The Real Estate Investment Queen.
Rome was not built in a day. It takes time with a lot of patience to achieve the plan you have in mind. It is always essential to prepare for the worst in cases where you are delving into a new market. It is not unusual to have many wrong decisions before getting it right. The important thing is to rise again, shake off the dust and learn from the failed steps. The experience was a life-altering moment with limited resources and piling bills that pushed us to the wall. For real, it was a blessing in disguise, leading us to our purpose. It was at this moment that we sat down and explored the options available for us to survive. As they always say “survival for the fittest”.
My name is Sofia Castro, CEO of Queen Ventures and a Co-founder of ORTSAC capital group; a family-owned investment group focused on developing a portfolio of premium rental properties. I and my husband Robert, own 100% of the company. It all started in 1995 when we got married; we jumped into the world of business. Our first attempt failed at the conception stage, but our entrepreneurial spirit never died. Our success journey started when we decided to buy a leasing brokerage franchise, a tiny manual detailing how to build a leasing brokerage. Our initial capital came from a soft loan of $1800 from our parents. Through mentorship and working side by side with experts in the field, we developed the skills required to stand on our own. When the opportunity came, we took over the business. It was through resilience, patience and handwork that we have been able to build up an empire worth $1 billion as at June 2019 starting from a loan of $1,800.Some of the key lessons include;
Financing;
I advise most of my clients to start small and grow bit by bit. A toddler begins from taking the first step before fully gaining confidence to walk on its own. My first attempt into real estate involved buying condo conversions which were turning apartments into condos to sell them individually. I went wild and obtained 72 million worth of these condos, the unfortunate happened, and I found myself over-leveraged.
Real Estate Strategies.
I have learnt with time other strategies such as flipping and fixing, buying and renting, which have created a new channel of income for my business. It is all about putting your mindset and focusing on the goals you want to achieve. Knowing how to identify winning properties, financial arrangement with third parties or own equity, insider knowledge of the business as well as education on how to make a brand name in real estate are some of the strategies I used to achieve my goals.
Women Empowerment.
What a man can do, a woman can do better. The fear that real estate is dominated by males and lack of confidence in women to create a competitive environment are some of the challenges I look forward to addressing. As a woman and a business entrepreneur, I have identified some loopholes which best fit women and will create a new perspective on the real estate market.
My Take;
I envision a world where women can create a competitive environment for their male counterparts in the world of business and have a support group of other women to enable them to learn and become independent. I plan to accomplish women empowerment through the five critical steps to Real Estate Royalty. The steps involve ways of making a winning buying decision, properly managing your properties, maintaining Capex, properly scaling your business by having a mix of financing as lastly teaching you how and when to exit the market. I will go further and walk you through with a team of mentorship experts that have spent a fortune in real estate. I will as well feel your pain and provide financing to those that qualify to get you into the game and purchase your first property. It is high time for women to rise and stand on their feet with little or no support from the opposite gender.