382 | From FL School Teacher To Early Real Estate Retiree w/ Guest Investor Jane Taricano

Jane Taricano was working hard for the school system when her son, Alex, came to her asking to borrow some of her retirement money to invest into a real estate deal and start a company. 

Like any mother, she wanted to help her son, but the last time he had a business idea, it was a huge loss.

She did it anyways, and in doing so, she became the first investor with JWB Real Estate Capital because her son is Alex Sifakis.

Join us on today's show to meet "Mamma Jane", hear about her investment journey, and get a peek into the origins of JWB.

We'll discuss:

- Why she decided to take the leap and bet her retirement on real estate
- How her portfolio has grown over the years (and what it looks like now)
- What she thinks of Jacksonville real estate today

Many of us met Mamma Jane at the Summit, but few of us have heard the behind the scenes stories of her real estate journey.

Don't miss a chance to see her LIVE!

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Transcript

Pablo Gonzalez: 1:17

All right. Welcome. Welcome everybody to the Thursday edition of the not ravaged investor show. Good day. We have a very special guest investor of the week. I'm your host Pablo Gonzalez with me today is a local legend around these parts. You're here walking in the hallways and you can hear her for maybe like three or four rooms away. Cause everybody knows that she was the original seed investor here. Former educator, administrator, now retiree? Retiree. Retiree. Doing it. Living a good life. Grandmother. Grandmother. Grandmother life. Mama Jane Terracano, mother of Alex Zafakis. Welcome to

Jane Tariacano: 1:53

the show. Thank you. It's nice to be here.

Pablo Gonzalez: 1:56

you know that we start with a little tradition, you know what it's called? We've got, uh, the MVP, you know, the MVP. Lee, Lee, Bishop, everybody knows the MVP. We got the Maven from the mountains of Denver, Leslie Wilson. We got our lead off hitter batting third today, John Henning. We got Jeff Petty. John from Missouri checking in. Jeff. Good to have you. We've got the Shaw man, Nadim Shaw. We got the ring master in the house, Drew Barnhill. He was, studied circus at Florida state. He was a high wire walker and now he's just a big cool guy. Wow. We got Lewis Hudnall in the house from Rockland, California. Lewis, welcome back. We got Leo for rocking on. We couldn't figure out how to say his last name. And then we realized it rhymed with that song.

Jane Tariacano: 2:43

Very creative here. Very creative bunch. It's

Pablo Gonzalez: 2:47

good to have you. We got the patron Santorio's of the natural restaurant show community, Michael Santorio's. We got the mama bear, Cody Adams in the house, we got Pamela Myers in the house from the Pacific Northwest, Pamela. Good to have you. We got the man of steel, Vincent Barbarized, it's a new nickname.

Jane Tariacano: 3:03

Man of Steel's a new nickname. Man of Steel's a

Pablo Gonzalez: 3:05

new nickname. First time, first time unloading it on the show. Found out that he owns like a steel company. Man of Steel. It's on. That's it. I hope you like your new nickname, man. Laura Colby from Washington State. Also our amigo. Buenas tardes, amigos! Bill Shields. Good to have you, Bill Shields. Our favorite name to pronounce, Aaron O'Neill. Into the light! This is what we'd like to say when Aaron shows up. We got the first family of the non trafficking community, Ken and Carolyn Malene, Patriarch and Matriarch. We salute you. Debbie Allo. Hi, Jane and Pablo. So happy to see Jane on today's Debbie, a friend of yours. I know her. All right. Joel Wixel from Santa Barbara. Checking in. Good to have you, Joel. Who else? We got in here. Christmas Carol. Oh, my

Jane Tariacano: 3:44

sister in law. All

Pablo Gonzalez: 3:45

right. There you go. Hey, Chris. You bring it. You bring the audience over here. People. People want to know the story of Mama Jane. Eddie Harris from Hotlanta. Good to have you in the house. All right. Let's. Oh, and the mountain man. Billy Green from the Sanguine Mountains of Colorado. Bill checking just on time. All right. Well, I see that there's already a question in the Q& A. What do we got over here? Mama Jane, let's start with, kind of where we started earlier. Okay. When you were, I guess your first, your first investment was, at some point in like 2006 with them, 2000. Right. Okay. Right. Talk to me about at that point, were you already an administrator or were you teaching? I was teaching. You were teaching. Fifth grade, what were your view? Like, how did you feel about retirement and kind of like your future net worth and like different things that people will tend to underestimate at that point in your life

Jane Tariacano: 4:37

before Alex? I really wasn't thinking too much about that. I was a teacher in Florida. We moved from Massachusetts. And so I was basically in survival mode still with four boys. Trying to make it work. Yeah, some of them going off to college, graduating college, some in high school, it was, you know, I wanted to retire in the state of Florida does help you with that. But I hadn't really wasn't on the forefront of my mind. Yeah,

Pablo Gonzalez: 5:01

that makes sense. I like I was telling you earlier to me. I echo with that story very differently. Obviously, I don't have kids and you know, like, but the survival mode feeling of I feel like I have been trying to make it through and not really thinking about, hey, what is the thing that's working for me right now that eventually is going to be able to take care of me. The first time I really started feeling that was. When I, you know, started taking this seriously, right? The community got me to read that, read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, you know, like morning, morning runs with Greg, eventually investing in these properties. And I find myself now like feeling really good about the future with. With five properties here in Jacksonville, but that's real man, right? Like most people just don't did you have a, it was 2006, right? So the world was talking about real estate. Did it ever cross your mind that you were just like, man, you should just get in on this. Absolutely not. Why is that? That's right. Four boys refer to my previous statement.

Jane Tariacano: 5:57

Yeah. I was working full time, taking care of kids, you know, no retirement. It was a thought that what's happening far away, although I was in my 40s, it was still like far away.

Pablo Gonzalez: 6:09

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. That makes perfect sense. I feel the same way right now in my 40s. so then talk to me about getting a full call from Alex and Greg saying, Hey, we want to put your money into a into a real estate deal here.

Jane Tariacano: 6:23

Well, I've been through quite a few things with Alexander during college. He is, he's always been. A thinker and a doer, and he always has great ideas. So I helped him through some of those. Some were successful, some were not. And then he was also doing the stock market, and he did pretty well for me there. And because, of course, I had to fund that as well. but, you know, so when they came to me, they've been looking for something to do, and Alexander did not want to work for anybody else, and he wanted to do something with Greg, and they were going to go forward, and so I said, okay, what the heck, let's

Pablo Gonzalez: 6:58

go with it. Sounds so simple.

Jane Tariacano: 6:59

I don't know, I have faith in those guys. Yeah, you just had it from the beginning and you know, it wasn't like I was retiring tomorrow. So, you know, I had time to recover if anything happened.

Pablo Gonzalez: 7:10

Yeah. So when we say kind of like seed investor into JWB, it was, you know, I know we talked about at the summit, but it was a loan, like 100, 000 loan from your 401k or something like

Jane Tariacano: 7:21

that. First was the money to buy the information from the real estate. Some place they'd gone. Yeah, and that's where they met the you know, the Connecticut guys and then After that they were getting into it and learning more and then I gave him a little bit more and then then I gave him The hundred but yeah, it was first it was like a little bit here and then yeah But I did have a stipulation which you know, I know that they laugh about but it was completely real When I gave them the second bit of money, I had basically written him a little letter Because in hindsight, I give them the money and I'm thinking, wait a minute, you know, she probably has something in writing. And, uh, I'm really, really, really in financial. And I told them, I said, you know, basically, if you lose this, I'll be living with you in my retirement. Like I will be living with one of you or both of you when I retire, because I will have nothing else. So that I think the impetus for them never losing anything.

Pablo Gonzalez: 8:13

It's a heck of a heck of a gauntlet to lay down. I wonder, like, did you think at that point that this is like, all right, I need these guys to really understand the severity of this thing? Was it really like a, like a, tell me, tell me about your thinking behind that note.

Jane Tariacano: 8:27

Well, I had given money, you know, couple and I was thinking about it going, it's a lot of money. Yeah. Yeah. Not that they would not do anything, but I just wanted something in writing that. They had it, you know, because it's, you know, they take money, whatever, but then later on, you know, but I had faith in them. I knew that they could do anything they put their mind to. They're just pretty amazing.

Pablo Gonzalez: 8:49

Yeah, as a agreed. First of all, with how I feel about those guys to you probably have a little bit more history. Um, but think of it as a, as an entrepreneur. And as a son, the amount of positive pressure that you added to that situation, right, like this idea of like, hey, let's be very clear here. Your back is now officially against the wall and you put my back against the wall. Exactly. And if it doesn't work out, you basically, you basically just like spoke for my housing scenario once I, I retired, let, let it be known.

Jane Tariacano: 9:24

I was pretty clear.

Pablo Gonzalez: 9:25

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. I, you know, there's a lot of beliefs around this idea that when you are starting a business. You know, like there's, there's so many more stories that tell you if you are, if your back is completely against the wall is really when you're going to like respond to this thing versus this is a nice to have, or, you know, people that are doing like a side hustle and never really want to take that leap. I can imagine that that little added. Jolt of, or at the end of their 24 year old guys, right? Like 24, 23, 23 frontal cortex, not fully online yet. Um, whatever they were thinking, I imagine that cold dose of water must have been like a really, a really good, like Okay, you know we may have been in the boys game now and now we're in like in a real man's game And we really got to make it happen.

Jane Tariacano: 10:14

They're pretty they were committed. So they were you know, yeah, they were they have initiative You know, they're just for

Pablo Gonzalez: 10:19

sure. Okay, so I want to I want to get to okay So now your life is different now after being in in real estate for a long. Yeah, but even even before that even before that You, I want you to share the story from the summit, right? Like this wasn't the first time you, you alluded to it. He's, he's always been a deal maker. We're talking about that. Yeah. Jacob, Jacob, and brought that up. The other co founder of the co founder brought up this idea that this wasn't the first time that they came for you for money. There was another harebrained idea that they, that, that you, that you funded, it didn't go well. Tell me that story.

Jane Tariacano: 10:53

Okay. Well, this has nothing to do with Greg. This is just all Alexander, you know, he had a great. Idea to invest my money, of course, in some TVs on eBay and he was going to sell them and make a big profit. So I. I helped him. I have given the money and it was a bust. The TVs got to Gainesville and they had already been stripped so they were worth absolutely nothing. So that was a large chunk of money that did not go so well. And

Pablo Gonzalez: 11:23

didn't go well, but you are still there betting on him. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Just mother's love. I guess so. There's, there's also some part of like, you've, you saw him grow up, you know, that he is built different, right? but you were saying to me that you've always had like this extreme faith in him as like a doer and like a, a, a get stuff

Jane Tariacano: 11:42

done. Right, right. Yeah, he's, I don't know. He's the oldest of four boys. He had a lot of responsibility growing up because, you know, they had a, they, they were very, I won't say they were close at that time. They were awesome boys. And so, yeah, but he was, you know, he was the oldest of four. So he. Oldest child. Yeah. Let's go.

Pablo Gonzalez: 12:01

Given the figurehead position and the responsibility from birth. Yeah. Yeah. So it was, yeah. Yeah. That makes a lot of

Jane Tariacano: 12:06

sense. That makes a lot sense. And in, in a crisis, you want Alexander, you know, he's got a, he's, he's the go guy, you know, and, uh, so it's kind of, things happen. Yeah. You go, so, you know, okay. Give him a chance. He was trying different things. Why not? It's funny

Pablo Gonzalez: 12:19

cause I, I want to hear more about that, but I feel like the first couple times I met Alexander, I would've pegged him as the youngest child. He's got this like, boisterous energy and, and able to like command the room so well that I very much identify with, and I'm the youngest, but then I think when I talk about him, I'm like, if you were to maximize all of my skill sets, I feel like it could be Alex. Right. And I think maybe it's that added sense of responsibility that he's always had that allowed him to. You know, take all these natural gifts that he has and really maximize the most out of it,

Jane Tariacano: 12:54

right? But even he loved to read. So he would in elementary school, he'd be walking down the street reading a book. He read everything. And then in middle school, we had a restaurant at the time. So he'd go in and he'd Read the newspaper at 13. You know, so I mean, he was always that kind of kid that still played football, you know, was on the football team, did wrestling in high school, was amazing. But he was also that guy that just always was seeking information. Yeah. Good genetics. Sounds like a genetic. Oh, exactly. Yes. Just like his mother. Just

Pablo Gonzalez: 13:22

like his mother. Just like his mother. Okay. Well, thanks for making it very clear that he is way more different than me than I thought. that was not me growing up. all right. So that being said today you are, this was. We're talking about two, 2018. This was 14 years ago, 15 years ago, right? Like 2018. I dunno. I'm thinking I'm not, I'm not a numbers guy. I'm not a numbers guy. 2006, right?

Jane Tariacano: 13:44

So 18 years ago. 18. Now I can't, I can't believe it's been 18 years. 18 years

Pablo Gonzalez: 13:48

ago now we're going to talk about that journey, but from like a path of like, I was just trying to make stuff happen to all of a sudden I'm investing in real estate to where you are right now, retired, retired, comfortably retired, live in the grandma life. Yeah. Yeah. Tell me more.

Jane Tariacano: 14:06

Well, I, you know, they've grown, you know, they started in their. Condo in Jacksonville. And then they bought that beauty salon on university. I think it was, you know, so that was interesting. And they, you know, brought on more people and it just kept growing because they, they can punt and they can switch when they need to, when things don't go right, they get together, they discuss it and they figure a way where it's going to work. And I've always been so proud of the way that they can take a problem and turn it into a solution. And it's just crazy. And they've learned like, you know, when they first started out, they wanted to do each house differently. And then very quickly they decided that that's not cost effective. Yeah. And you know, I mean, when Greg told us he was going to quit his job, we were just devastated. Like that was a, what are you thinking? But it turned out well.

Pablo Gonzalez: 14:58

Let's unpack some of that, right? Because I've, I've had a lot of conversations with Greg over the years of like the evolution of their business model. And I've learned so much from business from him and Alex and, and Adams and just seeing this place operate, but even in the short amount, you know, I guess I've been here now four years, kind of like as a unofficial historian hype man of JWB. Yeah. It's so hard to envision such a well put together organization that is so like structured and like good at what it does and gain such notoriety for it, right? Like front page of the Wall Street Journal is not a something you can just throw around lightly, right? Twice. but I get the sense that there's been a lot of this iteration. Tell me more about this idea of them going from and you know, how, how are you kept them? First of all, how are you, were you kept apprised of this? Cause it was just like, Hey mom, this is what's going on in my business. Or were you kept apprised of this as like a, as like a client investor? What is your perspective? How is it informed?

Jane Tariacano: 15:54

That's a good question. I wasn't informed. They just did what they did and I found out eventually. Okay. Like, no, I wasn't part of the business the day to day. I was just behind the scene. Here it is. Do what you need to do. Hopefully you do well. So yeah, I wasn't, I had nothing to do with any of the growth or the, you know, the intricacies of who they hired. You know, when Adam Riegel first came on and came out of the kitchen at the condo and, you know, it was just crazy and then how it grew and then they moved and, you know, they did get mentorship with the guys from CT Homes and that I think really helped put them in perspective. And they just, you know, went on and they're just such Intelligent, forward thinking guys, and the combination of the four of them is just amazing, you know?

Pablo Gonzalez: 16:44

Talk to me. You said something a lot. And, and by the way, I want this show to be about you, not just, not just them. But I think I sense like a real deep sense of pride of like what you witnessed and stuff like that. Right. Yeah. So you weren't involved in the day to day, just in the genetics and the formation, but you said, you said you've seen them tough stuff out and shuck and jive and figure things out. Can you give me a couple of examples of moments where you're like, wow, this guy's really well.

Jane Tariacano: 17:06

I bought my first property in 2000, actually I bought all my properties in 2012 and February I bought one. And, you know, when something goes wrong, of course, I get a call from JWB and that number used to freak me out when I'd see it. And so they changed that. It's kind of like. If something goes wrong, I, of course, call my son right away because, you know, that's what a mother does, but I'll go through the regular channels and so, you know, we talk it through and then they fix it. They might change one of their security things and they might change how they do background checks things that have happened to me. I've been kind of a pretty. I don't know how to say it, but, you know, when things happen, I, of course, complain. I'm very good at that. and so, you know, they fix it. Like, they, they're just amazing at how proactive they are and how they just couldn't get around to getting it right. And so eventually it's all right.

Pablo Gonzalez: 17:58

That makes sense. It reminds me of kind of the story of, Denny Davies. I was talking to him at the summit and I remember. I remember when Denny first became like a fan of the show when I'd be running with Greg he'd be like you have no idea what it means to me that this guy's a fan of the show because we messed so many things up with him. You know like there was so many like kitchen dinner table conversations with him and his wife where I know that we were the villain and we were and and we've been able and the fact that he's all the way back in to the point where he's like a supporter of the show is a big deal. So I was talking to him about that and he's like yeah man like. They've iterated a lot, like figuring out how to get the right tenant in, figuring out the right way to communicate about this and like manage the money and, and the things that need to happen has been an iterative process that. We are now fortunate enough to see it fully formed, but there were people that went along

Jane Tariacano: 18:45

for it about 10 years ago or something that, you know, they said we need to hire people smarter than we are, you know, it's like we need to do things a little differently, you know, where they knew that they could always grow and learn and they were always reading and. And I read a lot of, they used to do book I don't know if they still do book, book club reports. Yeah. So once a week at their meetings you know, one of the people in the company had to do a book and do a book report basically. And so I was reading all those books as well. You know, rich dad, poor dad, the hap happiness, something or other, I don't know, it's been a long time, but it's just, they're always learning. Yeah. And I think that's what works. You know, you're not stuck in this is how we're going to do it. This way, you know, we've done it 10 years. It's not working anymore. We're going to change it up.

Pablo Gonzalez: 19:26

Yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense. Speaks to a lot of their core, the core values that they talk about all the time, right? Like always like fail forward and always you're, you're, you're either growing or dying, like all those kinds of things that they really live. Yeah, that's interesting. talk to me about you said that you've had some, some hairy moments, right? Like some less than favorable experiences as a, as a rental property owner, which I think we You eventually do, right? You eventually do. Can you kind of like talk me through like one of these moments where you're like, Oh God, really?

Jane Tariacano: 19:55

Well, one of the first time that I had a really big turnover they were evicted and they completely destroyed the house, you know, I just don't know how people do that. I just can't understand how you can just destroy property, but we won't go down that aisle. but, and I, you know, I was talking to Alexander and I was like, like, how does this happen? I think it was like a 6, 000 flip. And this was, you know, 10 or more years ago, which was exorbitant. And it was like, Oh my goodness. So, you know, so they changed a couple of things and how they vet people to come in. But, and they did a couple of other things too, which was really great, but they do. And that's not the only time I've had something happen, but you know, in the long run, you make it up with the, you know, with the value. I don't see that right away. I'm the first one to, I'm quite a nervous investor in the sense that I sit there and have a heart attack and go, Oh my God, I can't believe I've lost this money. But in the long run, it all comes back. but so that's, I've had, I've had a few this summer. I was in, um, I was out of the country and I got a call with a turn. Of course, my first call was to Alexander, but, you know, it, it, it worked out. Yeah.

Pablo Gonzalez: 20:59

So talk to me about that turn. You're out of the country. You get a phone call. what's that experience like as an investor in JWB? Like, are you, are, are you basically having to like review quotes or blah, blah, blah, or is it like a call? Like, Hey, this is what needs to happen.

Jane Tariacano: 21:12

Yeah, basically this is what happens when you need a check. Exactly. That would say, I have to say that investing with them. is amazing because you don't have to do the day to day. I am not one that wants to call a plumber or do anything. and it's just wonderful that they get the quotes, they figure it out, they get the best deal, their people, you know, know what they're doing. so it's, it's nice that you just, they just, it's not a nice phone call. It's not a fun phone call, but. It the best it can be, you know, in a property, correct? Correct.

Pablo Gonzalez: 21:40

Like I, I feel like we've had all these different stories that it's like you hear on the front end. The story is, oh my God, I'm on vacation and now I have a vacancy and whatever has to happen. But the back end of the story is the idea of the psych. Okay, well, part of that's table stakes of like investing in rental properties. People are going to live in it and you're going to have to know that. But the key thing is, now 150 steps have to happen, but me as an investor, maybe only two steps.

Jane Tariacano: 22:06

Exactly. Yeah. I had, I didn't have to do much. Yeah. Correct. And I knew it would be taken care of. Yeah, listen to it. And they were like, whatever happened, they figure it out. Yeah. So yeah, cool. It's very nice. That's awesome.

Pablo Gonzalez: 22:17

what have you learned about the world of real estate and real estate investing and stuff like that since you've been a part of it? have you kind of like, Have you tapped into it or have you just been like, you know what, I've got these four houses. I'm letting it ride. I'm going to live

Jane Tariacano: 22:30

my life. All right. So my investment strategy is talk to Alexander. I want to do this. What do you think? Yeah. And I also talked to my other son, Anthony, because he's also investment. And then my other two boys do something else. I don't talk to them about real estate. They're perfect for other wonderful things. But, you know, I kind of hash it out between them. And then I talk to Greg, and then I give them my money or whatever. And then they do it. And that's, you know, I don't make any decisions. When my manager calls from JWB, she tells me something. I immediately text or call Allison. Yeah, I've asked him his opinion and he handles it and I'm good, you know, so, I'm very, I mean, you can't get too much more passive. What do I need to do? Okay. That's a good idea in the future. Yes. Okay.

Pablo Gonzalez: 23:16

You were just telling me that your, your grandkids are growing up a little bit different than that.

Jane Tariacano: 23:20

Yes. When I was growing up my father was first generation American from Italy and my mother was Irish English or in Massachusetts and my father never talked money. We didn't know how much he made. We didn't know how to use money, nothing. And it's just so nice to see my grandson. Talking about money as an asset or reliability, liability. Exactly. It's six and he's now seven, but this is when he was six. We're talking, he goes, but that's not, that's not an asset. He goes, you know, that's kind of a liability now. It just blows my mind. I'm so proud of them. And I'm so proud of my son for, you know, that they just have these conversations about money, not just investing, but about money. And at six, he understands the difference between, you know, no, you really don't want to, that Pokemon card really isn't worth it. If you're going to do this later. And I'm like, who are you? It's just amazing. That's really cool. Just have these conversations. So it's just nice to have children understand money at this age.

Pablo Gonzalez: 24:21

Yeah, it's unheard of, right? Like a six year old telling you about, you know, applying the context to a Pokemon card and then speaking too educatedly on it. That's pretty remarkable. It's pretty remarkable. what about the, so Greg and Alex are, and if you're just joining us. Mama Jane is Alex Ifagus's, mom and the first investor in JWB. So kind of just doing a stretch on memory lane of your story and JWB story from a super unique perspective. So Greg and Alex were like best friends from like high school since we moved

Jane Tariacano: 24:55

to Florida when I was in, I was 16. So he was a junior. Got it. So he went into a, he would have gone to private school from second grade to ninth grade to a 10th grade. So 11th grade, he came down and we went to public school, which was. He went from a class of like 100 to 1700 in high school. so that's where I met Greg. Matt,

Pablo Gonzalez: 25:13

Greg, what are your kind of like first memories of like me? Like when they first met her, you're like, Oh yeah, these guys are friends forever. Like, what's your first kind of like, but give me a background. I was in survival mode. You're in survival mode. Yeah. Yeah.

Jane Tariacano: 25:24

I just moved with four sons to Florida. Age is what? Eight to 16. Three different schools. It was teaching. And but no, he had a really good group of kids and they would be at the house all the time. And it was just wonderful. I mean, they, the group of kids he hung out with and they're still all friends. It's kind of remarkable that these boys have boys, men since high school, but you know, MJ and all the other ones are just, it's just kind of great.

Pablo Gonzalez: 25:50

Yeah, that's awesome. Like to me, the, yeah. The story of like two best friends from high school that go to college together that then start to go to Spain,

Jane Tariacano: 25:59

they went to Spain together,

Pablo Gonzalez: 26:00

right, study around Sevilla together. Yeah, yeah. And then, and then the one that talks the other one, it's like, we're doing this and I'm moving to your couch and I'm going to start this and then, you know, kind of like finds a way forward. So.

Jane Tariacano: 26:14

You know, I used to ask about, you know, he's just like, yes, we could do whatever. Yeah, yeah,

Pablo Gonzalez: 26:18

that's really cool. But you also have a unique, I mean, you were, you were talking to me about the four guys, right? So it's like they, they, Alex and Greg founded it. Then Regal came on at a certain time afterwards and they recruited Aisman for a while and he came in and you seem to have. Decent amount of exposure and like kind of like admiration for for all four of them to a certain extent

Jane Tariacano: 26:41

I don't think they could be where they are if it weren't the four of them. I mean in in a sense I mean, they'd still be successful but I just think that they each have different skill set and different ways of looking at the world and Together it just make it's beautiful thing. Like, you know my It's just a matter of how it works, you know, I mean, Greg and Alexander were doing great then they got, you know, Regal came on and then, you know, they were doing amazing things. I mean, they were growing and growing and growing. And then, you know, I, and so there's just, it's the mix of who they, who they partner with, you know, it's amazing.

Pablo Gonzalez: 27:56

have like a sense of like how you would describe the different skill sets that each of them have? Yeah. Okay.

Jane Tariacano: 28:02

Yeah. I mean, you know, just different, like Alexander is definitely not. The day to day kind of guy, you know, he's, he's kind of like the visionary and, uh, you know, I'm going to go for this. I'm going to go figure this out. So that would be when we,

Pablo Gonzalez: 28:15

when we first started the show and I had each of them, I've, I had eyes men, Alexander and Greg, of course didn't get a chance to have regal on, but I asked each of them, like, how would you describe. His superpower, right? It was, it was really funny because everybody's like, Alexander's like the visionary, right? Like it's season of the future and just brings things to reality. What

Jane Tariacano: 28:35

do you call him? Yeah. Okay.

Pablo Gonzalez: 28:37

I like to mess with him about the Tasmanian devil of, of, of Northeast real estate. But I think I want to start calling him Steve jobs of North Sea real estate. I think you'll like that. But yeah, that's okay. Approved, approved by mom. Eisman was like, he's like the coach, right? Like he likes to. You know, get into it with people and, and work on them. And then when I asked, when I asked Alex what Greg was, do you remember this? I did watch it, but I don't remember. Alex goes, Greg's the turtle.

Jane Tariacano: 29:03

He is cautionary, but you know, you need that, if you had like, I compared to my four sons, like they're all amazing men, but I don't want two of any of them, you know, like they are, I'm so proud of each and every one of my children, but I don't want two of any of them. Thank you. Yeah. One is enough of all four. Thank

Pablo Gonzalez: 29:20

you. Makes sense. Makes sense. And I, and like, I didn't get it back then when I first. Got the analogy. I was like, well, whatever. This is just a friend bagging on a friend. But like, yeah, you, you need the, like the super measured, calm, deliberate person. That's like, no, no, no. All this sounds cool. Especially when your skill set is visionary and go, go, go, go, go. Right. Like I find that that's. That's one of the things that I really share with Alex is, is that idea that I'm always thinking big and like a thousand steps and having somebody like Greg, that's like the, that's great and communicate with you lovingly about how he loves the idea. And it's also not going to happen right now.

Jane Tariacano: 29:57

There's also a number, a number of numbers guy, you know, like what he figures out in his head is amazing. It's like, no, he's a

Pablo Gonzalez: 30:04

certified genius. Right.

Jane Tariacano: 30:05

Amazing. it just. They'd be successful no matter what they did, but it's the combination of the four. Yeah, it's great.

Pablo Gonzalez: 30:12

It is amazing. It's really incredible. we were just talking about it. Like all four of them are this like dynamic leader that could, we didn't say this, but like, I say it as like all four of them are alpha leaders that could build a business on their own and you could see them being CEO of a major corporation. And yet somehow they can all figure out this like consensus based decision making and run this place like Knights of the Round Table really is, really is extraordinary on a, on like a human level. So I find fascinating. Got a couple questions from the community. Oh, okay. Michael Santorios, patron Santorios of the community says, Hi Jane, I enjoyed meeting you at the summit. Like Alex, I borrowed from my mom to get started in real estate. My question is Did you charge interest on your follow up loans? If so, how much did you charge them? Also, did you draw up legal promissory notes for your early promise lending? They had the private money lending up and running.

Jane Tariacano: 31:06

All right. First of all, no, I did not charge them interest. You know, as I said, I have no financial anything or I didn't, I'm much better now. But my promissory note basically was writing a letter and I found it about 10 years ago. And Greg said, where is it? We want to, you know, we want that one, but it's basically. You know, if you lose my money you know, you borrowed this much money and this is how much you owe me. And no, there was no primary salary notes. Later on when I did the big investment with the private lending, then I did get I think it was 12 percent at the time. Yeah. Cool. I know. But yeah. No, there was no, nothing legal and binding about this whole thing, except, you know. Yeah. I'm your mom.

Pablo Gonzalez: 31:43

It's a, it supersedes human law. All right. Ken Malien has a question. Jane, from your perspective as a school teacher, are Florida schools or colleges offering coursework and how to invest in single family rentals for profit? No. No. Big no. All right. No. All right, cool. So, so it was a, an initial investment in 2006. That was for like a flip, right?

Jane Tariacano: 32:06

Or that was not even for a flip. It was just for the stuff to buy the, the work, you know, the, whatever the girl's woman's name was information on how to run a business. And then it was, I don't know what they used the money, the first flip the money for. So it really was, as I said, I just started. No, yeah, here, here's your, this is much, and then here's 30. And then later on, but it was like, no, I just, as I said, I had no day to day business. You know, it was whatever they needed to do. And got it.

Pablo Gonzalez: 32:31

So then we're going to go over now, your, your investment portfolio with JWB. And what I, the first thing that sticks out to me is the fact that you then bought four properties in 2012. Yes. Talk to me about the time from, from like, Hey, I'm just helping you fund this business to, okay. Time for me to buy four properties. What was kind of like the impetus there?

Jane Tariacano: 32:50

I guess, I mean, what I was, you know, I had My retirement money. I had other money and it was like, you know, I had seen them growing and making things work and I figured it was time we have conversations together. My kids and I and it was like, you know, mom, why don't you do something with your money? So I decided, okay, so they found me this house. I got a private money loan on it paid. Part of it down and that was my first one in February of 2012 and that was my first and one of the things Alexander has to keep reminding me is that I do not have to live in these houses because he showed me where they are and I'm like, are you kidding me? And he's like, no, mom, this is great. It's great. You can make you money. And I'm like, okay, took me a while to buy into that. You know, we had the bus tours and all that stuff. and then I bought three in August of 2012 too. And it was just basically. You know it's gonna go up. Yeah. Time. So I had time, time to get in and buy these things. Well, it was because, you know, as I was getting more towards retirement and with him being in business already for, what, six years? Yeah. I had seen their, their business grow and it was time for me to actually invest more money into my retirement. So what I'm hearing

Pablo Gonzalez: 33:57

there is a couple of things. Number one is this idea that it had gone from beyond. I'm just trusting my son to start a business, to I see a business that is working. And a future opportunity that I want to be a part of it kind of like transcended that beyond just like hope for my kid. Right.

Jane Tariacano: 34:13

And once, once again, my son was like, mom, you really should do something. And

Pablo Gonzalez: 34:19

he came to Colin,

Jane Tariacano: 34:21

you know, but it was for me, you know, he, you know, he was. I mean, he's my son, you know, he wants what's best. So, you know, we would work at that. And then my auntie was also in business. So, you know, you know, you have all these opinions. And so it was time to just get in on it. And it was a good decision. Yeah, decision.

Pablo Gonzalez: 34:37

Right. So, okay. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna show here the properties that you purchased. First thing that comes to mind here is great picture.

Jane Tariacano: 34:44

Oh, wow. That was just

Pablo Gonzalez: 34:46

yesterday. Just wait a couple of I see these purchase prices of like 75, 000, 90, 000, 100, 000, 2, 000, 100, 000, 2, 000. And it's easy to today be like, of course, but back then, did you think that that was like were you like really 75, 000 for these things? Like, did you think like,

Jane Tariacano: 35:05

Oh, I thought they were good prices. Of course I hadn't seen where they were. but no, I thought they were. Of course, after the 75 paying 90 and 100 was a little annoying, but it was worth it because they were, they were beautiful houses that had just not been finished and they were really nice houses in a decent neighborhood. So, we decided we'd buy all three.

Pablo Gonzalez: 35:24

Got it. Okay, so

Jane Tariacano: 35:26

you already Wait, did you notice that I said we decided,

Pablo Gonzalez: 35:28

right? Yeah, we decided, we decided. So you You had already in one year experienced the sticker shock of like, well, but it was 75, 000 bucks six months ago, right? Was that for appreciation or you were just buying a different? I was buying

Jane Tariacano: 35:40

a different, a different type of house. Talk to me

Pablo Gonzalez: 35:42

about that. Is one a remodel from the other one with new constructions

Jane Tariacano: 35:45

or? No, actually they were all No, they're all pretty much new. One was in a different section of the city over by Montcrieff, and it wasn't in the best neighborhood, but there were two houses that were pretty much identical that were really nice. So mine was one of the nicer houses there. And then the other ones had been built by somebody else and JWB or somebody bought them. And then I purchased them from that. And they had been remodeled and fixed up a little bit, but they were in pretty good shape.

Pablo Gonzalez: 36:09

Got it. So what I'm hearing, because Maven of, the Maven from the mountains of Denver, Leslie Wilson's asking, has Mama Jane purchased one of the new built to rent houses? It sounds like two of them.

Jane Tariacano: 36:17

No. this was years ago. This wasn't built. These, these had been built by somebody else. So they weren't, they weren't built for rent rental. They had probably not done well. They were over. in different part of town, but no, I don't think they really started building. I think they just started, building to rent right around there, but it sounds around town. Right. Like, yeah. These were not built by JWB. Okay.

Pablo Gonzalez: 36:41

Got it. So these were rehab homes, right? So they had found them, rehabbed them, put somebody in two on the same street, like you said, next to each other, one in another neighborhood. That sounds like when you mentioned, it sounds like a rougher neighborhood. Right. Right. Yes. Yeah. Got it. It's a nice way of putting it. Yeah. I got it. One non recourse loan. So you bought it. You bought one with retirement funds. Yeah. Right. And then the other three just with mortgages, mortgages talk to me about, talk to me about that. Like, what was the education around that? I was just like, was just like, I'll just be like, Hey, let me look at your stuff. This is what you're doing. Or did you have a conversation of like,

Jane Tariacano: 37:14

why? Well, I got the conversation of why, but like, it sounds pretty pathetic when you say it out loud. But no, it's just like, okay, what do you want me to do?

Pablo Gonzalez: 37:24

Okay. I don't think it sounds pathetic at all. I feel like I invested in the same way. So I know for, for what it's worth.

Jane Tariacano: 37:30

Well, they know what they're doing. I have no, I don't know what I'm doing. So, you know, being ignorant of the, of the process and everything else, although I've seen it grow, I don't know the day to day and I'm, that was, you know, in my own little world and education and, you know, no.

Pablo Gonzalez: 37:45

I don't think that that's too different from the average experience here, right? Like I feel like this idea of we all get it. We've all gone from this idea of like, Oh, nice to have to like must have. And we've all gone from this idea of, well, that means I got to figure all this stuff to like, okay, I think I found somebody that I can just be like, yeah, okay. You know, like go for it. I think it's the experience we're all seeking. And this, you know, I, Not my son in any way, but like to me, I, I feel the same way of like, I had the conversation with my wife of just like, I think we need to get in on this because spend some time in here. I can tell the place is different. Spend some time with the leaders of it. I can tell they're built different. Spend some time seeing people succeed. You didn't have that, that privilege of like seeing other people succeed and wanted to get in on it. Right? Like you were, you were more of a pioneer in that regard. But I think somewhere in that, in that pie is the idea of, yeah, I'm just, I'm just going with it. Like, I, like, I think Jen Filson kind of says it the same way. She's just like, I just, I believe in these guys. So I'm doing everything I can to, to invest in this asset class because I know it's going to work out without necessarily needing to completely understand. More than the more of this, the better, right? Yeah.

Jane Tariacano: 39:01

So that makes sense. And also a lot of my funds can't be used with JWB because it has to be an arm's length away. So I I'm limited to some of the stuff that I can do. That makes sense.

Pablo Gonzalez: 39:11

That makes sense. Okay. Lee Bishop says, are these all paid off for, even though they were purchased in 2012?

Jane Tariacano: 39:18

No, we did some refinancing at two something percent recently. It was three something because, you know, during COVID I refinanced and pulled out more money. Okay.

Pablo Gonzalez: 39:30

So talk to me about that. Talk to me about that, that decision. Was that like Alex called up and said, Hey mom, time to refinance?

Jane Tariacano: 39:35

No, actually that was me. I actually made a financial decision. Tell me more. Well I had done my personal house And I had a pretty decent rate on these mortgages because they were from, you know, 2012. But then I said, well, do you think I should? And he's like, well, yeah, if you want to. And so we had a discussion and talked to the mortgage guy and he's, you know, he thought it was a good idea. And so I went ahead and refinanced all of them in 2020 or 21, whatever that was. Okay.

Pablo Gonzalez: 40:03

So talk to me about, so I feel like anybody that's buying today, like myself is buying today thinking down the line, I'm going to refinance. Can you talk to me about what changes right? Like, I, like, I, I assume the refinance process is just like, whatever, pay some money, get a bunch of forms together, stuff happens, right? But like, I've never, I've never been on the side of it of just like, Oh, well before I had like this and this and this payment and now I've got like the, where I was kind of like spending this and making this. And now I have like one payment and I'm like making this or blah, blah, blah. Or like, I took the money and I did this with it. Can you talk

Jane Tariacano: 40:36

kind of like that? Well, I mean, where the rates had dropped so much. Yeah. It makes a big difference in your monthly, you know, the mortgage. And so I just said,'cause Alexander's always been a proponent to, you know, pulling out money, you know, so you can invest you somebody, what is it on this show you somebody else's money basically. Yeah. so that's what we did. And, but you know, first of all, it wasn't that big a difference in the mortgage rate, so I had to make sure that it was worth the, you know, the closing costs and that kind of stuff that Yeah. And it was. Yeah.

Pablo Gonzalez: 41:02

So, so you do the math there and they do the math

Jane Tariacano: 41:05

there. They do

Pablo Gonzalez: 41:06

the math. they do the math there and then you go ahead and do it. And, and all of a sudden your cashflow increases by 50%, your, you take money out that you invest in something and cashflow increases by 50 percent like

Jane Tariacano: 41:20

talk. Cashflow didn't really increase that much. But I have now I have Cashflow. So, you know, you

Pablo Gonzalez: 41:26

took that money invested in something else. It gives you other cashflow as well.

Jane Tariacano: 41:30

Cool. So, right. Okay. And you know, I'm still using someone else's money. So it's good. And you're still using someone else's money. Which is also a very new concept. That's a very new concept for me with that, with them. I've learned a lot with, you know, I've grown financially educated more over the years. Yeah.

Pablo Gonzalez: 41:46

Yeah. That's cool. It's become a family tradition. It happens. I know. I love that. I love that. Okay, cool. So those were the houses that you invested in then. This is What it looks like now, right? So if we go, if we go back one, it looks like a total of 75 plus 99. We're looking at like three hundred and sixty thousand dollars worth of like investment. Well, you invested less than that, right? Because you, that's all of that stuff. You've had a 21. 35 percent rate of return, a total profit of eight hundred and twenty four thousand dollars. 847 from those, from those houses which include this like net rental income of like 53, 000 over the life of it, 10, life tax savings, 92, 000 of having somebody else pay down your loan, principal pay down, and then the big one, 668, 000 in home plans. Yeah,

Jane Tariacano: 42:36

that was very nice.

Pablo Gonzalez: 42:38

It looks great to see. It looks great. It looks

Jane Tariacano: 42:40

great to look at. We had a conversation years ago. We were at some event and it was Greg Regal, Alexander, MJ were all sitting there chatting and they were talking about my return of investment. And they all started laughing. This was early, and they're like, Yeah, you have like the worst in the company, mom. I'm like, what? Really? Yes, I was like, I was doing pathetically. So we had to rethink that. As I said, they change up when they see the things are going, and yeah. I did not have a 21 percent return at that point. When was it, how long ago was it? Probably 8 years ago, 9 or 10 years ago, something like that. So,

Pablo Gonzalez: 43:17

strategy around better tenants, better residents,

Jane Tariacano: 43:19

better maintenance, that kind of stuff. They were laughing. I was not laughing, but they're like, Oh, we're just going over everybody's rate of return the other day. And you were the worst. You're like one of the worst in the company. I'm like, Oh, thanks, honey. Thank you. Oh,

Pablo Gonzalez: 43:31

there you go. Appreciate it. That's actually a really good story to illustrate the idea that this asset class gets better over time. Right. Like the idea that like, listen, I've gone through my lumps already in the three years I've been in, I had an eviction and an expensive turn and stuff like that. But this belief of, you know, you buy real estate and wait, and if you can have a partner that's just kind of like handling the stuff that hurts for you, so it limits the hurt to just like cutting the paycheck and, and then truly understanding that you are by staying in the game, you are building. You know, this like this pie that continues to grow and continues to bake is core to that and going from like worst returns in the company to 23 percent ROI in eight years is a solid story to illustrate that. Yeah, that's interesting. So this is the other thing that we love to show people. We call it the Pacman. And it's just where. Where the wealth comes from this thing, right? So like we just went over it in numbers before. This is what it looks like in, in pie graph. And we call it the Pac Man because it's always the biggest piece of the pie. Oh, that was incredible. It's the whole class appreciation, right? So like this is when, when folks are investing in just like cashflow, they're optimizing for like this part right here. When this thing is the thing that you want to really, really optimize for, for a bigger pie. And what you're really getting out of it, which I think is really,

Jane Tariacano: 44:51

really absolutely, which is something that I had to learn. I think we all had

Pablo Gonzalez: 44:53

to learn that. How did you learn that? Because we didn't have a show back then. Conversations. Conversations, right? What the hell is going on with my investment, Alex?

Jane Tariacano: 45:03

I do ask every once in a while. I do love that every month you get a phone call now. So when you see the 977, you know, 6777, you don't cry. I actually mentioned that to either Greg or Alexander years ago when we were first starting out. And I said, you know, I get a call from you and it's like, oh God, no. And they switch that around. So now it's like, okay, you know what's going on? They update you. You have great conversations with your property manager and it's just great. And so it's not no, it's not a panic. So it's really nice that they do update. You have conversations, you have rapport and. Any questions are willing to answer. And that's just so awesome. Of course, I don't always go there. I, you know, I might have a personal person to call instead. For better or for worse.

Pablo Gonzalez: 45:46

I feel the same way. For better or for worse. But I, but I agree. Like that's, by the way, that to me speaks to this emotional intelligence that is all wrapped throughout this whole building. This idea that's just like understanding that if the only time I reach out to you is for bad news We need to change that mindset to like, all right Let's have some positive touch points so that if there is a bad news call once or twice a year It's not the only reason you're hearing from me and that's going to change the experience. That's and that's

Jane Tariacano: 46:13

that's how they pivot You know, they they you know, they're It's just kind of fun

Pablo Gonzalez: 46:19

before we get out of here. Anything you want to just gush about anything you want to brag about being the mother of Alexander and Anthony and all these guys and the seed investor here. Well,

Jane Tariacano: 46:28

what I'm really happy, I mean, I moved to Jacksonville six years ago and now, oh gosh, eight years ago. Sorry. Time is flying. and now all four of my boys live here, which can't be a. Prouder, happier mom. And so all my grandkids are here. So that moving to Jacksonville, I wanted to go south when I retired, but you know, Alexander and Greg had to come up to Jacksonville, which has been a really good thing. So I'm very, very happy to be here. And I'm very, you know, proud of all my kids. I know that Alexander gets a lot of the shout out, but you know, I do have three other ones that I'm very, very proud of. And I'm very thrilled that they're all here. And all my grandkids are here and we're expecting another one in June, but I have some girls, four sons, and I have two granddaughters. Nice. I know. Thank you.

Pablo Gonzalez: 47:09

Thank you. That's awesome. That's awesome to be able to for however it happens to be able to have the whole extended family in one city is increasingly rare these days. And just like a true testament to like the power of the mom as the center of the universe.

Jane Tariacano: 47:27

The boys all hang out together, their friends and things together. And so I just think that them wanting to be together. You know, I don't take it. I kind of just kind of think about it, but it's like must have done something because I'm just so proud that they're here and that I get to enjoy them because being selfish here. I just I love hanging out with all five of my grandkids and my daughter in laws and my sons.

Pablo Gonzalez: 47:49

I love it. I love it. Well, selfishly, I'm super pumped. We got to hang out today. Oh, I'm very coming. I feel like this was a long overdue. Well, thank

Jane Tariacano: 47:56

you. It wasn't on my agenda, but thank you. Well,

Pablo Gonzalez: 47:59

it's been on my agenda, so I'm glad I'm, I'm glad we made it happen. I'm pumped that, you know, the community showed up in force here, right? Like a bunch of, a bunch of folks here just like putting in the chat how much they like the backstory and the love fest that always happens here with our community. And I just, I never take it for granted that people show up for an hour, middle of their workday to like be here and be a part of it. And it makes this thing really, really fun. Tuesday, we're going to be talking about the biggest reasons that people tend to hate on rental properties. Should be an interesting show, but I think it's going to be really, really educational. I think the summit and kind of like the community being able to like have contact with everybody is really informing the understanding of, you know, the things that we need to help people understand. I

Jane Tariacano: 48:43

thought the summit was amazing. I'm glad. One more. I did. I mean, you know, when they started, they, you know, had their property tours and they would teach, you know, people how to buy and sell and that kind of stuff, and it was just amazing at that point, but now as it's grown and seeing people come from all over the country and and it was really nice to meet all the people I met at the summit, because I put names to faces, I watched a show, I don't watch it religiously like I did through COVID, but it is fun to watch. And I have learned a lot through the show, but the summit was just. Eye opening going downtown Jacksonville and just seeing what they're accomplishing. So it was great. So nice to meet y'all. Agreed.

Pablo Gonzalez: 49:20

I thought the summit was special. I think like once you've seen, you know, once you feel it, it's undeniable, right? Like what's going on in Jacksonville, the sense of community, the idea that this is a great group of people to do business with. It's impossible to unsee it. So I'm glad we're able to do that, that stuff. But yeah. Well,

Jane Tariacano: 49:39

thanks for having me. Thank you

Pablo Gonzalez: 49:41

for having and I hope to see you all next week. One little piece of advice. Do you know what our call sign is when we sign off here? Don't be average. See you on Tuesday.