re owner operators. I think a lot of property management companies, they’re in it to, squeak out their margins, whereas we want to do the right thing ’cause we own the properties, so that helps. Yeah.

But it just all goes back to doing things the right way, even when no one’s looking. You wanna treat your tenants with respect, you wanna do the right thing, create a healthy environment for them and their families. And I think, the employees that I have now are the ones that, have been with me for a while because of that, because they know that’s how we do things, they’re proud of the work they do, and they’re proud of the way that they treat our tenants.

Quentin Edmonds (15:08)
Or I mean what you literally described is what I call community. And so I believe community is common unity. It’s people who are they’re doing different things. They have different

responsibilities, but the unity is we all are of the same mind that we want to be healthy, we want to be whole, we want to have integrity. And so a common unity, a community of people doing different things, but with the same goal in mind. And that way the vision gets pushed forward. And that’s what it sounds like you’re building that you’re building is a healthy community. And so yeah Mr. Ethan we’ll come back to that. I’m probably gonna end this end on relationships. That probably be one of my my last questions, but I do want to ask you what’s next. I know you’ve entered to it. You’ve talked a little bit

about it but what’s next for you what’s the next real goal what’s the next real standard what are you looking to solve at scale

Ethan Temianka (16:35)
Yeah, I mean it’s also along that community line. I think my new vision is this mixed-use development down in Grove City. it’s building community around this development that we’re doing. one of the things I told you about before is when I love to travel. And in Europe, they have a lot of these piazzas where you can hang out, there’s no cars, you have restaurants, places where the kids can run around without having to worry about getting hit by cars, putting out a patio that’s not rex next to a parking lot.

so it’s creating an environment where people can really enjoy themselves, relax, and enjoy hospitality. And so our development now that we’re working on, it’s called Broadway Live down Growth City. We own about six acres. And instead of going in there like a lot of developers would do and just saying, hey, we’re putting in a ton of apartments, we’re gonna do first floor retail, call it a day, we really wanted to build something that worked for the city and worked for that location. And so with the city’s conceptual town center plan.

They have first street promenade that they’re gonna be building. They have connection, pedestrian connections that all kind of funnel to our property. We’re building out a parking lot for the city and doing other necessary infrastructure, but we’re creating a food hall with eight vendors, four bars, a restaurant pad, and six or seven actually retailers. And so then it’s all built around this public plaza with a large screen, TV screen for football games, which is big here in Columbus for the Ohio State. Buckeye’s gotta give them a give them a shout out.

That’s right. Yeah. But building that community environment where families can come, they can have their kids run around. We’re gonna have different kids areas where they can play and do things, have a cornhole lawn, you know, and really just serve the community, serve what what people really wanna do, be able to relax, enjoy time with their friends and family, and and have a safe environment to do so. Yeah.

Quentin Edmonds (18:15)
Yeah. So listen, I I I gotta ask because I mean I done heard you say serve the community quite a few times. You’ve talked about people, you’ve talked about community, we talked about stabilizing a whole neighborhood. And so Mr. Ethan, I I I your philosophy shines through on relationship, but I wanna ask it point blank.

What is your thoughts on building healthy business relationships? what are some of the relationships that have served you well, that have maybe helped you be successful, or relationships of people that who you’ve you’ve helped and helped them be successful? Like I wanna end this show with you kind of putting a hammer on relationships and healthy relationships and how important they are to you.

Ethan Temianka (18:53)
Yeah, I mean number one, and this is something I found this year, and and not so it’s a topic too much, but it’s a relationship with God, with Jesus Christ. I think I think, when you when you have that first and foremost and you have a love for people, it spreads easily. that’s changed my life this year. Yeah. So I think that’s that’s number one. it’s just a way to live your life that I think I kind of lived that way before, but I’ve I think this year it’s really kind of set into me, who you’re supposed to be and who you’re called to be.

And you when you love people around you, even if they’ve maybe spurned you or betrayed you or whatnot, you you

still love them and you still love the community, you love people because we’re all we’re all people in God’s green earth. And when you when you have that kind of come from, every other relationship is secondary. and so, for me that’s been really important, especially this year. Like I said, I’ve kind of found that recently and that’s changed my life. So I think that when people have that come from, even if you’re a non-believer or you, you think church is crazy or whatever.

the message is there, right? it’s love. That’s all it is is love. So even if you don’t believe in God, that’s okay. Just believe in love, believe in in loving those around you and and treating them with s respect. I think respect is number one always. So but yeah, relationships other other than that, my business partner on the development side is a a wonderful human being also. He and I work really well together. he has a lot of strengths that are my weaknesses, and I have a lot of strengths that are his weaknesses. So I think it’s important to find people around you that really have strengths that you don’t have.

and can do things that you can’t do. So you give me a hammer, I’m not gonna be able to do much, right? I’m not gonna be able to do drywall or a lot of other things. That’s not my strength, but my guys are really good at it. Yeah. Yeah. tenant relationship, communications, that type of stuff, saying, what I mean, it’s it’s little bit over, not my strength also. And but I have Stephanie in the office who’s wonderful with that. So it’s finding people that, can fill in the gaps that you may have as a person and also being aware of those gaps.

Yeah, because a lot of people think, hey, I’m amazing, I can do everything, or what I mean? not having, having too much ego and thinking, I’m great at everything. It’s okay to say, look, I’m not good at this. That’s okay. and and being able to find people that you can work with, whether as a partner, an employee or whatever role that might be, to help fill some of those gaps.

Quentin Edmonds (20:56)
Yes, sir. Man, I’m I’m glad I asked that question, man. As you talk two proverbs came like

And run into my mind, like, hey, these are two proverbs that that literally you have surmised. And so one is Proverbs 17. nope, I’m about to mess it up. It’s 2717, I believe. And that’s where orange sharp is iron, And so that as a friend, loving orange sharp is iron. So that’s that one. And this is one I I quote quite often on this podcast, and I’m actually going to read it. And this is the NIV version, and it’s Proverbs 1125. It says, A generous person will prosper.

Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. So when I hear about you and the way you talk about serving people, when you refresh others, you in return will be refreshed. Like that’s and that’s why I hear you build in with your community, with your relationships, with integrity, which making making sure that everyone is serving each other. And so Mr. Ethan, man, I greatly appreciate you coming on, sir. If someone wanted to reach out to you, connect with you, collaborate with you.

learn more about what you’re doing, how can they get in contact with you?

Ethan Temianka (22:01)
[email protected] is my email. Feel free to reach out. like I told you before, I’m not really marketing a ton our project in Grove City right now. It’s just my partner and I. I’m the only capital partner. We haven’t opened it up to outside investment. We are actually doing 150 multifamily units also, though, and we are looking for someone to take that on. So if anyone’s interested in a 1.8 acre

graded pad ready, vertical ready property that’s you know ready to go to build 150 units in the heart of Grove City. absolutely reach out to me. We’re we’re marketing that currently off market

and you know within our network and we’re looking for a good partner to take that portion on so that we could focus on the mixed use hospitality portion. A

Quentin Edmonds (22:47)
Absolutely.

Ethan Temianka (22:47)
hundred and fifty units ready to go.

Quentin Edmonds (22:49)
I love it, man. I love it. Well, Ethan, Mr. Ethan, let me say three things to you sincerely, man. One, thank you for your time. I think time is our most precious commodity. And so I appreciate you giving us some of your time today. Secondly, thank you for your story, man. Thank you for what I call the gift of your transparency, the gift of your integrity, even the gift of your vulnerability. I often say this to you, Mr. Ethan, Jesus taught in parables.

So when we can share our lives, there’s greater meaning sometimes that people will take with us just telling our stories. And so I believe you sprinkled some real seeds, man. So thank you for telling your story. And lastly, sir, thank you for your mindset. Thank you for the way you think and bringing that mindset to this platform.

Ethan Temianka (23:33)
Thank you for reaching out.

Quentin Edmonds (23:34)
absolutely, my friend. Absolutely. Well, listen, y’all heard Mr. Ethan. His information is in the show notes.

So if you’re looking for what he has, listen, get in contact with them. Information is in the show notes. but definitely make sure you’re subscribed here. Cause I promise you, and I keep telling y’all, y’all call me out on it, but I promise you, we’re going to continue to bring up amazing people, just like Mr. Ethan. So, sir, I say thank you again. Absolutely.

Ethan Temianka (23:57)
Appreciate you.

Quentin Edmonds (23:58)
absolutely, my friend. And everyone else, listen, y’all have an incredible day.