"Inspired to Invest" Real Estate Investing Podcast

Land Development Secrets the Pros Don't Want You to Know

• Serena Holmes • Episode 25

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Land Development Secrets the Pros Don't Want You to Know

Unearth the mystique of real estate investing with our distinguished guests, Kris Bucci & Constance Foster.

To watch rather than listen, click here.

This riveting conversation with Kris and Constance illuminates their journeys - how they embraced full-time investing & formed a lucrative partnership in Stone Hearth Properties. They generously share their wisdom on building relationships & leveraging private lending in their investment strategies. 

A guaranteed goldmine of knowledge awaits anyone interested in real estate investing.

In the quest to dig deeper into the world of real estate, we hear from Kris, who alongside his partner Sarah, are two fearless investors who traded their previous careers for the thrill of the property market. Their experiences - building their first house& then moving into subdivision projects - open fascinating discussions on the opportunities in private lending. 

We also have Constance, a private lender herself, elaborating the attractive returns & security of investing in real estate. 

One thing's for sure, their stories make one thing clear - education & community are everything in this field. 

But it's not all smooth sailing in the world of land development. 

As they share our own experiences, they reveal the often overlooked challenges and invaluable lessons learned. Constance talks about dealing with cost fluctuations in long-term projects, the importance of multiple exit strategies, and being transparent with payment practices. 

Buckle up for some hard-hitting truths & personal growth stories from Kris & Constance. It's an enlightening journey. Their passion & advice are sure to inspire - making this episode a must-listen for aspiring investors!

To connect with Kris Bucci & Constance Foster, go to @stoneheartproperties on social & https://shproperties.ca online.

Thank you to TruCapital Real Estate, Strategic Success Consulting & Infinite Real Estate Results for bringing us this month’s episodes of “Inspired To Invest”. 

To learn more about TruCapital , go to @investorcarleen on social and https://trucapitalrealestate.com online. For Strategic Success Consulting, go to @danielle.chiasson on social and for Infinite Real Estate Results, go to @korymackinnon on social or https://linktr.ee/korymackinnon. 

We will be taking a break from programming on Wed., Dec. 6, but join us again on Wed., Dec. 13 for Ep26 to hear from a couple of real estate investors who are committed to designing beautiful spaces and safe homes for their tenants.

In addition, we are thrilled to announce a new giving component. “Inspired To Invest” is proud to support the Beyond Success program, a not-for-profit financial literacy program for students, launched by More To Give & @makinvestments. To learn about it & how you can contribute, go to https://more2give.ca/beyond.

To connect with our host, go to https://www.linktr.ee/serenaholmesrealtor. 

To buy a copy of The Accidental Entrepreneur, go to https://www.linktr.ee/serenaholmesauthor.  

For everything related to real estate & investing, make sure you've subscribed to @serenaholmesrealtor on YouTube/Instagram. We also have a page dedicated to this podcast on Instagram/Facebook @inspiredtoinvestpodcast

Are you a real estate investor with an inspiring story to share?  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1p6SfS8dePhLl6wMmSgdPpQ7xsJuEsBUbPDTJ0vgy9h8/  

Thank you for tuning in & remember, "when you invest in yourself, the sky's the limit"

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Inspired to Invest podcast, where we're sharing stories from real estate investors and how investing has changed their lives. This episode of the Inspire to Invest podcast has been brought to you by Tru Capital Real Estate, Strategic Success Consulting and Infinite Real Estate Results. Hey everybody, welcome to the Inspire to Invest podcast. Today I've got Kris Bucci and Constance Foster here with me. They're from Stone Hearth Properties and I'm going to tell you a little bit about their illustrious experience as real estate investors, because they definitely have so much experience that they're going to share with us today. So, for Kris, he is a real estate developer from Victoria, bc and, with his partner, Sari Ringma, he became a full-time real estate investor with her back in 2019. After 22 years working for the Royal Canadian Navy, he was able to transfer a lot of these skills, working as a project manager on their various developments. They currently have several long and short-term rentals in Canada and also abroad, and in total, these projects encounter or encompass, I'd just say over 170 lots with a combined gross revenue of more than 120 million. So I'd say that's pretty fabulous.

Speaker 1:

It's been four years. I think everyone would like to make that kind of money in four years and in terms of Constance. So after being married for 20 years and then divorcing, she found herself, like many others, needing to rebuild her life and her career. She turned to real estate. So, after doing some smaller renovation and duplex projects, she learned about private spending, private lending so really speaking my language and she really found that there are so many opportunities that she could offer that was better than the banks and providing that win-win for various private lenders. So since focusing on real estate full-time, she has raised more than $35 million in capital and she has launched a mutual fund trust, which she'll talk to us a little bit more about that give investors the opportunity to use cash along with registered funds, and she is currently focusing on a combination of single-family home builds, luxury rentals, land assemblies and also a project of 76 townhouses. So she's busy. So thank you so much, kristin Constance, for being here today. How are you?

Speaker 2:

Great, thank you. Thanks for having us. Yeah, thank you.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I know, constance, you're joining us from Curacao, so I am.

Speaker 3:

So it's a little hot over here, so, but yeah, no, thank you. Great to have the internet available so we can join the call.

Speaker 1:

Yes, I know you talked about it a little bit on your bios and your intro, but can you take us back a little bit in terms of what the actual catalyst was that motivated both of you to start investing in real estate? Obviously you had kind of independent paths and now you've joined forces, but may you can speak to what that moment was that really motivated you to start down this new career path?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I'm happy to start. So back in 2018, Scott McGillivray was doing his road tour around VC, like many people in KeySpire, and Sari just happened to see it on Facebook or somewhere saw the ad, so he went to his little whatever three hour show thing he did, and at that point we were already had a couple rental properties, but it was just to pay the mortgage.

Speaker 2:

We weren't planning on doing it full time or anything like that. But once we saw his, his speak, we just realized that, hey, we're doing something right here. So we signed up for the 3D workshop and then it was history from there. We just had to go full out.

Speaker 1:

How about you Constance?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, for me, you know, I had as I mentioned, it was my first 20 years and worked on my homes and was rebuilding, and I was like, okay, I really liked real estate. So I also found an educational group where I was learning and I just decided I was going to dedicate myself to it full time. You know, there's that saying if you've always done what you've, you always do. What you've always done, you're always going to get you've always got. So I definitely just decided to give it a go and and realize, though the part, the value of partnering with other people right to really like bring about change. So I have been very lucky to align myself with some great partners, so how did you guys actually end up partnering up?

Speaker 1:

I don't think I know the story.

Speaker 2:

Well, we've, we've basically known each other throughout the different communities, because Victoria is a small community, especially the real estate community. So we've, you know, we met through that. I think, sarah, we might have. We worked with you at some point as a realtor, but then it was during the synergy mastermind that we really we created store the properties out of synergy mastermind with other partners. But we realized we were still missing a key piece and that was the raising the funds. So we thought of somebody who was an expert in that and that's where we found the funds.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so in terms of transitioning to this full time, obviously you guys had different backgrounds what would you say? Like, did you jump into that full time or did you kind of straddle another past position at the same time while you were getting things started?

Speaker 3:

For me, I actually was focusing on multi-family and everything like my focus is everything is relationship and, you know, being involved and it's amazing, we don't know what we don't know, so it's only through conversation and interacting. And somebody pointed out to me you know, private lending wasn't even on my radar and realized you know, if you're working with people that like really embraced reciprocity and integrity, what you can build together is pretty phenomenal. And so for me, it was actually just being in relationship with other people and having other people like bring my attention to something else. And then I met my community right, and my partners. So that's how it transitions for me. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

If you know, serena, we do everything full out. We jump in full, both feet in. So we both decided we're going to do it full time and in 2019, I left the Navy, I cashed my pension out, so I use my pension money to build our first house and then went on from there. And Sarah, she left her corporate job to become a realtor, and so we had no safety net and just jumped right in and we knew we had to make it work.

Speaker 1:

So how did that look like then? From going from a single family property that you built to now you're working on a subdivision. So how, like, what does that process look like? Like, did you guys go out thinking that's something you wanted to do, or did just a land opportunity come up? Like me, you can walk me through thought a bit.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, just again, it's Sarah. She's, she's crazy at finding great opportunities and pushing me past my limit. So, yeah, we built the one house and, because the market shift, we were buying turnkey rentals. But it wasn't making sense anymore so we thought we'd just build them. We JV, you know, build 1020 single family homes and JV and all that without our plan. But then Sarah saw this one property and saw how the numbers made sense and said if we can build two houses, why can't we build 44? Why not? Yeah, so that's where it went.

Speaker 1:

Now and for you Constance, like, obviously we've worked together in the private lending space but for anyone that's watching that maybe unfamiliar with the kinds of opportunities that exist in this capacity, can you shed a little bit of light on how that would work for someone that's never done it before?

Speaker 3:

Sure, like I think it's really important that you get to know like the people behind the project because integrity is a very big part of it find out a lot about their reputation and how long they've been doing it. It's great to have a community so that you can go out and ask the community what they know about that particular team. So I think that's kind of the first place to start. And then it's about education as well. So you know, I'm always happy to like walk people through some of the stuff to get them like started in the process, places to look, but it's education and the education never stops. But if you can kind of find your community, find your people to talk to and learn about projects, then you can find out about what.

Speaker 3:

There's different types of opportunities. There's short term lending. There's opportunities to do secured lending like mortgages. A lot of people don't know that they can use cash or registered funds to actually hold a mortgage for somebody, just like the bank and be making more than what you would make at the bank. And other people don't know that they can also take charge of their registered accounts. By putting it into a self directed account, they're able to lend it out for things like mortgages or mutual fund units where you can participate in different projects from like land development to income producing assets. So you know I'm always happy to like help people get started on that path, lead them and like give them some resources to follow up so people can reach out to me and I can help get them started.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, now I don't know if this is something you can answer or not from a securities compliance perspective, but are you able to shed any light on what the difference in returns would look like? You know, for an average person at the bank, maybe they're making a few percent, but if they were going to go and put their funds into an MFT, like on a land development project or on something else, or even a mortgage like, what have you typically seen in terms of those rate ranges?

Speaker 3:

You're probably looking at double digits right. So that's something it depends on the position of your mortgage. Right now, with the way interest rates are, you're definitely looking at double digits and another part of that is term right. So some of these projects can be five or seven years, some can be two or three. So that also plays a factor. But you're definitely looking at something a lot more than you're going to get at the bank and it's being backed by real estate. So you don't get that like crazy fluctuation you get with stocks. Real estate is a little bit more predictable.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think that's something where, when I've spoken to people and they often perceive private lending is so risky, like I've always liked the tangibility behind it. It's not like you're just walking down the street, like handing out money, like there's almost always an asset and in most instances an appreciating asset that backs that investment. So that's one of the reasons that I personally liked it. Now, I guess, just looking at these last few years, what would you say are some of the challenges that have come up, as you, you know, amplified your projects and diversified what you're working on.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I'll go into that. I mean, obviously Cost, certainly is the is the big one like we, we all. It's one thing about land development that you know learned over the last couple years is they take a long time right when you do a single family home.

Speaker 2:

It's your chance are. You know the costs they're not gonna change, you know, you know the the market is not gonna change that much because it's all within a six month period. When you're doing a land, development takes two to five to seven years. Yeah, you know the market's gonna shift multiple times. The costs are gonna, you know, up or down depending on what's going on the world.

Speaker 2:

And obviously, you know COVID hit for us during the middle of our projects so it really shifted what our expected cost would be. And now, with the market downgrade, it's obviously shifted what our expected sales would be in timelines. Yeah, so that's been the biggest struggle. The good news is, for all our projects, we purchased the land well before COVID, before the COVID spike. Yeah, so we have the land at a great cost, which has really allowed us, as given some breathing room in all our projects, to absorb the costs increase something. There's also been a Sales increase too since the start of it, but now for the extended timelines allowed us to absorb that and still being the positive, yeah, and how about for you Constance?

Speaker 1:

do you want to add anything to that?

Speaker 3:

I think I think the thing is just always, which I always teach people to, is just always make sure we have extra exits, right, like, make sure you know that if you know that you have an A, b and C we you know or even a D, you never want to go to D, but when you know that you can do D and a pinch, then that's where you get like the Courage and the knowledge that you can do this project and move forward. So that's something we really try to focus on and I think you know with with the way our team has worked, has gotten us through this difficult time. So, yeah, something to to look for multiple exits.

Speaker 1:

Now, do you think, looking back at these last few years, Is there anything that jumps out to you as, say, the biggest lesson that you've learned?

Speaker 2:

Well, I'll give one example of I say it whenever I speak pretty much is one of the biggest lessons I learned in land development Is that you're gonna do this full-time is to make sure you can pay yourself during the project. It's the biggest thing, like it's the biggest stressor that you, us, as a team, has learned over the last couple years. Yeah, because we all you know, anticipate that it would take one or two years max for a project, right, and we'll pair ourselves at the end.

Speaker 2:

Well, that doesn't work right because you have bills to pay, mortgages to pay, all that kind of stuff. So you have to structure the deal where it makes sense to you pay for the project, you know where it makes sense to you pay yourself during during it. And you know, when we started out I was worried that you know how can I use private lending money to pay myself? Right, didn't make sense. But yeah, think about it. It's the project, they're lending for the project, they want the project to be whole. So in order for it to be whole, you have to be whole. So that was one of the biggest lessons I learned, I think, and yeah, it's been a big one.

Speaker 1:

So for someone that's considering budgeting budgeting a project like that Is that embedded as a management fee or an opposition fee, like? How have you Determined that ratio, like compared to the project?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it is. You can do both Access to fees or magic fees. You kind of have to depend on how your lending structure is too, because obviously, if your lenders are in just debt financing, then it doesn't really matter how much you pay yourself, because you're literally taking your profit and paying yourself upfront, yeah. But if it's equity financing, well then you know, the more you take, the less your lenders get. So you really got to work that out and be upfront with it. That's the big thing.

Speaker 1:

It just be upfront to what your plan Paying yourself, and then everyone should be happy now, can you, for anyone that doesn't know, can you explain that difference between the debt and equity, like that?

Speaker 3:

financing. That financing is kind of independent of, like, how the project's performing. So again, equity and equity thing is that you're actually joining in with the team to see, and so the project as well. You get the blue sky along with the team. If the project does maybe not as well, you also take that journey with them. So that's an equity role. Investing, that is more that you're. There's a targeted rate of return and it's like alone. So you're like lending the company money and the company is obligated to to get that paid to you, and it can be structured Monthly or deferred. There's a lot of different ways, but those are the two main differences.

Speaker 1:

Okay, great, thank you. And then, in terms of lessons for you, is there anything that really stands out to you as something you know that you would want to share to someone else so that maybe they can avoid a challenge or a mistake or anything like that?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I think communication with the team like we definitely, the systems we started out with were great, but as we grow you always have to have your eyes on your system and continue to like refine them. You can't just do it at the end of the project. It's the continual process, you know, because a lot of us there it's learning for all of us all the time, like that's one thing in this space. The learning never stops, yeah, so I think it's just continually refining your systems as you move along and grow. I think that's really important and the communication with the team is really important as well. I think one of the strengths I love about our group is we all have a role and we all have integrity and we all show up, and that's really important. I can't imagine doing this project when you don't have that Trust with your members.

Speaker 1:

So that's really important and then just keeping that communication Going yeah, no, I think that's huge and obviously what works when there's just a few of you would be very different Once you have like 10 of you or a hundred of you, so I can see how you may need to adapt and change as those things change with your business. Now, when you look back at you know everything you have accomplished so far. What do you feel like you're most proud of or what you would perceive as your biggest success so far?

Speaker 2:

Hmm, good question, I see it for me is just the lifestyle that we've been able to do for our family. It's not necessarily the strapping lifestyle, it's just the you know what we be able to show our kids right Like. One of the biggest you know things that made me excited is when we started building, we were hiring a lot of our son you know, he's an athlete so they couldn't get regular jobs. They're too busy with sports, so we hired them during the summers, him and all his buddies. We had six hockey kids working for us all summer. Yeah, they worked for us for two summers, maybe three actually on our home builds, and now all six of them are in the trades. Yeah, they've all loved it. They all want to do what we were doing. So it was just that role model aspect. I guess the best thing that's what I'm most proud of, I think, in our accomplishments is that we've been able to really show our kids and, you know, our, our friends what the opportunities are.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no, I think that's really powerful and just for kids in general, I think that this is something that should be exposed to them far more often and also far younger to understand you know the purpose of assets and how you can build that wealth, whether it's real estate or even another platform because I think right now too many people are educated and they just go get jobs and they're living paycheck to paycheck and there's obviously better options out there.

Speaker 3:

For me it's just the fact that you know a lot of people get strength from their partner, like if they're married or in a partnership, and then during it, on your own, it feels like you just can't keep up with couples or you don't know where to start. And I think the thing I'm most proud of is realizing you can do it on your own and you, you know, because you can align yourself with other people that are aligned with you, right where your partner may or may not be and that could be a detriment. So you know you can do this on your own and you can start small and then you can start building other relationships and, and you know, build your own wealth. So I think that's kind of a big thing for me that just step into it and you know opportunities come.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no, I love that. So, with that being said, we're just going to take a really brief break for a word from our sponsors, and we'll be right back.

Speaker 4:

Hi, my name is Karleen Sue and I'm the CEO of True Capital Real Estate. Our mission is to help busy professionals build lasting wealth. We focus on multifamily purpose-built rentals as a strategic and accessible investment strategy. Our goal is to demystify real estate investing and be your protested partner to handle all aspects from beginning to end, because, after all, it's not actually about real estate. It's about having a robust and secure financial future so you can focus on the people and things that you care about the most.

Speaker 1:

Thanks again for following along with this episode of Inspired to Invest. In addition to real estate investing and running my own brand experience agency for 18 years, I also published a book called the Accidental Entrepreneur in October of 2021. This is my story and it chronicles how I turned tragedy into triumph to embrace my destiny in entrepreneurship. If you're interested in picking up a copy, you can find the link at SerenaHomesRealtorcom and you can also find my link tree with all of the retailers in the details below. Thanks again for your support.

Speaker 5:

I hope you're enjoying the podcast and we'll get you right back to it. But I have some exciting news to share. Myself from Strategic Success and Corey McKinnon from Infinite Results have banded together so we can bring to you an amazing platform where you can learn and grow and have support on your real estate journey. We're building a community, we're building the help and the support, we've got the coaching for you. We've got the content. So if you want more information and see how it can help you on your journey, click the link below in the show notes or click the link in my bio for more information.

Speaker 1:

Hey everybody, welcome back to the Inspired to Invest podcast. I have Chris Buce and Constant Foster here from Stonehearth Properties and Five Oaks Land Development and they're sharing their experiences as real estate investors and how they started to build these very significant, sizable projects out in Victoria BC but also holding properties really around the country and around the world. So, with that being said, you've shared some of the things pertaining to your challenges and lessons, but when you look at now these last few years, what would you say is the craziest thing that's actually happened to you as a real estate investor so far?

Speaker 1:

Hmm, I feel like it's always a fun one. That's a pretty interesting response.

Speaker 2:

I think just how fast we've gone in such a short time. Actually, one example is we talked to one of the guys that works for us. He's been excavating the excavation world for 60 years and he's really walked us through the construction side. He basically mentored me throughout the whole process. Obviously, we pay him well, but I felt I needed I owed him more. I know he saved just probably millions of dollars in mistakes, so I really want to do something for him. So I was talking to Sarri Bush just wait just wait, see how it goes.

Speaker 2:

And then he calls me that same night, just the blue, and he said I need to thank you, Chris. The work you've done, the project you've given me is given my son his son focus, because his son became started working in the business as well at 19, but had no purpose, no alignment, and then he started working on one of our projects and he took ownership of it and he was there every day, he was working and now he's going off on his own now, as of yesterday actually. So it was just a neat feeling, right, I know it's not crazy outlandish, but it was just a neat feeling to see that and the power of this.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no, it's huge.

Speaker 3:

I don't know If I'm looking for an example, it's probably something more just like when I was first starting out and just having to have a great determination like to put in the time, because you know I wasn't starting with a lot of resources, so I had more time than money. So it was definitely, you know, I knew I was sleeping on the floor around it but you know I knew to get somebody else's old purpose old kitchen and repurpose it and learn how to tile and plumb and do all of that. And just honestly my mindset was you know what, like I can just give it a go and if it doesn't work I can always hire somebody. So I would say just kind of yeah, it's more just actually getting my hands dirty and getting down and getting things done at the beginning.

Speaker 1:

Yeah Well, I think that's the thing. It's not unusual for a lot of investors to start out where they have the time but they don't have the money right. So they will have these unusual circumstances or sacrifices that they'll make, but it's all short term pain for long term gain, of course. Now, when you look back at the education and mentoring that you have received, what would you say is the best advice that you've gotten in these last few years?

Speaker 2:

For me, it's just honestly to take action, right? I mean, we've all been taught the mechanics of everything and everything else, but until you take action, there's really nothing gonna happen, right? We've all seen people that have paid tens of thousands of dollars for education but aren't doing anything because they just don't take action. So I think that's the biggest takeaway I've always gotten from people, yeah.

Speaker 3:

I agree with that. I think the one thing is is like the learning never stops, like, honestly you think, like you never think that you're there because there's always gonna be more to learn and you can always learn more from others, and but in doing action you know when you're actually in it you're learning a lot more. Like a mutual fund trust. I didn't know what a mutual fund trust is for our purpose like a year and a half ago. Ask me about mutual fund trust. Today, I know a lot more about it and I continue to learn more.

Speaker 3:

I think it's really important to realize, too, for people that are starting out is, sometimes you don't need to have all the answers. Is that you just you need to have the people, though, that have the answers that can help bring it together. So, like in our mutual fund trust, we work with a securities lawyer, we work with Axiom advisors, we work with like a whole team of people that bring it all together. So if I don't know the answer, they do. That's their job. So I think that's a really important piece too.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think that's really smart. And just going back to that, like when you are a real estate investor, there are constantly things changing, like the house and market's very fluid, the government's very involved in legislation and the official plan and all of these different things. So I think, even if you think you've got a handle on it like CMHC wants to change the rules today, so you know, there's just all these things that are constantly happening and that's why I think it's also so important to be part of these communities and groups where you can share those resources, because otherwise, like you could find yourself behind or make a mistake or something like that. Now, in terms of how real estate investing has changed your life, I know, christy, like you spoke to that a little bit, but how would you kind of outline that for yourself? And what does financial freedom look to you? I know that you guys are still in the weeds a little bit with your projects, but what would you say? What will that look like when you can be like I've made it, I've arrived?

Speaker 2:

I think for us it's you know, I think we're.

Speaker 2:

The fun part is like we're closer than we think. It doesn't feel like right now. It's like you said, we're in the weeds quite a bit right now, but for me it's just being able to do the projects I want to do when I want to do it. Right, like we're not going to retire. Retire, that's just not in our blood. But do I want to be doing, you know, 170 units a year? Or you know, no, of course not. You know, I just want to find the smaller projects. You know when we want to do them, we don't want to do them. We don't want to do them and just travel. Right, it's just the ability to travel. This is an amazing world and I just want to see more of it.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, for me, the projects that we have are like I'm very proud of what you know, what we have in front of us, and I love the learning. Like I love learning. I think our whole team, like we're not idle individuals. So, you know, I look forward to seeing our projects come to fruition and then I'm like, just you know, and we will always probably have something on the go, but it'll be like more just to keep our minds active, and then we'll have a bit more time freedom. We don't really have that as much at the moment, but it's coming out in the future, it's a little bit of a tunnel.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, awesome, so one of our goals for Stone Earth is to basically grow the company. So we, you know, make it a proper business right, where we're not necessarily in the weeds every day. We hire for that right. So find our who's and who, not how to take our roles out, and so we'd be more I'm not silent partners, but more, you know, shareholders. Just help our, give an direction and then, you know, let the company grow.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, I know that makes perfect sense. Now, in terms of Stone Earth and with Five Oaks, can you talk a little bit about those projects and what kind of opportunities there could be for investors that are tuning in?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's actually pretty exciting right now because, as I said, land development can be a long process. Yeah, and in Stone Earth properties, we have nine townhomes right now. They're just coming to the end. We're probably gonna list them in the next week or two, nice, and we should be, you know, basically completed by Christmas, which is pretty exciting. It's been a long go, but we're there, so that one's, you know, finishing up. And now we're starting to refocus on Sequoia Wind, which is the project under Five Oaks.

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

And we're starting to start with the Stone Earth. We're starting with Kathy Mandakerberg on that one, so that one the land had been prepped. I had another project. We had to remove a lot of rocks, so we basically moved 4,000 dump truck loads of rocks in one project to the next. So it's ready, prepped to go. The development permits is approved. So now we're in discussion with the contractor right now who will probably take the lead on the build of them, and then hopefully springtime will be breaking ground. So we're just directing our telephones.

Speaker 1:

Awesome. Do you want to add anything to that in regards to your MFT?

Speaker 3:

Yeah. So, as far as like, if people want to get involved with us, we always I would encourage people to reach out. We sometimes have short-term private lending opportunities and mortgages, but the biggest thing that we're promoting right now is our mutual fund trust, and that was set up, I think I mentioned, by our securities lawyer and an accounting firm, and it takes both cash and registered funds. It's a two-year term and it offers 15% base rate with a dip option and you get a bonus if you stand for 24 months. So the effective rate is 17.12%, which is pretty good. So if people want to learn more about that, I would encourage them to either visit our website at wwwshpropertiesca or reach out to me at constants at shpropertiesca.

Speaker 1:

Now, obviously, the purpose of this podcast is inspiring other people to invest, so I always like to ask my guests what one of their favorite quotes is, and something that really motivates them.

Speaker 2:

I just go back to just do it. I know it's the Nike tagline, whatever it is, but for me it's just we've always gone that way. Just go ahead and do it and you can figure it out afterwards. If you have the right team, the right support, the right people, you'll figure it out. None of us knew anything about land development a few years ago and none of us ever knew how to build a house before I built my first house. You'll figure it out along the way, as long as you have the support and the work ethic to do it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, awesome, thank you.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I think one of my favorite quotes is actually not real estate. You paste it out somewhere. It's about like there's a lot like riding a bicycle you have to keep moving forward to keep your balance. I think that's also really important in business, because we're always coming across challenges and we have to kind of just keep our focus on solutions and actions to keep moving forward. But I think it's also a good quote for life.

Speaker 1:

So, yeah, I think work obviously consumes so much of our lives that they're all intertwined. So, with that being said, thank you for being here. Is there anything in particular that you would like to leave the audience with, or any pros and cons done before we wrap up?

Speaker 2:

No, just I mean, like I said, if you want, just reach out, always available to talk real estate, but just get out there and do it right, Like usually the networks we have. There's some great networks in Canada or in the US, wherever you are, yeah just join the networks and surround yourself with the right people.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and I would say, Jess, if you're not really sure on how to get started with private lending or you want to learn more, just reach out. I'm happy to put you on a path or connect you with some ideas. You know there are a lot of great communities out there and resources and I'm definitely happy to like help shorten that path for you.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I think that's the main thing, like when I started out diversifying, like I think just having all of those conversations with people is so important and I'm always surprised when I talk to people and they won't even have those conversations and like they don't even realize the untapped potential that's out there. And you know, there's obviously no harm in just having some of those calls to understand it. And maybe you're not ready right now, but maybe a year from now or two years from now you will be right. So I think, yeah, just to both of your points, just trying to learn from other people and see what's out there and it can really change your life. So, the top of your head, thank you so much for your time today and, of course, we're sponsoring the podcast this past month.

Speaker 1:

I very much appreciate it for anyone that has been following along. Thank you for your time and if you have liked this episode, please make sure that you like and subscribe below and you can also follow along at inspired to invest podcast on social. And, of course, don't forget when you invest in yourself, the sky's the limit. Thanks again. Thanks again to our sponsors true capital, real estate, strategic success, consulting and infinite real estate results for bringing you this episode of inspired to invest. The views represented on this podcast are for general information only and does not constitute investment or other professional advice or an offering of securities. The hosting guests featured on inspired to invest make no representations as to the performance of any particular investment. Should you decide to make an investment, you are responsible for conducting your own review and analysis. It is recommended that you obtain independent legal, accounting and tax advice from licensed professionals.