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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros podcast, Dawud Bey shares his inspiring journey from a troubled past to becoming a successful real estate developer focused on affordable housing in Philadelphia. He discusses the importance of community engagement, the value of seeing potential in neglected neighborhoods, and his commitment to giving back through education and activism. Dawud’s vision includes building thousands of affordable homes and training the next generation of craftsmen to ensure sustainable development in urban areas.
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Dawud Bey (00:00)
I was impacted, I became a drug dealer, I was incarcerated for selling drugs. So I’m a returning citizen. So as a returning citizen, it gives me ⁓ somewhat more of a sense of urgency, you know what I mean, to try to, you know, ⁓ fix some of the things that I actually helped disturb, you know. So at the end of the day, instead of me running away and…and say I want to move out of Philadelphia and go to other places had job opportunities in many different places. I could have went with friends that I know. But I decided to stay home because I had to fix some of the things that I helped break.Kristen Knapp (02:05)
Welcome back to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m Kristen and I’m here with Dawud Bey who is the founder of Fine Print. He is a general contractor, developer, and you know, he specializes in affordable housing in Philadelphia. So we’re gonna get into a lot of great stuff here. Thanks for being here.Dawud Bey (02:22)
Thank you very much for having me, Kristen.Kristen Knapp (02:24)
So, you you are so active in this community and you’ve done so much, but let’s start at the beginning. How did you get into the real estate world to begin with?Dawud Bey (02:35)
Well, I didn’t skip no steps, I’ll tell you that much. know, getting into the real estate, I began to start, you know, doing my own little projects and stuff. I ended up buying a commercial property to believe it or not, as one of my first properties. And it was a barber shop that I turned to a 20 chair hair salon. I had 10, 12 chairs for the men downstairs, eight chairs for the women upstairs.But what happened was that individual who sold me that building, sold me another property and I turned that into a duplex. And it was one of the best deals I have ever, first deal I ever did in my life and one of the best deals I ever did in my life. I remember I paid $2,000 for the property. I put about $125,000 into the property and 10, 20 years later, I ended up selling it for $500 and something thousand dollars.
you know, but at the end of the day, that is what got me into it. And then, like I say, I started doing like little flips and stuff, you know, with single family homes and things. And the single family homes, you know, I was doing them so well, people start asking me, yo, how do I get involved? Can you fix this house up for me? And by us having a barber shop, you know, the barber shop is the center of the community, you understand? So you get all of the information.
You understand, the barber’s talking to the clients all of the day. So a lot of deals start coming through us through the barber shop, people, family dying and we helping them out with their estate situations and things to that extent like that. And as we begin to start building our reputation from putting out a good product, people start asking me to fix up day houses for them. So I started building up a clientele by being able to put together projects and finish projects on time, on budget.
And the project was amazing. Like every project, of course, you know, we come in in communities that need uplifting anyway, but every project we did set the market standard. You understand? Like we broke the record in every ⁓ market that we was in was at Ravage Point Breeze in Philadelphia, Grace Ferry in Philadelphia.
Kristen Knapp (04:41)
Mm.Dawud Bey (04:51)
You know, everything that we did sold more than anything I ever sold in that particular neighborhood. Of course, because the neighborhood was on the uprise, but still it was somewhat gentrified at the time, but we were still able to, you know, put out good numbers at affordable prices and make good price points on it.So I built my reputation, like I said, doing single family houses. Then I started going into getting multi-unit properties, more multi-unit properties. I sold that property that I ended up getting, selling for 500.
I sold that and I bought another property for $175 and invested some other into some other projects and stuff. at the end of the day, it’s just like I went from one property that I bought for $175. I ended up selling that for $400, made a couple of dollars. Then I was able to go on Broad Street. Broad Street in Philadelphia is one of the main thorough-throughs in Philadelphia, like Main Street, you know, in Philadelphia connects you from one part of the city to the other.
So for me to have a property on grocery was like a big deal, you know? So I started investing into ⁓ the grocery areas and I ended up putting like 18 units on that particular block. I now own 10 units on that block, but I had a vision to kind of go into these dilapidated neighborhoods or communities that was disinvested and try to really, you know, find those jewels and see the beautification that most people couldn’t see.
Because that’s the main key with this. You got to be able to find opportunities and see opportunities that other people don’t see. So I’m a self-proclaimed ⁓ self-gentifier, excuse me. You understand? I believe that we’re supposed to be self-gentifying. We’re supposed to be in these communities that’s dilapidated and primarily black and brown communities where it’s less investment in. We need to teach people in those communities how to see the value.
of that dilapidated house or that parking lot that’s sitting there with a bunch of trash on it and things to that extent. They got to see the value within their own community and teach them how to build their own communities as opposed to letting outsiders come into their communities and push them out and come in under the guise of making the community better. But it actually sometimes impacts people in ways that they can’t afford to pay their taxes and stuff like that to keep up. you know,
I really, like I said, I didn’t skip any steps and getting into the single family houses, to the multi units. And now the biggest project I did was the 18 unit development. mean, 17 unit development that I actually rehab. I did the 18 unit one, but the one that I did 100 % on my own, 18 unit and I did it in like 120 some days.
Kristen Knapp (08:32)
I mean that is such an incredible story and it seems like you’re doing such good work in the community. When you talk about you know noticing value it seems like you’ve been able to really be able to see value as you said in these homes. What do you think other people miss?Dawud Bey (08:51)
It’s savviness. You know, you have to be savvy, you know, and you have to be humble too, because a lot of people look at some of these demarginalized communities and like, I don’t want to be in that neighborhood. It’s seedy, it’s this and that. And they even redline and classify communities as A, B, C, and D classified neighborhoods and stuff like that.Kristen Knapp (08:59)
Yeah.Dawud Bey (09:20)
So a lot of outside, ⁓ I like to call them ⁓ urban revolutionary developers coming to these neighborhoods and they don’t know the neighborhood. They don’t know the fabric of the community. They don’t know the people in the community. You understand? So they stay in the A and B category neighborhoods where it’s already hot at, you understand? Cause they can see the potential there because they already see things moving. A person like myself, I’m like, ⁓Eddie Murphy on Trading Places. I’m the guy that was on the grate, the bum that was on the ground, that was amongst the people that was able to educate the guys that was on Wall Street. You understand? Because I’m down on the low level. I’m with the people.
I come from the neighborhoods. You understand? I was once a problem in the neighborhoods so I could figure out the solutions. And when I say a problem, I was the average, you know, ⁓ 18, 19, 20-year-old African-American living in the urban communities.
Kristen Knapp (10:36)
Yeah.Dawud Bey (10:51)
and during the crack epidemic, you understand. So seeing, you know, how communities, you know, just was infused with drugs and things like that. Andwas impacted, I became a drug dealer, I was incarcerated for selling drugs. So I’m a returning citizen. So as a returning citizen, it gives me ⁓ somewhat more of a sense of urgency, you know what I mean, to try to, you know, ⁓ fix some of the things that I actually helped disturb, you know. So at the end of the day, instead of me running away and…
and say I want to move out of Philadelphia and go to other places. had job opportunities in many different places. I could have went with friends that I know. But I decided to stay home because I had to fix some of the things that I helped break.
And at the end of the day, I felt a moral obligation to make sure that I give back to my community as I began to grow and develop within my career.
Kristen Knapp (11:42)
That’s incredible. When did you have that mindset? When did that flip where you’re like, really want to give back to the community.Dawud Bey (11:50)
Well, even before my incarceration, I was one of them guys that had one foot in, ⁓ one foot doing the positive stuff, but my other foot was on the banana pill, doing all the bad stuff. You know what mean? So I was kind of like, you know, doing some of this stuff prior to my incarceration. But what happened in doing my incarceration, it gave me one of them aha moments. Like, you understand? Like within five years of my incarceration, you know, you start to…look at things from a different perspective because of the impact that it had on you, your community and your family. You you start to see that impact. So part of that impact is that’s when that shift came even prior to me coming home. So I wanted to make sure that I become a program superior. went back to college. I got my GED, back to college for some business management classes while I was in there.
I became a superior programmer, like teaching real estate classes, getting books, creating curriculums and stuff like that, teaching public speaking classes and stuff like that while I was incarcerated. And then when I came home, I became a mentor to guys like Meek Mills, Lil Uzi Vert, PNB Rock, guys here from out of Philadelphia. And I started the Meek Mills movement, it’s called the Free Meek Mills Movement. I started petition for Meek Mills.
to help free Meek Mills from his incarceration when he was locked up. So I’m the person that’s basically started that whole entire hip hop social impact movement. know, I started working with Rock Nation, with Jay-Z, Robert Kraft from the Patriots, Mike Rubin from the 76ers, Van Jones from CNN was our CEO. And I became the Pennsylvania grassroots organizer for Reform Alliance. So I’m also a community activist.
Kristen Knapp (13:21)
Wow.Dawud Bey (13:41)
You know, so I went up and down the Commonwealth promoting an issue-based campaign dealing with parole and probation reform. So at the end of the day, you know, I felt like things like that was important because, you know, after my incarceration, coming home, making the transition back into society, things, doing things like that also helped me establish my executive profile.you know, build trust, you know, put some skin in the game, get back involved with the community and stuff like that and figure out where I fit in. And then that’s how I able to see it. I’m the type of person that pay attention to the world and what direction the world is going. So during that time, I understood the need for criminal justice reform and every elected official, both Republican and Democrat, during that time, supported criminal justice reform.
Then I pivoted after we got Mick Mills out, we found some success with that and I helped get that off the ground. So now, Philadelphia having a major problem with gun violence after COVID. The uptick of violence was crazy in Philadelphia. So at the end of the day, I started doing that type of work and the criminal justice, I mean,
anti-gun violence. So moving all the way up, long story short.
is that I got involved with that, started helping with that type of stuff. I really try to figure out now how I’m going to feed my family. So now with the affordable housing stuff, it allowed me to check off a few different boxes. One, I like to make money. I like creative things. I like to start and see things from its infancy stage and build it all the way into its finished product, right? So I love construction, design, development and different things at a stand. And I like helping people.
Kristen Knapp (16:00)
Thanks.Dawud Bey (16:17)
So with this thing being affordable housing, can check off all of those boxes and make some money, do the things that I love to do. I love helping people. I love the creative part of what we’re doing. And at the end of the day, I’m trying to help the mayor reach our goal of building and sustaining 30,000 houses within the next four to five years. And we already completed, and I done over 100 houses already. We just completed 39 houses in Grace Ferry.Kristen Knapp (16:41)
Wow.Dawud Bey (16:45)
We sold all 39 of them at $265,000 a piece. Now this is a neighborhood, ⁓ Kristen, that houses are going from four or 500,000. So we already creating generational wealth. We already creating long-term residents because a lot of these people are long-term stakeholders whose parents live in these neighborhoods, but they can’t afford to stay close to their parents and take care of their parents because their taxes is being raised.Kristen Knapp (17:00)
it.Dawud Bey (17:13)
and they’ve been pushed out of their community. So doing this thing with the turning key and being in partnership with the city of Philadelphia has been a game changer because anytime you’re able to do real estate with city government or any government, such me is a whole nother level than us running around trying to chase all of these leads and things. Cause they literally have a built-in system for you, a buyer’s workforce development. What the workforce development mean? Work or housing that’s been built.at the affordable price point for city workers. Sanitation department, police and firemen, they all qualify making 50, $60,000 a year and qualify for the turn of key houses. So at the end of the day, it’s a dream come true for me right now.
Kristen Knapp (18:04)
I mean, you’re so inspiring. You have such an amazing story and you’ve been able to help your community in so many different ways and on a national level too. You’ve influenced so much. ⁓ You strike me as the type of guy who’s not done yet and there’s probably a lot on your to-do list. What’s next? Like what are you looking at in the future? ⁓Dawud Bey (18:24)
Well, I’m just trying to be careful, you know what mean? And scale ⁓ with the proper systems in place. You know, I don’t want to go too fast and then can’t be able to handle what I’m asking for. So the concentration and focus now is to not perfect, but to seek perfection, knowing that you’ll never reach it. But seek perfection.Kristen Knapp (18:34)
Right.Dawud Bey (18:54)
within the space that we’re in now to like really harness our skills and make sure you understand that we’re doing things the right way. You know, we hiring people that smarter than us, bringing in other qualified professionals just to make sure, you know, that we can handle the capacity, you know. So there is no limit as far as what could be done, especially on affordable housing. You figure if I could do 2,500.of the 30,000 houses that the mayor have in plan. That doesn’t even scratch the surface of 30,000 houses, you understand? So that’s my goal. I want to do at least 3,000 of these turnkey houses, but I do really want to do some more exciting things with custom designs and some fun stuff that I can get creative and show off and show my skills and get higher price points on it, you understand? ⁓
and position myself to make sure that I have enough passive income to sustain me for a thousand years, so to speak. You understand? You know, cause I want to build a legacy and I want to do some things for my family and stuff like that, you know, but I don’t want that stuff to be a burden either, you know. So at the end of the day, I’m just trying to make sure I scale, uh, scale at the right time, at the right speed, with the right focus. And at the end of the day, uh,
The main thing is to continue to ⁓ build the Daud Bey Jr. Training Academy because that’s the thing that I believe that’s going to sustain the world. You understand? Because ⁓ America workforce is hurting. You know, it’s aging out. You know, ⁓ a lot of the best craftsmen, they too old now. You understand? So it’s like we got to begin to start training America workforce because you see Donald Trump.
He ain’t all right and it ain’t all wrong about everything, but he’s forcing people to come back to America to do these trades and, you know, build companies from within America and different things like that. And we’ve been lazy for a long time. We’ve been out of the workspace for a long time as it relates to construction because we’ve got a lot of foreigners and people coming in, you know what saying, doing the work that they say we don’t want to do, which is a lie. You understand, we want to do it and we qualify to do it, but we got to get the training. There’s not enough training facilities set up.
to help train America’s workforce, particularly black and brown youth is not in our communities enough. You know, we got unions and stuff like that, but all of they training facilities in places that they don’t even advertise. You understand? So we need to get into the community and figure out how we can train these men and women to be qualified. Right now we are certified apprenticeship program due to Department of Labor. So we are certified apprenticeship program due to Department of Labor. So we are a sponsor.
Kristen Knapp (21:26)
youDawud Bey (21:46)
So we looking for other strategic partnerships, even throughout the whole United States, because we get ready to be national. So if you got guys that’s into development and they got construction firms, we trying to partner with other developers and construction firms and stuff like that, because we can bring in apprentices for a cheaper rate for you, but with the same quality as some of the journeymen that’s out there working. So it’s a good thing, it’s a win-win thing for both the developer and the general contractors.because you get, you know, to get back to the community, you help building up the workforce and you also getting ⁓ a good quality work for an apprenticeship pay wage. You understand? So at the end of the day, there’s a lot of benefits in it. We just got to educate people and communities and stuff like that. But my thing is to continue on with the Turn The Key program and continue to build my own portfolio with multi-unit buildings and get back to the community to make sure
that those things that I’m doing also have sustainability because I’m building buildings, so I need to train guys to become building maintenance guys. So at the end of the day, everything that I’m doing is kind of supports the other entity that I’m working with, actually.
Kristen Knapp (23:01)
Yeah, and I feel like that’s just the natural progression to now teach others to be able to do what you’ve been able to do. ⁓ I think this has been such an inspiring story that you’ve lived so many lives and it’s proof that you can reinvent yourself at any point in your life. It’s very inspirational.Dawud Bey (23:17)
That’s right. That’s right.I did 10 and a half years incarceration, four years in solitary confinement. And that’s the whole thing, is to show youth, still people in general, that if I can do it, if I can make the transition coming from the life that I live to sitting on the mayor’s committee, you can do the same thing. Or less, you don’t gotta do everything I’m doing, you can do 50 % of what I’m doing and be productive.
Kristen Knapp (23:23)
Wow.Right.
Dawud Bey (23:47)
You know, so at theof the day, you know, that’s the goal is try to encourage and educate as many people as possible that when you’re doing this real estate stuff, always try to find a socially redeeming concept to what you’re doing in real estate, because it’s about community. You understand? Everybody chasing after doors. It ain’t about how many doors you got. It’s about how many people you impact.
Kristen Knapp (23:57)
youlove that. Yeah, well, it’s a great message. This has been such a wonderful conversation. So tell everybody where to find you and how to work with you.
Dawud Bey (24:14)
That’s my message to the development world.You can find me on my Instagram page. My main page is ⁓ dawudbeyd4s, Dawud Bey D4S. And you can find me on Facebook, Dawud Bey. We also look at my company, Fine Print Construction, is also on Instagram. And then we have the Dawud Bey Junior Training Academy ⁓ page on Instagram. And each one of those entities
have a website at www.fineprintconstruction.com and www.fineprintcompanies, which is the development firm. So just make sure you tap in, pay attention to the things that we’re doing, reach out to us if you need any information, any support with any things, any partnerships, any things that you’re trying to do as far as what you see we got going. The main thing, y’all, that I’m really super, super excited about is the Dao Bei Junior Training Academy. That’s gonna be the game changer.
And I believe this going to fulfill a need throughout the whole United States of America.
Kristen Knapp (25:29)
That’s amazing. Well, thank you so much for being here. ⁓Dawud Bey (25:33)
Kristen, how do we do it again?Kristen Knapp (25:35)
This is amazing. I mean, I feellike you probably inspired so many people. So this is a wonderful conversation.
Dawud Bey (25:40)
Alright.I appreciate it. Let me know if I can do anything. Appreciate you.
Kristen Knapp (25:45)
Yes,thank you. And everybody watching, thank you so much for being here and we will see you back next time. Thank you so much.
