Josh Cantwell:   Welcome to the Accelerated Investor Podcast with Josh Cantwell. If you’re looking to retire early with forever passive income, you’re in the right place. This podcast is the go to destination for real estate investors, both active and passive, and multifamily apartment investors, both new intermediate and advanced. Now sit back, listen, learn, and accelerate your business, your life, and your investing with the Accelerated Investor podcast.

[INTERVIEW]

Cameron: Hey, everybody. Welcome back to another accelerated real estate investment podcast. We have a phenomenal guest on who’s getting ready to tell his story, his journey. Marcos Martinez. Thank you for being part of this first week. Before we get into all what you’re doing, what you’re up to. Take us through your real estate, know, how you got to where you were, how you started, why you even started in real estate, and then how did you find Josh?

Marcos: Cool. Awesome.

Marcos: Thanks, Cameron, and thanks for having me.

Marcos: I love everything that Josh Cantwell is. Doing with his podcast and everything that I’ve been following for a few years. So definitely grateful.

Marcos: Very excited to be here today because of that first question, obviously is a big part of my life, which is my testimony and my story and it started eight years ago, pretty much. January of 2015 was kind of our official launch date. At the time, I was actually thinking I was going to open up a restaurant. I had an opportunity to do a.
Franchise of a very popular mexican restaurant that was here in Denver. It’s no longer here, but it was.

Marcos: Really popular back then. And I did a post on Facebook because I was searching for someone that not know a regular business plan. I was searching for someone that really can help me with the next level business plan. And sure enough, the person that commented is Paul Hopkins. I grew up with Paul Hopkins. We were both kind of on the path to be engineers.

Marcos: And he said, we need to talk. And that was the beginning of it.
0:03:00 – Marcos: I didn’t know what he was talking about. He just moved back from Canada after 1015 years or so. And when I showed up to his house, he talked to me about wholesaling real estate, something I had never knew about.

Marcos: He gave me two books.

Marcos: One of them was Robert Kiyosaki, the.Cash flow quadrant, and the other one, was a Donald Trump book.

Marcos: I forget the name of that book and I went home, and I started reading a little bit. And then, sure enough, I was able to log into Paul’s kind of training. Program with the mentor that he had back then. And I kind of slowly started just studying and learning. I’m a very quick study. So within two weeks, I said, you know what, Paul? Let’s just get the phones ringing. I just want to do this and start practicing live. So in 2015, I started wholesaling. I live in Denver, Colorado, born and raised. But our first market was Cleveland, Ohio.

Marcos: And that was the beginning of my real estate businessman that I’ve always been. This is a young teenager. I’ve been a businessman. So I was really excited to learn about wholesaling, and that’s where it all began.

Cameron: Man, that’s awesome. What was it about Paul when he made that question to ask you, hey, we got to start something. What is it about that trust that you had in him? And now, how is that trust built between you two?

Marcos: All right. Well, we definitely played baseball together in high school. I was a pitcher, he was a catcher, and then we were both engineering classes. So we was already kind of forming a bond since 9th grade. But when he realized he was an engineer for many years, a civil engineer, building bridges out of Canada, and he just knew after many years, it wasn’t his path, and he started studying the real estate, and he remembered, back in 1999, I actually was part of Quickstar amway. And I reached out to Paul right away to be in my downline, and we did that for a year or two. And then it’s kind of when he disappeared to Canada. So when he came back and was like, we need to talk, he was just like, Marcos. I knew I needed someone that’s a businessman. And I just remember back from 1999, you’ve always been trying different business opportunities. and the respect that I have for Paul is I mean, it just keeps.

Marcos: Getting better and better every day. But he’s not your normal person. I’m very picky on who I surround myself with, and he’s just very smart. He’s a family man. He loves doing really cool hobbies. He’s clear minded. He’s always doing cold plunges and crossfit. And we have that same level of next level growth. So our friendship, our partnership, everything has.

Marcos: Just really gone to the next level. Especially with what we’re doing today, because there’s been a lot of things in between wholesaling and what I could say I’m doing today.

Cameron: That’s awesome. So who found Josh? Was it you? Was it Paul? Was it both? Take me through that journey of, how did you guys come to meeting Josh?

Marcos: Yes. So I found Josh, this was probably about 2017, and I was writing a real estate course to teach people how to wholesale and do fix and flips and just kind of find off know leads and the marketing and the free leads and all that good stuff. So I found the strategic real estate coach, and I just kind of started listening to Josh. Since then, he always shared some amazing information for free, and he was just kind of a big virtual mentor of mine.

Marcos: Until about 2018 was our first phone call that I had with Josh because of something that I was trying to do a deal and work something together with him. I forget what it was. He called me when I was on the golf course, so it wasn’t the best timing for our first phone call but that was 2018, and it wasn’t until 2020. What are we at, 23? Just 18 months ago is when we decided, Paul and I, that we needed to join a mastermind. So Josh Cantwell and his forever passive income maverick mastermind was one of two that we were looking at. But, boy, did we choose the right one.

Marcos: With Josh, without a doubt.

Cameron: I love, what was it one or two things that stood out to you that you were like, we need to go with Josh. Was it just the vibe or you got. I mean, 2018, you’ve known, so you’ve kind of been part of Josh’s quote unquote virtual inner circle. What was it about that kind of drove you and say, you know what? Because you said earlier on, you’re very picky on who you surround yourself, your circle of influences, which is very key. Everyone, what was it about it that you were like, yeah, this is the right one?

Marcos: It was almost a no brainer.

Marcos: It was almost heaven.

Marcos: I just kind of do a lot of prayer and meditation when I make decisions obviously, Paul and I were making decision together.

Marcos: It was really cool that the cost to join was for two people. So that was already a home run hit right there with me. And Paul can both join at the same time for the one time fee. And then the monthly fee and all, that good stuff was right in alignment with kind of what we were looking.

Marcos: For on our budget. But then we realized on the very. First welcome call, Josh reminded us, like, yes, he could mentor, know, he can coach us, he’s training with us, but also we could partner with Josh if there was something that came across his criteria and our criteria, he’s open to that, too. And then you get the mastermind of all the other investors. It was a no brainer, and I.

Marcos: Have formed amazing relationships since day one. Within the mastermind group, like, people that I really reach out to daily. I’m already part of a couple of deals with a couple of people within. The group, so everything has proven itself, especially with what’s happened over the last three months, that the mastermind was the right choice. Without a doubt.

Marcos: It’s changed my life for sure.

Cameron: Man, that’s awesome.I love that.

Cameron: I love hearing those stories. Guys, I don’t say this a lot, but you need to go. If you’re watching this, then you can see the energy. You can see that change in Marcos’s demeanor when he talks about how this was the right choice. A lot of prayer, a lot of meditation, and he just knows deep down, this is where it doesn’t come with, hey, you got to do the work. You got to put in the work. But it’s good to have somebody, a beacon of light to know where you’re going towards.

Cameron: If you could tell somebody who’s, let’s say, struggling in the program or they’ve been in, they’re in the program, but they’re not in the program. What would be one or two actionable steps that you would give them as advice and say, hey, do this and just see what happens?

Marcos: I think a big one that has.

Marcos: Really been revealed to me lately, so I’ll start with that one.

Marcos: It’s most simple action item, and it.

Marcos: Really is patience and grace is what I call it.

Marcos: So it is an action item, but it’s really understanding that it’s not, because I’m a hustler 100%. I used to be able to go 8, 10,12,16 hours a day like nothing, and I loved it. I’m always running. But I’ve realized over the last few years that really, I need to slow down. I need to really just have a little bit more patience and grace, which leads to a lot of trust and belief, because they don’t all happen immediately. So don’t give up right away, but stay within it. Be around the right people.

Marcos: Of course, like, 100%. If you can’t be in a mastermind at least find one person that’s kind of doing and living the life that. You want to live, and just hang out with them, invite them to lunch, or say, hey, once a month, I want to just pick your brain, grab a hold of their pocket. But everybody’s in a rush, and I think that’s a little bit of the ego piece. So if you’ve only been at 18 months or twelve months and you’re not really seeing much happen, it’s really just take a step back and just kind of get back into your higher consciousness kind of state of mind, where you’re.

Marcos: Really just cool, calm, and collect a little bit. And that’s kind of a big piece for me in my life, a lot of things have came together with really, I’m not trying that hard anymore. But, I did put in the years of the hustle, so that’s very important.

Cameron: Yeah, that’s great advice. Great point, guys. You hear a lot of the big gurus will talk in, cast it out so the universe can push it back or put in existence. Goal set mindset, guys. You’re hearing from a master.
Cameron: Listen to what he’s saying. Write it down. That being said, let me ask you this question. What is it about the leadership team that you like that has helped you along this journey with Josh?

Marcos: Without a doubt, he is 100% real. I’ve been around not face to face or not joining their groups, but there’s just some gurus that they’re almost actors. You never really know what their portfolio is. So from day one, Josh was so down to earth and real with his leadership. It blows me away, actually. He is a man of faith as well, so that’s very important to me. With his leadership, he has really high values. He’s a family man, and he’s just real man. Like, we’ve had a beer together and just some really down to earth conversations. I love that he has shared his.

Marcos: Testimony with what has brought him to this moment, because we all have that piece of the story that makes it a little bit more emotional, a little bit more, gives you chills. So, from day one, I love that piece about Josh. I love his construction team, because obviously, I’m big on the capex side on our projects. Whether it’s residential or commercial, I’m involved in the capex side big time because I love seeing the transformation. And all my construction guys do their thing. So when I got to meet Dave.

Marcos: His VP of construction, man, just talk about a guy that was just willing to help me, assist me with my questions. I got to hang out with Tyler when we was in Cleveland, and what I loved about Tyler is he dresses the way that I love to. Like, you know, sometimes you just want to wear that sharp collar, and your hair got to look good. And that’s kind of how I got a sense of Tyler. He’s dressed for success. And I didn’t get to meet Glenn.

Marcos: Really, but with Sheila and just with how everything is ran with, even with our trips and the communication, it’s just like. It just shows it’s not rocket science. Don’t overthink things. It’s basic business, and then it’s basic networking, but just being real.

Cameron: Not much to say, not much to add on this. Take us through where you are today. If people want to reach out to you. Marcos network, tell us, what’s the company name, best ways to do it, any deals you have going that you’d like going.

Marcos: Tell us how. Yeah, well, we all have the same goal, which is passive income, starting with wholesaling. You’re trying to build up your capital with wholesaling so that you could put it into a passive asset, like an apartment building. We learned quickly that we went from wholesaling to apartment buildings back in 2015, just because of the people that we met. We went from wholesaling to a 352 unit in Dayton, Ohio, was our first project. We were working with the private equity firm at the time, but Paul and I were just sponges. We just really wanted to learn this underwriting piece, the capex side, how to talk with the insurance brokers, how to call the property management companies and walk the properties with your project manager.

Marcos: And we just loved it. But we were with the private equity firm at the time, so eventually we knew we wanted to do it on our own. But before we made that jump, we actually started doing fix and flips, which. Was fun and amazing, but it’s not really investing. It was a fun job, and most of the time, you make money, but sometimes you don’t. So I went through, like, 20 different fix and flips here in the Denver metro area. We did a couple of new builds. We tried that because Paul did graduate as an engineer. I’m still a senior. I never fully graduated because I wanted to go 100% as a business owner.

Marcos: So you know that story. So he’s built billion dollar bridges, right? So us doing these little houses just wasn’t quenching our thirst. So we did the flips, we did.

Marcos: The new build, and then sure enough, Covid happened. Paul moved back to Canada and we’re. You know, wholesaling, flipping. Let’s join a mastermind and let’s get fully back into this apartment building syndication model and really establish passive income as a gp. So Paul and I are both the co founders of Westiron Capital. You could go to westironcapital.com. We also have a construction division that I pretty much run here on the capex side here in the Denver metro area. That’s westironconstruction.com.

Marcos: And the biggest news is we’ve recently partnered with somebody that Josh referred to us. Thank you, Josh. CPI Capital. Paul Hopkins is now the director of acquisitions for CPI Capital. And what he does now, obviously with me and him together, it’s all about acquisition. So today we’re just in charge of acquiring properties in Florida, in Colorado, and maybe some of the other Sunbelt states. And we have a huge canadian fund that’s raising right now with CPI Capital. This is all canadian money that wants to invest in apartment buildings in the United States.

Marcos: So Paul and I have four offers out right now. We’re actually in the best and final on one of them so far, and another one we’re actually really close.

Marcos: We just raised the offer before the best and final.

Marcos: We raised our offer one last time.

Marcos: So I think within the next week or two we’re going to be under contract on another property in either Jacksonville or Tampa. We’re always obviously love helping people that want to be an LP and put their money to work, so there’s always that option. With the Westiron construction team, we’re always open to help other investors with their projects, whether it’s capex side on apartment buildings, or even the residential. Know the Email is pretty easy for both of them. It’s info@westironcapital.com or info@westironconstruction.com and the emails will come directly to me and Paul if anybody would like to reach out. I am the relationship person, so I love to synergize with anybody that has.

Marcos: A passion for real estate.
Cameron: Beautiful guys, you can see why we do this. Guys like Marcos come on and just share incredible stories and knowledge. Before we turn you loose, give us your top books that you would recommend anybody to read or a podcast. Listen to, obviously, Josh’s podcast, obviously his book. But aside that, what would you recommend?

Marcos: Yeah, I love this topic.

Marcos: I’m a big, big reader, and I have my favorite authors, and it’s changed my life. Guys, if you’re not reading books, I always have a joke. I could talk to somebody for a couple of minutes, and I could know right away if they read books or not because of what comes out of their mouth. My all time number one favorite book.

Marcos: Is the power of now by Eckhart Tolle.

Marcos: It really talks about ego versus consciousness. And you’ll hear me talk a lot about just how many, so many people. Are wrapped up in ego instead of.
0:19:11 – Marcos: Really just being their true self. So the power of now is my favorite.

Marcos: I got so many close runners up.

Marcos: So I love the seven spiritual laws of success.

Marcos: Deepak Chopra. I love failing forward by John Maxwell. The Alchemist is a big one that.

Marcos: I read a couple years ago. I’m probably going to read that one.

Marcos: Again, and then I have to throw.

Marcos: In one of the classics, and I think if I had to pick one.

Marcos: Right now, it might be the seven.

Marcos: Habits of highly effective people.

Cameron: Good one. Those are great books, guys.

Marcos: Great.

Cameron: In fact, I’ll add high performance habits.

Marcos: Guys.
Cameron: Haven’t read that one. It’s a phenomenal book. It’s changed my life. Seven high habits. I’ve read all, but I think two of the ones that you recommended, so I love it. Builds my book of library. Build your book. Like Marcos tells you, you can talk to somebody for a couple of minutes and you know where they are if they read books or not, because they are actively trying to find a circle of influence, of people that are thinking bigger and not just short term, man.

Marcos: Exactly.

Marcos: Huge.

Cameron: Marcos, thank you so much for being on. Thank you so much for your knowledge. This has been another great episode of the accelerated real estate investment. Have a great day.

Marcos: My pleasure. My pleasure, man.

[CLOSING]

Josh Cantwell: Well, guys, there you have it. I really enjoyed that episode with Liz. Man, being responsible to others is such a motivator. Giving to others, I feel so good about myself, right? Such and such a good place when I give to others. Number three, making a new decision. I remember when I was diagnosed with cancer and came out of my hospital bed and had an opportunity to restart my life, I had to relearn how to eat, I was not going to go back and redo my life the way I had been doing it, so making that decision. And then finally, as Caleb and I mentioned, don’t quit.

Guys, listen, everybody can do this business. Everybody can be successful. Everybody can be a multimillionaire with real estate. Keep getting your education, keep listening to podcasts like this. But most of all, go execute, raise capital, make offers. Don’t quit. We’ll see you next time on Accelerated Investor.