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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pro Show, host Erika interviews Gustavo Pineiro, a successful real estate investor who shares his inspiring journey from working in the pharmaceutical industry to becoming a prominent figure in real estate. Gustavo discusses the importance of mentorship, overcoming personal challenges including battling cancer, and how these experiences shaped his approach to business and wealth. He emphasizes the significance of understanding true wealth beyond just financial gain, highlighting the value of relationships, purpose, and legacy in achieving a fulfilling life.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Gustavo Pineiro (00:00)
And not only it helped me beat cancer one time, but it helped me beat cancer twice, six months apart. And so that’s my story.then one of the things that I realized was that in realizing that there was something greater, I started to realize that wealth, financial wealth, there’s much more purpose to it
Erika (01:53)
Hey everyone, welcome to the Real Estate Pro Show. I’m your host, Erika, and today I’m thrilled to be joined by Gustavo Pineiro. He’s been making waves in the real estate investing space. Gustavo, it’s awesome to have you here.Gustavo Pineiro (02:04)
Jesus Christ.Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Erika (02:11)
And our listeners are going to lovehearing about how you’ve built your business and you that you know what it’s like to have true purpose and wealth with what you’re doing. So let’s dive right in. Gustavo, tell us a little bit about your journey. How did you get started in investing?
Gustavo Pineiro (02:31)
You know, it started out like when I was 18 years old. So ⁓ I used to work night shifts and would be awake throughout the whole night and they would have these crazy infomercials. And one of the infomercials, and I may be dating myself here, was Colton Sheets. And I remember spending my nights looking at Colton Sheets and like, yes, I could do this. But I was so intimidated. I so intimidated that I wouldn’t even dial the phone number.to order the package so I could have financial freedom. But that dream never went away. I really loved real estate, but I didn’t know how to do it, and I didn’t have mentorship in that. And then so fast forward maybe about 20 plus years, I was working in the pharmaceutical industry, and I don’t know if you’ve ever had this happen, but there was something like, you know that you know that you know that there’s gotta be something better than this. Now I had a great job, but I knew that there was something better than this.
There was like, what I wanted to get to was on the other side of the hill to gain that financial freedom that I so thrive for. And so I took a leap of faith. I quit my job at the pharmaceutical company and I actually left New York and moved to Florida. And in that, was like, okay, I could find deals all day long, but like maybe some of your audience, I didn’t have a penny in my account and I had to figure out how the money worked.
So I went into real estate, but in the aspect of learning how mortgages work. So I can understand how the money work, how to put things together, how to finance these deals. Because my thinking was that if I knew how the money worked, and when I get the deals, I knew how to put the pieces together. And so that’s helped me a lot because in 2007, when the market crashed, I was able to do just that. Take advantage of these properties that were once
$300,000 that I now could get them for $30,000 and buy these properties because I knew how the money worked. So that’s how I got started.
Erika (04:36)
Yeah, and you know that that market was chaotic and you know you were you were newer to the game. How did it you know shape your approach?Gustavo Pineiro (04:41)
IWell, the great thing about it was this, right? And I can’t emphasize, you’re gonna either learn the streets or you’re gonna learn with a mentor. You’re gonna pay somehow. And you know, I know that old adage, the school of hard knocks. And so I fortunately got a mentor
I just came real humble. I would call him about five, 10 times a day. And I was like, I didn’t even know how to read a contract. He would help me. He was so patient with me. And he was in the hustle too.
And that’s the important part to make sure that someone who’s actually performing at the level that you want to perform at and use their guidance. And so he helped me with my first deal. And ⁓ I remember that deal so vividly because in that time, the, the, in the wholesale market, cause I was wholesaling initially and he goes, I got this deal. I got this property. was like, listen, I got a buyer for it. He goes to me, Gustavo, this deal is very thin. And I knew what he meant by that.
Meaning that there’s not enough money for both of us to make money on this deal. Because it wasn’t even his deal, it was another person’s deal. He goes, you’re have to add your commission on top. I’m like, okay. I didn’t think anything of it, sold the property, was at the closing table, he congratulates me, and then he goes with a smile, he looks at me off to the side, he goes, so how’d you do it? I really didn’t have any idea what he was talking about. I was like, how’d I do what? He goes, how’d you do it?
He’s like, I don’t know what you’re talking about. And he asked me a third time, he goes, how’d you do it? Now, mind you, I didn’t even know how to read a closing statement at this time. So I don’t even know what he was talking
And he points to the closing statement and he goes, you made $10,000. I was like, yeah. He goes, I made $2,500. And I smiled at him and I told him, said, see, I told you I was gonna be your best student. And that was my first deal.
I made actually more money than my mentor on my first deal. And then, you know, a few months passed by, turned into a year. And at that time I was learning so quickly because I was just so absorbed with trying to like finally get out the gate and I was hungry and I was stopping at nothing that he finally recognized me about a year later as his peer. And to me, that was a big honor because not long ago was a student. He would refer to me as his peer and you know, would converse about
deal strategies, areas to invest in and all that. Yeah.
Erika (08:06)
Wow. And then, you know, so you’re, you know, rapidly learning, you know, on the job, on the go. And then your story, it took a big turn in 2011. What, you know, what was that like?Gustavo Pineiro (08:20)
⁓ yes, in 2011, it was the biggest blessing but some people may look at it as a curse. So, I was literally making money, laughing all the way to the bank. I was on top of the world, my business was booming. At the time, my partner was pregnant with our son and I go to Asia for the very first time. I was so excited, I didn’t even speak the language and I didn’t realize it until I got there, right? And finally I met somebody who actually spoke English and so like,I’m talking to him and we go to this Vietnamese restaurant and I’m getting some pho, right? And if you’re like me, you know that pho tastes the best spicy, right? So I put in some sriracha and then I go and I’m eating my food and then eventually we’re having a conversation and the gentleman leans in and goes, speak up, I can’t hear you. Speak up, I can’t hear you. I’m like, man, they must make the sriracha here in Vietnam a little differently than they make in the States and didn’t think anything of it.
I get back to the States and about a month later, my voice sounds a little raspy still. And if you’re like me, you go onto Dr. Google and you do the research and anytime you look, do research, it always seems like you have all the symptoms. So I checked off, I had every single symptom. They said, if you have these symptoms, you need to go to an ENT, an ear, nose, throat doctor. So I go to the doctor and I’m greeted like with this little cynical smile that the doctor has and she has this tool in her hand.
It was a hose with a light at the end of it. And I’m like, where are you going to put that at? I’m like, where are you going to put that at? And then she goes, I’m going to put it up your nose. And so she puts it up my nose and it goes down the back of my throat.
Sounds disgusting and hurts even worse. So then she goes, okay, we got to do some more tests. Okay, maybe this was normal protocol. I don’t know what to do. So then we do these tests and a few weeks later I come back in. This time I come with my partner. And so we’re in the waiting room.
giggling, laughing, trying to come up with names for our son. And they call me to the back. And so we go to the examination room. And when we get to the examination room, the doctor comes in. As she comes in, she
her back towards us. And when she turns around, she looks as if she saw a ghost. She sits next to me. She puts her hand on my leg. She goes, Mr. Pinero, I’m sorry. You have cancer.
talk about my world imploding, it just closed in on me. And that walk from the examination room was the longest walk of my life. All I could just do was hug my wife and cry in the parking lot. And then it was weird because I started getting flashes of my life. I started getting flashes of my youth growing up in the South Bronx, dodging gunshots on the way to school and seeing drug addicts. And I started seeing all the reasons why I should have died.
literally died. And then I got to see me walking across the stage, graduating, not one time, not two times, but three times, when I should have never made it, when I should have been either dead or in jail. And I saw the perseverance that I had, and I needed to pull on that. Right? And for some of your audience members, they may be in that same space, that they’re finding out that there’s something greater in them that they know themselves to be, because that’s what I found out.
And not only it helped me beat cancer one time, but it helped me beat cancer twice, six months apart. And so that’s my story. then one of the things that I realized was that in realizing that there was something greater, I started to realize that wealth, financial wealth, there’s much more purpose to
If you’re just chasing money just to chase money, then it’s not worth it. You have to really understand your why and feed into that.
and understand that there’s different aspects of as well. Those are the things I learned during that time.
Erika (12:55)
Yeah, wow. Wow. And you’re here today, which is awesome. You beat cancer twice. going through that, how did that change how you operated your business and just like your outlook and your planning? mean, gosh, it probably affected just about every facet of your life going through that.Gustavo Pineiro (13:18)
You know, I can tell you this, the first time that I went through the cancer, if it wasn’t for work, I probably wouldn’t have made it. Because I put my, I focused myself in and I was so time regimented, because I realized I’m staring down the barrel of this gun and I need to create legacy for my children and I have no time to waste. I would literally work from eight to maybe 11 o’clock. That’s it, not even.not even a straight four hours. And I would have to go get radiation therapy and then I was doing some other stuff. And to tell you the truth, it was so exhausting. But in that year, because I was so focused, I closed 85 deals.
And in that year, it wasn’t just closing, just wholesaling them. I wish it was just that. It was closing them, rehabbing them, and then selling them. So it was like, were doing those some months that we had five, 10 deals a month that were just ongoing projects. Some projects were longer and some projects were shorter. And it was just turning it around. So that focus allowed me to understand and tap into something. And that’s why I say that the purpose is so great. ⁓ When you’re lined up with your purpose,
All those things fall into place.
Erika (14:39)
Absolutely. you know, you, you know, I’m assuming you really buckled down with, you know, using that time wisely, how you had it when you were working, were there specific strategies that you leaned into during that time that, you know, worked well for you then and maybe still do now?Gustavo Pineiro (14:57)
I think that understanding what to delegate.One of the things, obviously, because I didn’t have that much time available, so understanding who and what to delegate to people so that way you can make the most out of your time, whether it be a contractor or whether it be to an assistant to do certain things. was just making the maximum use of my time and delegating it and not necessarily pinching every penny, because sometimes in delegation…
you have to pay a little bit more, but it freed up so much of my time so that way I could focus in on getting better.
Erika (16:12)
Absolutely. then kind of fast forward into today a little bit. What kind of markets are you operating in and what type of real estate are you focused in today?Gustavo Pineiro (16:26)
Great question. think that, and this is obviously almost like 20 years in the business, looking back, if I could start all over again, I would have started where I’m at right now, which is I starting commercial. I initially made all my money in residential because of the low entry points, because there was different strategies in that. And then I started to go to smaller multifamily, but…But right now the return on the investment and there’s certain deals that I can actually get into those deals with creative financing a lot with a lot less money than it will cost me to get into say a two or $300,000 home. And so it’s using you leveraging those strategies and the return on investment. So I’ll say commercial specifically mobile home parks or you know units 30 30 units north, know 30 to 50 maybe 100 units at a time. But again,
understanding that you have to a certain amount of infrastructure in place and being able to delegate those tasks.
Erika (17:28)
Yeah, absolutely. the commercial market, there’s so many different ways that you can go. For you, what kinds ofare you looking at for commercial real estate?
Gustavo Pineiro (17:41)
I like residential because some people may have different strategies versus like say strip malls or whatever because people always need a place to live. Businesses can shut down and there’s different ways that you make income on those. Yes, you can have triple net versus not having that with more like dealing with rental units.But to tell you the truth, I like the rental units a little bit more, especially when you have the right tenants and the right infrastructure in place. You get a handyman or whatever, and you have your office with all the people, your leasing office, property managers. It makes it lot easier, I think.
Erika (18:28)
Yeah, and you know with all those moving parts going on with that, are there any specific tools or systems that you rely on to keep things going smoothly?Gustavo Pineiro (18:38)
Yeah, of course. to find the deals, obviously we have different softwares that we use to find the deals and just, you know, leveraging my network, but obviously as well, property management tools to make sure that who’s paying and to make sure that they’re the right amount. And I’ve learned to take advantage of different ⁓ ways of receiving payments and collecting it. So it’s just all about organization and then you can run it like clockwork.And ⁓ man, I remember the days when I first started and it wasn’t organized and it was just such a nightmare. I go back to the days when I was still using spreadsheets to collect rent. It was a nightmare. There was definitely money that slipped through the cracks and where I was, ⁓ I didn’t account for certain things. yeah, definitely got to put those infrastructures in place.
Erika (19:31)
Yeah, and you mentioned leveraging your network and you know networking is so important as an investor for you. How has networking shaped your growth and what kind of advice would you give to someone who you know wants to do more networking level up?Gustavo Pineiro (19:49)
GreatSo I think that the first part is just understanding your network is equal to your net worth. And we hear that being thrown around, but you got to really understand like, so who is in your circle right now and how are you leveraging them? And the way I say this, the advice is not what you can do for me, but what can I do for you? I find that that works out. Being a go-giver and actually helping somebody else out.
actually comes back tenfold to you. That’s what I’ve always found out. you know, in terms of your network, think that also understanding that if you’re like, say, for me, I hate networking events to be totally straight with you. ⁓ Because there people that just want to shake everybody’s hands, like if they’re the mayor, and they know everybody. And a lot of times I sit back and I watch, but they’re not doing deals. They know everybody, but they’re not doing deals. And so,
When you go to networking events, I think that just be cognizant of who are the key players. Sometimes it’s maybe one, two, maybe three people. And just meet those three people and you’ll do business
with those three people than if you met all the hundred people that were there. And I think that’s very important to know how to identify who those people are, how you can give into their business or help them multiply their business and then you’ll reap the rewards afterwards.
Erika (21:13)
Yeah, absolutely. you know, building those relationships, that’s how you build wealth in that networking instead of just making those shallow connections.Gustavo Pineiro (21:26)
For sure, for sure. I draw upon an experience that I had. Young guy, he must have been like mid-20s, maybe 24, and he had did one deal before. And clearly I had a lot more experience than him. So there wasn’t, if anything, he would want to work with me. And I switched up the tables a little bit and I was like, well, how can I help you with your business? Right?Because of that, it created a certain synergy between us, a certain amount of trust, and I ended mentoring him. that year, he bought about 11 properties, and for somebody who’s less than a year in the business, that’s a lot of properties to move around. And I think that I was involved anywhere between five and six of those properties. Some I helped sell, some I bought off of him, and then maybe a few months later after, he just kind of started rocking and rolling on his own.
He was making over $250,000 a month. And so it was just in that space of being able to give to him. And I made probably close to $100,000 with him in that deal, over those different deals or more. And it just goes to show that you can never have too much knowledge where you can’t give to someone else. And that’s the very important part of networking that a lot of people overlook.
Erika (22:56)
Yeah, wow. That’s an incredible story. Well, you have been building wealth in so many different areas. So for you with the future, what does that look like? Are you aiming to scale up, expand newwhen it comes to real estate or something else?
Gustavo Pineiro (23:16)
Well, yes, all the above. Scaling more to larger properties, obviously, and going more to, like I said, the mobile home parks and larger scales of stuff and creating syndications, more complex types of deals that we’re getting into right now. And funny enough, and I gotta be totally candid about this, that once I battled cancer, God placed the seed in my heart, and it was to help.other people to realize that there’s different aspects of wealth. And part of that would be understanding that wealth is not just income, but wealth is also intimate relationships. You know, how you work within the community, how the community works within you, wealth of your health, know, wealth of your education, your spirituality, and most importantly, how you don’t squander your time. Because that’s our biggest asset. And teaching people how to do that.
and understanding the importance of creating the residual income will give them the access to be able to fill those different areas of life so they can achieve true wealth. And so that’s my passion project. That’s what I love to do and help individuals to get to that stage of their life as well as laugh all the way to the bank.
Erika (24:38)
love it. Well, Gustavo, before we wrap up, if someone wants to reach out, connect with you, learn more about your approach to real estate and true wealth, what’s the best way for them to get in touch?Gustavo Pineiro (24:50)
The best way to get in touch with me is through Instagram on Wealthonomics Society. That’s my handle, Wealthonomics Society on Instagram. They could just DM me and we could just, we could see how we could work together.Erika (25:05)
Gustavo, thank you so much for sharing your story, your wisdom. I love that, you know, for you, real estate isn’t just about building wealth, it’s about building purpose.Gustavo Pineiro (25:15)
Yeah, for sure. And creating the legacy that lasts a lifetime.Erika (25:19)
Yeah, yeah, amazing. Thank you so much for being on the show today, Gustavo.Gustavo Pineiro (25:24)
Thank you for inviting me. It was my pleasure.Erika (25:26)
And for our listeners tuning in, if you got value from this episode, make sure that you’re subscribed to the Real Estate Pro Show. We’ve got more conversations coming up with pros like Gustavo who are redefining what’s possible in real estate. We’ll see you on the next episode.
