In this episode, Brad chats with Arn Cenedella, founder of Spark Investment Group, who brings over 40 years of real estate experience, including 35 years as a realtor in Silicon Valley. Arn shares his transition from single-family to multi-family real estate investing, the lessons learned from his biggest investing mistake during the 2008 subprime crisis, and his strategy for building long-term wealth. He also discusses the benefits of syndication and how he leverages his experience and network to help others invest in the growing Greenville, South Carolina market.

🔑 Key Topics Covered:

• Arn's journey from a residential broker in Silicon Valley to a multi-family syndicator in Greenville, South Carolina.

• The transition from single-family to multi-family investing, and the differences in acquiring commercial versus residential properties.

• The details of his first multi-family deal: a 43-unit property in Greenville, South Carolina, and why having fixed-rate debt was crucial.

• How Arn built his investor pool and gained confidence for his first syndication deal, leveraging his past real estate relationships.

• The scalability of multi-family investing compared to single-family properties.

• Arn's biggest investing mistake: a condo purchase in Hawaii just before the 2008 subprime crisis, and the lesson of not over-leveraging.

• The importance of having cash reserves to ride out market downturns and the long-term outlook on real estate appreciation.

• A "home run" deal involving subdividing a large lot to create significant value.

• Flipping versus wholesaling as entry points for new real estate investors with limited capital.

• An explanation of different types of syndication deals (506b and 506c) and the difference between accredited and sophisticated investors.

💬 Memorable Quotes:

• “If you don't know what you're aiming for, you hit it 100% of the time.” — Arn Cenedella

• “The truth is, if you make investments, occasionally you're going to make mistakes and you're going to have failures.” — Arn Cenedella

• “If an investment's only going to work when things are going perfect, you don't have much protection on the downside.” — Arn Cenedella

• “You’re only in trouble when you need to sell.” — Brad Weaver

Connect with Arn Cenedella:

• Website: https://www.investwithspark.com/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arncenedella/

• Facebook Spark Investment Group - https://www.facebook.com/investwithspark/

Connect with Host Brad Weaver:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradweaver