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Apartment Building

From IT Manager to Full Time INVESTOR

A not-so-unique story.

My family didn't have a lot of money and had always lived in apartments. My parents didn't know anything about investing and have never heard of 401K or any of those fancy terms that are all over the internet today. Heck! We didn't have internet (dial-up modem if you know what that is) until my first year of college.

After graduating with a technology degree, I was determined to "upgrade" my family into a house that we can call our own. So, I set out to find the "perfect" house as a first-time home buyer straight out of college while my friends are buying BMW and Mercedes. After looking over 100 homes, I finally found "the one". To my surprise, I really enjoyed looking at houses, don't get tired of it, and learned a ton from the first realtor I met. This experience rooted my obsession with real estate.

Fast forward to climbing the corporate ladder (just like we've all been trained to do), I moved to Austin in 2005 to pursue a bigger corporate dream and went to work for Dell computers. As destiny would have it, Dell sent me to a 3-year ex-pat assignment two weeks after I bought a brand new home. 

"When life gives you a lemon, you make lemonade". We all heard that before. So, I quickly found a trusted realtor to manage my home and turned myself into an "accidental landlord". 

3 years later, I returned to Austin after the ex-pat assignment. To my amazement and delight, the tenant took GREAT care of the home - zero damages. Smiling ear to ear, I thought to myself, what a great way to have free cash flow while someone else pays down the mortgage.  

My real estate passion grew from there. Constantly looking for ways to grow the real estate business by becoming a realtor, finding properties to fix and flip, and finding partners and vendors to scale the business. I even became an Airbnb superhost! I did all these to learn and to fully immerse myself in all aspects of single-family investments.

Then, the stress hit me like all other single-family investors before me. Single-family investment is too much to handle by one person. I reached out to the best people I know in the real estate industry to learn how to scale and become better at it. I listened to their advice and attended real estate conferences to be able to build business relationships. 

The solution is building a team of like-minded people!

Years later, I now own a brokerage firm, became a full-time investor, and serve as Lead Sponsor and Asset Manager for properties in Texas, Kentucky, and Florida. The portfolio grew to 716 units across 3 states.

Is the journey easy? No, of course. Even now, I still deal with a lot of challenges. Over the years, I've learned that success is not a straight line. And, that is OK. A positive mindset will always be the key. In this industry, it is very important to be a risk-taker, a go-getter, and a team player. So, trust yourself, value people, and be awesome in your own way!

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MULTIFAMILY

URBANA - SAN ANTONIO, TX

 

Urbana is across the street from the iconic North Star Mall, anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue and surrounded by numerous high-end retails.

This stabilized Class C property is located in Class B area.

GALLERY AT KATY - KATY, TX

 

Gallery at Katy is in the suburb of Katy, TX, with a median household  (MHH) income of $96,526.  

 

It is adjacent to the highly acclaimed Cinco Ranch neighborhood with an MHH income of $141,752 according to incomebyzipcode.com

Aerial View

MOSS CREEK - LOUISVILLE, KY

 

Moss Creek is a 104-unit, Class B apartment community consisting of all 2 bed, 2 bath apartments.

 

Developed in 2019, the property offers a light value-add opportunity through rent upside, increasing other income, and adding new amenities. 

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THE STERLING AT SAN MARCO - JACKSONVILLE, FL

The Sterling at San Marco is a 92-unit property. It’s a $12.5M purchase in the fastest-growing rent market of 2021.

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Apartment Building

GOAL-DRIVEN REALTOR

Here's what people say about Chris.

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SHANKAR KRISHNA

CEO

MARKETLINERS LLC

Chris is a very knowledgeable and  smart operator, who has been to able to consistently deliver results. He’s easily accessible and very responsive to queries. I have peace of mind in knowing that my investments with him would be safe and would get good  yields.

 

Over the years I have grown to trust him and he is my friend, philosopher and guide. 

JULIE ANNE PETERSON

SENIOR DIRECTOR

OLD CAPITAL LENDING

Chris Tao is a great Multifamily owner to work alongside. Old Capital partnered with Texas Metro Holdings on the Urbana Apartments in San Antonio.

 

My experience with Chris is that he looks at the management responsibilities different than most Multifamily owners.  Chris is involved in the daily management operations to identify concerns on premises.  He works to resolve issues quickly to shorten the reaction time to the tenants as well to minimize the capital injection.  With experience comes knowledge and Chris has years of executing a plan to provide a great return to his investors. He consistently attends ZOOM@8 meetings where he freely shares information with younger investors – always inspiring and encouraging them to understand the challenges that arise in these types of properties.

a trusted partner

Know some amazing people in Chris' tribe.

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YONAH WEISS

COST SEGREGATOR

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MERILL KALISER

LEGAL

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BERKADIA

BROKER

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RUSSELL NOVA

BUSINESS PARTNER

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JULIE ANNE PETERSON

LENDER

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