November 18, 2025 • 28 mins
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- FB: @STF_Capital
- LinkedIn: Joao Macavilca
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Joao Macavilca (00:00):
I just think freedom is the biggest thing to
(00:02):
control your time.
Do what you want, when you want,and it not be detrimental to
your finances
Ed Mathews (00:09):
So the big question is this, how do real estate
investors who don't have a tonof free time, don't have access
to off market deals and didn'tstart life on third base?
How do we conservatively growour real estate business to
support our families?
Finally, leave the corporate ratrace and build a legacy?
That is the question in thispodcast will give you the
(00:30):
answers.
I'm Ed Matthews and this is RealEstate Underground.
Greetings and salutations Realestate Undergrounders.
It is Ed Mathews with the RealEstate Underground.
Thank you so much for joining ustoday.
I'm really excited about thisconversation'cause this
gentleman is, we are cut fromthe similar cloth.
And Joao Macavilca, thank you somuch for joining us.
(00:51):
I hope I didn't butcher yourname, my friend, but, thank you
so much for joining us today andit's really good to see you.
Joao Macavilca (00:58):
Thanks man.
No, that was perfect.
Pretty rare trouble to say myname correctly the first time,
so that's awesome.
Glad to be here.
Happy to help.
looking forward to this.
Ed Mathews (01:05):
Cool.
For those folks that haven'tdiscovered you, why don't you
tell us a little bit about, STFconstruction and then we can
talk about your capital businessas well.
Gotcha.
Joao Macavilca (01:14):
My name is Joao Macavilca, like you said, I am a
commercial general contractor.
I have my company SCFConstruction.
Which I started after I startedgetting into real estate, things
like that, and just startedlearning and growing from there.
Started with little cosmeticflips, getting to bigger and
better things, getting my ownin-house crew, getting subs,
getting things like that.
But also understanding what goesbehind each one of these phases
(01:36):
and grasping that beforeexpanding more and just doing
work whenever I can, whether itbe for my jobs or other
investors, and just.
more expansion.
Ed Mathews (01:45):
Excellent.
And not only have you done,nearly a couple hundred
renovations on your own, youalso have built a, sizable
portfolio of, Buy and hold.
Property.
Yes.
Correct.
Yes.
Joao Macavilca (01:57):
Yeah.
Currently have 92 doors, Ibelieve, or is it 93?
I'm not sure.
It's just funny how, as you keepdoing this, how the deals come
to you and how easier it gets astime progresses.
Ed Mathews (02:07):
Yeah.
I think part of it is that, youbuild a reputation as a person
easy to do business with and canclose, right?
and these days people who canclose aren't.
tons and tons of those peopleout there, right?
and also I think the fact that,people, gravitate towards
success.
Yeah, that's fair.
I like that.
so how did you get into realestate?
(02:28):
The draw for you?
Joao Macavilca (02:30):
So like a lot of people, I had a regular nine to
five job, and just busted my assand did what I could to move up
and then decided, hey, if I workextra hard, extra hours, went
the extra mile, eventually I'llmove up the corporate ladder if
you would.
And I did.
I started moving up the ladder,getting promotions and getting
higher titles and things likethat.
but even with that, even withthe higher titles, even with
(02:51):
more money, more raises coming.
It still wasn't enough to live alife that I enjoyed.
It wasn't enough to, buy a nicecar, go on vacations, lavishly,
have nice things.
It was always a little overjust, my standard bills, my
rent, my car, my insurance,food.
Get to go out to eat once in awhile, maybe do a vacation or
(03:12):
two a year.
Yeah.
Just myself really, or one moreperson.
And it was Never enough to livethe life I wanted, I dreamed of,
and I just needed to make adifference.
do something.
And it just, led me down therabbit hole of how do you make
money?
How do you grow, how do youbuild?
And real estate was one of theones that stuck out the most
because it made a lot of sense.
(03:33):
I did stocks and crypto and somesuccessful, some not.
Real estate was something I canfeel I can touch.
I know the address of one of myproperties.
I know where it's at.
I know what's coming to thatarea.
And as you learn and grow, youknow where to buy and why to
buy, right?
Ed Mathews (03:50):
There's something about being able to hop in your
car or your truck and go out anddirectly affect the value of a
piece of property as opposed to,buying a stock and hoping the
CEO and the executive suite knowwhat they're doing.
Exactly.
Or crypto, which don't get mestarted'cause I have no clue how
that's value.
But other than it goes upsometimes and it comes down
sometimes and no one can give meexplanation as to why.
(04:12):
Other than Demand.
Okay.
so we put our money elsewhere.
so offline you can explain tome, correct.
You can take a shot atexplaining crypto to me.
'cause I've yet to meet somebodythat can do it.
so in terms of your growth,right?
And, you started, soconstruction was where you
started or were you flippinghouses first?
Or like where, what was likefirst deal?
Joao Macavilca (04:32):
So pretty much growing up in New Jersey
originally my dad didn't want topay anyone to do anything, so he
bought those Home Depot 1, 2, 3books, made me learn that kind
of stuff.
And then when he did have to paysomeone else because I couldn't
do it or he didn't know how todo it, he made me work with them
side by side, so I would learnhow to do it so he wouldn't have
to pay them going forward.
Ed Mathews (04:50):
Yep.
Joao Macavilca (04:51):
so that's how it started.
And I realized staying in thesame box that I was always in,
in Jersey, working my way up,the corporate ladder.
It was safe.
So I was always gonna find areason not to do something or
not take that chance.
So I made the decision to, movesomewhere away from Jersey,
which ended up being theCarolinas.
It was between North, SouthCarolina, Georgia, and Florida.
(05:14):
So places that were growing inthe next few years, and that
wasn't anywhere near New Jersey.
So I made that decision anddecided either I'm gonna make it
down there, or I'm going to comeback home and be exactly where I
was.
Yep.
So need to take that chance andsee what happened.
I may fall, I may, makemistakes, but I'm gonna get up.
I'm gonna learn from each oneand keep going.
Ed Mathews (05:34):
It's actually a quality of most successful
entrepreneurs, right?
Is that dogged, stubbornness.
It doesn't go your way.
That's okay.
The plan's good.
We're gonna keep working it.
Exactly.
Make a couple adjustments.
Learn from your mistakes, butgeneral direction's the same.
you build the constructioncompany, that becomes a
resounding success.
you begin to, take on your ownprojects.
(05:54):
How did you move from doing thatto multifamily?
What was the impetus?
Joao Macavilca (06:00):
You grow and learn as you go.
And, buying my first duplex was,a huge shift in my mind.
'cause now I stopped recordingwith somebody or doing it with
somebody else.
It's mine.
And then the next one comes,which is a whole different
layout, whole different floorplan.
Then the next house that comesavailable, it's a different
subdivision, completeschematics, different hvac,
different electric, differentwater.
Everything is different.
(06:21):
So I just kept, always having toadapt every single one.
And it's different spayed by adifferent builder, different
gear, different HOAs, howeveryou want, call'em.
And then the first I went to anevent.
It was Mike Leys mastermind inOhio.
And he's brilliant.
Oh my God.
He's the one, he helped me getmy commercial deals, like his
training and his networking wentto his event and one of my
(06:43):
buddies was presenting inconstruction there, and he can
talk amazingly, but I had thespreadsheets and the PDFs and
all that, so he asked me to help'em out.
I did.
I went there, gave my spew andmet people there.
I started learning.
If you buy a 12 unit apartmentcomplex, for example, like we
did, it's all the same.
You do one or two, everything'sthe same.
(07:05):
From there, copy and paste.
Yep.
Same amount of paint, sameamount of flooring, same amount,
toilets, same paint scheme, sameeverything.
So it was just, so much easierthan the houses I'm doing that
are 2000 square feet plus thatcould have framing issues,
window issues, whatnot.
It may take a little longer todo because of the volume.
But the return is drastically somuch more commercial wise.
(07:28):
And now you have the buyingpower too.
Now I can go to Home Depot andset up once every week or twice
a week.
I'm going there, saying I'mgonna be ordering for 12
apartments.
Here's what I need.
And the volume discounts and therelationships you build.
Are so much more thanresidential.
Ed Mathews (07:42):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And it's, like you were saying,the economies of scale are
fantastic.
so in terms of like materialsand all that, you mentioned
volume discounts.
How are you managing,'cause Iimagine, you also said something
about, having your own team now,and so how are you managing the
properties?
do you do that yourself or doyou outsource that?
Joao Macavilca (08:03):
So depending on the size, one biggest thing I've
noticed a lot is when I firststarted, I was not the best
property manager at all.
So then I hired a propertymanager who was, standard rate.
They've been doing it for years.
But as you grow, it's okay, Iknow I did something wrong.
Do I want to just put it behindme and go, or should I learn
more into it?
(08:23):
So I'm leaned back and forth andnow I'm back to the point where,
it's not as difficult as I'veseen.
It's just something I don'twanna do.
So there was a book I readcalled Who the How, and it tells
you to find the purse andeverything.
And that's what I started doing.
I was like, all right, productmanagement is a big factor.
It's not something I wanna do atall.
I don't wanna take those calls.
(08:44):
I don't wanna screen, butsomebody else may be better at
that than I am.
And I found people did that.
So now we're bringing thatin-house as well.
And that's gonna be a gamechanger.
'cause I'm not paying 10% to aproperty manager.
I'm not doing that stuff.
So I think it's important forall investors, even if you don't
want to do it construction, youmay not want to change a floor
(09:04):
joce.
You may not wanna install LVPflooring.
But you've gotta understand whatit takes to do that.
You gotta know how hard it is,what the issues may be, and at
least understand that beforesubbing it out or giving it
somebody else because now youhave knowledge into doing it.
Ed Mathews (09:20):
so talk me through the systems and the processes,
right?
'cause obviously you're one guyand there's only 24 hours in the
day and you require sleep, andI'm sure you like to go out and
have fun so I'm sure you're notworking 18 hours a day, right?
I hope you're not.
and so how do you get your teamto run the way you want them to
run?
Joao Macavilca (09:39):
the good thing there is I have my in-house
construction crew as well.
I've got a foreman in NorthCarolina.
I've got a foreman in SouthCarolina, and sometimes I'll
interchange'em depending on theproject.
So the good thing is they'vebeen with me for multiple years
and that's something that's alsohard to find in construction.
Like you'll hear the biggestheadache for a lot of investors
is the contract didn't show up.
This is happening, this is goingwrong, and it can really make or
(10:01):
break a deal.
So I'm very grateful that myguys have been with me for many
years.
I did recently change like mysheet rocker.
I found a great one for the lastseven, eight months.
He's awesome.
Really good down to earth andadded to the team, so we're good
there.
But pretty much the process issimilar, like I'll go walk it,
the property kind of a, I use anapp called Cubicasa,
(10:22):
C-U-B-I-C-A-S-A.
Okay.
And it just, you walk around thewhole house, the apartment,
whatever you wanna do, and itscans everything for you.
It scans it, and then that way Ihave an idea and then I suit it
over to myself.
It takes about 24 hours for thefree version.
To make a floor plan and then Itake my pictures, my videos,
because I may have ideas whileI'm walking it, but a day or a
(10:43):
week later I may forget littlethings.
So take pictures and videos.
Yep.
Make sure you get the idea ofwhat you want to do.
And before you start anything onany project, it doesn't matter
if some apartment or a house,you gotta run the cops.
Yep.
You don't wanna put quartzcountertop in an area that's up
and coming and doesn't needthat.
Yep.
You don't wanna put stainlesssteel appliance in that you
wanna make sure you're followingthe comps.
(11:05):
You're doing it that way,otherwise you can overpay for
something and now you're overleveraged.
Yep.
So find what's going on, findwhat's growing, follow those
comms.
Do it that way.
And I like doing one color forall my units, so whatever color
the ceiling is, same as thebaseboard of the doors and the
walls.
That way when there's aturnover, do it again and do it
(11:26):
that way easier versus losingtwo, three days on covering
this.
it's a rental.
It's not a personal home, it'snot an Airbnb.
They need that special touch.
We just need to make sure it'sgood quality and get it rented
out.
Ed Mathews (11:39):
Clean and safe.
Joao Macavilca (11:40):
Everyone has their orders.
Like my property manager, thein-house now, simple as it was
probably a good week of justheadaches of, Hey, I do this.
Now it's flowing.
Now I'm just getting emails andtexts of, we've got three more
leads today.
We've got two more people thatwanna see it and great, good to
hear.
I don't want to, respond tothose, but lemme know how it
(12:01):
goes.
So now I don't have to worryabout that.
It's more money coming into thebusiness and overall easier.
Ed Mathews (12:07):
Operational leverage is a huge win when you figure
out'cause letting go is hard.
Oh yeah.
So how did you get over thathump?
Because I, having experiencedthat myself, I'm a fellow
control freak.
How did you let go?
Joao Macavilca (12:22):
That's one of the hardest things, man.
'Cause when you start as anentrepreneur or working for
yourself, it's, you areeverything.
You're the admin, you're thesecretary, you're the manager,
you're the foreman, you'reeverything.
You're the property manager.
And That helps build who you areand where you need to be.
you need to have that in you.
But when you gotta let go iswhen there's too many projects
going on and something on myside, one project's being
(12:43):
delayed because I'm taking timeto answer questions for
something else that I shouldn'tbe or that I don't need to.
So it was hard for me to let goof some things because I'm gonna
do it the right way.
I'm gonna spend extra time.
But one thing we gotta realize,and a lot of, who was it?
I think it was my foreman toldme, he's Hey I don't envy you.
I know you've got a lot ofstuff, but.
(13:04):
Your phone's always ringing.
Sometimes you're, you're talkingto me and then you're, Brian
goes somewhere else.
And I was like, yeah, you'reright.
You guys are lucky because oncethat clock is 5 36, you're done
for the day.
My phone can ring till nine, 10o'clock, and even if it doesn't,
my mind can go from, holy crap,we could do this differently
during dinner or during a movieafter hours and mind's always
(13:27):
going so.
Yeah.
So that book helped a lot.
Who not how Find the rightperson, put'em in the right
spot.
Yeah.
Someone that you can groom andstrength the way you need it
done.
And it just helped me so muchwhere I can now focus on what I
need to focus on.
And I'm reading another booknow, which is amazing.
(13:47):
It's a Who's in Your Room?
And that has also I'm not donewith it, I'm halfway there.
But that was, that's.
Ed Mathews (13:54):
A
Joao Macavilca (13:54):
answering questions.
Ed Mathews (13:55):
That's a new one.
And we'll put that on the listof books.
Joao Macavilca (13:57):
the right person, to help you focus that
things you're great at.
Ed Mathews (14:01):
Yeah.
Because a lot of entrepreneursmake the mistake of thinking,
okay, I'm gonna hire Ed, and Edis gonna be 80% of what I'm
capable of doing, which is gonnahave to be good enough.
Then Ed joins the team and itturns out he's actually better
at it than you ever were becausehe's focused on it for one
thing.
but also he's been doing this awhile.
You're the one that interviewedhim.
You've been able to vet him andmake sure that guy knows what
(14:22):
he's doing and, the amount offree time and energy that you
get back to go do the otherthings you need to do, which
we're gonna talk about next.
Worth every penny.
Joao Macavilca (14:35):
It's been a game changer.
It's more, controlled andeasier.
Yep.
I just kept to hop on a call.
If it's an emergency call, I'lltake it, sure.
But otherwise it's like a, it'sa Friday, call it be other
Friday.
Hey, here's what's going on,here's what we got.
Okay, cool.
Let's keep moving.
Ed Mathews (14:48):
Blood, flood or fire call me.
Other than that, send me a textor an email.
We're good.
Joao Macavilca (14:53):
Exactly.
Ed Mathews (14:53):
Yeah.
Right on.
okay, so in terms of, whatyou're doing now, now that
you're freed up and you'recontrolling and managing that
operation, but you're notswinging a hammer, what's your
focus day to day?
Joao Macavilca (15:05):
So just looking for more jobs, making sure
things are actually fall intoplace.
Like we've got a property comingonline.
Any day this week.
I think we're having issues withthe MLS North Carolina specific.
You need floral plans you need.
So that was something I was notaware of.
So we're getting that situated.
we're working on a hugecommercial deal coming up soon,
so speaking with the countyinspectors, making sure you're
(15:27):
on the good side and justfinding out what the issues were
before, what their expectationsare going forward, and just make
sure you're doing it the rightway.
Right on.
So just, doing things that Ilike to do and I'm good at
versus trying to do a little bitof everything.
Ed Mathews (15:40):
Yeah.
And it's, I think it's not onlyis it whether you're good at it
or not, but also do you have thetime and energy, right?
Because even if you're good atit, but you only have time to
do, a certain level of job interms of standards, that's gonna
be restricting as well.
So in terms of where you'retaking the business, what's,
(16:01):
what does, five, 10 years downthe road look like?
Joao Macavilca (16:25):
five, 10 years down the road?
I wanna say not as busy, butthat the last few years and
every time say it's kinda like ajinx it where can't get busier
than now something else.
Bigger hits, biggeropportunities, more stuff.
so I'm hoping it's more.
Relaxed and just on autopilot,and I can just take calls and
hop on meetings here and thereand just be able to enjoy more.
(16:49):
And I'm very grateful for what Ihave today and what I've been
able to do.
So just less involved and moreoversight is where I want to go.
Ed Mathews (16:57):
I love it.
So a business owner instead ofan operator, right?
Yeah.
There you go.
It's Kiyosaki 1 0 1 man.
Joao Macavilca (17:04):
There you go.
That's the whole goal.
Ed Mathews (17:06):
Alright, cool.
okay, so let's move to the finalfive.
I'm always interested in leaderslike you, and folks that are in
your business, in your position.
You get up on Monday morning,the mortgage is paid for.
Car payments are really, they'reeither non-existent or they're
handled.
You've got all the things you'resupposed, you're doing as a
(17:26):
person in your family, so yourfamily's taken care of.
and nevertheless, you get up andyou go to work, right?
So that tells me it's not aboutmoney anymore, it's about
something else.
I call it purpose.
So what.
What gets you outta bed onMonday morning?
What's your purpose?
Joao Macavilca (17:43):
So it gets me outta bed Monday morning.
It's pretty much just the lifeI've been able to create, the
experience I've been able tohave, working that nine to five.
Being in real estate is a wholedifferent ballgame, so I don't
get that standard, 40 hour weekpaycheck anymore.
The more the better property Ibuy or the more I put into it,
the bigger return I get.
Not only do I get that reficheck at the end or something,
(18:05):
but I get monthly rentals,income.
Yep.
I get appreciation.
I can write off in tax wise, Iget appreciation on the property
over the years I've been able togo to, Thailand, Columbia, what
else did we go?
I can't remember.
Europe, Greece, Italy, Rome.
I've able to take my family withme.
So these are things that was notpossible without real estate
(18:27):
being involved.
And yeah, be able to grow thingsand be able to do things like
that.
Like I, I wanna keep having thatlifestyle provide for my family,
make sure we're all okay, andbreak that gap that we had as,
just standard nine to fives.
Ed Mathews (18:40):
Yeah.
Right on.
it's amazing how yourperspective changes when you're
able to do those things,
Joao Macavilca (18:45):
Yeah.
Ed Mathews (18:45):
Yeah.
Joao Macavilca (18:46):
I can get a brand new iPhone.
But that experience, going toThailand and, going to a like
elephant sanctuary with myfamily.
You never mimic that again ortake that away.
Ed Mathews (18:55):
Yeah.
But the iPhone, you're gonnareplace in two or three, a
couple years.
Exactly.
but being able to take yourfamily to Thailand is amazing
for you and for them.
That's awesome.
Alright I'm also interested inhow, growth, right?
So when you're coming up, youmentioned Mike Eley, I'm sure
you've had other mentors aswell.
(19:16):
I'm curious about the bestadvice you ever got and who was
the person who gave it to you?
Joao Macavilca (19:21):
Best advice ever got.
I would have to say.
It was from Nate Barger, who'sone of Mike's partners.
His background is construction.
he just told me, if you reallywant it, you're gonna find a way
to get it.
Like you can do it.
But when I first met him, I had2, 4, 6 properties and Ran into
(19:43):
him in the hall and he took thetime to talk to me and asked me,
what does he wanna do?
I told him I wanted, be likeyou, I wanna have a lot of
properties, I wanna grow andeverything.
And he just flat out asked me,what's stopping you?
Oh I've gotta do this project.
And he is no, like you're makingexcuses, like what's stopping
you?
And I was like, oh it's hard tofind him And he's I'll pull up
the phone right now.
(20:03):
I'll find you five or six deals.
You can do it.
You're just making excusesbecause you're comfortable.
It's not as much like you gottaget uncomfortable.
You have to go get it.
You really want it.
Go get it.
It really hit me.
And$90 later it worked.
I'm about to do another bigdeal.
Hopefully I can announce it inthe next two weeks or so.
(20:24):
it's just gonna be a gamechanger.
It's something you know, youwant for, and, we all pray for
things and want things, but wegotta remember those times where
we had nothing or a little bit,and we asked for the opportunity
we have in front of us now.
That's why, you have beentalking my other buddies who are
entrepreneurs.
It's busy.
It's crazy.
Yeah.
There was a time when we firststarted and we had almost
nothing and we prayed for thiskind of busyness.
(20:46):
So we gotta see advantage ofthat and do something with it.
So I would put a lot of what Ihave to Nate Barger and what
he's done for me.
Ed Mathews (20:55):
Awesome.
You're running around, workinghard, working long hours, and,
you probably make 20 decisions aday without a doubt, we learn
way more from our mistakes thanwe do from our successes.
So I'm curious about a decisionthat you made, along the way
that you look back on now andgo, man, I wish I had that one
back.
(21:15):
And what did you do about it?
Joao Macavilca (21:19):
So decision I made, I wish, go back.
Just a few of them.
A lot of them go with underbudgeting of assuming, yeah,
it's gonna cost me 50,000 torenovate this property with a
10,000 extra just for buffer.
So 60.
And then something comes upthat, you break this wall, you
find this out, or something elsegoes wrong.
I've increased that recently to25%.
Worst case, I use it.
(21:40):
I'm still within budget, doesn'taffect the plan.
Best case I don't use it, andnow I'm under budget and there's
more return for the profit.
but another big mistake would benot starting sooner, like
waiting for the right time.
Yep.
Just being nervous and oh, I'llwait.
I don't need another one thisyear.
And, then unfortunately checkingback a year or two later, what
is it worth today?
(22:00):
I'm like, ah, could have gotthat one.
But just not starting so, andthen not preparing for, the what
ifs.
Ed Mathews (22:07):
Yeah.
I'll tell you, I read Kiyosaki,rich Dad, poor Dad in 2008.
A buddy of mine gave it to meand fundamentally changed my
life.
it took me three years to pullthe trigger, right?
Because same thing, I was afraidI didn't wanna make mistakes.
I didn't want to blow whatlittle capital I had, all the
reasons.
I was really good at makingexcuses.
(22:27):
I tell the story about a brokerwho basically, I'm a foot taller
than her, but scared hell outtame.
and I'm pretty sure shethreatened my life if I didn't
sign the contract.
and I did.
And, it worked out really well.
Good.
That's awesome, man.
Sounds like Nate, yourconversation with Nate was a
little more, encouraging.
Mine was terrifying.
But, that's all good.
Joao Macavilca (22:46):
Just called me out on all the bullshit.
Ed Mathews (22:48):
Yeah, exactly.
that's it.
so I'm curious about, youmentioned Mike and I know his
course, He, he's incrediblygenerous with, he and Nate, and
the rest of those guys areincredibly generous with what
they do.
Actually, he just wrote a bookthat I'm in the middle of.
I just got it.
I almost said I'm in the middleof reading.
I'm not, it's actually sittingright here and, I can't wait to
read it.
It is on my list of books next.
(23:08):
So if you haven't read it, or ifyou have read it, don't tell me
how it ends.
All right.
But I'm curious about the booksor, how you take in information.
are you an audio book guy, ahardcover book guy?
do podcasts or YouTube, like,how do you get smarter in doing
what you do?
And it's a little bit, who areyou paying attention to is the
other question?
Joao Macavilca (23:28):
it's a little bit of everything.
Pretty much.
when I first started I was just,reading a book because I can.
I can sit down.
TV doesn't have be on, I had tofocus on the book.
So I gave my a hundred percentfocus on the book.
And like you said, it was risk,poor.
That was my first one.
I was given to me by myaccountant who said, Hey, you
need to, learn more aboutfinances.
So it gave me the book and thesecond time I read it is when it
(23:50):
clicked for me.
And that was about a year later.
So that's when it all clickedand started making sense to me.
so I read, I like to read books,however, I got one project
that's two hours away.
I've got another one that's anhour and a half the other way.
And, at that time I can't read.
So I do audio books and I try tomake sure it's, books that I
wanna read or that I alreadyhave on the shelf so I can
revisit it or see a differentway.
(24:12):
and podcasts as well, if I don'twanna listen to books every
single day, so maybe I need abreak here and there, just, I
may not be talking to somebody,but it's people sitting and
having a conversation aboutsomething you can relate to
BiggerPockets has good podcasts.
Yep.
but I like the audio books themost because I can pause it, go
back, see it, and then just, seewhat else is recommended.
And that's how I found the,who's in your room?
(24:33):
It's just by all the books, allthe real estate books.
I've got business books.
That's one that was popped up.
And I was like, let me Google itand read a little bit about the
reviews and what it entails,
Ed Mathews (24:42):
Good.
I'm, like I said, it just mademy list.
I'll be sure to get on it.
and I'm an audio guy too, so I'mencouraged that it sounds like
that one's on Audible, so thankGod.
Yeah.
cool.
so at the end of the day, one ofthe things That I think a lot of
people think about is theconcept of enough.
And so I'm curious, a lot ofpeople define that as success,
(25:06):
and so I'm curious, how do youdefine success in your life
today, and what do you thinkthat looks like down the road?
Joao Macavilca (25:13):
So success for me is basically defined by
freedom.
if I want to go to Mexicotomorrow, I'm going tomorrow.
I can do what I want when Iwant.
I don't have to put in a PTOrequest, right?
And pray that John isn't off thesame week or that it's a
inventory week or whatever thecase is.
(25:34):
I'm not needed to be somewhereimmediately where I can choose.
You know what?
It's been a crazy week.
It's Wednesday.
It's going, take a trip downhere real quick and do what I
want.
I have to worry about that.
So I got my phone with me, mylaptop.
I can go where I want and visitwhere I want.
And I just think freedom is thebiggest thing to control your
time.
Do what you want, when you want,and it not be detrimental to
(25:57):
your finances where, okay, thisis my last 3000, we're gonna go
to Mexico and have a ball.
Now it's Hey, I don't need tocheck this account.
I don't need to save.
I can just go and experience theworld and live my life and not
be controlled by, clocking in orclocking out.
Awesome.
Ed Mathews (26:14):
Yeah.
Time freedom is a beautifulthing.
Joao when you, are not thinkingabout real estate, although I
suspect that's a lot of yourday, what do you like to do for
fun other than travel?
Joao Macavilca (26:24):
travel to fun.
Barbecue.
I like to test new recipes out.
just recently, maybe two monthsago, found out about cowboy
butter and it is my go-to sofar.
So I like to barbecue, I like tofish.
I like to go on the boat andjust relax and yeah.
have fun on the lake and I liketo work out, get a lot of stress
out and things like that.
(26:44):
And just enjoy life.
We all need money.
we all need things to keepmoving, we've also got limited
time.
So we wanna make sure you'reenjoying it.
Ed Mathews (26:52):
It's wise.
Yeah.
You only get so many summers,right?
so how can people learn aboutyou or, your construction
business or your capitalbusiness?
What's the best way to get intouch?
Joao Macavilca (27:03):
probably Instagram or Facebook.
Facebook is my first name andlast name.
Instagram is,@Joaomac_stf.
Just shoot a dm, reach out,schedule a call, whatever you
wanna do.
If I got projects ongoing andsomeone's local that wants to
come visit, schedule a day andwalk through it and ask every
question you've got.
Ed Mathews (27:22):
Awesome.
If, like I said before westarted recording, I got family
down there.
So next time I'm down in theCarolinas, you can expect a DM
from me, although I have yourcell phone, so I'll just call
you.
really nice to meet you.
Congratulations on all yoursuccess and continued good
fortune.
Joao Macavilca (27:36):
Thank you man.
Ed Mathews (27:37):
Appreciate the time.
Joao Macavilca (27:37):
Yep, me too.
Ed Mathews (27:42):
This has been the Real Estate Underground.
Don't forget to rate, review,and subscribe.
It helps us grow.
Until next time, undergrounders, remember, your real
estate journey begins with asimple step forward.
Now get to it.
Bye for now.
I just think freedom is the biggest thing to
(00:02):
control your time.
Do what you want, when you want,and it not be detrimental to
your finances
Ed Mathews (00:09):
So the big question is this, how do real estate
investors who don't have a tonof free time, don't have access
to off market deals and didn'tstart life on third base?
How do we conservatively growour real estate business to
support our families?
Finally, leave the corporate ratrace and build a legacy?
That is the question in thispodcast will give you the
(00:30):
answers.
I'm Ed Matthews and this is RealEstate Underground.
Greetings and salutations Realestate Undergrounders.
It is Ed Mathews with the RealEstate Underground.
Thank you so much for joining ustoday.
I'm really excited about thisconversation'cause this
gentleman is, we are cut fromthe similar cloth.
And Joao Macavilca, thank you somuch for joining us.
(00:51):
I hope I didn't butcher yourname, my friend, but, thank you
so much for joining us today andit's really good to see you.
Joao Macavilca (00:58):
Thanks man.
No, that was perfect.
Pretty rare trouble to say myname correctly the first time,
so that's awesome.
Glad to be here.
Happy to help.
looking forward to this.
Ed Mathews (01:05):
Cool.
For those folks that haven'tdiscovered you, why don't you
tell us a little bit about, STFconstruction and then we can
talk about your capital businessas well.
Gotcha.
Joao Macavilca (01:14):
My name is Joao Macavilca, like you said, I am a
commercial general contractor.
I have my company SCFConstruction.
Which I started after I startedgetting into real estate, things
like that, and just startedlearning and growing from there.
Started with little cosmeticflips, getting to bigger and
better things, getting my ownin-house crew, getting subs,
getting things like that.
But also understanding what goesbehind each one of these phases
(01:36):
and grasping that beforeexpanding more and just doing
work whenever I can, whether itbe for my jobs or other
investors, and just.
more expansion.
Ed Mathews (01:45):
Excellent.
And not only have you done,nearly a couple hundred
renovations on your own, youalso have built a, sizable
portfolio of, Buy and hold.
Property.
Yes.
Correct.
Yes.
Joao Macavilca (01:57):
Yeah.
Currently have 92 doors, Ibelieve, or is it 93?
I'm not sure.
It's just funny how, as you keepdoing this, how the deals come
to you and how easier it gets astime progresses.
Ed Mathews (02:07):
Yeah.
I think part of it is that, youbuild a reputation as a person
easy to do business with and canclose, right?
and these days people who canclose aren't.
tons and tons of those peopleout there, right?
and also I think the fact that,people, gravitate towards
success.
Yeah, that's fair.
I like that.
so how did you get into realestate?
(02:28):
The draw for you?
Joao Macavilca (02:30):
So like a lot of people, I had a regular nine to
five job, and just busted my assand did what I could to move up
and then decided, hey, if I workextra hard, extra hours, went
the extra mile, eventually I'llmove up the corporate ladder if
you would.
And I did.
I started moving up the ladder,getting promotions and getting
higher titles and things likethat.
but even with that, even withthe higher titles, even with
(02:51):
more money, more raises coming.
It still wasn't enough to live alife that I enjoyed.
It wasn't enough to, buy a nicecar, go on vacations, lavishly,
have nice things.
It was always a little overjust, my standard bills, my
rent, my car, my insurance,food.
Get to go out to eat once in awhile, maybe do a vacation or
(03:12):
two a year.
Yeah.
Just myself really, or one moreperson.
And it was Never enough to livethe life I wanted, I dreamed of,
and I just needed to make adifference.
do something.
And it just, led me down therabbit hole of how do you make
money?
How do you grow, how do youbuild?
And real estate was one of theones that stuck out the most
because it made a lot of sense.
(03:33):
I did stocks and crypto and somesuccessful, some not.
Real estate was something I canfeel I can touch.
I know the address of one of myproperties.
I know where it's at.
I know what's coming to thatarea.
And as you learn and grow, youknow where to buy and why to
buy, right?
Ed Mathews (03:50):
There's something about being able to hop in your
car or your truck and go out anddirectly affect the value of a
piece of property as opposed to,buying a stock and hoping the
CEO and the executive suite knowwhat they're doing.
Exactly.
Or crypto, which don't get mestarted'cause I have no clue how
that's value.
But other than it goes upsometimes and it comes down
sometimes and no one can give meexplanation as to why.
(04:12):
Other than Demand.
Okay.
so we put our money elsewhere.
so offline you can explain tome, correct.
You can take a shot atexplaining crypto to me.
'cause I've yet to meet somebodythat can do it.
so in terms of your growth,right?
And, you started, soconstruction was where you
started or were you flippinghouses first?
Or like where, what was likefirst deal?
Joao Macavilca (04:32):
So pretty much growing up in New Jersey
originally my dad didn't want topay anyone to do anything, so he
bought those Home Depot 1, 2, 3books, made me learn that kind
of stuff.
And then when he did have to paysomeone else because I couldn't
do it or he didn't know how todo it, he made me work with them
side by side, so I would learnhow to do it so he wouldn't have
to pay them going forward.
Ed Mathews (04:50):
Yep.
Joao Macavilca (04:51):
so that's how it started.
And I realized staying in thesame box that I was always in,
in Jersey, working my way up,the corporate ladder.
It was safe.
So I was always gonna find areason not to do something or
not take that chance.
So I made the decision to, movesomewhere away from Jersey,
which ended up being theCarolinas.
It was between North, SouthCarolina, Georgia, and Florida.
(05:14):
So places that were growing inthe next few years, and that
wasn't anywhere near New Jersey.
So I made that decision anddecided either I'm gonna make it
down there, or I'm going to comeback home and be exactly where I
was.
Yep.
So need to take that chance andsee what happened.
I may fall, I may, makemistakes, but I'm gonna get up.
I'm gonna learn from each oneand keep going.
Ed Mathews (05:34):
It's actually a quality of most successful
entrepreneurs, right?
Is that dogged, stubbornness.
It doesn't go your way.
That's okay.
The plan's good.
We're gonna keep working it.
Exactly.
Make a couple adjustments.
Learn from your mistakes, butgeneral direction's the same.
you build the constructioncompany, that becomes a
resounding success.
you begin to, take on your ownprojects.
(05:54):
How did you move from doing thatto multifamily?
What was the impetus?
Joao Macavilca (06:00):
You grow and learn as you go.
And, buying my first duplex was,a huge shift in my mind.
'cause now I stopped recordingwith somebody or doing it with
somebody else.
It's mine.
And then the next one comes,which is a whole different
layout, whole different floorplan.
Then the next house that comesavailable, it's a different
subdivision, completeschematics, different hvac,
different electric, differentwater.
Everything is different.
(06:21):
So I just kept, always having toadapt every single one.
And it's different spayed by adifferent builder, different
gear, different HOAs, howeveryou want, call'em.
And then the first I went to anevent.
It was Mike Leys mastermind inOhio.
And he's brilliant.
Oh my God.
He's the one, he helped me getmy commercial deals, like his
training and his networking wentto his event and one of my
(06:43):
buddies was presenting inconstruction there, and he can
talk amazingly, but I had thespreadsheets and the PDFs and
all that, so he asked me to help'em out.
I did.
I went there, gave my spew andmet people there.
I started learning.
If you buy a 12 unit apartmentcomplex, for example, like we
did, it's all the same.
You do one or two, everything'sthe same.
(07:05):
From there, copy and paste.
Yep.
Same amount of paint, sameamount of flooring, same amount,
toilets, same paint scheme, sameeverything.
So it was just, so much easierthan the houses I'm doing that
are 2000 square feet plus thatcould have framing issues,
window issues, whatnot.
It may take a little longer todo because of the volume.
But the return is drastically somuch more commercial wise.
(07:28):
And now you have the buyingpower too.
Now I can go to Home Depot andset up once every week or twice
a week.
I'm going there, saying I'mgonna be ordering for 12
apartments.
Here's what I need.
And the volume discounts and therelationships you build.
Are so much more thanresidential.
Ed Mathews (07:42):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And it's, like you were saying,the economies of scale are
fantastic.
so in terms of like materialsand all that, you mentioned
volume discounts.
How are you managing,'cause Iimagine, you also said something
about, having your own team now,and so how are you managing the
properties?
do you do that yourself or doyou outsource that?
Joao Macavilca (08:03):
So depending on the size, one biggest thing I've
noticed a lot is when I firststarted, I was not the best
property manager at all.
So then I hired a propertymanager who was, standard rate.
They've been doing it for years.
But as you grow, it's okay, Iknow I did something wrong.
Do I want to just put it behindme and go, or should I learn
more into it?
(08:23):
So I'm leaned back and forth andnow I'm back to the point where,
it's not as difficult as I'veseen.
It's just something I don'twanna do.
So there was a book I readcalled Who the How, and it tells
you to find the purse andeverything.
And that's what I started doing.
I was like, all right, productmanagement is a big factor.
It's not something I wanna do atall.
I don't wanna take those calls.
(08:44):
I don't wanna screen, butsomebody else may be better at
that than I am.
And I found people did that.
So now we're bringing thatin-house as well.
And that's gonna be a gamechanger.
'cause I'm not paying 10% to aproperty manager.
I'm not doing that stuff.
So I think it's important forall investors, even if you don't
want to do it construction, youmay not want to change a floor
(09:04):
joce.
You may not wanna install LVPflooring.
But you've gotta understand whatit takes to do that.
You gotta know how hard it is,what the issues may be, and at
least understand that beforesubbing it out or giving it
somebody else because now youhave knowledge into doing it.
Ed Mathews (09:20):
so talk me through the systems and the processes,
right?
'cause obviously you're one guyand there's only 24 hours in the
day and you require sleep, andI'm sure you like to go out and
have fun so I'm sure you're notworking 18 hours a day, right?
I hope you're not.
and so how do you get your teamto run the way you want them to
run?
Joao Macavilca (09:39):
the good thing there is I have my in-house
construction crew as well.
I've got a foreman in NorthCarolina.
I've got a foreman in SouthCarolina, and sometimes I'll
interchange'em depending on theproject.
So the good thing is they'vebeen with me for multiple years
and that's something that's alsohard to find in construction.
Like you'll hear the biggestheadache for a lot of investors
is the contract didn't show up.
This is happening, this is goingwrong, and it can really make or
(10:01):
break a deal.
So I'm very grateful that myguys have been with me for many
years.
I did recently change like mysheet rocker.
I found a great one for the lastseven, eight months.
He's awesome.
Really good down to earth andadded to the team, so we're good
there.
But pretty much the process issimilar, like I'll go walk it,
the property kind of a, I use anapp called Cubicasa,
(10:22):
C-U-B-I-C-A-S-A.
Okay.
And it just, you walk around thewhole house, the apartment,
whatever you wanna do, and itscans everything for you.
It scans it, and then that way Ihave an idea and then I suit it
over to myself.
It takes about 24 hours for thefree version.
To make a floor plan and then Itake my pictures, my videos,
because I may have ideas whileI'm walking it, but a day or a
(10:43):
week later I may forget littlethings.
So take pictures and videos.
Yep.
Make sure you get the idea ofwhat you want to do.
And before you start anything onany project, it doesn't matter
if some apartment or a house,you gotta run the cops.
Yep.
You don't wanna put quartzcountertop in an area that's up
and coming and doesn't needthat.
Yep.
You don't wanna put stainlesssteel appliance in that you
wanna make sure you're followingthe comps.
(11:05):
You're doing it that way,otherwise you can overpay for
something and now you're overleveraged.
Yep.
So find what's going on, findwhat's growing, follow those
comms.
Do it that way.
And I like doing one color forall my units, so whatever color
the ceiling is, same as thebaseboard of the doors and the
walls.
That way when there's aturnover, do it again and do it
(11:26):
that way easier versus losingtwo, three days on covering
this.
it's a rental.
It's not a personal home, it'snot an Airbnb.
They need that special touch.
We just need to make sure it'sgood quality and get it rented
out.
Ed Mathews (11:39):
Clean and safe.
Joao Macavilca (11:40):
Everyone has their orders.
Like my property manager, thein-house now, simple as it was
probably a good week of justheadaches of, Hey, I do this.
Now it's flowing.
Now I'm just getting emails andtexts of, we've got three more
leads today.
We've got two more people thatwanna see it and great, good to
hear.
I don't want to, respond tothose, but lemme know how it
(12:01):
goes.
So now I don't have to worryabout that.
It's more money coming into thebusiness and overall easier.
Ed Mathews (12:07):
Operational leverage is a huge win when you figure
out'cause letting go is hard.
Oh yeah.
So how did you get over thathump?
Because I, having experiencedthat myself, I'm a fellow
control freak.
How did you let go?
Joao Macavilca (12:22):
That's one of the hardest things, man.
'Cause when you start as anentrepreneur or working for
yourself, it's, you areeverything.
You're the admin, you're thesecretary, you're the manager,
you're the foreman, you'reeverything.
You're the property manager.
And That helps build who you areand where you need to be.
you need to have that in you.
But when you gotta let go iswhen there's too many projects
going on and something on myside, one project's being
(12:43):
delayed because I'm taking timeto answer questions for
something else that I shouldn'tbe or that I don't need to.
So it was hard for me to let goof some things because I'm gonna
do it the right way.
I'm gonna spend extra time.
But one thing we gotta realize,and a lot of, who was it?
I think it was my foreman toldme, he's Hey I don't envy you.
I know you've got a lot ofstuff, but.
(13:04):
Your phone's always ringing.
Sometimes you're, you're talkingto me and then you're, Brian
goes somewhere else.
And I was like, yeah, you'reright.
You guys are lucky because oncethat clock is 5 36, you're done
for the day.
My phone can ring till nine, 10o'clock, and even if it doesn't,
my mind can go from, holy crap,we could do this differently
during dinner or during a movieafter hours and mind's always
(13:27):
going so.
Yeah.
So that book helped a lot.
Who not how Find the rightperson, put'em in the right
spot.
Yeah.
Someone that you can groom andstrength the way you need it
done.
And it just helped me so muchwhere I can now focus on what I
need to focus on.
And I'm reading another booknow, which is amazing.
(13:47):
It's a Who's in Your Room?
And that has also I'm not donewith it, I'm halfway there.
But that was, that's.
Ed Mathews (13:54):
A
Joao Macavilca (13:54):
answering questions.
Ed Mathews (13:55):
That's a new one.
And we'll put that on the listof books.
Joao Macavilca (13:57):
the right person, to help you focus that
things you're great at.
Ed Mathews (14:01):
Yeah.
Because a lot of entrepreneursmake the mistake of thinking,
okay, I'm gonna hire Ed, and Edis gonna be 80% of what I'm
capable of doing, which is gonnahave to be good enough.
Then Ed joins the team and itturns out he's actually better
at it than you ever were becausehe's focused on it for one
thing.
but also he's been doing this awhile.
You're the one that interviewedhim.
You've been able to vet him andmake sure that guy knows what
(14:22):
he's doing and, the amount offree time and energy that you
get back to go do the otherthings you need to do, which
we're gonna talk about next.
Worth every penny.
Joao Macavilca (14:35):
It's been a game changer.
It's more, controlled andeasier.
Yep.
I just kept to hop on a call.
If it's an emergency call, I'lltake it, sure.
But otherwise it's like a, it'sa Friday, call it be other
Friday.
Hey, here's what's going on,here's what we got.
Okay, cool.
Let's keep moving.
Ed Mathews (14:48):
Blood, flood or fire call me.
Other than that, send me a textor an email.
We're good.
Joao Macavilca (14:53):
Exactly.
Ed Mathews (14:53):
Yeah.
Right on.
okay, so in terms of, whatyou're doing now, now that
you're freed up and you'recontrolling and managing that
operation, but you're notswinging a hammer, what's your
focus day to day?
Joao Macavilca (15:05):
So just looking for more jobs, making sure
things are actually fall intoplace.
Like we've got a property comingonline.
Any day this week.
I think we're having issues withthe MLS North Carolina specific.
You need floral plans you need.
So that was something I was notaware of.
So we're getting that situated.
we're working on a hugecommercial deal coming up soon,
so speaking with the countyinspectors, making sure you're
(15:27):
on the good side and justfinding out what the issues were
before, what their expectationsare going forward, and just make
sure you're doing it the rightway.
Right on.
So just, doing things that Ilike to do and I'm good at
versus trying to do a little bitof everything.
Ed Mathews (15:40):
Yeah.
And it's, I think it's not onlyis it whether you're good at it
or not, but also do you have thetime and energy, right?
Because even if you're good atit, but you only have time to
do, a certain level of job interms of standards, that's gonna
be restricting as well.
So in terms of where you'retaking the business, what's,
(16:01):
what does, five, 10 years downthe road look like?
Joao Macavilca (16:25):
five, 10 years down the road?
I wanna say not as busy, butthat the last few years and
every time say it's kinda like ajinx it where can't get busier
than now something else.
Bigger hits, biggeropportunities, more stuff.
so I'm hoping it's more.
Relaxed and just on autopilot,and I can just take calls and
hop on meetings here and thereand just be able to enjoy more.
(16:49):
And I'm very grateful for what Ihave today and what I've been
able to do.
So just less involved and moreoversight is where I want to go.
Ed Mathews (16:57):
I love it.
So a business owner instead ofan operator, right?
Yeah.
There you go.
It's Kiyosaki 1 0 1 man.
Joao Macavilca (17:04):
There you go.
That's the whole goal.
Ed Mathews (17:06):
Alright, cool.
okay, so let's move to the finalfive.
I'm always interested in leaderslike you, and folks that are in
your business, in your position.
You get up on Monday morning,the mortgage is paid for.
Car payments are really, they'reeither non-existent or they're
handled.
You've got all the things you'resupposed, you're doing as a
(17:26):
person in your family, so yourfamily's taken care of.
and nevertheless, you get up andyou go to work, right?
So that tells me it's not aboutmoney anymore, it's about
something else.
I call it purpose.
So what.
What gets you outta bed onMonday morning?
What's your purpose?
Joao Macavilca (17:43):
So it gets me outta bed Monday morning.
It's pretty much just the lifeI've been able to create, the
experience I've been able tohave, working that nine to five.
Being in real estate is a wholedifferent ballgame, so I don't
get that standard, 40 hour weekpaycheck anymore.
The more the better property Ibuy or the more I put into it,
the bigger return I get.
Not only do I get that reficheck at the end or something,
(18:05):
but I get monthly rentals,income.
Yep.
I get appreciation.
I can write off in tax wise, Iget appreciation on the property
over the years I've been able togo to, Thailand, Columbia, what
else did we go?
I can't remember.
Europe, Greece, Italy, Rome.
I've able to take my family withme.
So these are things that was notpossible without real estate
(18:27):
being involved.
And yeah, be able to grow thingsand be able to do things like
that.
Like I, I wanna keep having thatlifestyle provide for my family,
make sure we're all okay, andbreak that gap that we had as,
just standard nine to fives.
Ed Mathews (18:40):
Yeah.
Right on.
it's amazing how yourperspective changes when you're
able to do those things,
Joao Macavilca (18:45):
Yeah.
Ed Mathews (18:45):
Yeah.
Joao Macavilca (18:46):
I can get a brand new iPhone.
But that experience, going toThailand and, going to a like
elephant sanctuary with myfamily.
You never mimic that again ortake that away.
Ed Mathews (18:55):
Yeah.
But the iPhone, you're gonnareplace in two or three, a
couple years.
Exactly.
but being able to take yourfamily to Thailand is amazing
for you and for them.
That's awesome.
Alright I'm also interested inhow, growth, right?
So when you're coming up, youmentioned Mike Eley, I'm sure
you've had other mentors aswell.
(19:16):
I'm curious about the bestadvice you ever got and who was
the person who gave it to you?
Joao Macavilca (19:21):
Best advice ever got.
I would have to say.
It was from Nate Barger, who'sone of Mike's partners.
His background is construction.
he just told me, if you reallywant it, you're gonna find a way
to get it.
Like you can do it.
But when I first met him, I had2, 4, 6 properties and Ran into
(19:43):
him in the hall and he took thetime to talk to me and asked me,
what does he wanna do?
I told him I wanted, be likeyou, I wanna have a lot of
properties, I wanna grow andeverything.
And he just flat out asked me,what's stopping you?
Oh I've gotta do this project.
And he is no, like you're makingexcuses, like what's stopping
you?
And I was like, oh it's hard tofind him And he's I'll pull up
the phone right now.
(20:03):
I'll find you five or six deals.
You can do it.
You're just making excusesbecause you're comfortable.
It's not as much like you gottaget uncomfortable.
You have to go get it.
You really want it.
Go get it.
It really hit me.
And$90 later it worked.
I'm about to do another bigdeal.
Hopefully I can announce it inthe next two weeks or so.
(20:24):
it's just gonna be a gamechanger.
It's something you know, youwant for, and, we all pray for
things and want things, but wegotta remember those times where
we had nothing or a little bit,and we asked for the opportunity
we have in front of us now.
That's why, you have beentalking my other buddies who are
entrepreneurs.
It's busy.
It's crazy.
Yeah.
There was a time when we firststarted and we had almost
nothing and we prayed for thiskind of busyness.
(20:46):
So we gotta see advantage ofthat and do something with it.
So I would put a lot of what Ihave to Nate Barger and what
he's done for me.
Ed Mathews (20:55):
Awesome.
You're running around, workinghard, working long hours, and,
you probably make 20 decisions aday without a doubt, we learn
way more from our mistakes thanwe do from our successes.
So I'm curious about a decisionthat you made, along the way
that you look back on now andgo, man, I wish I had that one
back.
(21:15):
And what did you do about it?
Joao Macavilca (21:19):
So decision I made, I wish, go back.
Just a few of them.
A lot of them go with underbudgeting of assuming, yeah,
it's gonna cost me 50,000 torenovate this property with a
10,000 extra just for buffer.
So 60.
And then something comes upthat, you break this wall, you
find this out, or something elsegoes wrong.
I've increased that recently to25%.
Worst case, I use it.
(21:40):
I'm still within budget, doesn'taffect the plan.
Best case I don't use it, andnow I'm under budget and there's
more return for the profit.
but another big mistake would benot starting sooner, like
waiting for the right time.
Yep.
Just being nervous and oh, I'llwait.
I don't need another one thisyear.
And, then unfortunately checkingback a year or two later, what
is it worth today?
(22:00):
I'm like, ah, could have gotthat one.
But just not starting so, andthen not preparing for, the what
ifs.
Ed Mathews (22:07):
Yeah.
I'll tell you, I read Kiyosaki,rich Dad, poor Dad in 2008.
A buddy of mine gave it to meand fundamentally changed my
life.
it took me three years to pullthe trigger, right?
Because same thing, I was afraidI didn't wanna make mistakes.
I didn't want to blow whatlittle capital I had, all the
reasons.
I was really good at makingexcuses.
(22:27):
I tell the story about a brokerwho basically, I'm a foot taller
than her, but scared hell outtame.
and I'm pretty sure shethreatened my life if I didn't
sign the contract.
and I did.
And, it worked out really well.
Good.
That's awesome, man.
Sounds like Nate, yourconversation with Nate was a
little more, encouraging.
Mine was terrifying.
But, that's all good.
Joao Macavilca (22:46):
Just called me out on all the bullshit.
Ed Mathews (22:48):
Yeah, exactly.
that's it.
so I'm curious about, youmentioned Mike and I know his
course, He, he's incrediblygenerous with, he and Nate, and
the rest of those guys areincredibly generous with what
they do.
Actually, he just wrote a bookthat I'm in the middle of.
I just got it.
I almost said I'm in the middleof reading.
I'm not, it's actually sittingright here and, I can't wait to
read it.
It is on my list of books next.
(23:08):
So if you haven't read it, or ifyou have read it, don't tell me
how it ends.
All right.
But I'm curious about the booksor, how you take in information.
are you an audio book guy, ahardcover book guy?
do podcasts or YouTube, like,how do you get smarter in doing
what you do?
And it's a little bit, who areyou paying attention to is the
other question?
Joao Macavilca (23:28):
it's a little bit of everything.
Pretty much.
when I first started I was just,reading a book because I can.
I can sit down.
TV doesn't have be on, I had tofocus on the book.
So I gave my a hundred percentfocus on the book.
And like you said, it was risk,poor.
That was my first one.
I was given to me by myaccountant who said, Hey, you
need to, learn more aboutfinances.
So it gave me the book and thesecond time I read it is when it
(23:50):
clicked for me.
And that was about a year later.
So that's when it all clickedand started making sense to me.
so I read, I like to read books,however, I got one project
that's two hours away.
I've got another one that's anhour and a half the other way.
And, at that time I can't read.
So I do audio books and I try tomake sure it's, books that I
wanna read or that I alreadyhave on the shelf so I can
revisit it or see a differentway.
(24:12):
and podcasts as well, if I don'twanna listen to books every
single day, so maybe I need abreak here and there, just, I
may not be talking to somebody,but it's people sitting and
having a conversation aboutsomething you can relate to
BiggerPockets has good podcasts.
Yep.
but I like the audio books themost because I can pause it, go
back, see it, and then just, seewhat else is recommended.
And that's how I found the,who's in your room?
(24:33):
It's just by all the books, allthe real estate books.
I've got business books.
That's one that was popped up.
And I was like, let me Google itand read a little bit about the
reviews and what it entails,
Ed Mathews (24:42):
Good.
I'm, like I said, it just mademy list.
I'll be sure to get on it.
and I'm an audio guy too, so I'mencouraged that it sounds like
that one's on Audible, so thankGod.
Yeah.
cool.
so at the end of the day, one ofthe things That I think a lot of
people think about is theconcept of enough.
And so I'm curious, a lot ofpeople define that as success,
(25:06):
and so I'm curious, how do youdefine success in your life
today, and what do you thinkthat looks like down the road?
Joao Macavilca (25:13):
So success for me is basically defined by
freedom.
if I want to go to Mexicotomorrow, I'm going tomorrow.
I can do what I want when Iwant.
I don't have to put in a PTOrequest, right?
And pray that John isn't off thesame week or that it's a
inventory week or whatever thecase is.
(25:34):
I'm not needed to be somewhereimmediately where I can choose.
You know what?
It's been a crazy week.
It's Wednesday.
It's going, take a trip downhere real quick and do what I
want.
I have to worry about that.
So I got my phone with me, mylaptop.
I can go where I want and visitwhere I want.
And I just think freedom is thebiggest thing to control your
time.
Do what you want, when you want,and it not be detrimental to
(25:57):
your finances where, okay, thisis my last 3000, we're gonna go
to Mexico and have a ball.
Now it's Hey, I don't need tocheck this account.
I don't need to save.
I can just go and experience theworld and live my life and not
be controlled by, clocking in orclocking out.
Awesome.
Ed Mathews (26:14):
Yeah.
Time freedom is a beautifulthing.
Joao when you, are not thinkingabout real estate, although I
suspect that's a lot of yourday, what do you like to do for
fun other than travel?
Joao Macavilca (26:24):
travel to fun.
Barbecue.
I like to test new recipes out.
just recently, maybe two monthsago, found out about cowboy
butter and it is my go-to sofar.
So I like to barbecue, I like tofish.
I like to go on the boat andjust relax and yeah.
have fun on the lake and I liketo work out, get a lot of stress
out and things like that.
(26:44):
And just enjoy life.
We all need money.
we all need things to keepmoving, we've also got limited
time.
So we wanna make sure you'reenjoying it.
Ed Mathews (26:52):
It's wise.
Yeah.
You only get so many summers,right?
so how can people learn aboutyou or, your construction
business or your capitalbusiness?
What's the best way to get intouch?
Joao Macavilca (27:03):
probably Instagram or Facebook.
Facebook is my first name andlast name.
Instagram is,@Joaomac_stf.
Just shoot a dm, reach out,schedule a call, whatever you
wanna do.
If I got projects ongoing andsomeone's local that wants to
come visit, schedule a day andwalk through it and ask every
question you've got.
Ed Mathews (27:22):
Awesome.
If, like I said before westarted recording, I got family
down there.
So next time I'm down in theCarolinas, you can expect a DM
from me, although I have yourcell phone, so I'll just call
you.
really nice to meet you.
Congratulations on all yoursuccess and continued good
fortune.
Joao Macavilca (27:36):
Thank you man.
Ed Mathews (27:37):
Appreciate the time.
Joao Macavilca (27:37):
Yep, me too.
Ed Mathews (27:42):
This has been the Real Estate Underground.
Don't forget to rate, review,and subscribe.
It helps us grow.
Until next time, undergrounders, remember, your real
estate journey begins with asimple step forward.
Now get to it.
Bye for now.
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