Drew Breneman

Protect & Grow Capital With Our Multifamily Investment Opportunities For Family Offices, Fund Managers, & High-Net-Worth Individuals

When I was 19, I bought my first property.

I didn’t realize it then, but that little duplex changed my life.

Now, almost 20 years later, I’ve sourced, capitalized, and closed on over $250 million of properties for my firm, Breneman Capital.

For the last 15 years, I’ve worked closely with investors — family offices, PE, Fund of Funds, RIAs, and individuals — to help them generate income and wealth through multifamily real estate.

The old real estate adage says, “You make your money when you buy in real estate.”

I agree with that — but I think it’s only 50% true.

The other 50% comes in the execution. And I’ve built Breneman Capital through that lens. 

Over the last 20 years, our realized investments have produced an average gross return of:

• 24% IRR
• 2.2x equity multiple
• 5.6-year hold period

In my opinion, our longest-standing investor relationships come down to 2 factors:

1) Our deals have performed well.
2) We focus on giving investors the best possible experience.

Real estate can be complex. But we like to keep our goals for our investors simple.

Strong returns.
Great experiences.
World-class communication.

If you’d like to set up an exploratory call, feel free to click the link in my Featured Section.

Founder & CEO

I started Breneman Capital in 2005 at age 19 to purchase my first rental properties and grow my own wealth. 

Today, we work with individual investors, Family Offices, PE, Fund of Funds, RIAs, etc., and allow them to invest alongside us in the best opportunities that we find (and have been for nearly 20 years).

Invest with us: https://www.breneman.com/invest

I have a buddy who owns over $1 billion in multifamily with investors. He has one piece of advice: 

Don't quit your day job. Your day job lets you take risks. Just work twice as hard.

He remembers the exact date he quit his job when he was 35: October 1st, 2012.

He told me he'd never been more motivated than that day. Woke up and didn't have to go to his job... All of a sudden, it was all on him. 

He emptied his bank accounts buying those first assets. Literally emptied them.

And then a couple years later...

He went back to a W-2. 

He was too exposed financially, so he had to take a job at a mortgage company.

After he went back to the W-2, he kept buying deals on the side. Eventually, he rolled 1,000 units he owned into his own company. He bought all those units while working as a full-time salaried employee. 

That's what he did for basically 20 years. Nights and weekends. Two jobs, sometimes three. But the whole time, he was building a track record and building relationships.

Then, all of a sudden, his portfolio hockey-sticked. 

When I asked him if there was a recipe to success, that's all he ever says:

Don't quit your day job. Just work twice as hard.

Founder at Breneman Capital. Multifamily Investments That Protect & Grow Capital.

In 2024, we canceled a deal we had under contract.

Here’s why:

During the physical inspection, we discovered a few structural issues:

1. Balconies were detaching from the building
2. Lack of structural support above doors and windows
3. Structural integrity issues with modifications made to the concrete

In one instance, I noticed the rebar appeared to have been cut through during a prior rehab. I brought it up to our architect and structural engineer, and they both saw it as a big red flag. (Pro tip: Make sure you have trusted advisors to run things by.)

I ended up sending a Loom video to the broker to walk him through the issues. As I talked, I pulled up the photos we had and pointed out the specific problems we had noticed.

If you’ve followed me for any time, you know I’m a huge proponent of being meticulous on physical inspections.

Don’t be in a rush. Walk every unit. Take pictures.

I never want to cancel a deal this far in — and I certainly don’t want to build a reputation as someone who does — but I’d much rather back out on a deal that would put our investors at risk than power through because I want to avoid an uncomfortable conversation. 

Have you ever backed out of a deal? If so, why?

I told my 8-year-old his first job should be as a cleaner.

"Why?" he asked me.

"Because it's hard." 

Before I started my first internet business selling video game items, I cleaned a bank and a school. It was boring and entirely unenjoyable, but it was manual labor that forced you to do something you didn't want to do — and do it right. 

So I think being a cleaner is a pretty good first job to get your kid into.

What would you say to your kid asking the same question?

You know how some things sound too good to be true?

That’s what we thought about this deal:

This was a two-building, 16-unit multifamily property we bought back in 2019.

The property is in the trendy Wicker Park/Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago.

When we bought it, it was half a block away from one of the hottest restaurants in Chicago. It’s right next to a Blue Line stop on the L. Right in the heart of everything. 

The location is so good, we called it “once-in-a-generation” on our website.

Deals in perfect locations like this don’t pop up often…

So when this one did, we moved on it immediately.

Since we bought the property, we’ve replaced all the:

- Furnaces.
- Appliances.
- Washer dryers.
- Air conditioners.

As we continue to update the 20+-year-old interiors, we’re able to continue raising rents.

It’s a legitimate trophy location, but that doesn’t mean it’s a walk in the (Wicker) park.

People still move out.
Things still break there. 
People still say the rent is too high.

Even if you find the best deal in the best location, a few things will still hold true:

1) Some things will still go wrong.
2) The work still needs to be done.
3) The execution is still the most important part of the deal.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆? 


Disclaimer: This is not an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities. Past performance is no guarantee of future results, and investors may experience different results than those shown, including the loss of principal. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events.

Paying your kids for chores teaches them the wrong lesson about money.

"Allowance teaches money management." 

Does it? 

Or does it teach them that money shows up on a schedule no matter what? 

"Chores for cash teaches work ethic." 

Does it? 

Or does it teach them to expect a paycheck for doing the dishes?

My beliefs: 

Chores are part of being in a family. 
Money is a tool that compounds.

They're two separate lessons.

So when it came to money, I decided to teach my oldest son about investing first. How a dollar today becomes two dollars tomorrow.

This was my approach, but I'm curious:

How do you handle this with your kids?

If you own property in a cold-weather state, you need to prepare for the worst.

Here are my 4 best tips for dealing with winter weather: 

1. Prepare your properties with space heaters. 

Nothing fancy — the small ones you get at Lowe’s or Home Depot work.

Put them in a building maintenance closet before the cold weather hits.

If your property is experiencing a heat outage, odds are others are, too.

That means HVAC companies are busy.

Your residents can get the space heaters from the common area closet and spread them throughout their apartment to keep the temperature up while they wait for a fix. 

2. Get ahead of the game. 

Tune your furnaces up.

Change filters and check/replace thermostats and thermostat batteries.

Fix problems before they need to be fixed.

3. Communicate with your residents.

Don't assume your tenants know what to do. 

Communicate: 

- What to do when they leave town.
- Why they need to leave faucets dripping.
- What temperature to set thermostats at.

The younger the renter, the more information they will need.

4. Set clear expectations.

Don’t rely on text messages for emergencies —set an emergency call line and make sure your residents know to contact it.

For more tips like this, subscribe to my YouTube channel here: https://lnkd.in/dSuFcNDY

"What do you wish you knew sooner, Drew?" 
 
Plenty. But here's 1 need-to-know lesson for RE investors: 
 
𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘂𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻.  
 
This goes for: 
 
• Prepayment-penalties  
AND 
• Fixed-rate term  
 
For example: 
 
If you're going to do a 3-year hold, don't get a 10-year fixed yield maintenance loan. 
 
(Sounds simple, but you'd be surprised how often people mess this up.) 
 
In 2020, I bought 3 deals, all from different developers who knew they were going to build and sell the properties. 
 
But they saddled the properties with 10-year fixed loans with yield maintenance prepayment.  
 
This meant 3 things: 
 
1) Paying off the loans would've cost them millions of $$$ in prepayment penalties... 
 
2) So they had limited their buyer pool... 
 
3) Making it a great opportunity for us to bid on the deal. 
 
Of those 3 deals, 2 were off-market. The owners sent them to us because they knew how tough of a sell they'd be with those loans. 
 
(BTW: The same lessons applies to fixed-rate terms.) 
 
This post is a little technical, but it's important to highlight a theme I've seen over and over again: 
 
𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁.  
 
- Don't assume no one makes mistakes. 
- Don't assume deals are priced properly. 
- Don't assume you can't get a good deal. 
 
Do your homework, trust your numbers, and be diligent in finding great deals. 
 
That's what works for us.  
 
-- 
 
If you're an accredited investor who:  
 
• Has capital for real estate investing but... 
• Doesn't have the time for the nitty gritty...  
 
Send me a message so we can set up a call.

Senior Construction Project Manager @ VareCo

I am the Founder &amp; CEO of Investor Acquisitions. In short, I help real estate executives be known. What I've found is the best operators in real estate often neglect marketing. Marketing is important enough to wish you were better but not important enough to take it on on your own. Put another way: If operations fall apart? You don't have a business to market. If marketing falls apart? You've survived this long without it. However, there's a catch 22 to this approach to marketing. The modern real estate sponsor, broker &amp; lender needs marketing. They need to be known. Social media expedites 2 key aspects of deal making: 1. Building awareness of you. 2. Building trust in you. My business is taking the hard work of figuring social media out off your hands, &amp; replacing it with all the benefits. 1. Being trusted and known. 2. Generating quality leads. 3. Raising capital/Closing deals. The fun stuff that comes from being known. Whether you're the CEO, an executive team, or a broker, our team at Investor Acquisitions can level up your brand &amp; content on LinkedIn. Our business is telling your story.

Cole Baker

Emmitt Smith earned $61,300,000 during his NFL career. 

He's quietly turned that into $100,000,000 in real estate. 

Here's how he did it: 

1) He LEARNED from the BEST. 

• Emmitt played 15 years for the Dallas Cowboys. 
• He leveraged the notoriety to get an internship. 
• Followed Roger Staubach around for 2 years. 
• (Roger has transacted on $26,000,000,000+ in CRE)
• This was the foundation of his knowledge. 

2) He TOOK ACTION. 

• Leveraging the experience with Staubach, 
• He started a JV with Staubach's company. 
• He started his own firm in Baltimore. 

Most of us don't have $63mm to start investing with. 

But, anyone can learn from the best: 

• Podcasts. 
• YouTube. 
• Books. 

& anyone can take action. 

P.S. The real question everyone wants to know? 

Will the Cowboys ever win a Super Bowl Again?

Founder + CEO of Investor Acquisitions | I help real estate executives build their brand & attract investors | Trusted by 44 Firms | DM “Intro” to schedule a meeting with Investor Acquisitions

I left my W-2 to start my business 14 months ago.

• I have had days I didn't think I'd make it.
• I have had weeks no money came in.
• I have had moments I messed up. 

• I have messed up with clients. 
• I have messed up sales calls. 
• I have messed up on hiring. 

I have lived a lot of the fears that held me back from starting sooner. 

But, I can say this:

I am filled with more purpose than I have felt in a very long time. 

& something about that makes the pain worth it. 

So here's to you taking the leap in 2026! 

The year you finally do it. 

Whatever it is!

P.S. If this was the year, what would you do?

I spoke to an RIA who’s helped his clients sell $14,000,000 worth of businesses to private equity.

I asked him what owners should look out for in the terms of their purchase agreements. 

Here’s what he told me: 

1) If you are presented with a dual share class structure within your agreement, it’s standard for the controlling investor to hold the senior class. What’s not standard? When Class-B shares have no participation rights to maintain their percentage of ownership. 

2) Ensure your "earn out" is tied to performance metrics that are higher up the income statement (i.e. gross revenue or recurring revenue). The higher up the income statement you go, the more the "earn out" is in your control.

3) If a buyer defers payment on your acquisition, lock in interest on top of you’re deferred payment. Otherwise the buyer is using your cash flow to pay you with no compensation for your additional risk. 

4) Ensure the waterfall structure in the purchase agreement defines the hurdle rate. The RIA has seen multiple agreements where the hurdle rate is left undefined at the point of sale. 

5) If you have buyout terms within your purchase agreement, define the “fair market value” of the business at the point of sale. & ensure that definition is defined at your full discretion. 

6) If your sale price is formulaic, ensure you define what’s being multiplied. If the buyer is paying a multiple on “adjusted EBITDA,” you set the definition for adjusted EBITDA.

7) Rolling equity into a deal doesn’t = money in your pocket in the future. Do you’re diligence on the buyer as well. It could be the difference in millions of dollars.

P.S. Was this helpful? Comment below what stuck out the most ⬇️

I spoke to an investor with $300,000,000 in AUM. 
His first deal he bought for $560,000 debt free. 
Here's the breakdown of how he did it: 

1) He started as a leasing agent for a family office. 
• The family office owned a few dozen deals. 
• He was there "Swiss army knife."
• Managing existing tenants. 
• Leasing units. 
• Even identifying new properties to acquire. 
• However, one thing stuck out to him: 
• He knew unless he owned real estate himself, 
• He'd never build true wealth. 

LESSON: 

• Build experience in the asset class you chose. 
• Only once you've built up a knowledge base, 
• Should you take the leap to ownership. 

2) He identified a property. 
• In his work with the family office, he identified a deal. 
• It was outside the buy box of the family office. 
• So he decided to take a shot at it. 
• He brought ~5 investors together, & acquired it. 

LESSON: 

• Be prepared. 
• Only once you've aligned your operations, 
• Should you begin identifying deals. 

P.S. Which lesson resonated with you the most?

My wife & I started a "sugar cleanse" this week. 

No processed carbohydrates. 
No processed sugars. 
No rice...
Starting off the first 4 weeks of the year right.

However... 
We celebrated my brother-in-laws birthday last night. 

They served Korean beef, green beans, and rice. 
(& cake...)
I've never wanted rice more in my life. 

I held strong, but...

I didn't realize how strong my cravings for carbs & sugar were until this week. 

This week's been brutal. But grateful for the reset. 
(& grateful I'm not taking on the cleanse alone)
How's your new year's resolutions going?

I asked an investor who owns a $750,000 6-unit portfolio debt free in Indiana why he didn't sell his properties to get a higher ROE. 

Here's what he told me: 

• He & his wife collect ~ $2,000 a month net. 
• He & his wife are retired. He self-manages.
• It's busy enough to keep him occupied. 
• But not too busy he's overwhelmed. 
• They're content. 

They set out for a specific number to bring home each month, & they achieved it. 

They're debt-free. Living off their hard work over the years, & don't need more. 

They've made it. 

LESSON: 

• There is always more to chase if you want to. 
• But, if you're looking for financial freedom? 
• Pick the number you're looking for. 
• Then fight hard to achieve it. 
• & once you reach it? 
• Either revaluate, 
• or reap the benefits of your hard work. 

P.S. What would you do with a $750,000 debt-free portfolio? 

Sell it & buy a bigger property? Or hold it?

I asked a developer/owner (who's built $300,000,000 of real estate) how he got started. His first deal ever? 
A $60,000 land flip. Here's the breakdown: 

1) The developer started his career at 19-years old. 
• He sourced a raw piece of land in his hometown. 
• He raised $30,000 from his family & friends. 
• His original intention? 
• Build a duplex. 

2) The seller called him back with more land to sell.  
• He raised another $30,000 from family & friends. 
• Now that he was sitting on 2 adjacent lots, 
• He started planning to build. 

3) A local builder identified the land he'd bought. 
• That builder offered $120,000 for the land. 
• What he'd just bought for $60,000? 
• He sold for $120,000...

A 50% return of equity to his investors & a $30,000 pay day for a 19 year old kid!

LESSON: 

• Action pays. No matter your age, get after it. 

P.S. If you had $30K pay day at 19...
What would you have bought?

My client raised $250,000 from 4 posts. 
(And the deal still has 12 days to close)
Here's the exact strategy we used:  

My client has managed $300,000,000 in AUM. 
He posted on LinkedIn & Facebook for years.
But hadn't had any luck raising capital. 
So he hired me. 

• Day 1; We collected stories + track record.
↳ We identified his Ideal Investor Profile. 
↳ Then curated content to this profile. 
• Week 1: Began posting 3-Days a week. 
↳ Every week. 
• Week 16: Posted first promotional post. 
• Week 20: Collected $250K in capital.
↳ & counting. 

3 takeaways you can steal today

1. Before you ask for business, build up trust. 
• I learned this concept from Alex Hormozi. 
• & it works beautifully. 
• Post valuable content for your ICP everyday you can
• Then, wait to make an ask for as long as possible. 

2. Write content using these 6 content pillars. 
• I developed this working with 40 + CRE firms.
• Write about deals you've bought or underwritten.
• Write about your personal life (not work related).
• Write about the daily conversations you have.
• Write about the lessons you have learned.
• Write about problems your ICP faces.
• Write about the news.

3. Quality content is better than lots of content. 
• My client had posted content for years. 
• Only after we refined his message, 
• Did he raise capital. 

OPPORTUNITY for 2026: 

When you figure out how to tell your story?  

It can change your business forever. 

P.S. I help sponsors, brokers & lenders build their brands on LinkedIn, if this post resonated with you, DM "Story" to schedule an introduction call.

Here's the 9 steps I took to raise my first $90,000 for a real estate investment without raising capital from friends & family. 

1. Committed to posting on LinkedIn on May 15, 2023. 
2. Posted 484 times before getting my first lead. 
3. Had 25+ conversations with investors. 
4. Identified a trusted fund manager to work with. 
5. Identified a trusted sponsor & property to invest in. 
6. Flew to FL to tour and walk the 230-unit property. 
• I toured the different unit mixes available. 
• I took over 200 photos of the property. 
• I took extensive notes of the property. 
• Then returned home the same day. 
7. Sent out an email to investors. 
8. Booked 3 calls. 2 invested. 
9. Each lead from LinkedIn. 

Admittedly, my first capital raise wasn't much. 
& I could have done better with the raise.
Namely, 
1. More consistent follow-up with investors. 
• During the diligence of the deal. 
2. More consistent follow-up with investors.
• Prior to finding a deal.  

However, it taught me 2 meaningful lessons: 
1. LinkedIn is a powerful tool for business. 
2. I could build trust with investors. 

This deal led me to start Investor Acquisitions.
& now? 18 months later. 
My clients have raised $10,000,000+ of equity. 
My clients have generated $100K+ in revenue. 
My clients have generated 1,200+ ideal leads. 
All from LinkedIn. 

Are you looking to raise capital in 2026? 
We can help. 
DM "capital" to schedule an intro call. 
Or click my calendar link below: 
https://lnkd.in/g92Wj2WT

I submitted an offer for $950,000 on a 9-unit portfolio. 
The asking price was $1,400,000. 
Here's why I sent an offer $450,000 < asking price: 

I posted about this deal a few weeks back, & lots of people were curious about the specific numbers of the deal. 

The portfolio was made up of 6 properties: 
• A 4-unit multifamily property. 
• 5 single family homes. 

The income of the portfolio was as follows: 
• The 4-unit property: 
• The 4-unit was 100% occupied all of 2024. 
• The 4-unit produced $39K of rent in 2024. 
• The 4-unit produced $15.6K in expenses. 
• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟰-𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗱 $𝟮𝟯𝗞 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗢𝗜. 
• The 5 SFRs combined: 
• The 5-SFRs were ~ 60%  occupied in 2024. 
• The 5-SFRs produced $41K of rent in 2024. 
• The 5-SFRs produced $56K in expenses. 
• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟱-𝗦𝗙𝗥𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁 ~ $𝟭𝟰𝗞 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰. 
• After paying their debt payments. 
• All-in, they netted 4K in 2024. 
• (No 2025 P&L either)

With the SFRs producing negative cashflow, my intent was to sell the SFRs as single family homes, & keep the 4-unit. 

• Local cap rates for this vintage of asset is 7-10%. 
• Here's how I priced the 4-unit apartment: 
• [(NOI: $23,418)/(cap rate: 8.3%)] 
• = value of asset: $284,200
• The Zillow estimate for the SFRs was: 
• $734,000. 
• Combined: $1,018,200. 

The sellers offered seller financing for 50% LTV @ 6% interest. 

Curious to hear your thoughts on my approach.  

Comment below with your thoughts.

I asked a developer who's built $300,000,000 worth of real estate about what capital structure he's raising capital with in 2026. Here's what he told me: 

His "equity" investors invest as a 2nd position loan. 

• He secures a construction loan from a local bank.
• He provides the equity to close the development. 
• His investors come in to fund a subordinate loan.
• His investors receive a fixed 12% on their capital.
• (The 2nd-position loan is secured by the land).

Rather than participate in the upside of the deal. 
Many investors he spoke with wanted certainty. 
So he created a product to fulfill that desire. 

P.S. Do you like the capital structure? 
Or 
Would you have another in mind?

If you're starting a "solo-preneur" business in 2026, you'll beat 99% of the competition doing this: 

1. Pick a niche market to sell to. 
2. Sell to people who can afford to grow with you. 
3. Sell a product you believe in. 
↳Do free work until you believe in it. 
4. Choose a social media platform your clients are on. 
5. Post content every day that solves their problems. 
6. Sell by identifying problems & selling the solution. 
7. REMEMBER: 
↳You haven't won yet, so you have nothing to lose. 

P.S. What's your goal for 2026?

taplio

The Battle

Drew Breneman

Cole Baker

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreDrew Breneman's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreCole Baker's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Drew Breneman

Cole Baker

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Drew Breneman's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreCole Baker's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreDrew Breneman's LinkedIn Performance