Survive Market Shifts Like a Pro | Kevin Jimeno on Adapting to Real Estate Cycles, Risk Management & Opportunity

Kevin Jimeno (00:00)

Yeah, there’s been a shift, but I also see it as opportunity this year,

I did go through the 2008 crash

The gift and the curse of going through that hard time seeing so many foreclosures and short sales was

It prepared me for the next cycle, right? And this year we’ve seen another shift

So you have to pivot. And I think the experiences of going through hard times, which I think a lot of people try to avoid, was actually a blessing in being able to say, okay, I can recognize there’s a shift

Pedro Pereira (00:19)

Yeah.

Kevin Jimeno (00:29)

Let’s slow down. Let’s pivot. Let’s go back.

to the fundamentals of what’s working and let’s cut before we bleed out

Pedro Pereira (02:08)

Hello everyone, welcome to another episode of the Real Estate Pros Podcast. I am your host Pedro Pereira and I am today joined by someone who we’ve been looking very forward to speak to. This is Kevin Jimeno who’s been making some big moves in the real estate investment stage and space. Kevin, glad to have you here.

Kevin Jimeno (02:27)

Appreciate the invite. Happy to be here.

Pedro Pereira (02:31)

So I think our listeners are really going to be able to

away

from how you’re approaching the big market shifts that are happening right now and making sure that your business stays afloat and profitable, ⁓ looking for the new opportunities and being able to just sort of guide your business through the tumultuous times that we’re in right now. So let’s just dive right in. So first off, ⁓ for the people who may not be as familiar with your world, give us the short version, the elevator pitch. What are your main focuses these days? What ⁓ markets are you operating?

in.

Kevin Jimeno (03:06)

Yeah, Florida is our main market, South Florida, that’s what we’re based out of. However, we’ve expanded our network and we do a lot of joint venture opportunities outside of Florida now this year. We’ll talk about how that came to be, I’m sure today. And we are basically doing all of Florida from a wholesale or creative deal perspective, but then South Florida, which is where we’re based out of, we’ll do every exit strategy where we’ll fix and flip.

We’ll do Airbnb’s as well as wholesale, hotel or creative.

Pedro Pereira (03:40)

Wonderful, love to hear it. It seems like you’re pretty in there. And then we were talking about before, it seems like you have a very well-rounded group with you as well with a lot of experience going into this, correct?

Kevin Jimeno (03:50)

Yeah, I mean, I’ve been doing it for a long time. I started at 20 years old. I’m now 44. So I got a little bit of a I’ve been through a few cycles, a few different market shifts. So ⁓ and then we my my my cutoff is 50. So I’m looking at this now as six more years and I’m done. So that’s that’s where I’m at with this experience in the real estate game.

Pedro Pereira (04:12)

Alright

Alright, we’re looking to cash on some big deals then before we finish up I’m sure.

Kevin Jimeno (04:24)

from your lips to God’s ears.

Pedro Pereira (04:26)

I love to hear it, love to hear it. So what caught my attention really is how you’ve been able to sort of ⁓ manage

The big shifts in this climate, you know, there were we’re talking we can talk all the way back to 2008 or we can talk about things that happened even this year ⁓ That’s that’s really not easy. I would like to you know, just get a little bit of insight You know, what is what’s the key to keeping this machine running so smoothly even when things, you know seem like they’re just going completely upside down

Kevin Jimeno (05:46)

there’s been a shift, but I also see it as opportunity this year, right? ⁓ I did go through the 2008 crash ~ the time I was doing mortgage lending and I was just more

a traditional landlord. You know, that’s what I thought was most of real estate investing, buy a property, make sure cash flows, stack them, build a portfolio. That’s where I was at that time. The gift and the curse of going through that hard time seeing so many foreclosures and short sales was

It prepared me for the next cycle, right? And this year we’ve seen another shift in the business after such a trajectory of recovery since 2008. And it allows you to kind of be calm in the cockpit of going, know, five with your hair on fire type vibe. So yeah, we had to shift to we actually had momentum coming out of last year and we decided to go into other markets across the nation and we spent.

Pedro Pereira (06:32)

Yeah.

Kevin Jimeno (06:42)

a nice little chunk of change in the beginning of the year, right when things halted and the days of market started to take a lot longer instead of selling property so fast like the previous ~ So you have to pivot. And I think the experiences of going through hard times, which I think a lot of people try to avoid, was actually a blessing in being able to say, okay, I can recognize there’s a shift. I’ve experienced this ~ Let’s slow down. Let’s pivot. Let’s go back.

Pedro Pereira (06:57)

Yeah.

Kevin Jimeno (07:11)

to the fundamentals of what’s working and let’s cut before we bleed out

and focus on what is working, batten down the hatches and double down on where we are making money.

Pedro Pereira (07:24)

Of course, that’s great. And honestly, not enough people talk about things like that. Do you mind expanding just a little bit on what exactly prompted the idea of the shift? know, it’s always big ideas to grow, to keep going. And some might even say, you know, push through and let’s see it to the end. But, you know, it’s smart to pivot and look back and make sure to keep the business alive. Could you share a little bit of your insight on what kind of brought you to that conclusion?

Kevin Jimeno (07:48)

Yeah, it’s risk management. mean, you know, we’re a lender as well. We do private money and ⁓ and so I have that mindset of underwriting deals and always risk managing when you’re running a business and going into investing, whether you’re a one man show, just doing a couple of deals or you’re got a full fledged team like we do. You it’s all about risk management. You still have to kind of say, OK, am I getting a return on investment? Am I is this where we should be?

doubling down. So we went into states and we were spending big money in PPC campaigns. And with now the cell cycle slowing down because properties are taking a lot longer and some of these smaller towns are not as hot as they were, you know, in the last two, three years, you have to basically recognize like, okay, for how long am I willing to keep spending money to stock the pipeline? But with my cell cycle moving from, say what used to be 90 days to now,

Doubling 180 days or more. I’m not recovering this investment of the money I’m spending out. It’s all brand new brand new territories Are we locking up the deals in the right places? We don’t have boots on the ground. We’re doing it all virtual You know what? I’m having success here locally with what we’re doing. Let me play it safe during this shift Let me cut and let me go double down and spend the money where it is working

Because right now is not the time to be playing ⁓ Russian roulette at the Vegas casino with our funds. That is experience from 2008.

Pedro Pereira (09:22)

Completely agree.

Yeah, we we live and we learn and that’s way to keep businesses afloat. think that’s really, you know, very honest, you know.

feedback for us here and I believe it’s what what separates folks that who just dabble in the industry you know exit quickly enter quickly to the ones who really stay in the game long term ⁓ it’s just such an important part so let me ask you this you know thinking about the future about opportunities ⁓ what is it that you’re most focused on solving or scaling next for your business

Kevin Jimeno (10:32)

Yeah, through the shift, like I said, with every adjustment and every pivot, more opportunities come. A lot of the creative deals have really come as more as other people start feeling the economy and pressure and the AI boom, I think is going to be a big shift in our economy. And some people are already feeling it. There is distress out there with distress comes opportunities for people to be very creative on locking up deals, whether it’s, you know, rent to own deals or

Seller financing deals, there’s even subject to deals that you can take over. once you exercise that muscle and you know how to structure deals, those opportunities have really come all over. And then we’ve taken that and shared that with our network, with our agents, and now they’re bringing opportunities. So now we have, funny enough, a lot of opportunities in other markets nationwide without spending the market money that we were, the marketing budget that we were spending at the beginning of the year.

We’re doing deals in Missouri, New Jersey, Texas. And a lot of these creative opportunities, I think are really coming to the surface a lot more than previous years. And then we are in the Miami market in South Florida. The money’s coming from all over, both international and from New York and California. So the new construction boom here to really do brand new developments in the luxury space, especially a million dollars and up is…

really attractive for us down here too. So that’s what we’re doubling down on versus you know keep spending money in Ohio, St. Louis and these markets that I’ve never even stepped into you know.

Pedro Pereira (12:11)

Got it, got it. So for our listeners here, I know a lot of people that are here, you know, in this podcast, are either very early in their journey or looking to level up. And I think that would benefit from hearing this. It’s get your experience and a light on it. When it comes to building relationships and growing your network, what has made the biggest difference for you in your career, your business, building those relationships? What has come out of them?

Kevin Jimeno (12:40)

It’s everything, to be honest with you. So we have a system in place. I’ve been doing it for years. It’s kind of the pay to play model. So every year we pick a mastermind, a community we want to learn from. That’s how we’re able to do so many things in our business. We know how to do novation. We know how to do creative deals. We know how to fix and flip. Now we know how to do brand new construction ground up because we join the masterminds and the communities that have the experts in the field, the people.

that are doing that in the markets

we want to be in. So I look at it as pay to play in those rooms. And then we spend the next year really getting a return on investment from there. We build a network with like-minded individuals doing it. We always like to our first few deals and anything new that we do, joint venture with people in our market that are trusted, that are doing it until we now get it and are comfortable doing it on our own. So mentorship, masterminds and joint ventures has really been.

what the growth is in our business over the years. And then we even started our own community and mastermind for people that don’t have experience that wanna learn. And that’s been able to grow and bring more opportunity because we joined venture with them and they earn while they learn. So on both ends, we do it on a higher scale, but then we give back and we’re now doing it with our community for people that are brand new that wanna learn and do the same.

Pedro Pereira (14:04)

Yeah.

Well, relationships are everything in this game and honestly, it’s key. You can’t really fake them. You have to be genuine. have to look for these opportunities and really sort of cash in on them when you get a chance, you know, be able to to create the longevity within these relationships is very, very important. ⁓ Have you seen lately any sort of ⁓ challenges that you’re watching in the market, something that you’re keeping an eye on so then that way you can, you know, learning from past experience or even just, you know, trying to

prepare more for the future. Anything that you’re sort of watching closely to be able to, you know, make sure that you stay afloat when it happens.

Kevin Jimeno (14:43)

Yeah, two things that I’m really paying attention to is the AI boom. I think that is really ⁓ gonna create a big gap, right? The rich are gonna get richer, the poor are gonna get poorer. I think the middle class are the ones that are gonna suffer the most over the next couple of years

with job security and everything. mean, the crazy things that we’re doing with AI in our business, it’s just logical where it’s like, wow, now we need a lot less manpower.

and this is so efficient, what about every other industry across the world? So that gap that that’s gonna create is also something that gives me insight into the type of investing that we’re doing because if the middle class suffers, the product that we’re out there investing in and putting out there, we need to really consider, right? So I think the luxury space isn’t gonna feel it as much because I think AI and…

Pedro Pereira (15:59)

Mm-hmm.

Yep.

Kevin Jimeno (16:20)

all the things happening in politics with the rate cuts or whatnot, it’s not gonna have that much of an effect, but that middle class. And then watching obviously the Fed and how they handle these rate cuts, I don’t see a big drop in interest rates happening. I think a lot of people are waiting to try to get the two and 3 % rates and they’re like sitting on their hands and on the fence thinking that that’s gonna happen. And unless there’s a major black swan event in our economy, I don’t see it.

happening. I’ve been in the lending business now since the start and I think people when they realize that the Fed cuts rates doesn’t have a direct impact necessarily on dropping the rates dramatically, we’ll start seeing kind of that stabilization and people realizing that this is what the prices are and this is what the market is demanding and that gap is only going to get bigger.

Pedro Pereira (17:13)

Yeah, yeah, can’t have said it better myself.

That is it. Everyone right now is keeping an eye on AI and it is more applicable in places than what we are ⁓ thinking about. So it is very, very important to keep an eye on that portion, not only along with the Fed as well. So thank you for that insight. So perfect. ⁓ Before we wrap up, if we had someone, you know, one of the listeners who wanted to reach out, connect with you, maybe collaborate or learn more about what you’re doing, what’s the best way for them to reach you?

Kevin Jimeno (17:45)

Instagram, you can find me at Smart Money Kevin. Pretty simple, Smart Money Kevin. You’ll see me trying to do this content thing. I’m 44 years old. The Tiki-Taki is not my thing, but my team makes us put it out there. My partners and the girls on my team are a lot better at it, but you’ll see me repost their stuff. You can reach me there. And then we’re on LinkedIn as well. You can find me by my name.

Pedro Pereira (18:11)

Perfect perfect. Well listen Kevin. We really appreciate your time your story and your perspective We definitely need more people in this space that are doing the things the right way and you are one of them my friends So thank you again for being here