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Show Summary
In this conversation, Peter Farisyan shares his insights on the real estate market, particularly in Los Angeles. He discusses the importance of finding a niche, understanding market dynamics, and developing effective investment strategies. Peter emphasizes the significance of having a strong team and the value of networking in the real estate industry. He also highlights the potential for appreciation in the Los Angeles market and offers advice for both new and seasoned investors.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Peter Farisyan (00:00)
if I’m buying this property for myself. If I’m buying it for myself, I want the numbers to be something that I’m gonna put my own money in it. And I even say to even some investors that if I am super confident in a deal, I tell them I’ll put my own commission in the deal, because that’s how confident I am in it. And I’ve said that almost all the time, literally, unless my money’s tied up somewhere else in another investment deal. But I always, like…show properties that I would even like, know, by myself. And I think, you know, you need to have that kind of a confidence and attitude when you’re working with investors.
Michelle Kesil (02:08)
Hey everybody, welcome to the Investor Fuel podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Kesil, and today I’m joined by someone that I’m looking forward to chatting with, Peter Farisyan, who has been making serious moves as a real estate agent serving investors in the Los Angeles area. So excited to have you here on the show today, Peter.Peter Farisyan (02:35)
Thank you for having me on the show.Michelle Kesil (02:38)
Absolutely. think our listeners are really going to take something away from how you’re supporting investors, analyzing real estate markets, and yeah, the way that you’re showing up in your business. let’s dive in. First off, for those not familiar with you and your world, can you give us the short version of what your main focus is?Peter Farisyan (03:04)
Yes, so my main focus in real estate is basically ⁓ identifying development opportunities by approaching homeowners with ⁓ small homes on large lots. And in essence, I approach these homeowners with, I work with a great network of clients and buyers that are always.looking for desirable properties like theirs. And I always say to them, I’m not assuming that you’re in the market to sell, but typically for a property like yours, we’re able to give you very favorable terms and conditions. And it’s all just in the end of the numbers game. So the more people you talk to, the more ⁓ deals you’re able to do. And I identify those types of properties that have that ⁓ value add and development potential. And that’s very investor friendly.
So whenever I acquire that listing and I even sell it to my ⁓ network and my database privately off market, most of the time, half the time it doesn’t even get to go on the market and everybody’s happy. The homeowner gets very favorable terms and conditions and probably like a very, very top dollar considering that I know how to sell that type of product.
and the investor slash developer is very happy in acquiring something that is not gonna be in the public market and he wouldn’t have to necessarily compete with end user buyers and he still has a product where he can make a healthy return on the investment after the renovation or after the build that is done. So that’s been my primary focus as well as a very traditional investing with
a multifamily background and helping investors identify, again, value add in the multifamily space with rezoning opportunities and opportunity zones, actually, speaking of
that helps investors get an edge versus traditional buying holds of five or 6 % cap is what the mom and pop investor usually looks for.
So I identify a lot of value add properties that investors can realize great and healthy returns at the end of it.
Michelle Kesil (06:15)
Amazing. And I know you’re operating in the Los Angeles market. Are there any other markets that you operate in?Peter Farisyan (06:24)
Yeah, primarily Los Angeles, I believe, know, a very strong real estate professional is all in on their market and they’re hyper knowledgeable about their markets. So I primarily focus in the LA side, that’s in central LA, it would be anywhere between, I would say Highland Park and Malibu, and in the valley, it would be anywhere between, I would say Pasadena all the way to Calabasas.You know, in markets outside, know, the good thing about working with investors is that it’s all numbers based, right? So, you know, you can do the same kind of due diligence you do in your local market as you can do in pretty much almost, I say in any market even. I’ve even helped investors buying properties outside of California and most investors get their cash flow outside of California and make, you know, and basically park their money in.
of LA with class B, class A properties for that long-term appreciation as well. So the best thing about working with investors is that you can basically learn any market you’re in. And yeah, I mean, can work in other markets outside of LA. It could be even Ontario. could be even Ventura County as well, even San Bernardino County.
It just all depends, it’s all numbers in the end, so if it all makes sense for the investor, it makes sense for everybody else.
Michelle Kesil (07:55)
Yeah, I got you. So what are some of the things that have allowed your business to continue to run smoothly and be successful?Peter Farisyan (08:09)
Yeah, I guess, you know, ⁓ this goes back into, you know, pretty much market knowledge, right? Because no matter what, you know, an invest and I would say a real estate investor, you know, does have an edge, you know, over like, you know, traditional, let’s say buyers and sellers, because as an investor, you also want to do your own due diligence as well, right? So for me, it’s up to me to not only know the markets better than the investor does, but also to know the numbers better than the investor does.And I think investors appreciate the work that you put into creating, like, let’s say a very nice report, a presentation with facts and data backing that up, you know, such as when I’m analyzing a deal, because the way how I analyze a deal for an investor, I analyze it as if I am buying it myself. That’s, you know, the way how every real estate agent, you know, should be thinking about it. And I always ask the questions to investors, like, you know, what
what kind of return are you looking for? And I know what investors typically make in return on average. Everyone wants to look at like 20 or 25, they want 100 % returns. I do too, we all want it, right? But typically investors are making anywhere between 15 to 20, based on let’s say a fix and flip, if it’s a buy and hold, that’s a different strategy. But the most important thing, I guess, what’s keeping me in my business is knowing my data, knowing the numbers almost better than the investors themselves.
And that also builds confidence in themselves to do a deal, to do a project, to do a fix and flip. You know, that, okay, know, I’m convinced of Peter’s numbers because they already have some kind of a background knowledge already. They have some initial, ⁓ you know, level knowledge on what to expect in the deal. And if you not only combine that with ⁓ data
and, you know, real statistics and, you know, ⁓
numbers beyond just experience of yourself with other service providers and you put that all into a nice package for the investor and they see that you put in the work, you put in the time and the energy to do the analysis, the feasibility on a deal. I think they appreciate that very much and they understand the realistic expectations. And I’m very conservative when it comes to my numbers. I don’t like to fluff up numbers for investors because like I said, it all goes back to like
if I’m buying this property for myself. If I’m buying it for myself, I want the numbers to be something that I’m gonna put my own money in it. And I even say to even some investors that if I am super confident in a deal, I tell them I’ll put my own commission in the deal, because that’s how confident I am in it. And I’ve said that almost all the time, literally, unless my money’s tied up somewhere else in another investment deal. But I always, like…
show properties that I would even like, know, by myself. And I think, you know, you need to have that kind of a confidence and attitude when you’re working with investors.
Michelle Kesil (11:48)
Yeah, that’s amazing. It sounds like you’re super knowledgeable and confident with your process, which is important when working with these high stakes.Peter Farisyan (12:02)
Yep, exactly.Michelle Kesil (12:05)
What are you most focused on solving or scaling next in your business?Peter Farisyan (12:14)
⁓ very good question. ⁓ I would say more on the scaling side of my business for sure. I kind of know like, you know, the problems I need to solve. It’s a matter of like, you know, seeing what I can delegate, you know, certain aspects of my business. But I understand you actually have to do everything once by yourself, right, in order to find out what tasks you could delegate and automate. Because in the end,you know, your reputation does get you very far in any kind of business. It doesn’t matter if it’s real estate. So you don’t want to put something out there that doesn’t like, you know, align with your brand and who you are as a person, like your characteristics and your reputation, et cetera, et cetera. So ⁓ not so much of solving things. I would say it’s more like scaling. The goal is like, you know, I know how to get business and I want to, you know, basically create a full-fledged system to scale it.
So I have some sort of a process of how new agents without any book of business can basically just start and have a schedule to create ⁓ leads and generate business for them that they can eventually also scale on their own as well. So I guess the question is more about scaling it. It’s just finding a plug-in plate system.
with my type of business model in real estate to expand and eventually grow my team and grow my business as a whole.
Michelle Kesil (13:50)
Yeah, that’s incredible. Sounds like a goal that you’re on the way to reach.Peter Farisyan (13:56)
I, yeah, God willing, I hope so.Michelle Kesil (13:59)
When it comes to growing your business, whether that’s through networking or relationship building, what are some things that have made the biggest difference for you?Peter Farisyan (14:16)
that’s a very good question. The biggest difference for me, I would say it also goes back to the last question. is finding a system and finding a niche, actually. Finding a niche that you want to specialize in in real estate. So in the beginning years of my real estate career, you know, it was very easy to work with first time home buyers or renters because, you know, they, you know, arevery enthusiastic about owning their first property, right? Their first home. So it was very easy to work with that, but also it can drag you into a very long period of ⁓ finding the right home for them and eventually, let’s say, that deal can take some time.
But what has really changed for me is, again, it is finding your niche. So whenever I found my niche, which is working with homeowners that have small homes on large lots,
And this is backed by working with investors. And I think the investors in the end, they do not necessarily care about how many years of experience that you have. Because I always got, the pushback I always got was because I was very young in my business. In the real estate industry, there was not a of many 19 or 20 year olds getting into the business. There just wasn’t. And this was at the time, like, know, 2015, 2016. So it was not something very popular that, you know,
young adults get into this kind of industry. was more like somebody who was in their late 30s to get into the business. But that being said, how I found what was the biggest turning point in my business is that when I discovered my niche, small homes on large lots and working with developers and investors, the developers and investors do not necessarily care how old you are. They just care that if you know your facts and you are an expert in the market,
and you know how to present a deal correctly. There’s no reason for them not to take you seriously and to do a deal, because in the end, is all numbers. The numbers speak for themselves. So I didn’t have to object to, why am I only 21, 22 years old getting into this business? The numbers speak for themselves. And in the end, that was the biggest thing that changed for my business. Finding my niche and
creating a process and system behind that where I can duplicate it and continue on and be consistent in it, that it can help me grow in my business.
Michelle Kesil (17:38)
Definitely that consistency piece is so important. Yeah, I love that.Peter Farisyan (17:45)
Yep.Michelle Kesil (17:48)
So a lot of the listeners are investors, whether they’re new to this world or have been in this world for a long time. What are maybe some of the top reasons that they should invest in the Los Angeles market? Maybe they’re investing out of California, but yeah, why this market in particular would be good for investors.Peter Farisyan (18:16)
Very good question. It all comes back to why a lot of people also move to LA, right? LA and California in general is, again, despite everything that has been going on, it is an unbelievable market still, a very, very strong economy. And in LA, it’s like we have sunshine 300 days out of the year. It’s literally the where you want to be able to park your money for very good long-term appreciation. And I think, you know…there is a whole lot of opportunities that investors can find in Los Angeles because there are also cities that are outperforming others, such as parts that are outside of city of Los Angeles, but they are still in LA County, so you’re relatively close, such as I would say cities like Burbank, Pasadena, Culver City, Glendale,
have markets inside them that are very favorable with investors, especially if you’re in the multi-family ⁓ game, that there’s more leniency as far as ⁓ no rent control and ease of ⁓ raising the rents to get the best return on your investment, actually.
And in the end, Los Angeles is a place where you want to park your money in the long term. You’re going to know that your building is always going to be appreciated. There’s always, always going to be buyers in Los Angeles, whether it’s domestic buyers or even international. There’s so much international money that always gets poured into LA, no matter what market you are in. even just if people think the market is slowing down right now,
One of very close ⁓ friends in the business is, you know, sold a $110 million property in Bel Air ⁓ off market. and that is like, you know, from a buyer, I believe it was an international buyer. So, and that’s even, that’s just a house, you know, that’s a luxury mansion that we’re talking about. this all also correlates to like the overall market, you know, of LA that…
This happened this year, so even people thinking that it’s a buyer’s market, there are very good deals that are happening and I think it’s always stood the test of time that why people believe in Los Angeles, they believe its potential and they believe it is a place where you will always have that high appreciation. And I think that’s why it’s still a very stable market despite everything else that’s been going on.
Michelle Kesil (20:59)
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. definitely feel like people might be afraid of the cost of California, but there’s like that legacy there as well that’s not gonna go anywhere ever.Peter Farisyan (21:12)
And to add to that, I would say it’s all about your investment strategy, right? Someone that I considered a business partner and the older brother I never had, he is looking to buy a lot of multifamily in Los Angeles, up to three, four million dollars.Michelle Kesil (21:18)
Okay.Peter Farisyan (21:37)
Then again, it goes back to like, you know, the value where he can add ADUs, you know, on that existing multifamily structure if the land, you know, permits itself. It’s all about having the strategy, whether it’s no cash for keys for those tenants. It is doing your due diligence, you know, it’s doing the numbers correctly, you know, doing like the renovations and getting tenants in there paying you market rent and reselling it to a end, let’s say buy and hold investor, right?and giving them a six and a half cap with tenants paying market rent in a newly renovated ⁓ building with additional, brand new construction ADUs, who wouldn’t want to park their money in something solid like that with solid tenants giving you six, six and a half, seven percent cap rates.
You know, that’s, it’s all about the strategy that you’re gonna have in place as an investor. If you have a strategy and you know how to scale your business in your investment portfolio, there is deals to be made anywhere. Obviously, it’s not like, you you don’t wanna like, you know, get your ego involved and buy a property just because you wanna own something, right? You know, there’s, you know, like that’s not the way how the investor mind should work. You wanna work in a way that you wanna have a strategy, you wanna…
know how to identify your deals and you identify your deals by working with a real estate professional like myself to help you identify the deals that you’re looking for. Once you do have that and you do have a strategy in place, whether it’s cash for keys, doing a lot of upgrades onto the property, increasing its value, because real estate, it’s one of those only investments in the world where you can actually improve its value. It is improvable, it is rentable, tax deductible, appreciable.
and livable, which makes real estate the most able investment in the world. Even the biggest banks in the world would lend you money to buy real estate. That’s the beautiful thing about, ⁓ I think, in our industry and real estate as a whole, as an investment, is that you have the biggest banks, Chase, Bank of America, that are willing to give you money to buy real estate. You cannot say that with stocks. And that’s why I think no matter what market you’re in, you need to know.
you know, what is your strategy? What is your exit plan? And how to identify deals and working with, you know, like the right team, the right real estate professional, the right lenders, the right construction team. You want to have the right team like behind you, because that right team, they want to have the best interests, you know, for you as well, because, you know, we all want to make money. And if one person, you know, is not satisfied and doesn’t get the return that they’re expecting, you know, we all feel that way, you know, because…
We all wanted to work because we always love to do business with people on a repeat every single day because then we know what to expect even much more easier down the road, if that makes sense.
Michelle Kesil (24:33)
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I love how you broke that down for all the things that people need to watch out for. Super helpful. Awesome. So before we wrap up here, if someone wants to reach out, connect, learn more from you, where can people connect with you and find you?Peter Farisyan (24:42)
Yes, indeed.Absolutely, so despite me not being super active on social media, everyone can find me on social media. Just look up my name, it’s at Peter Farisyan and my team name is Presenting LA. So you can always reach out to me via Facebook, Instagram, ⁓ even LinkedIn as well. So I still do use ⁓ LinkedIn. Feel free to send me a message and I’m more than
I’m more than happy to help anybody, whether it’s a real estate professional or an investor. It’s the reason why I have my team. want to give back to the community because I know how much have others given ⁓ to me and mentored me to be in this stage in my life and in my real estate career. And I’m very willing to help investors, working with investors.
Help, you know up-and-coming real estate agents or seasoned agents to you know, you know find their new like, you know ⁓ Venture with our business as well anything, you know, very easy to reach out to social media You can just look me up guys Peter Farisyan and my team name is presenting LA
Michelle Kesil (26:03)
Well, listen, I appreciate your time, your story, and your perspective. Thank you for being here.Peter Farisyan (26:05)
ThankThank you for having me, Michelle. appreciate you.
Michelle Kesil (26:11)
Of course.And for those listeners tuning in, if you got value from this, make sure you’ve subscribed. We’ve got more conversations with operators just like Peter who are building real businesses and we’ll see you on our next episode.
