Why Smart Real Estate Investors Play the Long Game to Build Lasting Wealth and Financial Freedom

Tom Suvansri (00:00)
Because what I have come to realize over my lifetime is that money in itself is not the goal. It is not the moniker that the

the ⁓ metric of success. It’s the tool that helps us drive that, right? And it’s our impact, our contribution. Having more money is great, but we gotta teach the people how to use it and how to think about it, or it could take over their lives.

Scott Bursey (01:55)
Welcome back to the Real Estate Pros Podcast powered by Investor Fuel. I’m your host Scott Bursey and today we’re absolutely fired up. We have a guest who truly understands the power of long-term value and consistently delivering on promises in real estate. Tom Suvansri from Perennial Pride. Tom isn’t just playing the short game, he’s building legacies and the fuel he brings today is the blueprint for creating enduring wealth.

and stability in your portfolio. Get ready to take notes because this one’s going to be pure gold everybody. Tom, welcome to the show.

Tom Suvansri (02:33)
Scott, thanks for having me on here. I’m super excited for our conversation today.

Scott Bursey (02:37)
Absolutely. And for those of our listeners who may not be familiar with your journey, please tell us how did your career begin and what’s your main focus now?

Tom Suvansri (02:48)
Yeah, I’ll try to sum it up ⁓ briefly here. I sometimes joke I’m like a W-2 refugee. You know, I grew up with the learnings of the typical financial advice. Get a great job, know, save your 401k and sort of just kind of look at the long term and hopefully I get to retire someday, right, with a big portfolio. ⁓ And that was it. And that’s where I started until I started exploring, right? I got to start…

getting an inkling of things, taxes were going up, things were just, you you have these crazy stock market hits that could drop, drop pretty quickly without any notice. And I just started wondering, and I bet you a lot of your audience members also have experiences too. And I started dipping into real estate. I got the Purple Book, just like a lot of people did back in the day. And I kind of said, what do do with this? And it got me down a road of learning about real estate for my own self, my own family and what it meant.

And it was like almost like a gateway drug to some degree to start exploring what else, what else is out there that they aren’t teaching us, right, in the normal system. And it opened up a world and allowed me to leave my W-2 job, know, gain the financial freedom and independence that I truly wanted. And now it’s transformed into, okay, how do I have others look at this differently as well and explore these things for themselves so they can build and enable the lives they truly want?

And that’s where I sort of built Perennial Pride to help support people who are looking for that. So it just gets me jazzed up every day to help people explore and empower them to sort of build the lives they truly want.

Scott Bursey (04:28)
That is just awesome and your passion truly resonates. Tom, let’s dive right into the heart of things here. What’s the biggest competitive advantage Perennial Pride leans on when sourcing deals that others may be missing right now?

Tom Suvansri (04:45)
Yeah, you know, the thing that I quickly found out, especially when I was trying to manage my own wealth, right, for my family, is, you know, you have your typical financial advisor and they may help with your portfolio and touch on little things in there, but really not

And, you you have your state planner, CPA, you have all these people around you that you now have to play the quarterback, right, and figure out how these things connect, how to design things. And it’s overwhelming for people.

Right? Because they’re not edu- they’re just not trained in these things. And so where I saw that for myself trying to do that, I said, this is what a lot of very successful people in different shapes and sizes want and need. They just don’t know it even exists. So where Perennial Pride sits is that we have shaped a, a, a very comprehensive team and network. And we touched on it like a family office type, a virtual one that can encapsulate

all these different areas that we can bring to the forefront for our clients as needed. They don’t have to hire these people and keep them on retainer. We can leverage them as needed to help fill people’s lives as things evolve. And so that’s the beauty of where we can sit because I don’t have to know everything. We have experts that we can bring and collaborate together with other advisors to really support and help people make the best decisions. That’s our job. And that’s why I love it because

I don’t have to know the answers. I got to know what our clients want and are striving for, and then we can bring the resources to help people think through it.

Scott Bursey (07:04)
That’s powerful. That is so powerful. And Tom, curious to know what is the most common operational drag or internal hurdle you’re constantly working to streamline to maintain efficiency.

Tom Suvansri (07:20)
You know, as people get more successful, and I suspect some of your audience members are feeling the pain on occasion, ⁓ is taxes, right? Taxes become, as you evolve and become more successful, that’s what I was seeing in my world in the W-2 side of things, is that bill keeps on growing. And that’s a big, ⁓ in my mind, it’s a loss. It’s a loss because you can’t use that to grow and compound your wealth long-term.

And that could mean 30, 40, 50 % of your income you’re bringing home. And that’s a big drag and it’s painful. And what I want your audience to recognize, it’s more of a symptom of kind of a system, right? A system that we’ve been taught to kind of live and breathe in. And so it really requires you stepping back and saying, how do I redesign the system so the outcomes and byproducts of it can be better?

And that’s what I think a lot of people are looking at for real estate, right? They think it has great tax benefits, right? But it has so many other things as everyone knows. But it’s really trying to get back to, you designing a system intentionally to build the life you want now and in the future? And what are the vehicles that are going to help you? And unfortunately, taxes is just almost like, you know, I sometimes think of it, it’s like the, ⁓ on a health analogy, it’s the heart attack, right? That happens, right? You see it.

But what’s causing it? What’s happening in the system that’s driving it? Well, let’s get to there first so we can redesign it and prevent it, right? And so that’s the way we approach, the way we help our clients.

Scott Bursey (08:58)
mitigating those internal friction points is absolutely essential. Efficiency is the new margin.

And Tom, if you could walk us through this ⁓ with the shift towards new construction cost and materials, what niche or emerging market strategy presents the biggest opportunity for long term growth right now and in your view?

Tom Suvansri (09:09)
Yeah.

Yeah, you know, I think this is a, in that space, right? Cause I, I, even though I own tons of real estate and do a lot of different deals, I wouldn’t say I’m the expert in that, right? In terms of the real estate world. What I, what I do know is that there will be opportunities coming. And this is where it’s so key. And as we’re dealing with a lot of folks we’re dealing with now is like, they’re not sure what to do. And so this is a tremendous opportunity to sort of re-examine.

where your system is functioning well or not, right? Because part of it is going to be the need for liquidity,

right? To be able to pounce on opportunities. People don’t like to have money sitting idle, but I do believe these are tremendous times when things are potentially arising that are gonna make some significant impacts. We just don’t know when, but the people who are gonna be positioned well and take advantage of this opportunity are the ones with liquidity and massive amounts.

I know a lot of people who are absolutely had none and basically would have to liquidate assets ⁓ very quickly, especially if things go awry. And so I think this is a tremendous time to button up and get your system well-designed and then think about building more liquidity because I do believe there are more coming and you start seeing it already, right? Certainly in a commercial ⁓ multifamily space as…

A lot of wholesale deals are going 30, 40 % discounted because people have to just liquidate. Interest rates have gone up. So I think the opportunities are coming. ⁓ I think for investors is being prepared and have the ability to pull the trigger when others cannot.

Scott Bursey (11:42)
That makes so much sense Tom. Leveraging that specific trend is where the next wave of profits will be generated ultimately.

Tom Suvansri (11:55)
Right, and that’s why I’m thinking of these things the long term.

Scott Bursey (11:55)
And Tom.

absolutely. It’s the long game. And if I’m taking away anything from our conversation thus far, it’s that you’re playing the long game. Which brings me to this, and it’s a must know for our listeners. What external factor, be it interest rates, regulation, or perhaps supply chains issues, are you watching most closely now? And how are you future proofing your portfolio against it?

Tom Suvansri (12:28)
Yeah, and this is where it’s so key because, you know, oftentimes we can, we get into a rhythm of doing certain things, investing in certain things. But what even I’ve done for myself and what I have others think about is what’s their entire portfolio look like, right? Because oftentimes we can be put in positions because, say real estate, where a lot of stuff is not very liquid, right? And then you have difficulties to pivot.

You haven’t prepared to get financing in place. And so I think a lot of it really goes into really understanding your broader asset positioning and really recognizing where it’s potentially vulnerable, right? Because a lot of it is kind of assessing that along the way and preparing, do I have to make some subtle shifts so I’m prepared to sort of pivot as necessary or am I too concentrated, right, in areas that are potentially vulnerable?

And so this is a good time to start looking at that to say, hey, is my asset positioned to help me support me now and in the future? And what do have to maybe do to start shifting this at all along the way so I can take advantage of things as they come?

Scott Bursey (13:39)
Absolutely. Being proactive in defense is just as important as being aggressive on offense. You know, you have to build in resilience. And you just illustrated that very nicely. Tom, interested to know, considering perennial pride, what defines the pride in your long-term management strategy? Is it the tenant retention, property upkeep, or perhaps something else?

Tom Suvansri (14:06)
You know, my pride is centered around understanding that we are just trying to share truth and transparency. Right? When I was a client of other advisors, I think I wasn’t seeing everything. Right? It was just pieces of the world that they wanted to share. And so what I love about what I get to do around this and take tremendous pride in is that I get just to share the truth and be transparent about things.

and recognize that everything that I do is not what everyone should do. We all have a personal stake in the direction of our lives. And my job, I see it, is to help bring that clarity for people for themselves, because they are the dictators of their financial freedom or independence, however you position it, right? But they have to be empowered,

and that’s my job. And I take full pride of that for myself, my family.

and others and allows me to sleep at night knowing that I’ve helped people in a different way and they have discovered things that they did not know about themselves or a financial strategy or whatever, that they’re better now for it. And that brings me tremendous pride.

Scott Bursey (16:04)
I love that, Tom. It’s not just about the asset. It’s about the reputation and the long-term relationship you build around that. I love that.

Okay, Tom, it’s time for the deep dive question here for the pros who are ready to level up their investing. What is the one pro secret on deal structuring or property valuation that you use to ensure your deals stand the test of time?

Tom Suvansri (16:34)
You know, this is one, I think you’re, you’re, you’ve touched on this topic before. ⁓ the concept of financing and financing and this day and age is tricky, right? Because interest rates a little bit higher and it’s tougher, certainly tougher, fine deals. And, you know, this is something that I think you’ve covered in different topics, but I use this, you know, for my financing almost exclusively is infinite banking. And I use it.

to source and finance all my deals privately, right? And that’s what I’ve done over a lot of years. And I’ve been able to control that financing and almost play that bank role for myself and then sort of be able to have the flexibility to sort of pay that back when I’m ready, right? I’m not relegated to the bank terms, but you know, that’s a very different animal and deeper dive, but.

You know, really what it also does for me because it’s structured around something that is inevitable in my life. My unfortunate leaving this earth, right? It also provides the protection for my business, my family, and for the next generation. And so that’s the thing that allows me to play the short game and the long run game at the same time and gives me the control and freedom to really dictate how I finance things in my life.

And so it’s a really powerful tool once understood. It’s one that you chat it up, it’s going to give you a lot of information, ⁓ some good, some bad. But once you understand it, it’s been a powerful tool in my life. And it’s allowed me to sort of think two, three, four generations down the road now. So it’s really powerful.

Scott Bursey (18:20)
very powerful and let’s bring AI into the equation for just a moment or two. How do you feel that this is ⁓ going to play a role in your operation Tom?

Tom Suvansri (18:30)
Yeah, we’re always looking at this and you know, obviously you’re getting to the point of, you know, touching on the very basics, right? ⁓ Some of the more basic operations, emails and templates and process and it’s definitely helpful. I have found it to be a really huge thought partner to think through things strategically as it gets to know you. I found that hugely important. ⁓ But what I definitely see is, especially around a lot of the

Scott Bursey (18:51)
Thank

Tom Suvansri (19:00)
things we’re used to seeing around, say, portfolio management or even doing taxes, all these things eventually will start, clearly, you’re start getting taken over, right? And then it becomes the question is, for the advisors going forward, what is it that you’re gonna focus on that really adds more value to people’s lives? What can you help them with that AI is gonna have a trouble doing? And that’s, I think, the biggest trick is what’s gonna evolve with it. And this is gonna hit every industry.

Right? You you name it. And so it’s a question of where are you going to focus your attention, your strategy? And frankly, I think the biggest thing that ⁓ strikes me around AI, and if you look at more positively, ⁓ the world has been driven in a way for us to almost act like robots, fit into systems, do our jobs, robotically do things.

I think AI is going to unleash the opposite. It’s going to allow us to be human again and think about people and care and start really building those relationships. I mean, we see it every day. Like doctors don’t have time to even spend time with their patients, right? They’re in and out. They got to be robotic, fast, efficient, right? AI is going to give us the benefit now to be human again and be around people and care for them and think about them. And I think in the end that will make the world a better place. I wholeheartedly believe that.

So I’m really excited to see where this goes, certainly for my life and for thinking about the future generation of my kids and grandkids and where it goes. It should be quite amazing.

Scott Bursey (20:39)
Tom, that is such a proactive perspective. Thank you for sharing that. And is there anything that you would like to leave with our listeners today? Any advice that you would like to convey to our listeners?

Tom Suvansri (20:53)
Yeah, you know, this is off the heels and this is more top of mind for me. So I’ll share it with you and your audience is ⁓ had the fortune to go on a college trip with my son and we’re going to explore colleges and it’s opening up his mind and seeing things and being exposed to things that are unique, which is obviously very important. ⁓ But it really harps on ⁓

When we think about generational wealth and however you interpret what that means, a lot of the focus goes around the money aspect, right? And that’s the driver. How am I gonna get the most money to whoever I care about? And that’s important. And that’s to people. But really what I really focus people’s attention is how do we…

develop our kids and families, people around us, so money goes through them so they can use it and be good stewards of it down the road so that they can perpetuate that for generations to come. They’re hopefully going to be better off than us. But we have to educate them and train them and help them understand what it all means and how to fit money into our lives.

what I have come to realize over my lifetime is that money in itself is not the goal. It is not the moniker that the

the ⁓ metric of success. It’s the tool that helps us drive that, right? And it’s our impact, our contribution. Having more money is great, but we gotta teach the people how to use it and how to think about it, or it could take over their

And it did for me for a while. And so it’s something that I’ve really come to sort of believe. You gotta get it through people, through them, because that’s the people that are gonna impact the future, and that’s my legacy. Like their character, their…

ability to impact things. And that’s more than money and anything money could do. Right. It’s their ability to steward wealth properly and use it for good. So that’s what I would leave you with. It’s inspired me more recently. And for those who are looking for generational wealth, I think that’s really a key because you can pass all the money, but look how many people just drain it in the heartbeat because they don’t know how to use it or properly think about it.

Scott Bursey (23:11)
Tom, this conversation has been exactly the high level insight I had hoped for. If our listeners want to follow your journey and I know they’re going to want to or collaborate with you or partner with you, what’s the best way for them to reach you?

Tom Suvansri (23:26)
Yeah, definitely perennialpride.com. It’s, you know, planning resources there. And I also have a perennial pride podcast. You can learn more about the types of things that we’re thinking about and types of guests that we like to bring in there to open up people’s eyes. So those would be great starting points.

Scott Bursey (23:45)
Remember pros as Tom highlighted, focusing on operational excellence before you scale is the secret to enduring success. Don’t chase the shiny object, master your process first. Tom, thank you for being on the show today.

Tom Suvansri (24:03)
Scott, thank you so much and I really enjoyed the conversation.

Scott Bursey (24:07)
And to our listeners, we appreciate each and every one of you. If you got value from today’s episode, please subscribe. We have a lineup of exceptional guests, just like Tom, who are making huge moves in the market. Until next time, keep your standards high and your vision clear. We’ll see you in the next episode, everyone.