Manage Risk Like the Military, with Vadim Rey

Welcome to the Managing CRE Risk podcast with Jeremy Goodrich. Our guest today is Vadim Rey, a multifamily real estate investor and former US Navy Officer. In our conversation, we dig into a fascinating topic - how the military mitigates and manages risk, and what can we learn from their systems and strategies for our investing journey. You’ll hear some ideas on how to set up your operating systems better in your business, make sure that you have a strong purpose behind what you're doing, and positively impact the people around you.

Learn more about Vadim and his story at shineinsurance.com/managing-commercial-real-estate-risk!

“I joined the duty to really help others and create a positive impact on the world.”

 

04:05

Vadim joined the US Navy in 2005, right after college. He was an officer for 7 years and just got out of the Navy this year. He joined the military because he wanted to make a positive impact on the world and do something that was not the traditional 9 to 5 corporate job. However, over the years he realized that the military had a lot of corporate culture and bureaucracy as well.

 

Around 3 years ago, Vadim decided to start investing in multifamily real estate because he was looking for more freedom for himself and his family.

“There's a difference between being rich and being wealthy. Having a lot of money doesn't mean much if you don't have the time to do what you really want to do.”

 

08:58

Risk is something that’s talked about every day in the military and everything is about how to reduce risk to an acceptable level. Vadim shares what he’s learned from the military about managing and mitigating risk. 

• Have strong procedures and policies in place and always follow them.
• Work with people who have common goals as you and build a strong team.

 

Vadim talks about his Why. He wants to make the world a better place and positively impact as many lives as possible. Through multifamily investing, he can take care of his tenants and it also gives him enough free time to do impactful things.

“There's only so much you can do with policies and procedures if you don't have the right people to actually do those policies and procedures.”

 

25:10

At the end of the conversation, Vadim shares his best pieces of advice on how to mitigate real estate risk.

• Always make sure to have appropriate insurance in place.
• Be conservative in your underwriting.
• Have a strong property management team that really cares about your property.
• Choose people in your team who have the same goals as you.

About our guest, Vadim Rey

Born in Ukraine and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Vadim graduated from Tufts University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and received a commission as a US Navy Officer.

 

In his 5 years of Naval Service, Vadim has led almost 300 service members across 3 different branches of the military in a variety of Joint and Navy missions. Currently, he is serving aboard the USS HARRY S TRUMAN as one of the information systems officers.

 

Vadim is leaving active-duty service in 2022 and has pivoted to multifamily investing as a means of helping other people live their best lives. He started his portfolio in 2018 with a single-family house which he rents to a Baltimore Regional Housing Program family and is currently house-hacking a duplex. He is a GP in 23 units in Norfolk, VA, and an LP in over 2,100 units across the Southeast.

Mentioned in the show:

1. www.fwcinvestments.com
2. His LinkedIn
3. Shineinsurance.com
4. www.shineinsurance.com/managing-commercial-real-estate-risk
5. Jeremy’s LinkedIn

Need an instant insurance ballpark for your next Multifamily deal?! Answer 9 simple questions and we’ll give you a sense of what insurance should be. Visit us here for everything you need to know: https://www.shineinsurance.com/ballpark/ 

 

Special thanks to Vadim Rey for taking the time to share so many great insights with us

 

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