Unlocking Financial Freedom with Zane Schartz
In this episode of Good Good Investing, hosts Rachel Grun and Andrea Slick sat down with Zane Schartz, Founder of Freedom Commercial Real Estate and former Chief Investment Officer at Wolfe Investments. Zane shared his journey, investment philosophy, and insights on achieving financial freedom through real estate. Here’s a breakdown of our conversation.
Who is Zane Schartz? Can you share a little about yourself?
I’m 28 years old, originally from Dallas, Texas. I grew up playing hockey, attended Liberty University, and played professional hockey for three years in North America and Europe after graduation. I’ve been in real estate investing for about seven years and currently manage over $150 million in commercial real estate assets. I’m passionate about maximizing returns for investors and hope to one day create a nonprofit that funds Christian missionaries around the world.
How did you get started in real estate investing?
I always knew I wanted to be in real estate, so after my freshman year of college, I interned with a medical office developer in Dallas. The following summer, my dad posted on Facebook that I was looking for a real estate internship. A family friend connected me to Kenny Wolfe, the founder of Wolfe Investments, where I began as an intern. That internship introduced me to multi-family underwriting and gave me experience analyzing deals.
What were your responsibilities during your first internship?
My first internship focused on underwriting multi-family deals. I analyzed all the deal flow that came to Kenny Wolfe, evaluating whether they met the company’s criteria for projected returns. Over two months, I underwrote hundreds of deals, learning how to identify value and analyze potential investments. I continued working remotely during the school year to improve my skills.
What was the most valuable thing you learned from that internship?
The internship taught me how to find value in any asset. Every property has potential, whether through operational improvements or structural upgrades. It also gave me a foundation in underwriting, allowing me to see where we could add the most value with the least cost. This hands-on experience was crucial to my development as an investor.
How did you end up working full-time at Wolfe Investments?
After two internships at Wolfe, I left to play professional hockey for a few years. When COVID hit, I returned to Wolfe full-time about two and a half years ago. The timing was perfect as the company was growing, and Kenny needed someone to take on more responsibilities. Over time, Kenny gave me autonomy to manage deals and the portfolio, which helped me grow professionally.
What types of properties do you invest in?
We invest in a variety of asset types, including:
Multi-family properties: These range from Class A luxury apartments to Class D properties with significant value-add potential through renovations.
Triple-net leases: These properties are leased to high-credit tenants like Walgreens, Dollar General, and Starbucks. The tenants cover taxes, insurance, and maintenance, making them low-risk and stable investments.
Office-to-residential conversions: We redevelop office buildings in core markets into multi-family housing, creating value by addressing housing demand in urban areas.
This diversification helps ensure stable cash flow and mitigates risk.
Why do you think Texas is such a hot market for real estate?
Texas is landlord-friendly, with no rent control and the ability to increase rents freely. The state’s economy and population growth are also driving demand for housing and commercial spaces. These factors create significant opportunities for value-add strategies and strong returns for investors.
How do you define a good deal?
A good deal is one that makes money. Every deal is different, and the key is to find where value can be added. For Class A properties, this might involve operational improvements, while Class C and D properties often require structural upgrades. The focus is always on increasing Net Operating Income (NOI) to maximize returns.
What kind of returns have you achieved for investors?
At Wolfe Investments, we aimed for 100% returns within five years, but our average was doubling investors’ money in just 32 months. This was achieved through disciplined underwriting, value-add strategies, and a focus on increasing NOI to boost property value.
What’s the difference between multi-family properties and triple-net leases?
With multi-family properties, we have more control over increasing NOI by raising rents or improving operations. Triple-net leases, on the other hand, have locked-in lease terms with stable tenants. While there’s less flexibility to increase income immediately, triple-net leases provide consistent, low-risk returns. Both asset types have their advantages, and I recommend diversification.
What’s the biggest limiting belief you’ve had to overcome?
I used to think going bigger was harder, but I’ve realized it’s not. There’s a lot of money in the world, and many people want to invest it wisely. If you can prove success on a small scale, you can replicate those strategies on a larger scale. That realization helped me push past my own limitations.
What is your “why”?
I think God has blessed me with a gift of having an understanding of how to create wealth for people, and I think I’m just being a good steward of my gift. You know, I have a lot of family and friends and people that I’m close to that are invested in my deals, and I’ve had a lot of investors reach out and just tell me that, ‘Hey, because of this investment, I’m able to sit on the beach and make money,’ or ‘Hey, because of this refinance, I was able to buy a car for my kid for their birthday.’ So it’s things like that where, you know, those little things—where I’m at the office all day, and I don’t really see those, but I hear about them—and creating financial freedom for our investors is something that I’m passionate about.
But also just being a good steward of my gifts and kind of being faithful where I’m at and with what I’m doing. So that’s what I’m trying to do.
Anything Else Zane Wants To Share?
I love real estate. I think it is awesome in so many ways, and I think there are so many fun and exciting and competitive ways to use real estate to help others. I love it, but real estate isn’t who I am—it is what I do.
And I think that’s key. A lot of people will take what they do and turn it into who they are. And who I am is I’m a Christian and I’m a follower of Jesus, and I just happen to do real estate. And I feel like I’m just being faithful with the gifts that I’ve been given.
You know, I hope that other people see the passion that I have in helping them and see that it’s not about me buying a bigger house, me buying a nicer car, me buying nicer clothes—I don’t do any of that stuff. But it’s about just using what I’ve been given and helping others. So that’s what I’m passionate about.