Yosef Lee is a full-time litigation attorney based in New York who pivoted into multifamily real estate investing to gain greater control over his time and legacy. Driven by his desire to be more present for his two daughters, Yosef began his investing journey in 2019, joining mastermind communities and building a network from scratch. Since then, he has become a general partner in 17 syndications, participated in 5+ joint ventures, and successfully exited multiple deals—including a 3X equity multiple from his first investment. He now shares his journey to help others take purposeful action, emphasizing relationships, self-education, and long-term vision.

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Key Takeaways

Join the right masterminds and network consistently to accelerate your learning and deal flow.
Learn the language of multifamily investing before pitching yourself or underwriting deals.
Focus on people first, trustworthy partnerships are more important than proximity in out-of-state investing.
Multifamily value-add deals are often won through rent increases, not just renovations.
Being honest about where you are in your journey builds authentic trust with your network.

Topics

From Legal to Legacy

Yosef shares how his role as a litigation attorney conflicted with his values as a father.
Realized that financial success wasn't enough without freedom of time, place, and occurrence ("TPO").

Accidental Discovery of Multifamily

Found BiggerPockets in 2019 and stumbled into multifamily after exploring other investment options.
Chose multifamily for its scalability and team-based structure.

First Deal Breakdown: 44 Units in Kansas

Partnered with others through a mastermind group to buy off-market.
Pushed rents by $150–$200 and executed a cash-out refinance before ultimately selling for 3X returns.

The Power of Masterminds and Community

Did 200+ Zoom calls in 2020 to build relationships.
Contrasts 80% of people who said "don't join" masterminds vs. the 20% who helped him scale.
Emphasizes that education is free, but access to the right people is worth paying for.

Authentic Branding and Thought Leadership

Recalls a 2019 comment from John Casmon that gave him the confidence to start showing up online, even before his first deal.
Encourages investors to be real about where they are and build in public.

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Round of Insights

Failure that set Yosef up for success: Jumped too quickly into a deal where the seller used their PSA draft to raise the price and sell to another buyer. Learned to vet sellers and protect documents early on.

Digital or Mobile Resource: iPhone Notes, Reminders, and Calendar for managing tasks and prioritizing top three items daily.

Book Recommendation: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

Daily Habit: Morning prioritization using reminders and selecting three must-do tasks.

#1 Insight for Starting in Multifamily: Focus on E — Education, N — Networking, and A — Action. Know the lingo, meet the right people, and don't delay taking intentional steps forward.

Next Steps

Get in touch with Yosef on his website, yosefhlee.com
Audit your current community and support system, are you networking with active investors?
Evaluate if your time, place, and occurrence are truly under your control.
Don't wait to build your platform. Share your story now, honestly and consistently.

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