The 5 Questions Podcast
Join us as we unlock real estate and business insights, one question at a time.
The 5 Questions Podcast
From Attic to Assets: A Real Estate Journey with Joao Macavilca
Joao Macavilca shares his journey from growing up in an attic with undocumented parents to flipping over 70 properties and owning a 54-unit commercial property, demonstrating how early hardships can fuel business success.
• Growing up in difficult circumstances in East Orange, NJ shaped his drive to create a better future
• Reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad created a powerful mindset shift from "I can't afford it" to "How can I afford it?"
• Networking and finding complementary partners is crucial for scaling from residential to commercial real estate
• Mistakes with building codes and renovations can cost thousands - befriend your inspectors and understand code requirements
• Building genuine relationships, not just exchanging business cards, creates a powerhouse network of suppliers and contractors
• Skip the painful learning curve by learning from others who have already found the best subcontractors and vendors
STF Capital | CEO and Founder
🌐 www.stf-capital.com
IG: @Joaomac_stf | https://www.instagram.com/joaomac_stf/
FB: @STF_Capital | https://www.facebook.com/STFCapital
LinkedIn: Joao Macavilca | https://www.linkedin.com/in/joao-macavilca-478383136/
📞 +1 (864) 256-1333
✉ construction@stf-capital.com
make sure you are best friends with your inspectors. So you know doesn't I've had partners before that like to yell and scream at inspectors does not work at all. You do not want to get on their bad side. You want to make sure you're doing things by the book.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Five Questions Podcast, where we unlock real estate and business insights one question at a time. Welcome to the 5 Questions Podcast. I am your host. Mario Lamar, our guest on today's show, grew up in an attic in New Jersey to flipping over 70 properties and owning a 54-unit commercial deal. This is truly unbelievable. He is the definition of resilience and results. The CEO of Start to Finish Capital blends in deep expertise in commercial construction with a strategic investor mindset to help others build lasting legacy wealth. Welcome, joao Makavilka. Thanks, man, joao. Welcome to the show today.
Speaker 1:Thanks, mario, glad to be here.
Speaker 2:So, joao, the concept of the podcast is five questions either about business or real estate, and we get straight to the point. You ready, yep, let's do it. Business or real estate, and we get straight to the point. You ready, yep, let's do it. As I mentioned in the intro and you know, you put it publicly you grew up in an attic in New Jersey, raised by undocumented parents. How did those early experiences shape your mindset that you carry in today's business?
Speaker 1:So, at that time I mean, I was really young so I didn't know any better of why we're it's East Orange, new Jersey, so it was not the greatest part of Jersey and being young I just didn't know why we're doing this.
Speaker 1:Being older and having back some memories and things like that, I can put two and two together. But back then it was just my parents came here trying to get a better life, trying to work and provide what they can for me. So I didn't know any better and as I kept getting older and you know, kind of thinking back on things, realizing how much sacrifice they really did to provide for me and my sister Now she came along a little later but just seeing everything they did to get work, find work and just get us food necessities, the basics, so just knowing that I had the opportunity to speak English and go to school here and do things, I just want to make sure I can pay that back and make sure my kids or my future family never goes through that. I mean, it's something you know wish on somebody else.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So basically you're realized that obviously when we're young we don't realize always what's going on. But realizing now what you went through shaped your mindset to I don't wish that on anybody and let me make sure that my surrounding doesn't go through that and that pushed you or fueled you to succeed in your business ventures.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a big eye opener so that's truly remarkable because you know a lot of successful business owners don't have always the easiest start in life. The easiest start in life and it seems like it's a common tread among you know successful people because of what you went through, it pushes you to go further. You don't want to never go back there. So truly remarkable story you have there. And it brings us to our second question no-transcript.
Speaker 1:So it took me, to be honest with you. I mean, the first time I read it, I read it and finished it. It didn't really click anything. And the second time was when it hit, and I don't remember which part of the book it was, I just remember the first mindset shift. Like you said, I grew up. You know even my parents to this day.
Speaker 1:You know if we want something, they say no, we can't get it, it's too much, or whatever reasoning it being and whatever reasoning it being. And the Rich Dad, poor Dad book he mentioned where we had to stop saying no, I can't afford it. No, because once you say no, your mind shuts off yeah, versus saying okay, well, how can I afford this? Now you open up possibilities Maybe I get a side job, a weekend job, maybe I sell something I don't need, maybe I do this. So instead of automatically turning your mind off saying no, you figure a way out of it. And the same thing goes for business. I mean, there's so many times where things go wrong or things don't go the way you planned. You can't just give up and close shop. You got to figure a way out of it or find a different solution.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, one of my mentors often says this. There's two categories of people. They're consumers and investors. And consumers will give exactly the answer that you said. You know, oh, I can't afford it. And the investor mindset it says like Rich Dad, poor Dad, and you just said how? The word how is very powerful. How can I afford it? That pushes your brain, like you said to. You know, find solutions to the problem.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean that's the biggest thing. I mean there's so many times where you have a plan and then something happens and you got to change, you got to shift, you got to pivot and you figure it out, or you just go back to doing what you did before.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's where the difference where you know the separation, where you know the investors, the successful people and the majority of other people in society in general. They will stop at. Just as soon as it requires a little bit of efforts or for you to figure out a problem, they will stop there, yeah. And then the people who pushes further. Well, guess what after that success come. It's not always easy from the start, but once you keep on pushing, that's when it happens. Exactly brings us to our third question. Uh, now we understood where you're, where you came from. You know your mindset shifts. You had to, like you said, transform your mindset. Now you flipped over 70 properties, including 48 commercial deals. You know there's certainly lessons that you went through. What is the biggest lesson most people miss when scaling from, let's say, residential to commercial real estate?
Speaker 1:So the biggest thing in scaling wise. So I started with my own residential properties duplexes and the goal was to get the commercial down the road a few years later. And that was just my plan. I always wanted to do things on my own. What really shifted was going to real estate events, meeting other people, building my network and building other people that have experiences that I don't have, and teaming up with them to be able to get there faster.
Speaker 1:So you know, I got buddies that do underwriting, capital raising, and they don't do much construction. So we fit perfectly as far as what can we do? Where I'm good at you're not that great at, or where you're good at I'm not that great at it. If we get together, there's almost nothing we can not handle. I mean, I love the fact that on these commercial deals we're on now, there was very minimal, if any, involvement with construction from my partners, because they know once that date hits and I go, it's going to get done. So it's kind of hands off at that point and I bring that experience for them.
Speaker 2:You mentioned something about another shift or another change. You said you go to a lot of networking events or you network with people and then after that you find the proper partners to partner with the proper people. That fits like a puzzle, right? They don't do the same things as you do. You have to complement each other and I'm a big networking guy finding people that complement each other. How really important is it, do you think?
Speaker 1:I would not have any commercial properties. If I did a network, I would probably have, from when I started, maybe an extra four or five properties of my own, but I would not have been able to close on buildings or be a partner on buildings. It just wasn't gonna happen. My expertise is in construction management, things like that. So I have zero idea about capital raising for big deals. I have zero idea on underwriting a commercial deal or finding these brokers. That's where they step in, where they already had that experience, they already know people and they can fill in the gaps. So I truly feel, without them being on the team, I would not be where I'm at today.
Speaker 2:And this is what I'm trying to extract. The information for our listeners is you know, you say it yourself You're part of a bigger team and different players, and a lot of time we try to do it on our own, which, in my mind and in a lot of people's minds, it's a mistake, because you're going to take longer and you're going to achieve smaller things. If you surround yourselves with the proper people around you, man, can you accomplish a lot more.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, Faster too Easier, so much less stress yeah.
Speaker 2:That's great. That's great. That's good insights you gave us there Brings us to our fourth question, talking about mistakes. Mistakes are part of a journey. Obviously, we try to do the least amount possible, but can you share maybe one major misstep that you had or you made and, more importantly, how it helped you grow as an investor or a business leader?
Speaker 1:Wow, there's so many to pick from One mistake I made so pretty much when it comes to renovations. I mean, there's so many things you learn as you go through and as you get bigger and scale up. There's some things I wasn't aware of as far as the building codes where you know I wasn't stairs for, for example, were built. Let's say, a house I got recently, like 100 years ago. Um, as long as it's still standing, cities will respect that, it's good. But the minute you touch something and modify it, you've got to bring it up to current code.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, just imagine a stair staircase made 80 years ago. It's 28 inches wide, the risers aren't seven and a half inches tall. So, bought a house that had the stairs taken off and didn't do measurements, it's like, oh, building stairs isn't that hard, it can be done. Come to find out that house was so old and to bring stairs to current code, it's not going to meet height requirements, it's not going to meet width requirements and that's why the builder who sold the house pretty much had it empty for two and a half years. Yeah, that delayed it by months, which was thousands of a month that you have to pay. Um, the city was not working with us at all. It came down to the point we had to get engineers, architects, framing teams down there to just sit down and say what do we need to do here?
Speaker 1:like yeah, they're not accepting this, not through that. So, understanding just different levels of renovations and how much the city gets involved with certain things, I mean I even asked them. You know, if the stairs originally were here creaking and beat up, you would pass it no problem. But now that we're doing a brand new set of stairs the same way they were before, stronger than ever, it's just not going to pass. So make sure you understand what you're getting into, make sure you understand the building codes and make sure you are best friends with your inspectors. So you know doesn't I've had partners before that like to yell and scream at inspectors does not work at all. You do not want to get on their bad side. You want to make sure you're doing things by the book.
Speaker 2:So you know, you said something very interesting that resonated with me is mistakes are going to happen, right, that's how we grow. You try to avoid them. But mistakes in real estate are not $10. They're not even $100. They're thousands and thousands of dollars and they can last for months, like you mentioned. So knowing and doing your proper due diligence beforehand is key to success. You cannot skip that step.
Speaker 1:Yep 100%.
Speaker 2:And, like you said, having those inspectors on your side is certainly a benefit to you. It's key. Well, joao, that brings us to our fifth and final question for today, but before we go, I'd like to ask you you've built a powerhouse network we talked about it of suppliers, subcontractors. What advice do you have for someone trying to build relationships that really moves the needle to where you are and where you want to go?
Speaker 1:Pretty much you've got to put yourself in the room where you want to be. So go to these events, find out who's done 50 flips, 100 flips, whatever you want to call them, who has buildings and just see how you can get in the same room with that person, whether it be taking them out to dinner, coffee or a drink, random texts here and there. Whatever you can do to kind of be in that same room to see how they think, how they flow, and just ask them what, how did they start? How did they, you know, get bigger and everything. I mean the people I meet. They can give my company name to Sherwin Williams.
Speaker 1:You get a corporate discount across the U S a home Depot so you can always ask for the manager and just get to know them. And they have a certain sales they have during the week. They'll call you or text. I mean I got them calling me or texting me. Hey, this is going on clearance soon. Do you want it? And you get things really good. But it has to be networking there. I mean you've got to know what you need, where those vendors are, where the people are, because they have, you know, painters, they've got sheet rockers, they've got hvac connections, like skip those steps that they went through, cause they may have gone through five HVAC guys till they found the one that's really good. So now, by asking them, they're going to give you that person right away. You skipped all the headache and heartache because you found the person that you know I have to go through.
Speaker 2:And again, you said something very interesting and I want to make it clear to our listeners networking. You get into the rooms with people and you said something key you got to ask them questions and take them out for lunch and coffee. This is way different than networking at an event, where you just do a transaction of business cards you know this is superficial really get to know the people and and before you even ask for something, right, this is a people business. Uh, the more you get to know a person on a personal level, the better your chance are at a quality relationship, rather than you just, you know, exchanging a oh, I'll give me your card, I'll call you Right. Right, so you, you said, you said it. I love what you said there because it's true, I do it every day in my business and you're a hundred percent right.
Speaker 1:And you, you deal with a lot of different contractors and people, so yeah, you got to go through all the bad to get the good, but if you ask a question, the guy I'm going to give you has already gone through what he knows to do absolutely so.
Speaker 2:You're based in uh, still in new jersey no, I moved.
Speaker 1:I'm in the carolinas now I'm in north carolina north carolina.
Speaker 2:So, uh, u contractor, you have licenses in different States, which is.
Speaker 1:South Carolina. What's that North and South Carolina?
Speaker 2:Northern South Carolina. So you can uh if if some of our listeners are looking for a contractor, uh, we'll put the links in uh in the description below. You can reach uh Joao and uh he can help you with your uh renovations or construction. Joel, it was a pleasure to speak with you today. Um, lots of insights from you know, growing in a not so easy environment to turning around and uh making a success for yourself and your family, uh and your clients as well. Thank you for being on the show.
Speaker 1:Thanks for having me, man. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Thanks for tuning into the 5 Questions Podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, like and hit the notification bell on our YouTube channel so you never miss an episode. Stay tuned for more insights and tips to transform your real estate and business game. See you next time.