Grant and Elena Cardone, social media personalities and real estate crowdfunding gurus catering to small investors, were welcomed by the audience at the ULI’s Miami Symposium in April. After a standing ovation, they began their sit-down with Robert Given, chair, ULI Miami Symposium and executive vice-president at Cushman & Wakefield.
Grant Cardone, CEO and founder of Cardone Capital, said that his firm had a $5 billion real estate portfolio, made up mostly of multifamily properties, many of which are in Florida. The company is based in Aventura, a wealthy Miami suburb.
The Cardones have built their reputation and their fortune, proselytizing about the value of real estate investing for the little guy as well as more well-heeled investors, although skeptics question whether Cardone’s promises to his investors are too good to be true.
Mr. Cardone said that he picks his properties for their “stellar locations,” because he wants to get cash flow right away. “Later on, we will take more risk,” he said. The hold-time for his properties is usually 10 years, at which time he recapitalizes the investment into another property. He doesn’t invest in “value-added” properties, said Cardone, “I’m buying brand new buildings,” not the kind that need work. And Cardone is constantly looking for more properties. For context, he has 3.8 million followers on Instagram.
At the ULI symposium, Cardone advised young people, once they accumulate enough capital to invest, not put their money into a house or low-risk vehicles like banks. Instead, he said, if they invest with his company, they will get larger payouts. Plus, his company’s dividends are paid monthly, rather than quarterly. “People pay their bills monthly, not quarterly,” he said
The profile of a typical Cardone investor is young, the CEO said “Half of the people are under 30 and their investments range from $5,000 to $5 million. The funds in his crowdfunding operation are both accredited by the SEC and non-accredited. (It is the latter than does not sit well with some experts.) About 25 percent of the money comes from IRAs and 401Ks,” said Cardone.
Elena Cardone, Cardone’s wife, is also in the real estate business. As president of EXP Realty, she works in tandem with her husband to facilitate real estate deals and she is also a motivational speaker and author appealing to women to be independently successful, not just in the real estate business. In her book, How to Build an Empire: How to Have it All, she advises women on how to reach their goals, whatever they are.
