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Eitan Holder
Managing Partner, JOP Investments
In this engaging conversation, Ahmad Ashrafi and Eitan discuss their shared passion for real estate, the importance of community in the industry, and the allure of passive income through value-add investments. Eitan shares his journey from accounting to real estate, highlighting the significance of understanding numbers and deal evaluation.
Money works 24/7 — you don't. Eitan chose real estate because a person can work 40, even 80 hours, but capital compounds around the clock. Value-add specifically, because above-average returns beat parking money in a savings account.
Learn the numbers before you touch the deals. He became an accountant at Phillips Edison knowing he wasn't meant to stay one — he wanted the underwriting fluency. Knowing the numbers inside out is what let him source his first 7-unit deal, convince a private equity firm to fund it, and scale from there.
Certainty is the product. Both Eitan and Ahmad converge on the same filter: the proforma is an educated guess at best; the sponsor is what makes it real. Good sponsors navigate challenges; bad sponsors capital-call their investors. And unfair advantage — the sponsor who owns the whole street — is what can't be replicated.
A good day at the office is saying no. Deals are infinite; FOMO is for amateurs. Eitan sleeps well on a no — what he can't sleep on is closing a deal he didn't believe in. When the story is right — like the widow selling below replacement cost — you show up Monday with a cash offer.
