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Mario on Masters of Moments Podcast with Jake Wurzak

Deploying $50MM into Affordable Housing with Mario Brown - Co-Founder of Affordable Upstate

Affordable Upstate is a real estate investment firm focused on redeveloping and redefining naturally occurring affordable housing in the Upstate of South Carolina.

In 2017 Mario co-founded Affordable Upsate, a small real estate investment firm, at the time with 63 units, that redevelops energy-efficient, multifamily apartment units. Since 2017 we have placed over $50MM of investor equity into socially responsible, environmentally-enhanced workforce housing investments.

On this episode, Mario and Jake discuss:

- The housing shortage in the southeast

- Mario's work in affordable housing

- Building a vertically integrated company

- Raising capital & deal structures

Topics:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:46 - Greenville: The new Austin?

00:03:46 - The housing shortage in the southeastern United States

00:10:57 - The opportunity in Class B multifamily

00:13:47 - Mario’s work in affordable housing

00:24:22 - Mario’s journey into real estate

00:26:57 - What advantage do you have investing in the market you live in vs. outsiders?

00:28:27 - Making the entrepreneurial leap

00:36:35 - Mario’s first deal

00:41:02 - Value add

00:42:#5 - Becoming vertically integrated

00:45:36 - What innovative ways have you chosen to run the operating business?

00:49:44 - What’s a mistake you made when building the PM company?

00:51:28 - Investing through GPS and building trust with investors

00:55:46 - Deal structures

00:58:23 - Raising capital

01:02:03 - What is your competitive edge?

01:04:08 - Construction & renovations

01:09:55 - What’s your weekly work cadence?

01:12:04 - What drains your energy?

01:12:42 - What are your 3-year goals?

01:15:37 - What is your favorite hotel?

Jake Wurzak - Jan 17, 2024

Masters of Moments involves conversations with top entrepreneurs and business leaders about hospitality, Real Estate investing, and company building. We explore the ideas, strategies, and approaches that brought them to where they are today.

This podcast is for you if you are a seasoned investor, upstart entrepreneur, or someone looking to break into the real estate and hospitality investing world.

Jake Wurzak is the CEO of DoveHill Capital Management and Wurzak Hotel Group, a leading vertically integrated hospitality investment platform. Since 2011, he’s led the investment of $1.5 billion in hotel assets throughout the country.

Connect & Invest with Jake:

Follow Jake on Twitter:   / jwurzak 

Take the Hospitality Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/

Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo