The Importance of Relationships in Real Estate Investment

Rain City Capital of Oregon is a vital part of our organization and we thought it’d be a great idea to interview some of the folks in their office. We sat down with Ryan Morell, Regional Sales Manager, and Nicole Navarro-McCutchan, Regional Operations Manager, to chat about the importance of relationships between a borrower and a lender in real estate investment.

Ryan: Whenever I get a call from a prospective real estate investor, I ask a lot of questions about who they are, what they do, and their family. Are they in business with a family member, a partner, or a spouse? I try to get to know them. Once that happens, then we can talk business. When we go over rates and terms, I assure them we’ll work hard to help them save money.

Nicole: A big thing I’ve noticed, whether it’s over the phone or in person, is our transparency. Ryan will be honest about his own real estate deals as well as the borrower’s potential deals. Since Ryan is a real estate investor himself, he relates to them that way, not just as someone who’s trying to get their business, but as someone who wants them to succeed like he does.

Ryan: I’m up front with all our borrowers. I’m looking to build a relationship, not just close a loan. I tell them I want to be part of their team. It’s not about getting the sale, it’s about building trust. When I meet them for coffee, I love it when they share stories about their lives. I’m happy to share my own. I’d rather create a partnership that’s long-term and involves multiple deals than a one-off that doesn’t make anyone any money.

Nicole: That’s the Rain City difference. We’re in this for the long-term. Transparency is part of our approach. And we expect that transparency to be returned.

Ryan: If I think a deal isn’t good I’ll tell a client straight up by simply stating, “I wouldn’t do this deal myself.” Since we have an open, transparent relationship, the investor knows I’m being honest whether it’s good news or bad. That long-term relationship is more important than the short-term sale.

Nicole: We’ve had multiple borrowers come back to us after borrowing somewhere else because they admired our honesty and how we’d work with them if they hit a spot of trouble.

Ryan: Nicole, by the way, is my partner in crime. Sometimes she has to remind borrowers to call me and not just her. Along with Susan (Lestock), we’re a team down here, because it’s about teams. The clients are on our team and I love it when my team wins.

Nicole: We’re the straightforward, honest approach in an industry that doesn’t always work that way. The good guys. I like to joke that we’re the dolphins swimming with sharks. But that just means we’re faster, smarter, and that makes us stronger.

Ryan: I tell borrowers my intention is for their business to grow and help with their retirement. I use Jesse Cope as an example. We did his first loan 7 years ago and at the time he had a full-time job and was supporting his family. Skip forward to today, and he’s working on 20+ properties at a time and dominating his market. Real estate investment has become his full time job. When he quit his old 9-5 , we went out to dinner, celebrated his success, and toasted to his future. Even though Jesse could now get funding anywhere, our relationship is incredibly strong because he trusts me and knows I’m on his team.

Nicole: Getting to know the borrower on a personal level isn’t just an approach we take, we genuinely are interested. When our borrowers are successful, we want to hear about it, we want to celebrate with them. I always look at each deal as though I’m a partner, that their success is our success. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for our borrowers and we’re very grateful for that.

If you’re in Oregon and would like to be a part of Ryan and Nicole’s team, get in touch with them here! If you have a deal you’d like them to review, send them the details here!