Subscribe via:
Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros podcast, host Michelle Kesil interviews Matt Bryant, a seasoned real estate agent and investor based in Colorado. Matt shares his journey from being a professional baseball player to becoming a successful real estate investor. He discusses the importance of investing in rental properties for generational wealth, the lessons he learned throughout his investing journey, and the role mentorship played in his success. Matt emphasizes the opportunities available in the current real estate market, particularly in college towns, and offers valuable advice for aspiring investors.
Resources and Links from this show:
-
-
- Investor Fuel Real Estate Mastermind
- Investor Machine Real Estate Lead Generation
- Mike on Facebook
- Mike on Instagram
- Mike on LinkedIn
- Bryant and Company’s Website
- Matt Bryant on Facebook
- Matt Bryant’s Phone number: (720)934-0455
- Matt Bryant’s Email: [email protected]
Listen to the Audio Version of this Episode
Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Matt Bryant (00:00)
if you wait until you feel you’re 100 % prepared, it’ll probably be too late. So like sports, get out there and just doand you’ll learn as you do it.
Michelle Kesil (01:41)
Hey everybody, welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Kesil. Today I’m joined by someone I’m looking forward to chatting with, Matt Bryant, who is a real estate agent and investor in the Colorado area. So excited to have you here today, Matt.Matt Bryant (01:56)
Hi Michelle, good morning. Thank you very much for having me.Michelle Kesil (01:59)
Sure so yeah, let’s dive in. For those who don’t know you and your work yet, can you share what your main focus is?Matt Bryant (02:07)
Yes, so my name is Matt Bryant and I’m 50 years old and I…was a professional baseball player up until I was 25 years old in the minor league systems. And when I retired from baseball and came back to Denver, Colorado, I was very fortunate to meet some real estate investors. So I started my real estate investing journey as a 25 year old while getting my real estate license. And I tell people that my very first property was a condo that I purchased for myself for $143,000 right across the street from Denver University right here in the heart.
Denver and so
Purchased that, lived in it. Actually, I purchased it with a poor loan mortgage, so a negative amortization loan. So I actually ended up owing more on it in the first two years than I bought it for. But ⁓ as I was getting married and having children, I moved out. My wife and I purchased another property, lived in it for a short time, kept the first property as a rental, kept the second property as a rental.
and then purchased our home that we had our children in. so fast forward to about 30 years old, and I owned two rental properties and two children. And then realized the growth that can be, the wealth that can be grown with rental properties and kind of got addicted to it. So purchased a couple more over the next couple of years and then buy his clients to do the same. So.
Yeah, I was back to my thing. No, no real secret to it. Just happened to be fortunate to coach a lot of children in baseball. Then their parents advised me and mentored me and they were a little bit older and they’d seen success with investing in small rental properties. So, really took their lead for it. Tried to emulate them. And as my children were growing, I explained to them that these rental properties are allocated kind of for your future.
The cash flow I invested for their college education. So, you five to ten years old, children knew where the properties were, understood the process, tried to show them the figures that involved with owning a property. So it’s all about how much it costs to own a property versus how much the property can ⁓ make an income. So they did that. And fast forward to today, I do have one daughter who is a junior at Clemson University in South Carolina.
She always knew that wherever she went to college, we would be purchased in a home for her. But it was not a gift by any means, it was a responsibility that she needed to maintain and collect rent from roommates. And that would be her spending money, but also she needs to invest some money and she has, very proud of her. She’s invested quite a bit of money into a brokerage account for her future, including any future tuition costs.
maybe even med school as she’s looking forward to the next couple of years. So that is a property that we probably could not have been able to purchase if we didn’t start early. The initial property that we bought for $143,000 and then was upside down on for the first couple of years. We owned for 16 years, rented it out to college students. We were very fortunate to kind of get into the athletic department of DU.
we run into a lot of athletes. So what I’ve learned is as one athlete moved on, another athlete would take their place on the team. So that’s a little tip there if you do rent in college towns to try to be kind of known as the athletic friendly landlord.
So we were able to do that for 16 years and the cash flow pretty much rent paid for all their tuition, my daughter’s tuition and then the home itself when we flipped it to the home for her that she is now owned for two years. And I’m very proud of this fact. We’ve not sent her any money for her housing or anything. And then when she were to move on, I’ll obviously take the value of the home back and it’ll be moved on for our
my wife and I is for retirement. We have a second child, junior, sorry, a senior in high school who is just committed to Montana State and Bozeman. So we’re in the process of using another rental property to get ready to purchase her a home with the same plan.
So that is pretty, the experience I’ve had with investing in small rental properties around Denver University. I do like renting, buying and owning and renting in college towns and then handing it off to my kids. And hopefully I set them up for a future of owning homes and they’re seeing the benefit of doing as such. And,
I hope I can kind of give them a head start to generational wealth as my wife and I hopefully retire here soon. That’s my story.
Oh, and one last thing I do want to kind of say, know the realtor in me does have to say it’s not timing the market, it is timing the market. I would say the Denver real estate market has changed drastically in last two years. I do see a lot of opportunities. So the property that I owned for $143,000, or I purchased for $143,000 and owned for 16 years in the building across the street from Denver University now has a number of condos on the market. The values have come
down a little bit and I did advise somebody or guided somebody last year to purchase the exact same unit on a different level but everything was the same of the unit that I really feel paid for my kids college education. They just purchased that same type of unit for $150,000. So the values had gone up quite a bit and now they’ve come back down but the opportunity is there. They did purchase it in August of last year for $150,000. I was able to
for them and they are currently cash flowing and putting the money aside for their kids college education.
Michelle Kesil (09:17)
Awesome. What an empowering way to support your kids.Matt Bryant (09:22)
Long story, maybe they didn’t appreciate it early on with a lot of the driving by the houses and letting them know, or condos mainly. But I hope when they’re 25 and they own their own home and they’ve moved on, they do appreciate it.Michelle Kesil (10:17)
Definitely. And so what are you focusing now, whether that’s solving or scaling to the next thing?Matt Bryant (10:25)
I think, and thank you for the question, as I was alluding to with some friends of mine, I really didn’t, I was nervous getting into the market when we purchased a total of five properties in five years. There was a lot of anxiety, am I making the right choice? Am I overextending myself?But I feel I was pretty conservative and bought small homes with money that disposable income that I could afford.
and I see the anxiety and I feel it as well right now with are we making the right choice? Things have changed a little bit. I will say the condo that I mentioned that I purchased in 2001 for $143,000 and then purchased the same type of condo in 2025 for $150,000. Taxes, fees and nature way fees have gone up quite a bit. So I do know there is some anxiety in that but
I feel I really…
You know, I looking back, I was very glad and fortunate that I did jump into the market, maybe not knowing exactly what I was doing, but I learned it as I went along. And I feel I’ve set my children up for their future and now my wife and I, we’re still fairly young. So I think we are looking to kind of duplicate it again and get back into being the landlords we once were and round two. So I think I see a lot of opportunities in the Denver real estate market right now. Things are changing.
We’ve been down for two years and I think it’s time to kind of get back into it. The kids are taken care of and now we need to do stuff for ourselves.
Michelle Kesil (12:05)
Yeah, that’s an exciting place to be in. Is there any sort of obstacle or hurdle that you had to overcome on your investing journey that you can now see like the lesson?Matt Bryant (12:18)
Yes, yes, very much so. think with round two starting up, I think there were some things that I did differently with my tenants, or I’m sorry, things that I did with my tenants over the last couple of years. I was not consistent.with a lot of things, different personalities, and I would try to adapt to those personalities as a landlord. I think in round two, I will stay much more consistent, a very good schedule, understand what is allowed and what is not, and staying…
kind of regulated with that. There are some good changes that have been put in place in Colorado Landlord Law to protect both the landlord and the tenant. So I’ll be a little bit more educated on that fact and then again staying consistent with the tenants from the get-go.
Michelle Kesil (13:09)
And so what advice would you give to someone that’s getting started investing?Matt Bryant (13:15)
Just stay consistent and stick to the plan. There are some ups and downs in real estate investing. So looking back, there were some sleepless nights, but I’m glad I got through it. think ⁓ I will say I was, I did mention I was fortunate to have some mentors and parents of the kids I coached, but also the biggest mentor in my life was my father who did tell me kind of, and actually my first property at $143,000, I was nervous.think I had the money that could afford it. But he pretty much told me I think it’s something I should really look into doing. And he actually was a landlord in Denver in the 80s and the 90s when things were not very friendly for landlords. The interest rates were very, very high. But he told me once, he said over the years, the most he ever made was $78,000 a year at his job. But he also owned some rental property.
properties.
that, and I remember as a teenager having to go with him on the weekends to fix things and mow lawns and do some things on his properties.
He did let me know that they were allowed to, he was allowed to retire early with my mother due to getting into the real estate market. So I think he kind of nudged me off the ledge to pull my first property. And I think there were some times I probably regretted that, but now I’m very glad I did. obviously it was addicting. So I bought four more, ⁓ five more. But.
I mean, I think that…
Thing is, I know people have been hesitant. know my daughters are little hesitant on owning their own properties. But as I’ve told both my daughters, I mean, my job as a coach and as a parent is to kind of give you a playing field to practice on. And that’s what the home allows. So you’re not going to know everything going in. And
if you wait until you feel you’re 100 % prepared, it’ll probably be too late. So like sports, get out there and just do
and you’ll learn as you do it.
Michelle Kesil (16:12)
Yeah, definitely. The experience will teach you a lot.Matt Bryant (16:15)
Yep, you know, and I think with my sports background, there is a, I’m a little nervous about getting out there and playing. So I want to kind of practice a little bit more or do some things, golfing, skiing, baseball, whatever have you. But I’ve learned that sometimes just going out and just doing it, you learn while you do and you’re glad at the end that you did.Michelle Kesil (16:37)
Absolutely. And so what would you say are some of the opportunities that you’re excited about?Matt Bryant (16:43)
I think for me we’ve seen in the Denver real estate market and then more generally in the national real estate market especially in college towns.I’ve seen a lot of good opportunities. In fact, I am a bit addicted to not just looking at real estate in the towns that my daughters are going to, but we’ve traveled quite a bit to some. I’m wearing the Clemson hat today. My daughter is on the sports team. And when we do travel to other states and cities to watch her compete, we do go around and look at real estate. And it’s pretty easy to take a look at how much it costs to own
real estate in the college town and what you can rent for and I think there’s incredible opportunities right now to be the landlord in all college towns across the nation and you know a lot of growth but more importantly know the demographics and the people you be renting to and it’s you know good attendance with that they’re they need to be there for college and they need housing so we provide it but we also there’s a good return on investment.
providing. So there’s a lot of opportunities right now in most college towns across the nation.
Michelle Kesil (17:58)
Yeah, absolutely. And what would you say is one of the biggest maybe hurdles that you’ve overcome in your real estate journey?Matt Bryant (18:10)
The biggest one is increased fees right now for taxes and insurance and HOA fees. So it takes a lot more education right now to do it, but you learn while doing and yeah, really kind of just…letting the tenants know that I feel I’m a very responsible landlord, but you know, my expenses have gone up a little bit. I don’t want to pass those on directly. It’s still part about knowing the market and making sure you’re a fair landlord, but then appreciating the tenants that are paying your fees and your mortgage for you and everything like that. the challenges are having that conversation. The challenges are letting the tenants know that you do appreciate them and
respect them, but also having the conversation upfront that this is a business transaction and we need to respect each other.
Michelle Kesil (19:01)
Yeah, absolutely, that’s important. And so you said that mentorship has been a part of your journey. Was that like something that you did courses through or how did you learn?Matt Bryant (19:14)
Thank you, because I didn’t realize I was learning as I meeting some incredible, I’ve been very fortunate to meet some incredible people, my father being the first one and my mother.Then as a 25 year old coaching 12, 13 year old children and then their parents were in their 40s and they were established and they had the fears of doing right for their children. Before I had children, I kind of saw it and I was around it and a lot of the conversations just even after practice sitting with the parents or going out to have a beer with a parent or two and it was great. I could tell a little story.
of my baseball career, but then they could tell me stories about what it’s like to be a parent and then more importantly what it’s like to set your kids up kind of financially. So I didn’t realize I was learning. I didn’t seek it out. But looking back now, just again, I’m thinking of five dads that just really took me under the wing and kind of gave me some tough advice too. There was some, hey, know, things I need to
consider and now I feel I’m their age and I’ve been it’s it’s kind of come in full circle some of the parents some of the kids that I was coaching as a 12 and 13 year old now are that 25 to 30 years old and getting married and having children and their their dads put their arm around me and told me things I should probably be thinking of and I kind of try to pay it forward and put my arm around them
And ⁓ they listened to me when I was a 12 year old talking baseball, and now I hope they listen to me as a 50 year old talking parenting.
Michelle Kesil (20:58)
Awesome. I love that you just got to learn in that way.Matt Bryant (21:02)
I didn’t know I was learning, I think I did.Michelle Kesil (21:06)
Yeah, awesome. So before we begin to wrap up here, if someone wants to reach out, connect and learn more, where can people find you and connect with you?Matt Bryant (21:15)
Great, thank you. Again, I’ve been in real estate for 25 years and own my own brokerage, Bryant & Company. The website is bryantandcompany.co. But I’m always on my cell phone. I always return phone calls. You can call me at 720-934-0455 or email at [email protected]Michelle Kesil (21:43)
Perfect, I’ll appreciate your time and your story. Thank you for being here.Matt Bryant (21:47)
Michelle, thank you very much for having me. I really do appreciate it.Michelle Kesil (21:49)
of course And for the listeners tuning in, if you got value, make sure you’ve subscribed. We’ve got more conversations with operators like Matt who are building real businesses. We’ll see you on the next episode. -
