October 17, 2025 • 22 mins
I SURVIVED REAL ESTATE 2025
The Norris Group Presents: The 18th Annual I Survived Real Estate – LIVE at the Nixon Presidential Library
The Norris Group’s award-winning black-tie gala, I Survived Real Estate, returns for its 18th year. Since 2008, I Survived Real Estate has supported Make-A-Wish OC & IE—and thanks to your generosity, we’ve now raised over $1.2 million for children in need
This year’s backdrop?
A California housing market still starved for inventory, mortgage rates hovering above comfort zones, affordability hitting generational lows, inflation and tariffs. Add in global uncertainty, sticky inflation, and the ever-watchful eye of the Federal Reserve—and you’ve got a landscape full of questions.
- Inventory Drought: California’s housing supply remains critically low
- Rate Pressure: Mortgage rates linger well above buyer comfort zones
- Priced Out: Affordability has collapsed to generational lows
- Global Tensions: War, tariffs, and instability rattle investor confidence
- Inflation’s Grip: Costs remain stubbornly high, squeezing margins
- Tariff Troubles: Rising import costs could ripple through construction and development
- All Eyes on the Fed: Every rate hint could send shockwaves through the market
Our expert panel brings top minds in economics, investing, and housing to help us prepare for what’s next. I Survived Real Estate was born from crisis, with a mission to unite thought leaders, give back, and guide our industry forward.
In this episode:
- Bruce Norris, Tony Alvarez, and Peter Fortunato bring decades of experience and distinct investment philosophies.
- Why low rates don’t always translate to market growth?
- Market Outlook: Cautious optimism from Bruce Norris backed by historical trends suggesting a potential flat cycle.
- Creative Financing with Peter Fortunato: How long-term relationships and deal structure create lasting opportunity.
- Market Confidence with Tony Alvarez: The importance of hyper-local focus and truly understanding value.
- Relationship Capital: How business deals can become foundations for lifelong partnerships.
- Advice for New Investors: Mindset, strategy, and connection over quick wins.
The Norris Group originates and services loans in California and Florida under California DRE License 01219911, Florida Mortgage Lender License 1577, and NMLS License 1623669. For more information on hard money lending, go www.thenorrisgroup.com and click the Hard Money tab.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Narrator (00:01):
Welcome to The Norris Group real estate podcast, a
show committed to bringing youinsights from thought leaders
shaping the real estateindustry. In each episode, we'll
dive into conversations withindustry experts and local
insiders, all aimed at helpingyou thrive in an ever-changing
real estate market. continuingthe legacy that Bruce Norris
(00:24):
created, sharing valuableknowledge, and empowering you on
your real estate journey.
Whether you're a seasoned pro ora newcomer, this is your go-to
source for insider tips, markettrends and success strategies.
Here's your host, Craig Evans.
Joey Romero (00:45):
The Norris Group is proud to present our 18th annual
gala. I Survived Real Estate atThe Nixon Presidential Library
on Friday, September 12. Since2008, our event has raised well
over a million dollars. Thisyear, we'll be raising funds
again from Make-A-Wish OC andIE. Individual Tickets are
available now. To get yourtickets, go to
isurviverealestate.com click thelink here in the card. We would
(01:08):
like to thank the followingplatinum sponsors, uDirectIRA
Services, The San Diego CreativeInvestors Association,
DouglasBrooke Homes, MVTProductions, Realty411, and DBL
Capital.
Craig Evans (01:25):
All right.
Everybody ready for the, I guessthe second half of the show?
We'll see how long I talk beforeeverybody starts listening,
right? Feel like I'm with afifth grade class that we're
trying to herd cats in here. Iseverybody having a good time
tonight? Come on, that's thebest you got. Is everybody
having a good time tonight? Howwas the first panel? Doug Duncan
(01:49):
and Oscar Wei and Dan Wallach.
That was incredible to heartheir insights and to hear their
their passion for what they do.
So listen, here we go. We'regoing to start out with a
second, the second half of it,and what we're going to be
talking are, the people on thispanel are people that when Joey
(02:09):
and I began to talk aboutthings, was putting together the
best of the best. I wanted tosee 50 years of investors on
stage, and I wanted to heartheir insights, right? Because,
listen, here's the thing I wantyou to hear. I just met a
gentleman that's 18 years oldand has been in real estate
(02:32):
investing three months. I knowAl Womble that used to play with
Jesus, and he's been in realestate forever, right? So we've
got both ends of the spectrumhere, and that's no disres-.
Listen, that's what this room isabout. You've got people that
are just starting, and you'vegot people that have been in it
for decades, and we're here tolearn from each other. So
(02:55):
tonight, for the next panel,again, we're going to bring
someone that needs nointroduction, Bruce, which is
already trying to sneak to thestage. So come on out. You're
already sneaking up here. So wegot Bruce Norris, again. Give
him a hand. Then I've gotsomeone that I met through Bruce
first year that has become agood friend, Tony Alvarez. Tony
(03:16):
made his fortune in one ofSouthern California's toughest
markets, buying, rehabbing andselling hundreds of properties,
from land to commercialbuildings. Tony has turned
distressed deals into remarkablesuccess stories, and continues
to share his lessons withinvestors nationwide. Tony
Alvarez, or as I call him, UncleTony.
Tony Alvarez (03:46):
You guys think that we own the stage?
Craig Evans (03:48):
All right, just so you know, there's no telling of
what's coming out of Tony'smouth tonight. So, all right,
last, and definitely not least,a gentleman that I just got to
meet this weekend, it has been apleasure and an honor to meet
and talk and to hear how heviews things in life, especially
from real estate. PeterFortunato, for nearly five
(04:10):
decades, Peter has beenstructuring, that's right. I
don't know if I even need to sayanything. Six decades, he's
correcting. He's like, don'tsteal that last decade from me.
Ladies and gentlemen, PeterFortunato.
These guys are going to take afew minutes longer to sit down,
because they're, they got alittle more age on them there.
(04:32):
All right, I want to getstarted, Bruce. I want to start
with you. I'm going to sit onthe edge of this chair this
time, so hopefully I don't fallbackwards in the kitty chair
here.
Bruce Norris (04:52):
It might be your weight. I don't know. I'm
messing with you, because I wasafraid to sit in that chair too.
Like, what's gonna happen?
Craig Evans (05:01):
Alright, Bruce, you've nailed some of the most
important calls in Californiareal estate over the last couple
decades. What signals are youwatching right now that the
investors in this room should bepaying attention to?
Bruce Norris (05:18):
I think most people think that when interest
rates go down, you're going tohave a good reaction in the real
estate market. Problem with thatis that if you look over the
last 50 years, you have thatreplicated three other times
where you had an end of a cycleand then you had interest rates
go down, and actually nothingreally good happens in the next
(05:41):
two years, because people's moodis not excited about real estate
and the affordability number isvery low. And you're if you're
expecting things to turn aroundand prices to accelerate, that
means the Mood-O-Meter is goingto accelerate when it's almost
at its peak all time. And I justdon't think, since that's never
(06:01):
occurred. I mean, that's how Ithink, has that ever occurred?
The answer is no, not in 50years. So the mood of the
participant is going to rule,and you're probably going to
have a pretty flat market,because you still have all those
people that have 3% mortgagesare going to go nowhere. But I
don't think the outcome is goingto be super and I wish it was.
(06:23):
I've got some new houses forsale, so I, gosh, I hope prices
go up by 10% but there's nohistory of that.
Craig Evans (06:30):
So Pete, everybody knows you're the master of
creative financing and creativedeals. So you built your career
on structuring creative deals.
What's one strategy that, as youcorrected me, that you've been
in this for six decades now.
What's one strategy that youused six decades ago that is
(06:52):
still that you view is stillrelevant today?
Pete Fortunato (06:56):
The season, you're. All right.
Craig Evans (06:59):
You gotta. Now, you know this, you got to talk into
those...
Pete Fortunato (07:04):
Anyway. It's, the strategy I use. Is I care
about the person I'm talking to.
I find out what's going on intheir life, and I help solve
problems. I ease the troublethat people are facing. I always
like to tell people. I say tosomebody, 'Why would you sell a
nice house like this?' And Idiscover something's changed in
their life. There's someuncomfortable circumstance, and
(07:26):
I am going to fix it. I am goingto give them alternatives. And
there's no such thing as animpossible deal, but there are
impossible people, so thatsometimes when you just have to
walk away. But that's not mygoal, and I will continue to try
to fix it, and sometimes theyhave no idea what I'm trying to
(07:47):
do, but I will never stoptrying. I'm going to try to make
a deal where somebody is betteroff because of me, and because
capitalism works. Every time youdo business with somebody else,
you make a friend because yougive them something they like
better, and they give yousomething you like better. And
so capitalism works. That's why,when you talk about any kind of
(08:10):
government program, it's alwaysevil. We had that...
Craig Evans (08:18):
I think this is probably relevant now. Tony, you
know, you built your wealth, andI've listened to you over the
last five years of knowing you.
You built your wealth in one ofthe toughest markets in Antelope
Valley. What gave you theconfidence to buy? Because, you
know, we've got people right nowsay, 'Do we buy now? Do we sit
on the sidelines and wait? Do wesell? Do we hope?' You know,
(08:41):
what gave you the confidence atthat time when you're buying in
Antelope Valley, and everythingthat was going on, then, what
gave you the confidence to buywhen everyone else was running
the opposite direction?
Tony Alvarez (08:59):
Well, I think the foundation of the answer to that
question is understanding valuewithin a given market. You know,
you don't have to know the wholeUnited States. You don't have to
know, it's important to knowwhat's going on nationally,
obviously. But when it comes tobuying, I've always worked in
very small geographic markets,what I call it, my target
(09:21):
market, right? But understandingthe values, I figured out early
on that if I knew what realvalue was in the real estate
market that I was working in,quickly, if I could identify
that, then I could move withconfidence. I didn't have to
think about it. I didn't have tothink, do I really know what I'm
(09:42):
doing? Or, you know I wasn't,there was no fear involved.
Because fear disappears, whenyou know something and you know
it, like Bruce would know hisnumbers. Or when Peter sits down
to talk to somebody and he knowswhat he's setting, what his
intention is, in other words,he's going to solve a problem
in. All he has to do is hear it,right? So when I went out to the
(10:03):
Antelope Valley, it wasn't thatdifficult, okay, because houses
that were costing, at that pointin time, I know most of you will
think this is nuts, but youknow, it would cost to build a
house $100,000 at that point inthat market, and I was looking
at a purchase price of $35,000and no one wanted it. So it
(10:25):
didn't take a genius, because Icould rent that house out, and I
knew the rental market at 850bucks. So it wasn't a question
of whether I should buy it ornot. It was how quickly I was
going to buy it and how many Iwas going to get, right? So so
that's a conversation you havewith yourself. You don't have to
talk to anybody else. I didn'thave to call an agent and ask
(10:47):
them. Agent and ask them theywere already in the market,
frustrated because nobody wantedthese houses. So I just went,
you know, and I can make thenumbers work even with hard
money lenders, with their ratesand stuff like that. So it was
really understanding the valuewithin my target market. But
over time, I kind of synthesizeas a result of Bruce asking me
later, many years later, tospeak about this. He said, you
(11:09):
know, 'What did you do? How didyou get this done?' And I really
hadn't thought about it, but Isat down and I kind of
synthesized this, the steps thatI took, and it boiled down to
basically what I labeled 'theGPS', having a specific Goal,
having Systems, you know, havinga Plan. So GPS, Goal, Plan
Systems. Systems were the dailyactions I had to take,
(11:31):
regardless of whether I was inthe mood or not. So, you know,
it just, it's, it's not adifficult thing, but
understanding the values in mytarget market is at the head of
the game. That's at the bottomof everything. If you don't know
that, you got to go do somethingelse, you know, if you're not
willing to commit to reallyunderstanding, that's the basic
(11:53):
thing. So that would be probablythe number one thing that gave
me the confidence to then talkto somebody about financing, you
know, pull the trigger on aprice that I was willing to pay
and not care about what somebodyelse is in, you know, the
counter offer and this and that.
And, you know, that became justa game that I would move, you
know, I would change my numberto whatever I thought was worth
(12:16):
doing. There were ridiculousnumbers at that time, though,
you know, I mean, oh, he wants,I would offer 30,000 on it, and
then they would come back andsay, no, 32. So I'm going to
argue about this. I want you toknow there were times where I
did argue about that, and I lostthe deal, believe it or not. And
Sabrina, my assistant, has neverstopped reminding me of all
(12:38):
those houses. You know, $400,000and we drive by, remember that
one when you screwed up because,the $5,000 that you argued about
with the guy? No. So anyways, Ihope I answered your question.
Bruce Norris (12:51):
it's not going to come up. What Tony does is bring
build lifelong team partners byobserving something. So he just
told me a story today whilewe're in the same van. But you
know what it is. He observedthat the guy that owned the
(13:13):
company was trying to sellchocolate bars for his kid, and
he noticed that the employeeswere complaining about having to
buy them, and so Tony, on hisown, said, how many do you have?
And he bought them all withoutever meeting the owner yet, and
then he gave them all to thepeople that worked for the
(13:36):
company. Then he meets theowner, and while he's into the
first meeting with the owner,people keep coming to the door
and saying, opening door, saying'Thanks for the chocolate bar'.
That happened five times. Andhe's like, 'What the heck
happened?' So he calls the girlat the front and says, 'The guy
with you bought four dozen ofthem and gave them away'. And
(13:59):
the guy tears up when he hangsup the phone. And Tony Alvarez
has a source of properties forthe rest of his life. He's still
friends with him, by the way.
Tony Alvarez (14:09):
Yeah, that's Don Anderson, in case you guys want
to check it out. Okay, he movedto Idaho, but we're still
friends. I danced at hisdaughter's wedding, and she
named me. She's the one whonamed me, Uncle Tony. For those
of you who've been around withme for a long time to know that
little tagline. His daughter andhis son named me Uncle Tony
because they all saw, you knowhow kids sell those chocolate
bars to go to some trip,wherever the heck it is, and,
(14:30):
yeah, Bruce is right. We werejust discussing this today, but
I was saying that sometimesopportunities presented
themselves like that. Now we'renot talking about some secret
weapon tactic that you're goingto use to find deals or AI or
something, you know, right? SoPeter's talking about
relationships with people, andthat's true. I overlook those
things a lot of times, becauseit's such a natural course of
(14:54):
events for me, like it is forPeter, right?
Bruce Norris (14:56):
You care, you care for people. Well, of course,
yeah.
Tony Alvarez (14:58):
Well, look, I don't care when the robots are
going to start coming. But ifyou lose your ability to connect
with other human beings, you'reat a huge disadvantage, because
you, in my opinion, you work,you try to find the most
difficult way to make thingshappen. Now I know that there's
some people out there that areon the internet. Hear about it
all the time, some young guysout on Facebook selling the new
(15:19):
fangled, you know, way to buyproperty all the way across the
United States. You don't knowanybody, and you can rent them
out Section 8. And you could doit on some website. And I've
read, I don't know if you guys,I've had 100 Section 8 units,
believe you me, that ain'thappening. Okay, I don't care
what anybody else says, butyeah, relationships, you got one
(15:40):
life you're going to live rightas far as I know, haven't heard
anything different. So I'm goingto live it the way I think it's
going to be the most rewardingfor me and for someone else. So
that's every relationship, everycontact that I make, I try to, I
try to make that happen.
Bruce Norris (15:54):
That's the secret to Tony.
Tony Alvarez (15:58):
But you've been talking about that since before
I was born. I think because I'ma lot like younger than you,
yeah.
Pete Fortunato (16:04):
But indeed, the allies you make when you make a
deal are the most valuable thingyou take from that closing. And
that's why it's so foolish tosee people, it's so sad to see
people who bought something andnever talked to the seller
again, have sold something,never talked to the buyer again.
Have borrowed money, never goneback, rented to a tenant. I have
(16:26):
people get shocked that when Ibought my fourth house, I
borrowed the 10,000 cash Ineeded from my tenant my second
house, they can't believe that Ihad that really, that I talked
to her I knew she had money inthe bank. I said I'd rather have
wealthy tenants than poortenants. You should get 9% not
3% and she lent me the money tobuy my fourth property, my
(16:49):
tenant, my second house.
Craig Evans (16:50):
So, all right, so I'm gonna turn into Dr Phil here
for a second. I'm goingcompletely off script here. So,
and this is why it's interestingto me. You know, I've got my
daughter here tonight, Addison,I just met a young man that's 18
years old. He's been in realestate investing for three
months, and said this is thecareer I want. Yep, stand up for
(17:10):
me. Stand up. If everybody inthe room can pour into that
young man. That's the thing wegot to do. But here's the thing
I want to, you know, like, Iliterally, I watch guys at this
age, right? My daughter's age,I'm sorry, tell her your name
again? Glenn, at their age, I'mwatching them to literally text
(17:32):
the person next door to them.
'Hey, do you want to go getsomething to eat?' Texting back,
'Yes'. We've got Gen Z, and nowwe're in the Gen, alpha and beta
and whatever, right, all thegenerations that are coming.
This is exactly why I wantedthis. I don't care the questions
I wrote. I want to know, how dowe teach people coming behind
(17:55):
us? You know, you know my faithand the Bible tells me that I'm
supposed to pour into peoplethat are younger than me, the
older is supposed to teach theyounger so and we'll get into
strategies and all that. If eachof you could have one legitimate
thing that you would encourageyounger people to do, to build
(18:17):
relationships. They can't. Youcan't take the cheat sheet and
say, 'Get off your cell phone'.
That's that's way too easy,right? What would the one thing
you would encourage a younginvestor getting into real
estate to do? How can we getthem out of a data world and
(18:40):
into, 'I know this man'.
Bruce Norris (18:42):
Okay, can I go first on that?
Craig Evans (18:44):
Absolutely.
Bruce Norris (18:46):
It'll take a minute. But I worked for a
company for three months, and Ididn't enjoy it because he
didn't treat people well. So Iwent out on my own, and I had a
life changing experience threemonths into me being on my own,
I sat across from somebody thathad called on my ad, and I made
him an offer, and he was like,so not there, so distant. And it
(19:08):
bothered me. And actually, youknow that, like the hair on your
neck goes up, that actuallyhappened. I said, you know, 'I
don't want to talk to about yourhouse anymore. Are you okay?'
And he looked at me, reallysurprised that I asked that. And
he said, 'No, I'm not'. I said,'Okay, I don't want to talk to
you about your house anymore'.
And I went to my car, and I hadbought 10 books, same book,
Greatest Miracle In The World,written by Og Mandino. And I had
(19:31):
read the book, and I loved it.
And so I came back and I gavehim the book. I said, 'I don't
want to talk to you about yourhouse anymore, today, I want you
to read this book. If you won'tread the whole book, read the
chapter nine. It's called theGod memorandum. And in that
chapter, God says to you, youmay have forgot this, but you're
the greatest thing since slicedbread. So let me remind you
about that'. So the nextmorning, I knock on the door and
(19:54):
he opens it up, and he says, 'Iwant you to know that the book
you gave me saved my life. I wasgoing to sell you my house and
kill myself'. And then he gaveme the best gift you could give
to a guy that was 28 and juststarting, he said, 'I still want
to sell you my house. Becausewhat I realized, what I need, is
a fresh start'. And I went in, Iwent from thinking I got to
(20:16):
steal somebody's house to merealizing I could look to across
the table and see if there was afresh start that was needed, and
it changed everything. Because Iwasn't nervous, I wasn't
stressed. I was just sort oflike Pete I was looking for, and
there was plenty of times as 'Idon't understand why you're
selling? Why are you doingthat?' Now I'd get pushed back.
I even had, I did have a guyactually, 'You run an ad that
(20:40):
you're buying properties. You'retrying not to do it. Why are you
doing that?' Anyway, that's thething that I think when you care
about it, and you look acrossthe table, and if you have a
little experience, it helps,where you can actually benefit
the person, and it's almost likeyou don't care if you buy it or
not, and you'll probably getpeople to tell you the truth. I
(21:01):
think that's what happens. Ihave had so many sellers say I
don't know why I'm telling youthis. I've told no one this is
because they felt they couldtrust me, and they gave me the
information that I could use tosay I can solve this.
Craig Evans (21:16):
Okay, anybody next?
Pete Fortunato (21:21):
All right.
Joey Romero (21:22):
Don't forget to visit I survive real estate for
tickets to the event on Friday,September 12. The Norris group
would like to thank thefollowing gold sponsors,
Keystone CPA, the inland valleysAssociation of Realtors,
Pasadena Phoebe, the North SanDiego real estate investors
Association, la southea, NorCalRhea, The Wizard of the wobbly
(21:45):
box, Andy Teasley, shepherd'sfinance, the Thompson group,
property radar and White Housecatering. The dinner wine is
provided with a generouscontribution by Rick and Lee.
Ann Rossiter, hope see you allthere
Narrator (21:58):
for more information on hard money loans, trust deed
investing and upcoming eventswith the Norris group. Check out
the Norris group.com for moreinformation on passive investing
through the DBL capital RealEstate Investment Fund, please
visit DBL capital.com
Joey Romero (22:18):
the Norris group originates in services loans in
California and Florida under theCalifornia Dre license 01219911,
Florida mortgage lender license1577, and NMLS license 1623669,
for more information on hardmoney lending, go to the Norris
group com and click the hardmoney tab.
Welcome to The Norris Group real estate podcast, a
show committed to bringing youinsights from thought leaders
shaping the real estateindustry. In each episode, we'll
dive into conversations withindustry experts and local
insiders, all aimed at helpingyou thrive in an ever-changing
real estate market. continuingthe legacy that Bruce Norris
(00:24):
created, sharing valuableknowledge, and empowering you on
your real estate journey.
Whether you're a seasoned pro ora newcomer, this is your go-to
source for insider tips, markettrends and success strategies.
Here's your host, Craig Evans.
Joey Romero (00:45):
The Norris Group is proud to present our 18th annual
gala. I Survived Real Estate atThe Nixon Presidential Library
on Friday, September 12. Since2008, our event has raised well
over a million dollars. Thisyear, we'll be raising funds
again from Make-A-Wish OC andIE. Individual Tickets are
available now. To get yourtickets, go to
isurviverealestate.com click thelink here in the card. We would
(01:08):
like to thank the followingplatinum sponsors, uDirectIRA
Services, The San Diego CreativeInvestors Association,
DouglasBrooke Homes, MVTProductions, Realty411, and DBL
Capital.
Craig Evans (01:25):
All right.
Everybody ready for the, I guessthe second half of the show?
We'll see how long I talk beforeeverybody starts listening,
right? Feel like I'm with afifth grade class that we're
trying to herd cats in here. Iseverybody having a good time
tonight? Come on, that's thebest you got. Is everybody
having a good time tonight? Howwas the first panel? Doug Duncan
(01:49):
and Oscar Wei and Dan Wallach.
That was incredible to heartheir insights and to hear their
their passion for what they do.
So listen, here we go. We'regoing to start out with a
second, the second half of it,and what we're going to be
talking are, the people on thispanel are people that when Joey
(02:09):
and I began to talk aboutthings, was putting together the
best of the best. I wanted tosee 50 years of investors on
stage, and I wanted to heartheir insights, right? Because,
listen, here's the thing I wantyou to hear. I just met a
gentleman that's 18 years oldand has been in real estate
(02:32):
investing three months. I knowAl Womble that used to play with
Jesus, and he's been in realestate forever, right? So we've
got both ends of the spectrumhere, and that's no disres-.
Listen, that's what this room isabout. You've got people that
are just starting, and you'vegot people that have been in it
for decades, and we're here tolearn from each other. So
(02:55):
tonight, for the next panel,again, we're going to bring
someone that needs nointroduction, Bruce, which is
already trying to sneak to thestage. So come on out. You're
already sneaking up here. So wegot Bruce Norris, again. Give
him a hand. Then I've gotsomeone that I met through Bruce
first year that has become agood friend, Tony Alvarez. Tony
(03:16):
made his fortune in one ofSouthern California's toughest
markets, buying, rehabbing andselling hundreds of properties,
from land to commercialbuildings. Tony has turned
distressed deals into remarkablesuccess stories, and continues
to share his lessons withinvestors nationwide. Tony
Alvarez, or as I call him, UncleTony.
Tony Alvarez (03:46):
You guys think that we own the stage?
Craig Evans (03:48):
All right, just so you know, there's no telling of
what's coming out of Tony'smouth tonight. So, all right,
last, and definitely not least,a gentleman that I just got to
meet this weekend, it has been apleasure and an honor to meet
and talk and to hear how heviews things in life, especially
from real estate. PeterFortunato, for nearly five
(04:10):
decades, Peter has beenstructuring, that's right. I
don't know if I even need to sayanything. Six decades, he's
correcting. He's like, don'tsteal that last decade from me.
Ladies and gentlemen, PeterFortunato.
These guys are going to take afew minutes longer to sit down,
because they're, they got alittle more age on them there.
(04:32):
All right, I want to getstarted, Bruce. I want to start
with you. I'm going to sit onthe edge of this chair this
time, so hopefully I don't fallbackwards in the kitty chair
here.
Bruce Norris (04:52):
It might be your weight. I don't know. I'm
messing with you, because I wasafraid to sit in that chair too.
Like, what's gonna happen?
Craig Evans (05:01):
Alright, Bruce, you've nailed some of the most
important calls in Californiareal estate over the last couple
decades. What signals are youwatching right now that the
investors in this room should bepaying attention to?
Bruce Norris (05:18):
I think most people think that when interest
rates go down, you're going tohave a good reaction in the real
estate market. Problem with thatis that if you look over the
last 50 years, you have thatreplicated three other times
where you had an end of a cycleand then you had interest rates
go down, and actually nothingreally good happens in the next
(05:41):
two years, because people's moodis not excited about real estate
and the affordability number isvery low. And you're if you're
expecting things to turn aroundand prices to accelerate, that
means the Mood-O-Meter is goingto accelerate when it's almost
at its peak all time. And I justdon't think, since that's never
(06:01):
occurred. I mean, that's how Ithink, has that ever occurred?
The answer is no, not in 50years. So the mood of the
participant is going to rule,and you're probably going to
have a pretty flat market,because you still have all those
people that have 3% mortgagesare going to go nowhere. But I
don't think the outcome is goingto be super and I wish it was.
(06:23):
I've got some new houses forsale, so I, gosh, I hope prices
go up by 10% but there's nohistory of that.
Craig Evans (06:30):
So Pete, everybody knows you're the master of
creative financing and creativedeals. So you built your career
on structuring creative deals.
What's one strategy that, as youcorrected me, that you've been
in this for six decades now.
What's one strategy that youused six decades ago that is
(06:52):
still that you view is stillrelevant today?
Pete Fortunato (06:56):
The season, you're. All right.
Craig Evans (06:59):
You gotta. Now, you know this, you got to talk into
those...
Pete Fortunato (07:04):
Anyway. It's, the strategy I use. Is I care
about the person I'm talking to.
I find out what's going on intheir life, and I help solve
problems. I ease the troublethat people are facing. I always
like to tell people. I say tosomebody, 'Why would you sell a
nice house like this?' And Idiscover something's changed in
their life. There's someuncomfortable circumstance, and
(07:26):
I am going to fix it. I am goingto give them alternatives. And
there's no such thing as animpossible deal, but there are
impossible people, so thatsometimes when you just have to
walk away. But that's not mygoal, and I will continue to try
to fix it, and sometimes theyhave no idea what I'm trying to
(07:47):
do, but I will never stoptrying. I'm going to try to make
a deal where somebody is betteroff because of me, and because
capitalism works. Every time youdo business with somebody else,
you make a friend because yougive them something they like
better, and they give yousomething you like better. And
so capitalism works. That's why,when you talk about any kind of
(08:10):
government program, it's alwaysevil. We had that...
Craig Evans (08:18):
I think this is probably relevant now. Tony, you
know, you built your wealth, andI've listened to you over the
last five years of knowing you.
You built your wealth in one ofthe toughest markets in Antelope
Valley. What gave you theconfidence to buy? Because, you
know, we've got people right nowsay, 'Do we buy now? Do we sit
on the sidelines and wait? Do wesell? Do we hope?' You know,
(08:41):
what gave you the confidence atthat time when you're buying in
Antelope Valley, and everythingthat was going on, then, what
gave you the confidence to buywhen everyone else was running
the opposite direction?
Tony Alvarez (08:59):
Well, I think the foundation of the answer to that
question is understanding valuewithin a given market. You know,
you don't have to know the wholeUnited States. You don't have to
know, it's important to knowwhat's going on nationally,
obviously. But when it comes tobuying, I've always worked in
very small geographic markets,what I call it, my target
(09:21):
market, right? But understandingthe values, I figured out early
on that if I knew what realvalue was in the real estate
market that I was working in,quickly, if I could identify
that, then I could move withconfidence. I didn't have to
think about it. I didn't have tothink, do I really know what I'm
(09:42):
doing? Or, you know I wasn't,there was no fear involved.
Because fear disappears, whenyou know something and you know
it, like Bruce would know hisnumbers. Or when Peter sits down
to talk to somebody and he knowswhat he's setting, what his
intention is, in other words,he's going to solve a problem
in. All he has to do is hear it,right? So when I went out to the
(10:03):
Antelope Valley, it wasn't thatdifficult, okay, because houses
that were costing, at that pointin time, I know most of you will
think this is nuts, but youknow, it would cost to build a
house $100,000 at that point inthat market, and I was looking
at a purchase price of $35,000and no one wanted it. So it
(10:25):
didn't take a genius, because Icould rent that house out, and I
knew the rental market at 850bucks. So it wasn't a question
of whether I should buy it ornot. It was how quickly I was
going to buy it and how many Iwas going to get, right? So so
that's a conversation you havewith yourself. You don't have to
talk to anybody else. I didn'thave to call an agent and ask
(10:47):
them. Agent and ask them theywere already in the market,
frustrated because nobody wantedthese houses. So I just went,
you know, and I can make thenumbers work even with hard
money lenders, with their ratesand stuff like that. So it was
really understanding the valuewithin my target market. But
over time, I kind of synthesizeas a result of Bruce asking me
later, many years later, tospeak about this. He said, you
(11:09):
know, 'What did you do? How didyou get this done?' And I really
hadn't thought about it, but Isat down and I kind of
synthesized this, the steps thatI took, and it boiled down to
basically what I labeled 'theGPS', having a specific Goal,
having Systems, you know, havinga Plan. So GPS, Goal, Plan
Systems. Systems were the dailyactions I had to take,
(11:31):
regardless of whether I was inthe mood or not. So, you know,
it just, it's, it's not adifficult thing, but
understanding the values in mytarget market is at the head of
the game. That's at the bottomof everything. If you don't know
that, you got to go do somethingelse, you know, if you're not
willing to commit to reallyunderstanding, that's the basic
(11:53):
thing. So that would be probablythe number one thing that gave
me the confidence to then talkto somebody about financing, you
know, pull the trigger on aprice that I was willing to pay
and not care about what somebodyelse is in, you know, the
counter offer and this and that.
And, you know, that became justa game that I would move, you
know, I would change my numberto whatever I thought was worth
(12:16):
doing. There were ridiculousnumbers at that time, though,
you know, I mean, oh, he wants,I would offer 30,000 on it, and
then they would come back andsay, no, 32. So I'm going to
argue about this. I want you toknow there were times where I
did argue about that, and I lostthe deal, believe it or not. And
Sabrina, my assistant, has neverstopped reminding me of all
(12:38):
those houses. You know, $400,000and we drive by, remember that
one when you screwed up because,the $5,000 that you argued about
with the guy? No. So anyways, Ihope I answered your question.
Bruce Norris (12:51):
it's not going to come up. What Tony does is bring
build lifelong team partners byobserving something. So he just
told me a story today whilewe're in the same van. But you
know what it is. He observedthat the guy that owned the
(13:13):
company was trying to sellchocolate bars for his kid, and
he noticed that the employeeswere complaining about having to
buy them, and so Tony, on hisown, said, how many do you have?
And he bought them all withoutever meeting the owner yet, and
then he gave them all to thepeople that worked for the
(13:36):
company. Then he meets theowner, and while he's into the
first meeting with the owner,people keep coming to the door
and saying, opening door, saying'Thanks for the chocolate bar'.
That happened five times. Andhe's like, 'What the heck
happened?' So he calls the girlat the front and says, 'The guy
with you bought four dozen ofthem and gave them away'. And
(13:59):
the guy tears up when he hangsup the phone. And Tony Alvarez
has a source of properties forthe rest of his life. He's still
friends with him, by the way.
Tony Alvarez (14:09):
Yeah, that's Don Anderson, in case you guys want
to check it out. Okay, he movedto Idaho, but we're still
friends. I danced at hisdaughter's wedding, and she
named me. She's the one whonamed me, Uncle Tony. For those
of you who've been around withme for a long time to know that
little tagline. His daughter andhis son named me Uncle Tony
because they all saw, you knowhow kids sell those chocolate
bars to go to some trip,wherever the heck it is, and,
(14:30):
yeah, Bruce is right. We werejust discussing this today, but
I was saying that sometimesopportunities presented
themselves like that. Now we'renot talking about some secret
weapon tactic that you're goingto use to find deals or AI or
something, you know, right? SoPeter's talking about
relationships with people, andthat's true. I overlook those
things a lot of times, becauseit's such a natural course of
(14:54):
events for me, like it is forPeter, right?
Bruce Norris (14:56):
You care, you care for people. Well, of course,
yeah.
Tony Alvarez (14:58):
Well, look, I don't care when the robots are
going to start coming. But ifyou lose your ability to connect
with other human beings, you'reat a huge disadvantage, because
you, in my opinion, you work,you try to find the most
difficult way to make thingshappen. Now I know that there's
some people out there that areon the internet. Hear about it
all the time, some young guysout on Facebook selling the new
(15:19):
fangled, you know, way to buyproperty all the way across the
United States. You don't knowanybody, and you can rent them
out Section 8. And you could doit on some website. And I've
read, I don't know if you guys,I've had 100 Section 8 units,
believe you me, that ain'thappening. Okay, I don't care
what anybody else says, butyeah, relationships, you got one
(15:40):
life you're going to live rightas far as I know, haven't heard
anything different. So I'm goingto live it the way I think it's
going to be the most rewardingfor me and for someone else. So
that's every relationship, everycontact that I make, I try to, I
try to make that happen.
Bruce Norris (15:54):
That's the secret to Tony.
Tony Alvarez (15:58):
But you've been talking about that since before
I was born. I think because I'ma lot like younger than you,
yeah.
Pete Fortunato (16:04):
But indeed, the allies you make when you make a
deal are the most valuable thingyou take from that closing. And
that's why it's so foolish tosee people, it's so sad to see
people who bought something andnever talked to the seller
again, have sold something,never talked to the buyer again.
Have borrowed money, never goneback, rented to a tenant. I have
(16:26):
people get shocked that when Ibought my fourth house, I
borrowed the 10,000 cash Ineeded from my tenant my second
house, they can't believe that Ihad that really, that I talked
to her I knew she had money inthe bank. I said I'd rather have
wealthy tenants than poortenants. You should get 9% not
3% and she lent me the money tobuy my fourth property, my
(16:49):
tenant, my second house.
Craig Evans (16:50):
So, all right, so I'm gonna turn into Dr Phil here
for a second. I'm goingcompletely off script here. So,
and this is why it's interestingto me. You know, I've got my
daughter here tonight, Addison,I just met a young man that's 18
years old. He's been in realestate investing for three
months, and said this is thecareer I want. Yep, stand up for
(17:10):
me. Stand up. If everybody inthe room can pour into that
young man. That's the thing wegot to do. But here's the thing
I want to, you know, like, Iliterally, I watch guys at this
age, right? My daughter's age,I'm sorry, tell her your name
again? Glenn, at their age, I'mwatching them to literally text
(17:32):
the person next door to them.
'Hey, do you want to go getsomething to eat?' Texting back,
'Yes'. We've got Gen Z, and nowwe're in the Gen, alpha and beta
and whatever, right, all thegenerations that are coming.
This is exactly why I wantedthis. I don't care the questions
I wrote. I want to know, how dowe teach people coming behind
(17:55):
us? You know, you know my faithand the Bible tells me that I'm
supposed to pour into peoplethat are younger than me, the
older is supposed to teach theyounger so and we'll get into
strategies and all that. If eachof you could have one legitimate
thing that you would encourageyounger people to do, to build
(18:17):
relationships. They can't. Youcan't take the cheat sheet and
say, 'Get off your cell phone'.
That's that's way too easy,right? What would the one thing
you would encourage a younginvestor getting into real
estate to do? How can we getthem out of a data world and
(18:40):
into, 'I know this man'.
Bruce Norris (18:42):
Okay, can I go first on that?
Craig Evans (18:44):
Absolutely.
Bruce Norris (18:46):
It'll take a minute. But I worked for a
company for three months, and Ididn't enjoy it because he
didn't treat people well. So Iwent out on my own, and I had a
life changing experience threemonths into me being on my own,
I sat across from somebody thathad called on my ad, and I made
him an offer, and he was like,so not there, so distant. And it
(19:08):
bothered me. And actually, youknow that, like the hair on your
neck goes up, that actuallyhappened. I said, you know, 'I
don't want to talk to about yourhouse anymore. Are you okay?'
And he looked at me, reallysurprised that I asked that. And
he said, 'No, I'm not'. I said,'Okay, I don't want to talk to
you about your house anymore'.
And I went to my car, and I hadbought 10 books, same book,
Greatest Miracle In The World,written by Og Mandino. And I had
(19:31):
read the book, and I loved it.
And so I came back and I gavehim the book. I said, 'I don't
want to talk to you about yourhouse anymore, today, I want you
to read this book. If you won'tread the whole book, read the
chapter nine. It's called theGod memorandum. And in that
chapter, God says to you, youmay have forgot this, but you're
the greatest thing since slicedbread. So let me remind you
about that'. So the nextmorning, I knock on the door and
(19:54):
he opens it up, and he says, 'Iwant you to know that the book
you gave me saved my life. I wasgoing to sell you my house and
kill myself'. And then he gaveme the best gift you could give
to a guy that was 28 and juststarting, he said, 'I still want
to sell you my house. Becausewhat I realized, what I need, is
a fresh start'. And I went in, Iwent from thinking I got to
(20:16):
steal somebody's house to merealizing I could look to across
the table and see if there was afresh start that was needed, and
it changed everything. Because Iwasn't nervous, I wasn't
stressed. I was just sort oflike Pete I was looking for, and
there was plenty of times as 'Idon't understand why you're
selling? Why are you doingthat?' Now I'd get pushed back.
I even had, I did have a guyactually, 'You run an ad that
(20:40):
you're buying properties. You'retrying not to do it. Why are you
doing that?' Anyway, that's thething that I think when you care
about it, and you look acrossthe table, and if you have a
little experience, it helps,where you can actually benefit
the person, and it's almost likeyou don't care if you buy it or
not, and you'll probably getpeople to tell you the truth. I
(21:01):
think that's what happens. Ihave had so many sellers say I
don't know why I'm telling youthis. I've told no one this is
because they felt they couldtrust me, and they gave me the
information that I could use tosay I can solve this.
Craig Evans (21:16):
Okay, anybody next?
Pete Fortunato (21:21):
All right.
Joey Romero (21:22):
Don't forget to visit I survive real estate for
tickets to the event on Friday,September 12. The Norris group
would like to thank thefollowing gold sponsors,
Keystone CPA, the inland valleysAssociation of Realtors,
Pasadena Phoebe, the North SanDiego real estate investors
Association, la southea, NorCalRhea, The Wizard of the wobbly
(21:45):
box, Andy Teasley, shepherd'sfinance, the Thompson group,
property radar and White Housecatering. The dinner wine is
provided with a generouscontribution by Rick and Lee.
Ann Rossiter, hope see you allthere
Narrator (21:58):
for more information on hard money loans, trust deed
investing and upcoming eventswith the Norris group. Check out
the Norris group.com for moreinformation on passive investing
through the DBL capital RealEstate Investment Fund, please
visit DBL capital.com
Joey Romero (22:18):
the Norris group originates in services loans in
California and Florida under theCalifornia Dre license 01219911,
Florida mortgage lender license1577, and NMLS license 1623669,
for more information on hardmoney lending, go to the Norris
group com and click the hardmoney tab.
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