Eric Simonson - Not All Real Estate Investments Are Made Equal

BIO: Eric Simonson is the Founder and CEO of Abundo, a financial planning firm that teaches and empowers people to take action and own their financial lives.STORY: In 2020, during the early days of COVID-19, Eric and his wife sold their home and bought a condo because they wanted to live downtown. They later sold the condo in 2023 and lost about 10% on that home purchase.LEARNING: Not all real estate investments are made equal. Focus on location and build quality. Don’t expect to flip new builds into a profit immediately. Don’t bet on a recovery of a big macro event. “Make sure you’re confident you’re gonna live in your new home long enough to recoup some of those initial buying costs.”Eric Simonson Guest profileEric Simonson is the Founder and CEO of Abundo, a financial planning firm that teaches and empowers people to take action and own their financial lives. After working as a traditional advisor for over a decade, Eric saw a need to help people who couldn’t work with a traditional financial advisor since most require having a certain amount of money to invest with them first. He left his corporate job and launched a different model, one where he was only paid for giving honest advice that benefited his clients, not him. He built Abundo around a Flat Fee and Advice-Only Financial Planning model, eliminating all conflicts of interest without overcharging for professional advice and using proven low-cost investments. His firm now guides over 450 clients in all areas of their financial lives.Worst investment everIn 2020, during the early days of COVID-19, Eric and his wife sold their home and bought a condo because they wanted to live downtown. They sold the condo in 2023 and lost about 10% on that home purchase.Lessons learnedThe condo market behaves differently than the single-family home market.Downtown markets behave differently than suburban markets.Not all real estate investments are made equal. Focus on location and build quality.Don’t expect to flip new builds into a profit immediately.Don’t bet on a recovery of a big macro event. It’s hard to guess what’s going to happen.Andrew’s takeawaysIt’s challenging to sell secondhand condos.Actionable adviceEnsure you’re confident you’ll live in your new home long enough to recoup some of those initial buying costs. Don’t spend more on a condo purchase than you’re comfortable spending. Understand the rules around the rentability—what happens if you want to get out of it? Can you rent it out?Eric’s recommendationsEric recommends checking out his company’s blog for fresh content and valuable resources.No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsEric’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to create the best culture and team he can make. If he does that, the team will work hard and serve clients well.Parting words “Thank you for having me, Andrew. I appreciate it.”Eric Simonson [spp-transcript] Connect with Eric SimonsonLinkedin