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Show Summary
In this conversation, John Harcar and David Buckley discuss the intricacies of the real estate lending industry, focusing on the importance of understanding goals, time management, and building relationships. David shares his journey from hospitality to real estate, emphasizing the need for education and daily action in achieving success. They also touch on common mistakes investors make and the significance of having a diverse knowledge base in real estate.”
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
David Buckley (00:00)
Right now focused on the DSCR loans for investors. ⁓ know, a lot of people are in higher rates and as those start to come down, there’s opportunity to, you know, boost cash flows with, you know, better financing or, you know, if someone needs to pull cash out to get their next property or, you know, they’re working on a burr and, you know, they’re flipping and then going into a long-term DSCR loan, then, you know, it’s good, great opportunities out there coming up every day, so.John Harcar (02:07)
Hey guys, welcome back to our show. I’m once again, your host, John Harcar. And I’m here today with David Buckley and you know, with David, what we’re going to talk about, you know, besides his journey in real estate and what brought him up to where he’s doing lending today, what we’re going to talk about is how he really educated himself to kind of, you know, be that expert in his field, right? Be able to have all the knowledge that, his clients need. ⁓ Remember guys, at Investor Fuel, we help businesses, we help real estate professionals, service providers.You two to five X their business. And we do that because we help connect you with the right tools and resources to scale your business to the life you’ve always wanted to have. So, hey David, man, welcome to our show.
David Buckley (02:48)
Hey John, pleasure to be here. Thank you very much.John Harcar (02:51)
Yeah,man. I liked our pre-call conversation. I’m excited for our audience to hear kind of about what you’re doing. I know this is a newer venture, but before we talk about kind of what you’re doing now, why don’t we kind of go back and see, know, what brought you to today? Like, well, what brought you into real estate? What brought you into lending?
David Buckley (03:00)
Yeah, there.Yeah, basically, you know, I’ve seen the power of real estate in my family and I grew up in San Diego. So it’s, you know, it’s very, very expensive real estate markets. And then moving to Texas, I was like, okay, well maybe there’s something I can do here. And I spent 20 years in hospitality as a chef and 10 years in hotels. We’re always managing the P and Ls. And I was like, okay, well, you know, what’s this at the bottom of the P and L what’s this depreciation? What’s, you know, so I started learning about.
that about five years ago and as we were adding you know adding ⁓ you know adding to the bottom line of that P &L I understood why that’s so powerful and okay I want a piece of that I want you know I’ve always had some ownership felt like ownership I’ve always been entrepreneur and I’ve always wanted to my own business so here I am getting started
John Harcar (03:40)
Okay.Nice entrepreneur by heart. Now I like to, if you’ve ever watched any of the podcasts I’ve done, I haven’t done a lot, but if you’ve watched any of the ones I’ve done, I like to go backwards. Right. I think there’s always so much story in the past. So, and I usually ask people how you got into real estate. You kind of mentioned it with your family. So, I mean, did you have someone, was, was your parents, were they in real estate? Were they with someone else?
David Buckley (04:23)
Itwas my aunt. She was always kind of a leading figure in my family and she was very financially savvy so I would kind of watch what she did as a kid and understood the power of appreciation in the Southern California market. She did pretty well.
John Harcar (04:25)
Your aunt.Nice. Did you have any type of finance background? Did you go to school for finance or how did you know the whole, you know, raising capital game or lending game? How did you know all that?
David Buckley (04:55)
⁓ I just from, researching and, you know, the higher up I got into in my management positions and hotels, the more I love the financial side of the business. So as I got farther and farther in that, I just wanted to kind of branch out from there and then just self education, ⁓ through, you know, podcasts like this and books and going to conferences and meeting people and just, you know, learning nonstop.John Harcar (05:16)
Yep. Yep.Right, I love that. So, but what made you choose this piece of real estate, right? The lending piece. Why didn’t you get into the active piece? Maybe flipping homes, maybe building hotels, maybe converting to boutique hotels. I mean, why didn’t you get into something else besides the lending piece?
David Buckley (05:34)
Yeah.Yeah, so I’m about five years kind of into my journey of learning about real estate. And I’ve tried a number of things and nothing really 100 % resonated with me. Like I felt like I was really, you know, hitting my mission until I learned about lending and being a loan broker. I was like, okay, well can use my five years of knowledge and trying different strategies to help investors.
know, whatever strategy they’re working on and what’s working in the current marketplace.
John Harcar (06:57)
Okay. What, as you started all this, what are some of the challenges, right? When you started to go out, you know, you’re going out on your own. Like, what are some of the challenges you’re coming across as you’re building this business?David Buckley (07:09)
Well, yeah, I mean, it’s when you’re an entrepreneur, nothing happens if you don’t make it happen. So I’m just getting this business started and I need to go out to networking, you know, opportunities and reaching out to my network of people that I’ve met over the past five years and really trying to get my name out there as a trusted source, you know, as a, you know, I want to be more as a consultant as also, you know, to share some of the things I’ve learned in last five years and expertise and from education.John Harcar (07:37)
Mm-hmm.David Buckley (07:39)
application.John Harcar (07:40)
Okay,awesome. what do you see maybe, you know, people trying to get into, you know, lending or get into things like you’re doing, like what kind of mistakes are they making or what kind of, things are they doing? They shouldn’t be doing, et cetera.
David Buckley (07:56)
Well I think you gotta start with your goals and your why and then is what you’re working on, is that gonna get you there or is that just taking a step back?John Harcar (08:08)
Well, let’s talk about that. What’s your why? Why are you? Why are you in lending right now?You led me to that question, man. It wasn’t me. You led me there.
David Buckley (08:18)
The more, the more, the more and more I know and find out about real estate, the more I know it’s what I want to do for the rest of my life. So I’m just trying to find ways, more and more ways to get involved with it. And this felt like, you know, my why is I want to get out of my, my debut to career and build the business. You know, previously in the beginning of my career, wanted to, I’ve always wanted to be an owner, you know, of a rest. I wanted to be an owner of a restaurant. Then after working in that business for 20 years andand
seeing how slim the margins are and how tough it is, you know, I don’t want to do that anymore.
John Harcar (08:55)
Yeah, don’t blame you. Yeah, nota fun gig from what I’ve heard. So you’ve had this entrepreneurial mindset. What are some of the tools and things that you use maybe and still use just to really keep your, you you in that mindset of growth and not… ⁓
It’s like shiny object syndrome and just really stick in your path, right? You know, that type of thing. Sorry.
David Buckley (09:17)
Yeah.I think it’s daily action. You gotta take daily steps every day. Check a couple things off your checklist and after a amount of time it’ll lead to success, I believe.
John Harcar (09:34)
Okay, awesome. So are you still working at W2? Okay. Nice, well that’s a whole nother topic I like to talk about. So, know, when folks that work at W2, I mean, I think the really big piece is time management. You know what I mean? It’s really being intentional. So what things for you, and this might help other folks that are out there in the W2 space that are doing this part-time and maybe look into transition, like what tools for you helped you really?David Buckley (09:38)
Yes sir, yeah, just getting this business started,Definitely.
John Harcar (10:02)
manage your time, what maybe some techniques or tricks did you set up in your daily life just to make it more manageable?David Buckley (10:45)
I think time blocking is a good technique. you kind of have to, just like you have a budget for your finances, you have to kind of budget your time. So, you know, you plan your week, your month, your day, and you know, block time for everything that’s important to keep the ball rolling.John Harcar (11:02)
Got it, very cool. Now let’s talk about your current business right now or your business that you’re starting. Is it yourself? Do you have anybody on your team?David Buckley (11:10)
Now it’s just myself getting it started. I hope to ⁓ maybe hire some team members in 2026.John Harcar (11:19)
Okay. What is your goal? guess, I mean, like, I don’t want to necessarily say like, what’s your mission statement, but like, what do you, when you got into this, right? What did you want to provide that’s different? What did you want to provide that fills a need?David Buckley (11:34)
I think it’s about building relationships with, know, and as a loan broker or private money broker, you’re a middleman that’s going to help investors find the best rates and kind of, you know, discreetly shop the opportunity to multiple lenders. So there’s, can kind of create some leverage there and, you know, build ⁓ a marketplace.John Harcar (11:57)
Okay. Are there, is there anything like specific that you lend or don’t lend on areas you would lend or don’t lend? mean, tell me, kind of give us a little bit better idea of, I don’t want to call like, or I would say like to a flip, like someone who’s buying property, what’s your buy box? Like, is there something specific that you, you go by or what you try to stick to?David Buckley (12:12)
Great.Right now focused on the DSCR loans for investors. ⁓ know, a lot of people are in higher rates and as those start to come down, there’s opportunity to, you know, boost cash flows with, you know, better financing or, you know, if someone needs to pull cash out to get their next property or, you know, they’re working on a burr and, you know, they’re flipping and then going into a long-term DSCR loan, then, you know, it’s good, great opportunities out there coming up every day, so.
John Harcar (12:46)
That’s awesome. That’s awesome. How do you go out and, and, and I know you’re just starting this once again, or how are you currently going out and marketing your business? Are you ⁓ doing podcasts like this? Yeah. Okay.David Buckley (12:53)
Using a little bit of Facebook. Yeah. Using some Facebook ads andone to one at networking events and trying to get on some podcasts here and get it going. Yes, sir.
John Harcar (13:05)
Very cool. What’s your goal?I what do you have a, well, I mean, guess you have to have a goal to, know, what’s your freedom number. I’ll call it that, right? Do you have that type of number thought about where can, Hey, I can get myself away from this W2.
David Buckley (13:13)
II’d like to be closing five loans a month.
John Harcar (13:26)
Do feel that’s difficult?David Buckley (13:28)
No, think it’s definitely obtainable. That’s definitely enough.John Harcar (13:31)
Nice. All right. So whenwe talked to before we got on here and when we talked kind of a little bit about, know, I gave you the introduction. You had told me that what kind of this maybe set you apart a little bit or what gives you strength, right? Or is one of your strengths is the fact that you really, really have an extended or extensive knowledge of all different types of real estate, right? So elaborate to to my audience about that and kind of tell them why that’s such a benefit and why that’s important.
David Buckley (13:58)
Yeah, I mean, kind have a broad knowledge of different real estate strategies myself, trying so many different things over last five years from land investing to fix and flipping to build to rent and there’s a multifamily commercial. After spending 10 years in hotels, I can really read a P &L and understand real estate business.John Harcar (14:24)
That’s awesome. do you, ⁓ you know, when you’re working with people, do you have, and I don’t necessarily want to call it a white glove type of service, but do you have a service where you’ll kind of look at the deal, maybe suggest, I mean, do you do that type of, I don’t want to call it underwriting either, but do you look at deals and stuff? Is it okay?David Buckley (14:40)
⁓ Basically it is underwriting, know, and as an investor,as an aspiring investor myself, that’s definitely a part of it is, you know, we have to make sure it’s a deal before we present it to a lender, you know, and offer advice and, you know, maybe strategies as well.
John Harcar (14:50)
Yeah, yeah.Okay. Okay. So
they don’t have to come to you with the whole underwriting done necessarily. mean, they got to have their own, obviously underwriting, but it doesn’t have to be like full board. You’ll maybe help them with that or you’ll maybe help, you know, give them some suggestions.
David Buckley (15:51)
Yeah, absolutely. We kind of take their word for it on the numbers and then ⁓ we verify later down before the loan gets approved.John Harcar (16:02)
What do you think are some of the biggest mistakes that you’re seeing these investors make when maybe when they’re bringing you deals?David Buckley (16:10)
⁓ You know if it’s a fix and flip just underestimating the timeline or the rehab budget and or the You know the draws what you need to have in reserves, you knowJohn Harcar (16:25)
Okay.Okay. So let’s say someone overestimates or underestimates. mean, and that’s something where you help them kind of correct and give some feedback like, Hey, like you have like a 40 grand repair. This is really like an 80 grand repair, like stuff like that. Okay.
David Buckley (16:38)
Yeah, yeah, definitely we try to, you know,make sure we got the numbers correct.
John Harcar (16:44)
Very cool. What have been your, and I know this is once again, the new business and I feel you’re to be very successful out of it, but up to life right now, like what have been your secrets to success? The things that have kind of kept you focused, kept you steered, kept your mindset. You know, like for me, it might be a book or something like that. What is it for you?David Buckley (17:05)
Well, I think it’s, I’ve been successful, you know, because everything is a relationship business, know. ⁓ You know, people remember you by how you make them feel. So, you if you feel, someone, if you make someone feel comfortable and that they’re taken care of, then they’re going to remember you for that. And hopefully, you know, build a long-term relationship.John Harcar (17:28)
Got it. Perfect. All right. So tell our audience real fast, right? You know, where you’re doing your business. Give us kind of your elevator pitch here.David Buckley (17:37)
Alright, so when investors need debt to take over a project or take on a project, contact me at Kerrigan Commercial and we help you source the best possible terms, for your next deal.John Harcar (17:51)
Cool.Do you have a website or anything like that that you currently?
Your wife’s creeping in the background. Tell her it’s okay. Yeah, I got a creep in the back. It’s all good. Do have a website that they can go on to kind of check out, maybe reach out?
David Buckley (17:59)
Yeah, the creeper.Yes sir, it’s www.KarriganCommercial.com. We’ve got some general terms of what we do on there and a good way to connect with us.
John Harcar (18:15)
Got it. So last kind of words of advice, right? Someone maybe trying to either get into lending or get into, you know, real estate or business. Like what are one or two things that would set them up for success that you can kind of share?David Buckley (18:30)
I think you’ve to start with education. There’s so many different sources out there to really understand. You have to know what you’re doing first, and then it’s about taking action. So education first and then taking action and building a network of finding a mentor or a coach and take those three steps right there.John Harcar (18:52)
That’s our, and they maybe get on the podcast. ⁓ There we go. Well, you know, I appreciate you coming on here, David. You know, I think he gave us all the other, you know, the website to get in touch. Is there a number, an email that they can, that we can put in the show notes?David Buckley (18:54)
Hopefully.Yeah, it’s David at KerriganCommercial.com. Yes, sir.
John Harcar (19:09)
Okay, beautiful. All right, guys. I hopeyou enjoyed it. If you do in business in the Texas area and you, and I didn’t ask that. Are you only in Texas?
David Buckley (19:17)
That’s where I’m focused right now. ⁓ Yes, sir. Focusing on the Texas market.John Harcar (19:19)
Okay. Okay. All right. So if you’re in theTexas area, this is obviously our Texas real estate podcast. Reach out, you know, if you have needs, it wouldn’t hurt maybe just to get a second opinion on some deals. You know, David, thank you for coming on and sharing all that, man. I really do appreciate it. I really hope this brings you some more, some more business and, and guys I’ll see you on the next one. Cheers.
David Buckley (19:31)
Absolutely.John, pleasure
to meet you. Thank you.
