time to leave after realizing he wouldn’t be able to become a manager as soon as he wanted, even though he felt he was the most qualified. “The only place I could succeed is a place where I could be my own boss or develop a partnership with other like-minded individuals. It’s not that I feel I can do it all alone because I really can’t. I have strengths, but I also have weaknesses, and as a smart business- man, I admit that to myself and try to line up with people whose strengths are my weaknesses,” he says. Before embarking on his real estate career, Dean also owned a construc- tion company and a custom artistic décor company that made furniture and custom fireplaces.
do one or two deals at a time.” Dean likes action and prefers “80 to 100 deals going on in seven different markets, over one or two deals in one or two markets,” he says. So it’s not the money that attracts Dean to single-family, it’s simply the diversity of projects and investments that are available to him and AREI. “We as a company helped raise the capital to develop over 2,000 sin- gle-family lots in Houston in 2015, and we have our eyes set on doing a large 200-unit, high-end multifamily in north Dallas in 2016, so we do like to keep growing in all areas,” he says. CLASSAALLTHEWAY Dean and AREI believe in Class A as-
SINGLE-FAMILY INVESTMENTS ARE HIS PASSION Early in his real estate career, Dean preferred single-family investing as it was the easiest vehicle for which to ob- tain capital. It’s still his preferred invest- ment vehicle, but for different reasons, as he realized that the single-family side of real estate appeals to his perfectionist tendencies and artistic side. “I like to put out a specific product across the map and work in many areas,” he says. “I like to sell an indi- vidual asset with my stamp of approval on it versus a share in a multifamily with less character. I like selling single assets in different areas and school districts and being able to be diverse in the product I offer, versus just trying to
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