What do the 2000 dot-com crash, the 2008 Great Financial Crisis, and the 2022 interest rate shock have in common? They wiped many multifamily operators out.
Dwight Dunton survived all three.
As founder and CEO of Bonaventure, Dwight and his team are responsible for $2.8 billion in assets under management (AUM). But Dwight didn’t start a fund, raise capital, and figure it out as he went. He learned to grow and protect his own money first.
At just 25 years old, while his peers chased flashy internet stocks, Dwight acquired a 378-unit apartment community. He was stepping into a struggling asset that demanded sizable improvements and millions in repairs, but this experience provided a crash course in operations, value-add investing, and asset management.
Dwight says to become an old, rich investor, you’ve got to 1. get old and 2. not get wiped out along the way. So, he focuses on “asymmetric” investing opportunities that have capped downside but plenty of upside for good operators. Then, he further de-risks these assets by insourcing the things most operators would outsource.
In today’s conversation, we discuss all of this—the power of vertical integration, protecting assets and capital through downturns, and why long-term, buy-and-hold investing remains the surest path to generational wealth.
Insights from today’s episode:
- How Dwight protects his assets and capital with “anti-wipeout” investing
- The keys to building a business that can survive any “Black Swan” event
- Acquiring and managing a 378-unit apartment community at 25 years old
- How to dramatically improve revenue with vertical integration
- Why supply constraint, not job growth, is the surprising main driver of multifamily success
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Connect with Dwight on LinkedIn
Recommended Resources:
- Accredited Investors, you’re invited to Join the Cash Flow Investor Club to learn how you can partner with Kevin Bupp on current and upcoming opportunities to create passive cash flow and build wealth. Join the Club!
- If you’re a high-net-worth investor with capital to deploy in the next 12 months and you want to build passive income and wealth with a trusted partner, go to InvestWithKB.com for opportunities to invest in real estate projects alongside Kevin and his team.
- Looking for the ultimate guide to passive investing? Grab a copy of my latest book, The Cash Flow Investor at KevinBupp.com.
Tap into a wealth of free information on Commercial Real Estate Investing by listening to past podcast episodes at KevinBupp.com/Podcast.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:45 Buying 370+ Units at 25
07:09 Surviving (& Winning) in 2008
11:17 Don’t Get Wiped Out!
18:12 Buy-and-Hold (Forever!)
23:20 Vertical Integration 101
32:40 What’s Next for Dwight?
37:27 Connect with Dwight!