Show Notes

During this HyperFast Wealth segment, host Dan Lesniak speaks with Kevin Palka of MVP Equity & Asset Construction about working as a highly successful real estate developer. They discuss important keys to running a construction business and pursuing development projects, as well as how to create good habits that will impact every area of your life. 

Episode Highlights: 

  • Kevin Palka started in real estate at age 18, and grew up in the construction industry.
  • If someone has a track record that goes back prior to 2008, that means a lot to Dan.
  • Asset Construction is a general contractor that does work for developers.
  • MVP Equities is a development company. They acquire land and title. They determine the highest and best use for that piece of dirt.
  • Keeping cost to a minimum without sacrificing quality is a huge key to running a construction company.
  • Do your homework when choosing a construction company.
  • From the developer side, it's all about location.
  • Developers need to find deals that make sense and bring them to the marketplace.
  • Developers need good deal flow and must stay disciplined. As a developer, you must always act from a place of certainty.
  • Kevin works with real estate brokers and architects to generate his deal flow.
  • To maintain that deal flow, Kevin has at least one networking meeting daily.
  • If you’re just starting out in this business, hire a coach or partner with someone who has done a deal. This will help you compress time.
  • Have good metrics and track them.
  • Kevin provides insight into his personal habits. He journals daily. 
  • What is the one door I want to open this week? What are the four keys to opening that door?
  • Kevin also reviews his progress weekly. You can course-correct on a daily basis.
  • Focus on changing habits. It takes ninety days to change a habit.
  • Kevin’s longer-term goals are to focus on areas of high growth and to develop six hundred units per year.
  • Sometimes they sell the property after three years. They also partner with national management properties. If they keep a property long term, they'll refinance it in ten years, take some equity out, and do another project.
  • Avoid competing commitments. They will bring your production down.
  • Dan and Kevin discuss the importance of focusing on your strengths.
  • Bring in the right people to compensate for your weaknesses.
  • If people want to invest, investing in apartment buildings is a great way to do it.
  • There's a huge need for quality housing. Providing brand new quality housing is helping people out.
  • His biggest advice to a new investor is to do your research and hire the right people to help you evaluate the project.
  • His biggest advice to a seasoned investor is to find the best financial term sheet for the project for your lenders.
  • His biggest mistake in business was taking a higher interest loan than he should have.
  • His biggest win was when Asset was named the DC Historic Preservation Award Winner in 2012 for a project they designed and built in Capitol Hill.
  • Network with like-minded investors that could help you generate equity or a down payment to purchase a piece of real estate.

3 Key Points:

1.   Do your due diligence when hiring a construction company. Good crews can be hard to come by. 

2.   Generate deal flow by working daily to build and maintain your network.

3.   Choose to develop better habits and track your progress.

Tweetable Quotes:

  • “Speak to other clients. Reach out. Do your homework. Make sure that you're vetting these people.” – Kevin Palka
  • “Always act from a place of certainty.” – Kevin Palka
  • “Having metrics in place is a huge thing. Being able to understand where you and what you're doing and how to track it." – Kevin Palka
  • “Once it has equity, you can leverage that property to acquire other properties.” – Kevin Palka
  • “You have to enjoy what you're doing and you have to know what you can't do.” – Kevin Palka

Resources Mentioned: