190: Unlocking Hidden Value in Multifamily Real Estate with Zihao Wang

Immigrants to the U.S. have a unique perspective on real estate as an investment vehicle, and today’s guest explains how his parents involved him in their business early, teaching him what he needed to know to create a lucrative real estate career. On this episode of Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing, Jonathan sits down with Zihao Wang, founder and CEO at Motiva Holdings. Motiva Holdings is a California-based real estate private equity firm focused on developing value-added and opportunistic multifamily opportunities through equity syndications and JV partnerships.  As Jonathan and Zihao begin their discussion, you’ll hear Zihao’s background as a child of immigrants, his exposure to real estate as a child through his parents, his experience with property management, and why he continues to invest in California despite its high cost. You’ll hear why Zihao is an appreciation player rather than cash flow, where he’s investing outside of California, and Zihao’s ideal investor avatar. Jonathan and Zihao cover how increasing insurance costs are impacting acquisitions, the differences between buyers and sellers in California versus other states, and the importance of building relationships with clients and being empathetic to their backgrounds alongside a good track record. California is often seen as a no-go for real estate investors, but Zihao Wang is successfully investing there and elsewhere with his extensive knowledge of multifamily assets. He’s helping others do the same. In this episode, you will hear: Zihao Wang’s exposure to real estate as a child through his parents’ investments and later becoming involved in the family business How property management helped him understand how properties work and identify issues Investing in California, despite its high cost Being an appreciation player rather than a cash flow player His expansion into other markets outside of California The ideal avatar for Zihao’s investors Why he keeps a deal tracker, and how it helps determine where to go next The increasing costs of insurance and how it’s impacting acquisitions Zihao’s interest in small bay industrial outside of multifamily and retail Differences between buyers and sellers in California versus somewhere like Texas Learning hands-on versus using Instagram or TikTok for tips Building relationships with clients and understanding their backgrounds along with a good track record Working with family and being held to a high level of scrutiny What’s next for Motiva Holdings Follow and Review: We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, we've created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at https://zenandtheartofrealestateinvesting.com/podcast/190/ to download it. Supporting Resources: Motiva Holdings - motivaholdings.com Zihao Wang on Instagram - www.instagram.com/_zihao.wang_ Connect with Zihao on LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/zihao-wang-mh Website - www.streamlined.properties YouTube - www.youtube.com/c/JonathanGreeneRE/videos Instagram - www.instagram.com/trustgreene Instagram - www.instagram.com/streamlinedproperties TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@trustgreene Zillow - www.zillow.com/profile/StreamlinedReal Bigger Pockets - www.biggerpockets.com/users/TrustGreene Facebook - www.facebook.com/streamlinedproperties Email - info@streamlined.properties Episode Credits If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.