THE CRUDE TRUTH Ep. 67 with Paul & Letitia Montelongo Commercial Real Estate Experts and Investors

by Rey Trevino  - March 5, 2024

On this episode of THE CRUDE TRUTH; Kristy Kerns joins me again and we visit with Power House couple, Paul and Letitia Monelongo. They share there journey together and tell us how being adventures and having BIG HAIRY AUDACOUS GOALS will set you apart and help you acheive those goals. This is an episode you donā€™t want to miss. Thank you to Paul and Letitia for being on THE CRUDE TRUTH w/ Kristy and I.

https://www.montelongocapital.com/

Highlights of the Podcast

03:06 ā€“ The family of the Club Summit
04:42 ā€“ Paul and Letitia Montelongoā€™s background and story
08:27 ā€“ Paulā€™s history of real estate
09:35 ā€“ Roles in the business
11:51 ā€“ Go getter mentality
13:53 ā€“ The Adventures Investment Summit
17:06 ā€“ Heavy duty Real Estate Education
17:53 ā€“Ā  Paulā€™s background in construction and real estate
19:35 ā€“ The historical track record
20:51 ā€“ Attracting new investors
24:09 ā€“ Big Hairy Audacious Goals
25:55 ā€“ Build Your Life Calendar
32:49 ā€“ Talks about attraction
33:31 ā€“ The steward of our investment
35:22 ā€“ Real Estate for 2024

Please reach out to Paul MontelongoĀ onĀ Linkedin

Please reach out to Letitia Reyna-MontelongoĀ onĀ Linkedin

Check outĀ StatusJet HERE

THE CRUDE TRUTH Ep. 67 with Paul & Letitia Montelongo Commercial Real Estate Experts and Investors

Video Transcription edited for grammar. We disavow any errors unless they make us look better or smarter.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:00:00] Rolling out of bed. Got your bag on your mind? Commercial real estate. Where are we headed in 2024? Weā€™re going to talk about that and much more with commercial real estate experts on this episode of The Crude Truth.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:01:28] Well, hello as always, and thank you for tuning in for another episode of The Crude Truth. As we continue to roll into 2024, thereā€™s just so many things that are unanswered as we continue to invest, whether itā€™s in oil and gas, real estate and technology. And today weā€™re going to talk more and focus on the real estate side and networking. Today, I also do have, brought back my co-host Kristy Kerns, current Kristy. How are you?

Kristy KernsĀ [00:01:55] Good. How are you?

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:01:56] Doing Real. Well. Iā€™m so excited today. Especially for the guests that we have on. I mean, these two individuals are literally, like, creating a trail and just the net worth and the network that theyā€™re continue to grow. You know, our guest today, for those out there that I can already see but are listening, our guest today are Paul and Letitia montelongo. Guys, how are you all.

[00:02:18] Awesome.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:02:19] Super great. Weā€™re super happy to be here too.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:02:22] Oh, man, I promise the Walmart gift card is in the mail.

PaulĀ [00:02:25] Okay,.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:02:26] In the mail.

PaulĀ [00:02:26] All right.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:02:27] And, Because thatā€™s what it took to get you guys here.

PaulĀ [00:02:30] So weā€™re already taking the tour?

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:02:32] Yes. Yeah, the tour is done. Itā€™s all done, you know? Guys, thank you all so much for coming in. I know yā€™all happy to be in North Texas. Yeah. And, when I heard your words, like, guys, yā€™all got to come on the show and, to kind of, give a little background and opportunity. Opportunity to me, Letitia, at the, family office summit, I think I said that. Right. Itā€™s that correct. And, Fort Lauderdale here a couple months back, and thatā€™s a big group of, high net worth individuals that are always looking for different types of investments. Is that a best way to put that?

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:03:03] Yeah, it is. And we love thatā€™s the first time that I had actually been to the family office Club Summit. Okay. It was amazing. I got pretty much everything I wanted out of it. Kind of dove in the water the first time I heard about it. For a couple of years. Richard Wilson, who actually we found out about Richard because he was a speaker at our summit. He invited us to it, so I was I was happy to go. And, you know, itā€™s really interesting when you talk to high net worth individuals in a grand scheme like that. There were a thousand people at the conference. Right? So it was immense to begin with. But then when you really sit down and listen to all the issues that people that have millions of millions of dollars their lives, they have just as many issues as we do too. So the topics were really interesting.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:03:45] I enjoyed the topics and the fact that thereā€™s so many people that had the same issues, and you could sit there and bounce ideas off of people. That and you didnā€™t sound. Like. Pretty well. No, I didnā€™t, you know, I was like, well, man, I got this issue or this. And you know, you know, taxes on this, this amount here. Yā€™all see how Iā€™m even uncomfortable talking about millions right now on my own podcast. So to be in that room, I own it. Yeah. Well. But to be in that room, it was very, very confident. You know, I was like, hey, you know, because everybody had the same kind of problems and everybody knew you werenā€™t trying to, you know, be a be a mean person or try to open up. Everybodyā€™s like, hey, what are you doing for this? You know, that is one thing that Iā€™ve read lately is like, hey, people at the top, they collaborate. Theyā€™re not trying to compete down at the. Itā€™s like, letā€™s collaborate and letā€™s do things. And so Paul, you know, I weā€™ve had a great laugh and a great times to just open it out. Can we, can we talk about you guys for a minute? Sure. Thatā€™s obviously you all are from San Antonio Paul and Iā€™m going to leave it there.

PaulĀ [00:04:42] San Antonio, Texas, thatā€™s where we live. And, Leticia and I have been married now four and a half years. And weā€™ll tell you that story in a minute. Okay. But, we she she has two daughters. I have two sons. And between us, we have seven grandchildren. Oh, wow. Yeah, I know what youā€™re thinking. Yeah. Okay, good. So. Yeah.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:05:03] Can you write him off on your taxes? I know that they. I think

PaulĀ [00:05:07] where they, who gets the money when we die? I donā€™t know what you think in. All right. But but. Yeah. No, weā€™ve been married four and a half years. So, I was born and raised in San Antonio, but I lived away from San Antonio about a dozen years. I live in Las Vegas and Salt Lake and North Carolina, various places. But, doing real estate? Yes, doing real estate. And then I moved back to, Austin 2018. I was. Doing a podcast. She was doing a TV show. Her TV show was about cryptocurrency. I had heard you could buy a real estate with cryptocurrency.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:05:42] Yes.

PaulĀ [00:05:43] She looked real pretty on Facebook. Okay. So I reached out and I said, can I interview you on my podcast? Okay. And, you know, she said nothing. For six. For six months. For six months. Nothing. I let it go. About six months later. So, you know, I need to look that up, make sure my dates are right. But Iā€™m pretty sure six months later, I messaged her again. Iā€™m going to be in San Antonio. Can I come interview? She says yes. We hit it off in ten months. Later, we were married. Wow. The best part, I think, is that she had been, she had been single for 13 years. I had been single for 13 years. I donā€™t think either of us had any any idea of any plans to get remarried. And then we met each other and then, you know, the rest is history, as they say.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:06:27] I would say, yeah, thatā€™s thatā€™s history. Especially at ten months, no plans. And then boom, youā€™re right. After ten months.

PaulĀ [00:06:32] Right? Right.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:06:33] But he didnā€™t know what he was dealing with. Tell us about our fourth date.

PaulĀ [00:06:38] So this is this is where I knew. This is how I am. This is where everything came clear, by the way. What Iā€™m about to tell you has served us tremendously in our professional career.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:06:48] Okay.

PaulĀ [00:06:49] So we have a few dates on fourth date. She turned to me and she says, so, Paul, what are your plans with me?Ā  Yeah. Like what it where we call that pretrial pre pre closed question.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:07:01] Yeah. Yeah.

PaulĀ [00:07:02] Trial crowd closed and I said so I looked there straight in the eyes and I said my intentions are to date you to see if youā€™re the person I want to marry. And Iā€™ll know very soon. Right. So what do you like?

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:07:13] You take number five.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:07:14] Okay

PaulĀ [00:07:16] I got. So I got date number five. And, you know, very soon thereafter, we started talking about marriage and went off to Hawaii and got married. No, I did, yeah, very. Yeah. Just the two of us on a beach sunset in the back and a and a Polynesian and Polynesia Polynesian minister.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:07:32] Really?

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:07:32] We do that. The minister made him sing to me.

PaulĀ [00:07:36] Yes, well, I sang the vows to her.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:07:39] Did you really? Yeah.

PaulĀ [00:07:40] Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 6Ā [00:07:41] Did you really? Well, he played really good. I did. It was so cute.

PaulĀ [00:07:44] I did, itā€™s on recording somewhere.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:07:46] Oh my gosh.

PaulĀ [00:07:47] Yeah. So. And then we came back, and then we had a big, big thing with all of our family and friends. And our big should go. Yeah, yeah, but I mean, itā€™s been a ride. And then right after that, there was, there was this thing that happened, I donā€™t know, there was a toilet paper shortage or something.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:08:00] I heard about that bowling pin shortage.

PaulĀ [00:08:03] So we were like, we were there together. Newlyweds trying to understand each other in the first place and then trying to understand, you know, this thing that was happening to the world. And so I.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:08:13] Just go to my room and go, like, I donā€™t even really know this. Guy. Iā€™m like, drafting no function for me. Like.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:08:20] How did that play out?

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:08:22] I was okay after a while.

PaulĀ [00:08:24] Yeah. But but the other thing was, you know, I have I have a long history of real estate. Yeah. My first real estate deal when I was 17. So Iā€™ve been doing a lot of real estate. Iā€™d sold out of a property to move back to Texas. I was kind of chilling out, and she, you know, we met, and then she says, listen, you have this skill set and you have these things that you know how to do. Letā€™s go. Letā€™s go get some real estate. And then I over the next 24 months, well, 18 months after that, that happened in 2020. About 18 months later, weā€™re like $80 million worth of assets, under management. Right. And so, you know, we just we created a plan and we went after it. And have you need to ask. Iā€™m just saying this, okay. You need to ask how it is. How how are we with working with each other?

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:09:13] Well, I was gonna know you. You teed me up a minute.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:09:17] Getting ready to say how was that good.

PaulĀ [00:09:18] Thats your question?

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:09:20] Yeah, that was great, Kristy.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:09:23] That was it. Working together.

PaulĀ [00:09:25] Great question.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:09:26] Answered.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:09:28] Itā€™s good.

PaulĀ [00:09:29] Itā€™s good.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:09:30] Do you find that you empower each other a lot better?

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:09:32] And you know, I feel like we had to figure out our roles in the business. Right. And now itā€™s great. At first it was a little because, you know, I had been independent for a long time, and I kind of had my own little businesses for those 14 years that I was by myself because I, I worked in corporate America. Okay. And then in 2008, I left, I was a senior vice president of a fortune 500 company. I traveled Monday through Friday. I was on the go. I was a conferences. I was doing my thing. And then when it happened, I got I was part of the reduction. Right. So I said, Iā€™m never going to be laid off and fired again. Iā€™m going to start my own little business. So I had multiple businesses. So then we got married. It was just like, you know, Paul is used to be an entire engine. So is Leticia. So, you know, it was a little bumpy at first, but I feel I feel like now weā€™re great. I do, you know, you being a coach, I, I run will not run, but I am the chair of a women in multifamily group in San Antonio. So I do a lot of women events. And one question I always get from the women is like, how is it when you work with your husband? How do you when youā€™re really a D, right? Iā€™m a D in the desk. How do you actually tame that feminine energy? Right. So so that has been very you know, at first I didnā€™t want to, but now I feel like is I lean into my feminine energy. We work together so much better. Yeah. Right. And he wants to take me on more dates. So I love it. Itā€™s worked out good for me.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:10:57] I wish that so many more people could understand the feminine energy and women understanding that itā€™s okay to be youā€™re okay to be masculine 9 to 5, but you had to turn that off and.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:11:07] Made a huge Difference..

Kristy KernsĀ [00:11:08] Ā Yes.

PaulĀ [00:11:10] yeah, we just had to figure out.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:11:13] Do you want to say anything about

PaulĀ [00:11:14] Ā jump on your podcast?

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:11:16] No, no, I got nothing.

PaulĀ [00:11:19] So we just had to figure it out. And you know, we did. Right. So

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:11:24] Well. You talk about having to figure it out. And then again, you know, obviously I guess there were some fights over how many ply in the toilet paper was in 2020 just to get together. But yeah, again, you know, Kristy, you really asked it right. And you teed it up. Itā€™s like because of that question that she asked you on the fourth day, you know, how has that been and what was it that yā€™all can work 9 to 5 together, you know, how is it, you know.

PaulĀ [00:11:49] So that question to me, yeah was a reflection of like a go getter mentality. Okay. And so I knew that I knew myself well enough to know that if I was going to marry someone again, I need that go getter mode mentality with me. And aside from the interior and exterior beauty right there, like this characteristic really meant something to me. Yeah. Yeah. And so the other thing was to, you know, I got to hang out with her daughters, and her daughters were high quality people. So Iā€™m like, okay, that the apple does it for fall for the tree. So that made sense to me. But in terms of business, itā€™s that that attitude, that mentality that has really moved us forward. Itā€™s like, okay, whatā€™s next? Here we go. What are we doing here now? How do we get this close and how do we get this set. And that that, you know, go getter mentality is really I think itā€™s critical in business. Right. Yeah. So itā€™s been a real. Itā€™s been a real inspiration.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:12:43] Well, in the go getter mentality, first of all, I can I can completely understand having somebody with you by your side that has that type of an attitude. Thatā€™s what you want. And sometimes you donā€™t know it when youā€™re, well, when you donā€™t have it. And then once youā€™ve seen it in certain forms and aspects, itā€™s like, oh, thatā€™s, thatā€™s why theyā€™re, theyā€™re here and, and theyā€™re doing things together. And so I think thatā€™s really, really cool. And then I want to talk about that, you guys, you mentioned that youā€™re at a summit and you talk about that go getter mentality that you two being together. Letā€™s talk about yā€™all summit and which Iā€™ll do there.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:13:19] Yeah. Yeah. So one of the things when Paul and I got married, we really were very conscious. Weā€™re like, okay, weā€™re not in our 20s anymore, right? And we were in pretty good shape for our ages. Right. So when we got married, I was 37. Yes. Okay. And Paul is 61. Okay. So we wanted to like, make sure that we whatever we did, we went ahead. Adventure and fun. Right. We we didnā€™t want to be put in this little box that youā€™re like baby boomers. You want to go out and have fun, do a good job. So weā€™ve kind of taken that adventurous attitude that we have and we we put it in our business. So our summit is actually called the Adventures Investment Summit. So we donā€™t just have people sitting around in a conference room. We had it in Scottsdale was the first one. We rented these two beautiful mansions. I think just the lodging alone cost us $65,000 for four days off. Right? Then they were like, high end private chefs came in. We had yoga instructors fly in. We had hand yoga every morning out on the grass. Then we had these amazing speakers come in. Richard Wilson, the one who owns the family office. He was one of our speakers. So we had high end speakers come in. And then during the day weā€™d have great sessions. The chefs made us fabulous food. We did fun events like we all got on jeeps one day and went out in the desert, for our jeep ride. So we want to make sure that as weā€™re working, that weā€™re pouring as much fun and excitement and adventure in it as we can. And then weā€™ve identified with people that we seem to be attracted to us that want that same, that same adventure.

PaulĀ [00:14:46] Right? And thatā€™s the way we live, right? Like, we weā€™re highly active people. And itā€™s not just business, but itā€™s a lot of fun. In fact, when we first got together, weā€™re like, no, weā€™re talking about our our values. Yeah, right. So, Aaron, I made a list. You made a list in the top characteristic or a value that we shared was adventure. So itā€™s like weā€™re going to live an adventure. Adventurous life. Now, that doesnā€™t always mean like, bungee jumping, you know, like, this is an adventure. Yeah, yeah. So itā€™s a perception. Yeah. But everything that we do, we see it as an adventure. And weā€™re always looking to to, you know, to have a day of excitement and, and squeeze everything out of the day. Yeah. Thatā€™s true.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:15:26] No matter what it is like. The first time we went on a ski trip, we went with our families, right? Yeah. We went up to, Wolf Creek, which was we love to go skiing there. And so we were there for a week, and we were supposed to go home Saturday and Friday night it snowed like 18in, and all the kids were getting in their cars, go home. And I told him, I said, hey, look, I only to ski one more day and, you know, weā€™ll just drive all the way home. Itā€™s okay if you drive one now. And what are you thinking about? Yeah, letā€™s do it. So we get up that morning, we get to the ski resort. Well. Is weā€™re checking in. Theyā€™re like, hey, youā€™re going to be in the races today. And weā€™re like, sure, why not? You know, so they sit this up. So we get to this hill thatā€™s about downhill skiing, right? You know, we I ski a couple times a year, but I am not a downhill skier. But we have our little numbers on and and as we get to the top, Paul looks me he goes to notice anything about this line. And I said, no, he goes everybody has helmets on and they have matching jackets. So I think itā€™s all the ski teams from around here and theyā€™re all like 25.

PaulĀ [00:16:20] We did the race.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:16:21] Not first in this age group. I think Iā€™ve been like for. It was so crazy. And then now Iā€™m thinking about Iā€™m like, oh my God. Because it was like that kind of downhill skiing. Right. With the. Flags. Oh its crazyBut he was so much fun.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:16:35] Did you guys get helmets eventually or. No.

PaulĀ [00:16:37] Yeah,Oh do we helmets I guess. Yeah. Not that.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:16:39] I know, but I set up.

PaulĀ [00:16:42] Oh eventually. No no no

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:16:43] we didnā€™t. But it was so fun.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:16:45] Oh my gosh.

PaulĀ [00:16:46] Yeah yeah. But anyway so our summit.

PaulĀ [00:16:50] So so we want to attract people that are like us you know. And so you know not everybodyā€™s for us and weā€™re not for everybody. Yeah. So so these are people with an adventurous spirit and adventurous soul. And we mixed like a heavy duty real estate education. And with it like growing really high quality education. And so and these are all people that if they werenā€™t before theyā€™re doing deals now, most of them were doing deals before. So these are these are people that are in the business and want to be in the business at a next, higher level. And so yeah, thatā€™s it was awesome.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:17:26] Well, letā€™s letā€™s talk about Charles real estate background. Him not necessarily diving into the portfolio. You know thatā€™s thatā€™s for the circle. And you know weā€™re not there. but you mentioned it. They go, hey man. In 18 months we had a we had a portfolio of $80 million. Right. You know, what is it that you guys are looking for? You know, letā€™s talk about what we can, you know, talk about on that and how yā€™all been able to build that up and why people want to go to the summit. That should have more.

PaulĀ [00:17:50] Ā Yeah. So I have a background, a very, very strong background in construction and real estate, like from when I was a boy. Okay. So when we decided to start buying multi-year, when I started buying multi-unit properties back in the early 20 tens, I was looking for whatā€™s called in the business value add. In other words, is it need some fix up? Yeah, we need some fix up. We can increase the appreciation and then we sell it all. So thatā€™s the kind of product that we, we buy now. We buy A, C and B products. For the most part we have some Aā€™s, but we buy season Bā€™s. Need a little bit of a little bit of TLC. We we apply that. We increase the value, increase and increase the sales price and then sell it for ourselves and for our investors. Okay, okay. And so, thatā€™s thatā€™s what we pursue. Thatā€™s kind of what weā€™re known for. And we become real good at it. And so weā€™re going to do more of that. In addition, weā€™re also doing new development because remember my background heavy duty construction. So weā€™re doing a brand new storage facility. Weā€™re doing a brand new 450 unit class A product here in Denton area. Yes. And so the storage is in San Antonio is a brand new from the ground up products. You know, we get to decide what kind of product to put on the ground that matches the market. And weā€™re excited about those.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:19:12] Well, you know, when it comes to multifamily, you know, what type of an annual, whatā€™s what yā€™all go for an annual like, hey, you know, you get your investor group, you get your team together, and itā€™s like, weā€™re going to build these. Itā€™s going to take X amount of time. But if you took all that time from day one, the investment from day one, what type of an average return on you guys going to be looking at on something?

PaulĀ [00:19:33] Well, the the historical track record right now is about a 33 month turnaround, okay. With about A2X return bearing. Okay. Itā€™s a little bit over two x. So thatā€™s been the history weā€™re in interesting times right now. Oh yeah. Will that history maintain itself. You know I actually think that the the turnaround period will be a little bit closer to 60 months, you know, until until the economy adjust. The returns will still be the same, but the business plan is just a tad bit longer. But we do take our properties out to market at year three. Okay. Sure. When we test the market, we see if the market will reply with favorably so that we can sell it. But thatā€™s thatā€™s the overview.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:20:16] While we know Kristy, Paul, Leti here really got there, I always like, hey look, hereā€™s where weā€™re at. But this is 2024 and this is what. So I mean you guys are kind of just talking theĀ  Crude truth individuals. You know and just being honest with individuals. It sounds like like we donā€™t know.

PaulĀ [00:20:33] Well yes.Yeah. So weā€™re weā€™re very fortunate that we have a group of investors, that travel with us from deal to deal and that word spreads and because of what we do, like on a networking basis. Weā€™re always attracting new investors. They see the track record. So itā€™s itā€™s a self-perpetuating machine. And, you know, we like it. And because itā€™s working well and because we have the infrastructure to handle it. Weā€™re expanding, which was our dream in the, in the, in the beginning was to really have a really cool portfolio, a legacy portfolio.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:21:10] Yes.

PaulĀ [00:21:10] You know, for ourselves and our family.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:21:13] That, you know, I like how you just. I mean, Kristy, please, youā€™re better at this kind of stuff. But like when you said this was the dream and the idea, then you kind of eluded to the Latitia over here saying, you know, this was her you helping you out to really expand what your idea was.

PaulĀ [00:21:29] Yeah, I, I okay, so if Iā€™m honest. Yeah. Which I hate to say because that means I lied somewhere, but I didnā€™t. But frankly speaking, I would credit her with with giving me, you know, the nudge always nudging me. Right. And so itā€™s difficult sometimes for me and for men, I think, to go say, okay, I, I this is troubling me. This is bothering me. Iā€™m having a problem. Community. Thatā€™s a man thing. And Iā€™m going to blame it on men. Okay. So but but when I can get through that, when I can work through that. Obviously, her advice is very, very helpful and usually on point. And so, you know, I, I just have to give over to that if I, if I really, if I want to achieve my dreams, which is going to achieve our dreams, Iā€™ve got to give over.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:22:16] Something to submit to her and let her give advice or whatever.

PaulĀ [00:22:19] Because obviously sheā€™s smart.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:22:21] Well, and going back to when you guys met, you mentioned, obviously she what the question, were you always a go getter or do you know that she kind of put more fuel in your behind, I guess, to push you forward even more?

PaulĀ [00:22:38] Well, yes. Okay. I was I was always a real go getter. But Iā€™d moved to Austin after selling business and, selling business. And, you know, I was relaxing. I spent a lot of time at Zilker Park with my dog.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:22:53] ACL.

PaulĀ [00:22:55] Thatā€™s who I lived pretty close there. Oh, and so, and then, you know, I, I think I really had an awakening when I, when during the, during the pandemic. Right. I think I really had an awakening. Itā€™s like, okay, if Iā€™ve got a certain amount of time remaining in my life, I really need to maximize it. Weā€™d already decided we were going to have an adventurous life. Yeah. So this was going to be a component of that adventure. And so, I didnā€™t want to leave the planet unfulfilled. I didnā€™t want to leave the planet without maximizing everything that Iā€™ve got in me. So thatā€™s my governing belief 24 over seven. Itā€™s like, squeeze it out every day. And so yeah, that that applies to business and it applies to everything else.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:23:41] That you guys are just yā€™all are awesome. And I want to I want to continue on that. In my little teaser I talked about a beachhead. Letā€™s talk about that real quick, because I think having that go getter attitude, having you to as a team, thatā€™s something. So I wanted to Iā€™ll talk about that.

PaulĀ [00:23:59] Oh, are you going to put that on me. Are you? Letā€™s put it on, Kristy.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:24:03] Oh, my God, Iā€™m not part of the team. You guys.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:24:05] Common Christy.

PaulĀ [00:24:07] So that acronym is for big Hairy Audacious Goals.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:24:12] Yes.

PaulĀ [00:24:13] And before the before we went on air, we were talking about big, big hairy audacious goals. And if you donā€™t have that, I should. you that we have to define a word. But weā€™re going to assume theyā€™re children, right? So.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:24:30] An entrepreneur is a.

PaulĀ [00:24:31] Little entrepreneurial, which, by the way, we take our granddaughters on site with us on property tour. What do you. Seven years old.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:24:38] Oh, yeah. Iā€™ve got a two year old. I take them out to the world.

PaulĀ [00:24:40] Oh, yeah. We should.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:24:41] Yeah, you ought to let them know.

PaulĀ [00:24:42] And they may never go into real estate, but theyā€™re learning work ethic. Yes. Right. So thatā€™s part of the big hairy goal.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:24:51] Waiting for you to slip out.

PaulĀ [00:24:54] Is is to. Leave that legacy.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:24:55] Yeah.

PaulĀ [00:24:55] Right. And so, you know, we have certain number of, of assets under management that we want and we have a certain time frame that we want to do it in. And so for most people, they might think that this is totally undoable. And it may be, I donā€™t know, but, weā€™re not going to weā€™re not going to not try.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:25:16] But weā€™re going to do it. Oh, no.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:25:17] Yeah, yeah. So, you know, but yeah, that was a little.

PaulĀ [00:25:21] Do you like, what are your intentions here, Paul? Yeah.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:25:23] You know,.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:25:24] Thereā€™s no. But.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:25:25] The last couple of years weā€™ve joined a bunch of mastermind, which is really elevated our thinking and really made us think bigger, grow faster. And I think thatā€™s really helped. But, last year we went to, you know, the Jesse Edwards. Yes. So we went to to a retreat at his place in Atlanta. And itā€™s like an obstacle course place, and you have to sleep in tents the first night, and you have to do ice plunges, and then you have to hold your breath for five minutes. And so it was really interesting. The one thing that I loved about it, heā€™s got this thing thatā€™s called Build Your Life calendar. And we just got our doing in the mail. So weā€™ve been working on that. And so what he teaches you is like, you only have so long to live. Right. So if you do three things a day that you love. So write down the ten things that you love to do and pick out three of them and do it. Whether itā€™s like, I like to talk to my children, I like to do yoga, I like to and just every day figure out how to do those three things. And then once a month. You do something for every six weeks. You do like a long weekend of something you like to do, and then once a year you do something that will you will remember that year by. I mean the hardest, coolest thing that you want to do. And so like us are some it was like a cool thing to us last year. So like for 2023, our big thing is like we had an investment summit and it was super successful and we loved it. Right. And so weā€™re going to do this every year so that the end of your life, you can say, you know what, I went on 40 freaking badass vacations, right? I did, I went, so I went to here, I went to there, I did all these things every day. I enjoyed my life. And itā€™s just such a great way to really kind of plan your life. So thatā€™s kind of how we started incorporating our goals.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:27:05] Wow. Thatā€™s really cool. I want to do that.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:27:08] Yeah. Just answer. Download it.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:27:10] Yeah.

PaulĀ [00:27:11] Shout out to Jesse. Itā€™s for

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:27:12] Nephew. I mean, heā€™s heā€™s so awesome. Anyway.

PaulĀ [00:27:15] Know itā€™s a life of intention.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:27:16] Do you think that he helped because you talked about mastermind obviously doing the cold plunges and changing your, you know, can I do this instead of the word I canā€™t? It was more I can.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:27:25] Honestly than cold. Yeah I have always so I like sports and Iā€™m very athletic right. So Iā€™ve always wanted to do those, warrior runs, but I never have done them. And, and I play womenā€™s and volleyball for years and all of my volleyball team, we could do them, but I always can do because I was so scared. Because they always have that. The ready ice truck to dump an ice into a lake that youā€™d have to swim through. And I was just like, I could never do that part. But then we went to this event 2.5 minutes. I was in that cold ice water. It was so cold. But it was great. Yeah.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:27:54] Donā€™t ask me. How long were you in

PaulĀ [00:27:56] Two. Yeah. Together. Two. I think itā€™s two afterwards. Yeah. Itā€™s good. Have.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:27:59] Yeah. And there were like six couples at a time doing it. So there was like 80 of 80 couples that went to this event with us. Right. Oh wow. Yeah. It was so amazing.

PaulĀ [00:28:07] It and and I know about all the great health benefits for ice baths and inflammation and all that, but man, itā€™s tough.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:28:16] Iā€™m not a fan. Itā€™s cold. And I think itā€™s cool that you had your partner there with you in the in it at the same time because, you know, you get somebody that that youā€™re with and like, if you like do a ride that youā€™ve never done or anything like that. And you guys, hey, letā€™s do this together. And then all of a sudden youā€™re spinning around like, okay, weā€™re doing this ride together is like, you know, never done that kind of rider before the ice plunge. Just look and hold on each otherā€™s and thatā€™s it.

PaulĀ [00:28:40] Adventure.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:28:41] Yeah, yeah.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:28:43] So since then, weā€™ve done. Have you heard of that program? 75 part?

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:28:47] No.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:28:47] So we just finished two of them. So itā€™s for 75 days. We did it and we ended the day before someone started. Okay. So for 75 days you workout twice a day, 45 minutes each.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:28:57] Okay.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:28:58] One has to be outside.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:28:59] Okay.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:29:00] You drink a gallon of water a day, a day, okay, a gallon of water. You read ten pages of a book, nonfiction figure, you know, alcohol, and you follow some type of diet and you do it for 75 days.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:29:12] Iā€™ve been doing that. I donā€™t know, itā€™s called take a picture, okay.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:29:15] And take a progress picture. Right. So we did that for 75. And if you stay for summer.

PaulĀ [00:29:19] If you skip any of those steps, if you miss a step you have to start over. So itā€™s an exercise in discipline.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:29:26] Oh I want to try that.

PaulĀ [00:29:27] And planning. Oh wow. The health benefits are great. Yeah but itā€™s more of a discipline mindset thing.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:29:34] Yeah. Makes you plan your day like you have to know the day before. Like, if I have this, call it this. I donā€™t work out at the.

PaulĀ [00:29:40] 75.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:29:41] Okay? Iā€™ve been doing that. That was my thing since January 1st two days. So two days. No alcohol, obviously no TV, just reading.

PaulĀ [00:29:50] You could watch TV.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:29:51] But I guess one.

PaulĀ [00:29:52] And thatā€™s your Thing.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:29:53] Ā Yeah, that was my thing. Yeah.

PaulĀ [00:29:54] This is nonfiction book. Yeah.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:29:56] So we just finished the second one last week.

PaulĀ [00:30:00] Yeah, ten days ago. So yeah.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:30:01] Ā Are you going to do it again?

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:30:03] I am, heā€™s doing it again already. Okay. I have some stuff coming up next week I canā€™t. I canā€™t

Kristy KernsĀ [00:30:08] Ā you know I had to start over.

PaulĀ [00:30:10] But you know but but okay so just so my belief and I think our belief like is how you do one thing is how you do everything.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:30:17] Yes.

PaulĀ [00:30:18] So you know I chose this to actually she said you want to do it. And I said yeah, sure. And then the next day we woke up, she goes, okay, weā€™re doing it. So Iā€™m like, well, I said, yeah, sure, I guess so. So we started that day and we did it. But it, it to me, it seemed to be a reflection of everything else that weā€™re doing. Like, can we be disciplined? Can we take care of ourself? Can we follow a plan? Can we commit to a thing? You know, so itā€™s just a itā€™s just a reflection of everything going on is the way that I chose to see it. Yeah. And and you know, there were moments where itā€™s like, man, you know, do you want to quit? And itā€™s like, no. So I had more.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:31:00] Moments in that because my afternoon workouts always got pushed back. Right. My mother lives with us. Sheā€™s 85 and I take care of her. And, you know, sheā€™s all that.

PaulĀ [00:31:10] And there have been there have been several times where the last workout ended at 1158.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:31:13] Yeah, I would be walking through our neighborhood at night like an Olympic date coming and going, oh my God.

PaulĀ [00:31:18] Yeah. But what, you know, itā€™s like you make a commitment to something that you and then you. Do it? Yes. Right. And so how many times is someone, make a commitment and then find an excuse or reason, not fulfill that commitment? Oh, yeah. Right. So is that, you know. And where else is that reflected in your life?

PaulĀ [00:31:38] Absolutely. Absolutely.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:31:40] So yesterday he was walking when it was.

PaulĀ [00:31:43] 15 degrees or something. Silly.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:31:45] Good for you.

PaulĀ [00:31:46] Yeah. Oh. Thatā€™s cool. Yeah.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:31:48] It was held on elevation, right?

PaulĀ [00:31:51] Yeah, yeah. There you go.Ā  Good job. Yeah.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:31:57] I always like the best for everything.

PaulĀ [00:31:59] But it doesnā€™t have to be 70, 75 hard. You know, itā€™s itā€™s your relationships. Itā€™s your work ethic. Itā€™s your health and fitness. You know? Like what? How you do one thing is how you do everything. Yeah. True. Yeah. So. But thatā€™s become a real important mantra to us. And if I look back on my life, Iā€™m like, yeah, how I was doing things at that time, that was a reflection of how I was doing things at that time. You know, so itā€™s always a matter of improvement. Consistently improving. So you get to a point and you just raise the level for yourself all the time.

PaulĀ [00:32:32] Wow.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:32:33] Thatā€™s huge. Yeah, thatā€™s what they say. You know, if you want to be successful, what are you willing to do to put in those things? To be successful at anything that is. Are you willing to work at your relationship? Are you willing to anything? So if youā€™re not willing to commit and do those things, then youā€™ll fail at everything.

PaulĀ [00:32:46] And then we find the side benefit, which is really the the best benefit is now there are people that are attracted to that. Yeah. Like so you know, the people that that we are attracted to and that are attracted to us, we share those kinds of values. Yeah. And so now weā€™re, you know, you run in with that kind of crowd.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:33:04] Yeah. Your vibe on your tribe, thatā€™s what I the attraction, all that stuff. I love it.

PaulĀ [00:33:09] And so those are those are all. I didnā€™t know we were going to go there, but Iā€™m glad we did.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:33:16] Iā€™m leaning in. Yeah.

PaulĀ [00:33:20] Oh, my. And hopefully. Okay, letā€™s letā€™s talk about a selfish part of it. Hopefully somebody will see that in us and go, you know, those are the kind of people that want we want to be the steward of our investment. Yeah. So thereā€™s a business application, right? Then somebody will see us and go thus. Thatā€™s the kind of couple I want to hang out with.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:33:40] Yes. Yeah.

PaulĀ [00:33:41] You know, Iā€™m going to learn from them.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:33:42] Love it.

PaulĀ [00:33:43] And we donā€™t think of ourselves as like, couple example or anything like that. But but we do find that we attract those kinds of people in our lives.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:33:51] That is cool. I mean, like, I mean, you the way youā€™re talking, you all three are talking about this attraction. Now Iā€™m thinking itā€™s like. Being in the oil and gas industry. You know, weā€™re so isolated and weā€™re born in a way that way is like, you know, you keep everything to yourself. Youā€™re quiet, you know, whatever youā€™re doing. However, I do feel like some things in 2023 have changed that. And, itā€™s itā€™s really cool to just kind of listen to you guys talk about your summit, talk about how you all only continue to bring more and more positive people and people that are like minded into what yā€™all are doing, and that is translating into success in life business. And I mean lack of better words for love, which I think is really, really awesome. And I mean, yā€™all, yā€™all came in here. I wanted to talk real estate. Talk about something. Iā€™m coming out here taking notes.

PaulĀ [00:34:41] Thatā€™s nice. Yeah. Itā€™s, itā€™s itā€™s a great life. And, I think in the world right now, we need positive news. Yes, we need positive people. We need positive ideas. We need to not pay attention to the B.S. in the mainstream media. Yes. And we need to build our own lives.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:35:03] And a lot of examples of relationships.

PaulĀ [00:35:05] And the lives of people in our world.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:35:08] For sure.

PaulĀ [00:35:08] And and thatā€™s how the world is going to come together, and thatā€™s how the world is going to improve. And somebodyā€™s got to do it. Yeah, somebodyā€™s got to do it.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:35:18] Well, Iā€™ll tell you what. As we, as we slowly kind of wrap this up, you know, letā€™s talk real estate real quick for 2024. And you kind of said, hey, weā€™re not 100% sure, but you know three things before I ask you the question, three things always say to invest in this energy technology in order to estate all through. Youā€™re not going away. You know, technologyā€™s changing every day. Energy can be oil and gas, obviously renewables, all of it. And real estate. Real estate is not going away. And as Iā€™m sure yā€™all have said many of times, thereā€™s only so much of it. So, you know, on the real estate side, you know, where do you see things going? Are you excited for 2024 as far as the real estate market goes?

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:35:54] Yes, we are, we are. We have so much on the horizon, so many deals. Weā€™re looking what the new build is going to take a little bit of our time, but weā€™re excited about it because it is the only, class A five star and it. Oh, so itā€™s going to be super upscale, beautiful finishes. And weā€™re close. We weā€™ve already got the entitlements down. We were out there today. They started doing, the civil engineering. Theyā€™re drilling the holes. Okay, you know, checking the soil. So. Yeah. So thatā€™s already started today. We got to see them and meet those folks this morning. So that was good. Our store just was to have a shovel in the ground by March. Oh, San Antonio. Yeah. So that was a youā€™re working with architects on that. So thatā€™s been really good. And weā€™re probably going to buy 4 or 5 more multifamily this year. Now or so. And weā€™re going to have a lot of fun.

PaulĀ [00:36:41] Absolutely.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:36:42] Weā€™re going to have another summit in 2024, right?

PaulĀ [00:36:45] Absolutely. Two more, two more.

PaulĀ [00:36:47] Ā one for the spring.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:36:48] Yet first weekend of May. So if anybodyā€™s interested reach out to us. We can give you details on that okay. we probably going to cap it at 40 again, but, you know, itā€™s going to be the last one and just make it even more cool this time. So even though it looked great on the from everybody else, there was some things in the background weā€™re going to work on and make that better for us.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:37:09] Detail?

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:37:09] Yeah. Detail.

PaulĀ [00:37:10] The details that better experience for for the people that attend. Okay. But on the on the real estate front, itā€™s itā€™s a matter I think itā€™s a matter of mindset. There is opportunity everywhere. Yeah, thereā€™s opportunity everywhere. How can you create that opportunity? Thatā€™s your job. Yeah. Make the opportunity happen. And I think 2024 and 2025, for that matter, are going to be exciting times for people that are Heather, have their stuff together and have their business organized to buy real estate. Weā€™re weā€™re just, like, so excited about the opportunities that we have and that, that we see coming out. And with the summit in the, in the private and, and the mastermind retreat that we do, itā€™s like, will attract the right people. Theyā€™ll come in with us, theyā€™ll have a great time, will connect, theyā€™ll network, weā€™ll do fireside chats. Weā€™ll have one in the spring. We have one in the in the fall. And, these are these are high end events for high end people. Yeah. So.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:38:05] Well. And we and we like it because we he said build your own economy basically. Right. So one of the things that we love about the summit is that our children work with us on that. My daughter is an event planner, so she does all the event planning. Her son is a high end chef. He worked in San Francisco at Michael Minaā€™s restaurant. He does all the work on that side. So weā€™ve really been able to incorporate our family, which would be the most important thing. Thatā€™s.

PaulĀ [00:38:28] Yes, thatā€™s part of the big goal.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:38:31] Yes, exactly. The big portfolio.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:38:33] The big.

PaulĀ [00:38:35] Hairy.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:38:35] Audacious family.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:38:42] I got the big. Home. audacious goal

PaulĀ [00:38:48] Youā€™re stuck on the audacious part. Thatā€™s not what she wants to hear.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:38:54] You said it. Yeah.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:38:57] How can people get in contact with you guys?

PaulĀ [00:38:59] Yeah. Great. So to get in contact with us for our real estate in our social media. Montelongo capital.com. Weā€™ve got a number of ways to get Ahold of us there and to see what weā€™re doing in the world. We encourage people to follow us on social media because they get to see they get to peer into our lives. Weā€™re unfiltered that way. And and they get to see our adventures, and hopefully somebody will get inspired somewhere along the way to go out and live a life of their venture on their own, if they havenā€™t already.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:39:27] So on the unfiltered side, then people, youā€™ll actually hear somebody say, big hairy ass goal that does that.

PaulĀ [00:39:34] Did you hear that?

Kristy KernsĀ [00:39:35] Yeah, I did.

PaulĀ [00:39:36] That was for you, Kristy.

PaulĀ [00:39:38] Yeah, that was the running joke before the show, right? But yeah, we and the other thing is to we, we invite, people to contact us and talk to us about their, you know, their, their financial and real estate goals and what they want to achieve for their family. And we can see if we can help if we can help. Great. And other than that, if we can establish some kind of relationship or friendship, thatā€™s great as well.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:40:04] Awesome. Yeah. Well, guys, I cannot thank yā€™all enough. I donā€™t.

PaulĀ [00:40:09] Itā€™s been so much fun.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:40:10] This has been a blast. Iā€™m looking forward to the, pre, or the post posted in the afterwards. I tell you that much, Kristy. Thank you, as always, for coming back on that. You know, again, with your skills and the life coaching, you know, you ask way better questions that I did on, on this whole front. And thank you for sharing about the real estate as well.

PaulĀ [00:40:29] Youā€™re welcome. Thank you for the invitation.

Letitia MontelongoĀ [00:40:30] So great meeting you.

Kristy KernsĀ [00:40:31] Yeah. Me too. Iā€™m. Iā€™m excited to get excited to follow you.

Rey TreviƱoĀ [00:40:36] That to all my guests, to all everybody out there. I want to thank you, as always, for tuning in to another episode. Please be sure to like, subscribe and follow us and weā€™ll see you again on another episode of The Crude Truth.

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