SSS #213: RIP Artem

We officially sold our new construction project.

The weight of the world is off my shoulders. 😮‍💨

Time to pick it back up again. 🏋🏽‍♂️

☀️

Livin' La Vida Luna y Luca

Another successful Halloween in the books. All thanks to Dia, who wears her Supermom costume every day.

RIP Artem

I opened X (FKA Twitter) Friday morning to share the biggest win of my career with my #REtwit family.

I had a draft tweet already outlined in my head about selling my new construction project.

But when I opened the app... I was greeted by devastating news.

Absolutely gutted.

Allow me to start by saying this: I have never spoken with Artem 1-on-1. All of our interactions were through Twitter.

He'd post an interesting tip or trick about developing real estate, I'd comment, and he would ALWAYS reply.

One example - I asked him to elaborate on "Value Engineering" on July 20th and the very next day he wrote an entire post about it.

I was a SuperFan.

If Artem went on a podcast, I listened to the episode. When he started a Substack, I immediately subscribed. When he referred vendors on AliBaba for flooring, windows, or furniture I saved them in my notes app.

I really looked up to him.

Aside from the career trajectory, I felt like we had a lot in common. He started by flipping houses in New Jersey before moving to California to focus on multifamily development. He was engaged to marry a beautiful Mexican woman and had a 3-year-old daughter at home.

He also took his health and fitness seriously. A few months ago he realized he let himself go physically. It didn't take long for him to whip himself back into shape.

He documented the fitness journey and a ton of people from #REtwit joined him. He impacted so many people in so many different ways.

Angry, Confused, Sad

About a month ago, Artem posted about having to sell his primary home to make ends meet.

It was a luxury home in LA he built specifically for his young family. The tweet has since been deleted, but it basically said he was about $500K short on his 2022 Tax Bill after "reinvesting" all of the proceeds from the sale of one of his properties.

Based on what other members of #REtwit are posting, it seems like that tax bill was only part of the problem.

The larger problem was he personally guaranteed over $100M in real estate loans that came or were coming due soon. Timing was not on his side.

He was either upside down on his loans or his properties weren't throwing off enough NOI to restructure the debt given the current interest rates.

Artem ultimately chose a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

It's hard for me to reconcile his decision. On one hand, I'm so mad at him for being so... selfish(?) especially with a young kid at home.

On the other hand... I almost understand the desire to hit the eject button when things are so fucked up that it almost feels like everything would be better for the people around you if you just disappeared.

It's difficult to apply logic to another person's anguish.

How I'm Honoring Artem

I'm taking Artem's passing seriously.

Anyone who is willing to be transparent and share specific domain knowledge with me will always hold a special place in my heart.

I'm going to follow in Artem's footsteps and share more of what I learn on the job in a way that might be helpful for someone who is a few years behind me in the business.

I'm going to be more cognizant of where I stand in regards to personally guaranteed loans. As of today, I probably have north of $2M (maybe even $3M) of PG'd loans outstanding.

I'm going to continue seeking help. I recently adjusted my therapy sessions down from twice a month to once a month, but if I start feeling a certain way, that frequency might get bumped up again.

Finally, I'm going to be better about providing help to those in need. If you're in a dark place, struggling, or you just need someone to talk to: Call me. 201-618-7918.

X Legacy

Artem left behind a treasure trove on X (FKA Twitter).

If you want to get a feel for the kind of in-depth content Artem was putting out on a regular basis, read through this thread of threads someone put together on his behalf.