Chris & John
- Jan 21, 2021
- 3 min read

Ep 119: From Single-Family Construction Success to Multifamily with Alix Kogan

Not everyone can go from a backpacker to a successful real estate entrepreneur, but that is exactly what today’s guest, Alix Kogan, managed to do. After traveling the world in his 20s, he realized that he needed to knuckle down and get serious about his life. So, what did he do? He started a construction company that ultimately grew into the largest single-family developer in Southwest Colorado. He has since sold the business and dipped his toes into the multifamily waters. In this episode, after hearing about his journey, we find out what prompted Alix to sell a company at the top of its game and why the flexibility of multifamily appealed to him. We discuss the different deals he has been involved in so far, along with the different roles he has played. Despite his tremendous construction and development experience, Alix has chosen not to go this route in multifamily yet. He shares his reasoning behind this decision and talks about what would persuade him to make the leap. Our conversation also touches on Alix’s deal criteria and red flags, advice for those starting out, and why he cautions against institutional investors, despite their allure. Tune in to hear it all.

Key Points From This Episode:

Hear about how John's health journey is going.
Get to know Alix, how he got his start in real estate, and why he made a pivot to multifamily.
The two verticals of Kogan Builders: custom home building and development.
What ultimately prompted Alix to sell his construction company – Scalability and geography.
Alix’s current focus on 100+ multifamily and his different involvement in deals.
Why Alix decided against multifamily development, despite his experience developing.
Skills that Alix learned during his time in single-family that have helped him in multifamily.
The world of construction is not always as reliable as other industries.
There are far more risks with multifamily development, but Alix will go into it at some point.
Features of a B+ asset class that is built from the ground up.
Your investor base and their risk appetite will influence the deals you go for.
Alix’s deal criteria and what he looks for in a deal sponsor.
It is so important to do your homework before you approach investors!
Some of Alix’s hard no’s: Why he turns down small deals and people who are spread too thin.
Tips from Alix for those who are just getting started in the multifamily game.
Going forward – What’s on the horizon for Alix and his company.
Alix’s take on institutional capital and why he prefers smaller, entrepreneurial family offices.

Tweetables:

“For better or worse, I killed some of my own deals by looking in some places that most guys would probably be OK with.” — Alix Kogan [0:19:53]

“There will come a time, there will be certain markets where the risk of development is justifiable and I would want to do it and leverage my experience.” — Alix Kogan [0:26:30]

“I always look at the person behind it and I bet on the jockey.” — Alix Kogan [0:33:05]

“If I had a choice of who to work with, I’d rather see someone fully invested, full-time, skin in the game, where it’s not a side hustle.” — Alix Kogan [0:34:07]