Where the Money Will Be: Real Estate Investing, AI, and Emerging Markets with Dean Coronado

Dean Coronado (00:00)
One of the things is a lot of people like saying, go where the money is. And I say, if you’re going where the money is, you’re kind of a step behind. You want to go where the money will be. So the properties I acquired in that exchange initially back in 2017, they were low. They’re record low. But now when I tell people about it like nine years later,

They’re like, wow, you bought back then. I’m like, well, this is where my investor experience I talked about watching the market, the economy taking a, taking account of the political

Scott Bursey (02:01)
Welcome back to the Real Estate Pros Podcast powered by Investor Fuel. I’m your host, Scott Bursey. And today we have an absolute powerhouse in the house. Someone who took a massive pivot from the world of tech and out of necessity transformed into a real estate rockstar. Dean Coronado’s story is proof that the greatest pressure creates the strongest diamonds. The fuel Dean brings today is the power of forced focus.

and leveraging a high tech mindset in a high touch industry. You’re going to want to hear how he went from debugging software to crushing deals. Dean, welcome to the show.

Dean Coronado (02:43)
Thank you for having me. It’s a great pleasure to be here. I enjoy reading the background of Investor Fuel and hey, we’re starting off on a Friday. So this is great. Thank you for having me here.

Scott Bursey (02:54)
It doesn’t get any better, my friend. Dean, could you please tell our listeners who may not be familiar with your journey? How did your career begin and what is your main focus now?

Dean Coronado (03:06)
Well, my career started because I was in tech, as you mentioned, for about 10 years. And I was also renting out rooms in a second property my parents had that they did not maintain. Now, my motivation to take care of this property was also because my mom was disabled. She was disabled since before I was born. And I was born in…

I started taking care of her early on. So I took on this need to provide for my parents. I’m an only child, my mom and dad, and myself, that’s it. And so with that service mindset, which is kind of what you need sometimes to really push yourself beyond that boundary, I was able to take that as motivation to use to give my parents a better shot and setting them up for success. And that’s what I did. And that started a…

that first 1031 exchange I was talking about. And from there, it just took off from there. And I have no training whatsoever. It was sheerly motivated on taking care of those who are dearest to me. If you don’t have that goal of taking care of someone besides yourself, it will really be hard to succeed. I’m not saying it’s not possible, but having that goal will push you through those dark times of not being able to figure out where you are.

but having that steady goal of knowing there’s a point B to go somewhere. And that’s how I pivoted because I had to take care of my parents as my mom was getting more sick with a progressive disease, RA, rheumatoid arthritis, which is really hard on the body, but she still managed to provide despite all that pain. And that was also my motivation to push myself because of how they sacrificed for me. And now I use that and I was able to get my first 10th award back in 2017.

I identified three properties. You have a 45 day window to identify. I closed in 46, which is like, I had another 135 days, but no, I took it all at one time because I had my parents in mind and our future in mind and hopefully my own legacy. And that was my pivot right there, but there was a lot of challenges, I will say.

Scott Bursey (06:05)
What a wonderful, wonderful point of origin and I bet you your family is extremely proud.

Dean Coronado (06:10)
Oh yeah, the biggest joy for me was when I identified that third property in Las Vegas. Of course, was, know, a 1031 is for rental properties and you need a two year window. Even the IRS doesn’t really audit you on this to not really move in and maybe rent it out or at least, you know, make a long-term thing before you can move in. But when my mom was there, she…

Getting a house for your parents is one of the best things you can ever feel. that was the biggest reward when my mom was like seeing the pictures. I was giving her a live stream for the house in Vegas. Said, hey mom, look at this. It gets morning sun, which she really likes, and afternoon sun. Look at the Sierra Nevada, mom. Sierra Nevada, you can sit on the toilet, lean over, look out the rear window, and you can see the sunset. And she was just like, wow, I’m so happy.

was my reward right there. Everything else is just cherry on top. That’s just icing on the cake for me.

Scott Bursey (07:10)
outstanding and Dean if someone’s listening to this and they’re thinking hey this is someone I’d want to partner with or learn from what would you like them to know first about your business?

Dean Coronado (07:19)
Well, this business is…

Renting properties is a business, first of all. A lot of people say, how can you think that renting properties to other people is a business? You’re taking up resources, you’re buying houses that are out there that people could be using. And I say this to them. Those properties are available for everybody. It’s not just me, I found them on Redfin. So there will be people who question your business in renting properties.

You know, you’re taking too many resources. No one’s stopping me from buying them and everyone else has a shot at them. Use that and don’t let people detract from what you’re trying to do, especially if you have someone you’re trying to take care of, or you’re trying to provide for your family. This is legitimate business and I put in a lot of work to get to where I am right now, where it’s now running more smoothly. So stay stay the course and focus on what you need to take care of if you decide to rent rental properties.

Scott Bursey (08:21)
as an investor what’s one thing you’re still figuring out or you’re trying to

you know, work around recently, I guess.

Dean Coronado (08:29)
Well, right now is I’m in the middle of trying to negotiate some of the mistakes that were made before me that I had to correct. Everything’s a learning experience. You don’t get handed a project that’s perfect from the get-go. And so a lot of the things I had to figure out on my own were not handed down to me by my parents. For instance, right now, because I’m ⁓ later migrating to Nevada, well, they have an ability to start an LLC that’s called a series LLC.

And this is for your protection. And at LLC, limits the liability, of course. My dad would listen to my ideas and he’d say, okay, yeah, we’ll see, we’ll see, but won’t take any action. Sometimes you have to push on and be the lead, lead dog on the sled and just pull everyone out of there. And so when I moved out there now, when I moved down in the next few months or so, I’ll be migrating throughout the year. I’ll be establishing the LLC because

I’m not sure how to go about it right now. I’ve been researching using AI to make sure I acquire properties in exchange because I have an investment in California, which I’ll be doing a 1031 as well, and making sure that I can get things all lined up. We’re achieving our goals right now, but we still need a vehicle that will be reliable and protect us from the rain in case it does come.

I’m trying to figure out how the LLC will work in my favor. And I’m trying to balance that out because I’m going to also stop working and rely on the income to generate my healthcare, which I need. And I have more stories on that because part of my success is from the sacrifice of my health I made for my parents. And that’s how I had to get through the dark times. So yeah, I am still trying to learn that, but I will get back to you, hopefully on a future podcast to tell them about, hey,

the LLC is working, we now have an umbrella LLC and subsidiary LLCs and how to separate them being disregarded versus an actual S-Corp.

Scott Bursey (11:03)
Absolutely, we would love to have you back down the road and ⁓ hear all about your journey because this is a fantastic journey. And on that note Dean, what do you feel is the biggest opportunity right now for you?

Dean Coronado (11:20)
For me, in regards to actual investments, the biggest opportunity is to take advantage of… I just saw a report yesterday that certain markets are becoming like they’re flatlining. They’re slowing, trending down, they’re slowing down. That has the potential to become a buyer’s market.

Scott Bursey (11:36)
Yes.

Thank

Dean Coronado (11:40)
you got to harness that balance of getting your max profit while getting the opportunity while it still is available on the exchange side. And so I’m looking at two other states, three other states actually, three cities potentially. And I will eventually put that under a series LLC in Nevada. those three states are going to be free of state income tax. That’s my priority. And so I identify three states I’m to go through.

Scott Bursey (12:03)
And what

Yes. What three states are they going to be, Dean?

Dean Coronado (12:11)
Well, currently right now, the first one ⁓ is Texas and the second one is Tennessee and the third one is Florida.

Scott Bursey (12:19)
That’s awesome. That’s awesome. Is there any challenges you’re watching closely? This could be like market risk, competition, access to deals or capital, that sort of thing.

Dean Coronado (12:31)
⁓ access to deals because I know a lot of deals don’t appear on ⁓ MLS or Redfin or zoom in like that. I mean, sorry, on that part, I say zoom, Zillow, pardon my, ⁓ lapse right there. But yeah, there are Mark, ⁓ markets out there with hidden opportunities. I don’t have access to. I’m hoping by finding a network, I can speak with, a sounding board, so to speak of, ⁓ people, like-minded people. could be like, Hey,

Do know anyone out here who has an inside route to this area in particular between Dallas and Denton? I mean, Dallas, Fort Worth and Denton or Lakeland, Florida, or somewhere along the corridor between Knoxville and like, forgot which other city in Tennessee I’ve identified three. I’d be looking to that network because it’s hard to do it alone. It is very hard. will say that and having a network as a sounding board.

Scott Bursey (13:21)
Yes.

Dean Coronado (13:23)
That’s the most critical thing. And I would do that with friends who are not really in the same headspace as I am in terms of investments. And so often I find myself having to take calculated risks by myself without having any sort of reassurance or confidence. But I end up making good decisions anyway. It just gets more resource draining if you don’t have that network. And I think that’s the strength of this, having a network you can turn it off with and get feedback.

Scott Bursey (13:52)
Absolutely, and let’s discuss AI a little bit more, getting back to what you were mentioning. Where do you see the biggest immediate application for emerging AI and automation tools in the real estate market over the next 12 months?

Dean Coronado (14:48)
Well, I’ve worked with both ShadGBT and Gemini in terms of first, you know, little questions here and there. You don’t have to like take these courses. You just have to have a natural curiosity and you have to have background into what you’re investing in, what your purpose for your investments are. And if you’re well versed in what you’re doing and you know what you’re talking about,

AI in general will be a boon to everything. Like I was able to identify things I do in my industry would be important. Like one of the things I like using in identifying the cities that say in Texas, Tennessee, and Florida, my big thing was finding big centers or sorry, two big areas, like maybe about an hour, 50 miles apart, like Dallas Fort Worth and Denton and identifying the infill.

between those two cities because you had the benefit of both for tenants. That’s what I’m looking for. And an infill location, Quadruplex was the first thing I was looking at. And then the next thing was like, I want this to have an access to a pool of H1A and H1B visa holders because if you can have someone do the work for you, why do you want to do it? So on my end, H1A and B visa holders are people who are

coming here for an opportunity like my dad came back in 73. He is a mechanical engineer. back then there was just an H1 visa. So in terms of that, a lot of times as someone who runs rental properties, you have to have reliable tenants. That’s kind of the key thing. And so yeah, I can go through the screening of doing background checks and all that stuff. then again, let’s do the best of both worlds. Let’s use people with H1A and B visa holders because, well.

They’ll be vetted by the US government, which is the best thing you do. And they will have means to make sure that you don’t have these little hiccups in like payments where people can’t have, know, sometimes investors may have a hanging mortgage where they’re like barely making it. At that point, getting your tents vetted is very critical. Otherwise you will encounter a lot of difficulties. three, on top of having means, they also,

They have something, they have skin to the game because they’re here on an opportunity to follow their dreams. And if they, if they should happen to straighten those dreams or straighten those requirements of succeeding here, there’s a, there’s a, how do you say it? There’s some sort of culpability in terms like, you can’t just abandon the property and not pay rent for layman’s terms. I it’s mutually beneficial for both people. They established credit here.

a history and myself being son of ⁓ immigrants, I can connect with them and them, hey, this is this, this is this, this is my strengths. can tell you about these things. need to wifi. I’ll be putting this in here. All those things will help you get the tenants that you need because you don’t just see them as tenants. These are people who will be part of your lives for a good three, four five years. And at that point you have to make sure they’re not just tenants, but they’re people.

I won’t say friends, but there are people you ever pour with and can interact with on a daily basis and not be like isolated away from your business and seeing how things are going and seeing if their needs are being met or not. you have to monitor all those things to become a successful investor into real estate, especially if want to generate passive income. That’s my thing. Everybody can win. Both sides can win.

Scott Bursey (18:24)
Yes. ⁓

Dean Coronado (18:25)
Taxes will be paid, mortgages

will be paid off, credit will be built, and legacies will be built as well. That’s my mindset.

Scott Bursey (18:33)
I love that Dean, we have to be paying attention to where the market is going, not just where it’s been. Tech integration is the new frontier for all pros. You hit it right on the head.

Dean Coronado (18:40)
Yes.

yeah, I agree.

One of the things is a lot of people like saying, go where the money is. And I say, if you’re going where the money is, you’re kind of a step behind. You want to go where the money will be. So the properties I acquired in that exchange initially back in 2017, they were low. They’re record low. But now when I tell people about it like nine years later,

They’re like, wow, you bought back then. I’m like, well, this is where my investor experience I talked about watching the market, the economy taking a, taking account of the political

climate. I’m not going to get into politics, but it does affect a lot of ⁓ sectors of the economy. So putting all that together helped me pick and be informed back then in 2017 and I knocked it out of the park. So all those things play a hand.

Scott Bursey (19:34)
Controlling what you can control is paramount. That was an excellent breakdown. And Dean, you’ve given us so much knowledge now, but what sort of advice would you like to give to our listeners regarding your journey and any words of wisdom, any golden nuggets that you can leave with our audience today?

Dean Coronado (19:52)
Well…

Let’s see, let me think about that. What are some of the things that would impact me?

A lot of times it’s nice to have people, like I said, a featured network, which I’d hope to build with people of like-minded interests and goals. It helps to have that, but sometimes you have to be the one to stand out and be exemplary by yourself and exceed and push that the last nine tens. The first nine tens is very easy. What’s that last?

that’s very hard sometimes. And sometimes it’ll just be you in the driver’s seat. And you have to step up, use that goal that you’re taking care of somebody, you’re providing, you’re giving something that takes care of other people, and push to hit that final step. The first 90 % will always be easy. It’ll be like a breeze sometimes. Oh, everything’s going well. Then that last thing, just that last step.

is the hardest sometimes. Often it is actually. So make sure you prepare for that last step because that’s when everything will be pushing in. Because you’re at the top of the mountain. You’re trying to reach mount ever sometimes. That last step to get to the top, I’ll tell you, it will require some sacrifice. But at the end, if you take care of those who are around you, you win anyway.

Scott Bursey (21:14)
You most certainly will. Dean, this conversation has been explosive. Before we sign off, I know our pros are going to want to follow your journey and perhaps even collaborate with you. What is the best way for them to reach you?

Dean Coronado (21:27)
I would say the best way to reach me, I do have email, of course. I don’t currently use any sort of social media like IG or anything like that. The best way is just, I do have a LinkedIn as well. I can be found on there, I check it occasionally. But I think if there were an avenue where we can meet up at a convention or

a seminar like, hey, these are like my professionals. The best way to meet me is at those, because I network there. I’m an extrovert. I like explaining my side because when I teach people some things, sometimes I learn also. So I find a lot, I do a lot of learning at those conventions or seminars where we’re exchanging these ideas and we exchange our phones, our phone numbers and go from there. That’s the best way to find me. And I hope to meet people like that as well.

Scott Bursey (22:15)
Dean, thank you so much for being on the show today.

Dean Coronado (22:18)
Yeah, pleasure to be here, Scott. Thank you very much as well.

Scott Bursey (22:21)
Dean Coronado everybody. And thank you to each and every one of our listeners. If you got value from today’s episode, please subscribe. We’ve got a lineup of exceptional guests, just like Dean, who are making huge moves in not only the market, but the world.

Until next time, keep your standards high and your vision clear. We’ll see you in the next episode, everyone.