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In this episode, Sam Renaud shares his journey from growing up around real estate to becoming a multi-family investor and boutique hotel owner. He discusses the importance of relationships, finding the right partners, and aligning your real estate pursuits with your life goals.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Sam Renaud (00:00)
to walk into a room where you suddenly feel like you belong, it’s the coolest thing. To be able to have the conversations that we’re having, you know, we’re talking about big dreams, we’re talking about our goals, we’re talking about, you know, making businesses. I’ve always had a dream to own a private island in the Caribbean.That’s my ultimate goal. And it was so cool to walk into a room and to be able to tell people that and for them to just cheer me on, for them to go, yeah, you know what? You can do it. And you know what? I want in on that. I want to do that with you.
Micah Johnson (02:07)
Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m your host, Micah Johnson. And today I’m joined by Sam, who’s been making some serious moves in real estate investing now for over decade. Sam, welcome in. Glad to have you.Sam Renaud (02:18)
Hi, thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I’m excited to be here.Micah Johnson (02:22)
Absolutely, absolutely. I’m pumped for our call today. You’ve been doing this a little while, making some good moves in it. You’re in a colder climate, but looking for the more tropical one, which I definitely identify with, the tropical part that is. And ⁓ yeah, I love what you value in real estate. was a quote that you said in pre-recording I’m pumped to dig into. You might go further, or you might go faster alone, but you’ll go further with people. And I love that. So let’s dig in.for folks who aren’t familiar with you yet. You know, just tell us a little more about yourself and what your main focus is right now.
Sam Renaud (02:54)
Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, my name is Sam. I’m out here in the chilly Ottawa, Canada. And ⁓ main focus these days is mainly the multi-family real estate acquisitions, looking to buy into those apartment buildings, looking to grow the portfolio. Also expanding into some boutique hotels out in tropical markets to try to get out of the chilly Canadian winters.Micah Johnson (03:21)
Couldn’t agree more there. ⁓ Well, take us back. How’d you get to where you are today? Doing multifamily, chasing boutique hotels. Take us down that journey with you.Sam Renaud (03:30)
Yeah, absolutely. I’m kind of one of the lucky ones, I tell people, because I was able to kind of grow up around real estate a little bit. I always say my dad never knew how to sell a house. So growing up, every time we moved, instead of selling it, he would rent it out. So that was a really good opportunity for me to kind of get a vision of that long-term growth of real estate. And fast forward a couple of years, ended up in the workforce.didn’t take me long to realize that the whole nine to five thing wasn’t going to work for me. You know, I’m not doing this till I’m 65. I don’t, I have the utmost respect for people who do, but it’s, it’s not going to work for me. So I began kind of exploring, you know, what can I do to get out of this? What, what other options are there? I realized that wealthy people, they’re investing in real estate. That’s what they’re doing. So with a little bit of background, a little bit of, you know, new knowledge, I jumped in.
Micah Johnson (04:12)
Jam.Sam Renaud (04:28)
started doing some singles, some duplexes as a lot of people do, started partnering with the right people, getting in the right rooms, and then that’s when I really started leveling up into the multi-family. Started doing some bigger deals, things started moving a lot faster, and ⁓ now I’m shifting a little bit to some lifestyle investing because I realized what am I doing here?yeah.
Micah Johnson (05:38)
Well, it’s beautifulthough. And it’s on that journey too. Cause you said something there talking about your day. You understood it was a long-term, how it works long-term. And that’s what I, man, I love for folks to understand the industry. This is a get rich, slow scheme. And it’s the best one ever, if you’ll do it correctly. And slow is a relative term. Okay. Right. Just ⁓ I get that part, but it’s about pacing yourself. And then that other part, you said things sped up when you met the right people, when you started getting in the right room. So take us into that. What was that like?
just getting to experience partnerships and realizing, okay, wait a second, there’s something to this.
Sam Renaud (06:14)
it was the coolest feeling in the world. and I’m grateful to have felt this and I don’t know that everybody gets that opportunity, but to walk into a room where you suddenly feel like you belong, it’s the coolest thing. To be able to have the conversations that we’re having, you know, we’re talking about big dreams, we’re talking about our goals, we’re talking about, you know, making businesses. I’ve always had a dream to own a private island in the Caribbean.That’s my ultimate goal. And it was so cool to walk into a room and to be able to tell people that and for them to just cheer me on, for them to go, yeah, you know what? You can do it. And you know what? I want in on that. I want to do that with you. ⁓ Coolest thing, coolest thing.
Micah Johnson (07:00)
That’s, love, that’s the part you pointed out too, because I remember my first experience in a room like that. And that’s, that’s the part that’s really changed, like life changing is when you get around people where when you share your big goal, they’re just like, okay, so what are you doing next on it? Right? Like that’s great. So now what, what are you doing? What are you doing? It’s not like you tell that to just anybody and it just, you can’t, you can’t, they can’t imagine what it’s like.Sam Renaud (07:19)
Yeah.Micah Johnson (07:30)
simply because they tell themselves a small story about their life, honestly, is really the difference that I’ve noticed. It’s just by getting in a place where if you’re willing to tell it to yourself, there’s a room out there that when you say it out loud, they’re gonna pour gas on that fire. And it’s kind of the yin and yang of it. You gotta have that. That’s what gets you in the rooms is these big dreams, these big goals. And man, when those folks line up with you and you say it out loud for that first time, and everybody’s nervous when they do it, and you get those responses back like,I know a guy who did that. I’ll connect you with him and I’ll know this and I’ll do this. You’re just like, my God, this is great.
Sam Renaud (08:05)
Yeah,and then before you know it, it’s suddenly, it’s happening, you know, the wheels are moving and yeah, it’s amazing.
Micah Johnson (08:13)
Well, that’s the beauty of those rooms. Those are action takers. That’s what’s great about getting in there is also it’s a, it’s a version of accountability, but it’s not like the negative kind that, you know, I need an accountability part. It’s not that it’s folks that are actually, when you talk to them the next week or the next month, they’re going to ask you, so what’d do? What’s happened since you were talking about your project last? And if you start stalling out, they’ll be like, what are you doing? I thought you wanted this. You said you wanted it. So what do really want? Like what’s actually happening?Sam Renaud (08:31)
youMicah Johnson (08:43)
And it keeps you in there because that it’s a long journey by yourself. have been infinitely more happy surrounded by people who one like to talk about real estate as much as I do and big dreams and like, we don’t find ourselves very often. I agree. When you feel seen in that room, you’re just like, my people.Sam Renaud (09:03)
Yeah, yeah, exactly. It’s ⁓ such a cool feeling. ⁓Micah Johnson (09:07)
I love that. So tell us about one of the first projects that came from that when you started. So you were a single family, small dupe, single family and duplexes. You meet this group and hit that acceleration. What was that first project you were looking at that took off for you?Sam Renaud (09:21)
Yeah, so it was quite a stark contrast because I was initially doing those duplexes, but they were not only duplexes, but they were 100 years old. So they were century homes and I did renovations on them and it was grueling work. ⁓ So once I got into the right rooms, I acquired my first brand new eight plex and that was super exciting.Micah Johnson (09:32)
Hmm.Ready to go. We can start cashflow in day one. Let’s do that.
Sam Renaud (09:51)
Yeah, yeah, exactly.was brand new builds and it wasn’t even like a ⁓ pre-construction. We bought it as an assignment. we bought it and closed it within a few months and brand new, tenanted. It was great.
Micah Johnson (10:43)
And how long did that like, want folks to know it doesn’t take a lot better ask you first, but it doesn’t take long if you get into these rooms and you’re intentional about it. That’s that key. Don’t just let it hang against the wall. Get in, get at the table, start talking to people and ask questions. How, so for you from getting in there to that being done, what was that timeframe?Sam Renaud (11:04)
It was, that’s a good question. I would say it’s probably around a year and the part that took the longest wasn’t even finding the deal, wasn’t even finding the people because they were there now. It was really building those relationships, like building up trust and ⁓ learning from myself, right? You don’t go from buying a duplex to suddenly knowing how to underwrite a big multifamily building.Micah Johnson (11:11)
Perfect.Sam Renaud (11:32)
So there was a lot of learning, but it was a lot of the building of the relationships and finding the exact people that would partner on that kind of deal. So, yeah.Micah Johnson (11:42)
I’m so glad you said a year because that is what I like people to hear when it comes to if they’re going to be in a room with a mastermind. Everybody that you’re in there is typically vetted and they are qualified, but those relationships, you got to find your tribe. still, you know, your vibe attracts your tribe still inside of those things. And those take time because we only, we all want to work with people we like, know, and trust. And that’s that third one that takes the longest as it should. AndIf you’re getting into one and listening and viewing out this, I’d tell everybody, give it a 12 month run. Your life will look completely different in 12 months, but it’s going to have a hockey stick effect to it. So it’s not going to, the stuff upfront that you’re doing, is it the cool parts? Depends on how you view it. I love meeting new people and building relationships, but is it right in the offer? Not necessarily. That is coming though, if you’ll just participate. So, ⁓ I love that. All right.
Now you went to boutique hotels. Tell us about that shift. Was it really just the climate or was there more growth involved?
Sam Renaud (12:45)
It was kind of ⁓ a long time coming, I want to say. So I’ve always known that this climate wasn’t going to be for me. I’ve always known that. ⁓ I’ve been trying to stay focused on the multifamily because that’s the thing I do. you know, I’ve heard, you know, stay focused on the one thing and then, you know, whatever. ⁓ But I feel like as a result, I’ve kind of been actively trying not to do something that I’m being pulled towards.like I have this this pull. ⁓ So finally, I just said, you know what, I’m going to stop fighting this. This is the natural alignment. Like there’s something that I need to do here. ⁓ The climate is a huge part of it. But beyond that, there’s also ⁓ the opportunity for income. So with a multifamily property, there’s only so much you can do because you are limited by, you know, residential tenancy.
acts and you know rules guidelines stuff like that but in hospitality people are going there to spend money right people are going there to have the best experience so there’s a lot more opportunity for you to offer value and thus earn more income thus add value to to your property as a whole ⁓ so that whole part of it excites me as well
Micah Johnson (14:04)
of that. it’s, want to, I want to stop on that too. Real estate is a huge umbrella and very few of us stick with what we started. It was, we found our door in and then you grow into it. And that part, I’m, I, in my opinion, you did that really a good way because we all want stuff, especially entrepreneurs. can, we can chase shiny things really quick, but those things that don’t go away when you can track it for a long time and it’s just pulling on you and pulling on you and pulling on you.That’s what alignment does feel like. That’s where it’s saying, okay, this wasn’t, I got a lot of tattoos, but the first tattoo I ever got, it took me, I waited like a year and a half. And I looked at it I looked at it looked at it to make sure, okay, you want that on you forever, man? Like, is that really what you want on forever? Now I’ll just walk in and tell the guy, something. But that first one I was really amped about, but the process is what I mean by, is that what you really want? Keep revisiting it as different versions of yourself, because you’re growing, still doing your work.
And the fact that kept still pulling, ⁓ love that. Now you’re making that shift because your financial paycheck’s getting paid. Now it’s that emotional paycheck that needs to get paid again. Because it’ll, real estate will do that through one section and it’ll pay us both well, but then only one stops, one stops getting paid and we’ll only do something for so long we hate or we should. Like when you start hating it, it’s life saying, Hey, you need to change, you know, you got to change this. We don’t want to do this no more. ⁓ So I love the fact that you, that you brought that up.
And that it’s ⁓ it’s that process. really goes back to not just real estate is long game, but the strategy, the thinking it’s a daily basis thing. It’s like, okay, you wake up. What am I doing today? What do I got to get done right now? Okay. Hmm. I can go on on that kind of stuff for a long time. I love the mindset part of real estate because it’s so important to it.
Sam Renaud (15:53)
It is, it reallyis.
Micah Johnson (16:35)
So what are you looking for in this next year? So we were talking a little bit pre-recording, you’re looking for some new properties, looking for some new partnerships. Tell me this, what do you look for in a partner? Who’s that ideal person that you work with?Sam Renaud (16:49)
Well that’s a great question. An ideal partner for me is even somebody who’s not directly in the real estate space. ⁓ I’m okay with that because part of what I want to do is to bring people into it. And not necessarily that they have to become as immersed as people like you and I are, but people who maybe like government workers for one, for example. ⁓ I live in Ottawa.is a very heavily government town. And I see a lot of cases where people are working the daily grind, you know, they’re not loving it. They are, but they’re just kind of floating through. just, they just are. And then suddenly they’re, you know, 50, 60 years old and where has time gone? And they haven’t, they feel that they haven’t really gotten a chance to experience life and to do all of the things that they love. Yeah, they’ve got a great, great pension at the end.
Absolutely respectable, like you got to take care of yourself. But I feel like a lot of those people are missing out on some really cool opportunities to to get a little bit more out of life. So my ideal partner is somebody in a position like that coming in to do a partnership with me and then me allowing them to give them some kind of return, some kind of, you know, a little bit more means to to be able to maybe take time more time off from work.
spend time with their family, do a little bit more traveling. That’s what I like in a party.
Micah Johnson (18:22)
I love that. That’s good. Because not everybody has to be the real estate expert. That’s why real estate is such a team sport. And most of us, there’s one group I’m in, we call it the deal triangle. There’s the deal finder, there’s the operator that does it, and there’s the money. That’s like the three things that are always included in a deal. It’s very common for us to be two of the three. It is extremely rare for someone to be all three, because they’re just different personality types in general. But thatfinancial one, that’s one where I get excited too, because so many people will think, well, real estate’s not for me. That’s not this, that’s not that. I don’t want tenants and it’s okay. I got to your uncle Remus told you tenants are terrible and now you hate it all. I get it. Okay. You don’t have to do that. You can actually just be, there are truly passive ways to be in real estate. You just got to educate yourself a little more. You got to understand a little more about the projects, because it’s there. And to get those folks in,
When folks really feel that freedom from that extra income, when they go do that thing, it is for them, right? The belief I feel like those folks deal with so much is they believe it’s not for them. It’s not for me. It is for you. It is, it is. You just need to work with the right people. Because someone like yourself, you know the other parts. You do the real estate. We like real estate. Leave us where we like to be. Like, we will do that.
You stay over there and do what you like to do. Just send us the money and then we’ll split this with you. How about that? You want that? And it’s like, boom. And a lot of folks don’t really know about that. How powerful just private lending can be to change your own life.
Sam Renaud (19:56)
Yeah, absolutely. It’s that, I think that accessibility component. People see apartment buildings and go, ⁓ it’s just, you know, big millionaires or big corporations that own those. You people like me don’t own those. Yes, absolutely they do. People like you own those all the time. That’s how this works. But do you need to go and learn everything about it? No. You know, there’s people like me, people like you, people, you know, real estate investors who love this stuff. That’s, yeah, like you said, like let us do the things that we love.and you know, let’s come together.
Micah Johnson (20:27)
tap in. Actually, it excites me for the future of real estate, especially for, I’m 40, so I’m still young and in it. There’s a lot of money coming up and real estate investing is becoming more known. It used to feel way more niche. Now I know it’s still niche. It feels like everybody’s won when you’re inside it, but you get out and it’s like, I have no idea what you’re talking about. like, that’s right. I live in a small bubble.Sam Renaud (20:51)
Yeah, absolutely true. I’veexperienced that so many times.
Micah Johnson (20:58)
But because of the way we’re doing it and the way that folks are like really good professionals are sharing it on social media, getting the information out there, more and more people are having access to invest. It’s like when the stock market allowed people besides accredited investors to start coming in, where it’s literally the same. You can own a portion of apartment building. It’s that same thing, but the beauty is it’s a real thing. It’s really there. You can go visit it. You can drive your kids by and be like, I don’t know. Right? Like there’s all this cool stuff.that you get to do, just don’t believe it’s not for you. Connect with folks, even like Sam here, that they’re in the weeds of it day to day. You don’t need to be the expert at real estate. You just need to be the participant, willing to learn, understand the process, but no hammers involved, right? Like you don’t have to do any of that part.
Sam Renaud (21:48)
Exactly, no hammers and don’t have to deal with the tenants or all of that stuff. Like that’s, you know, a few layers back. You’re far away from it. No concerns.Micah Johnson (21:56)
Right.Right, right. It’s great. And I’m so glad that more and more asset classes are getting that exposure. Because I know I didn’t think those classes when I first got in, I thought tenants, toilets and termites, man, just single families, line them up, have 100 million of them. it’s like, nope, there’s all these other options out there that you can get in. And it’s very naturally just to keep growing. Sam, these are kind of conversations I can have pretty much all day long. And I really appreciate you being here today.
Sam Renaud (22:19)
Mm-hmm.Micah Johnson (22:27)
For folks that are listening in that want to find out more about you, see the projects that you have going on, possibly partner with you on them, what’s the best way for them to find you?Sam Renaud (22:37)
Facebook DMs or Instagram DMs are the best way to connect with me. Just send me a quick message Let me know what you’re about and you know, let’s jump on a call and chat. See what we can doMicah Johnson (22:48)
Excellent, excellent. We’ll make sure, can you share those DMs out or the handles out loud for us real quick?Sam Renaud (22:53)
Yeah, so Instagram is solscape.rei and Facebook, it’s just my name Sam Renaud.Micah Johnson (23:00)
Excellent. Thank you. And for everybody watching and listening, we will make sure that Sam’s links are in the show notes. Like I say all the time on the show, it’s not just random folks that we’re bringing on. We look for professionals, people that are in the business, doing it each day, building something real that you can connect with, learn from, partner with, because that truly is what makes real estate go around. This is a team sport. So get in the game while you still can. Sam again, thanks for being here. Really enjoyed it.Thank you everybody for joining along with us. If you got value out of today’s episode, please like this episode, share it with someone else you think get value out of it. And if you’re not a subscriber yet, you know what to do. Click that button, follow along with us. We appreciate every single one of you out there that do. We’ve got more conversations coming up with operators just like Sam out there building a real business in the industry. Thanks for being with us today. We’ll see you all next episode.
