The 90-Year-Old Investor Who Wouldn't Stop Learning
Several years ago I received a referral for an older gentleman that had recently retired, had sold his building he had run his business out of for over 40 years, and wanted to do a 1031 exchange. We of course reached out to him to discuss his plans. "This is Dr. Gaines, and I want to buy some properties", that was the beginning of the call. During the call we learned he had just retired at 93 years of age, and his biggest fear was losing his mental sharpness. In fact, he used to joke that he only retired because his patients kept questioning him! His solution was to essentially start a new career as a real estate investor. He would want to run the analytics on the properties he was considering, and he was convinced it was the best way to stay sharp.
Dr. Gaines was not your typical 93-year-old. He had a ton of energy and was very sharp. I also suspect his wife was happy for the respite of getting him out of the house when we went to look at properties, since she was quiet and much more reserved. One day we had been touring for a few hours when he said with a smirk: "Hey, I have an idea. Can you call my wife and tell her we're heading home, but I've become non-responsive and see how she reacts?" I think he was half serious. We definitely did not make that call. We took him to lunch instead.
Over the years, Dr. Gaines became more conservative with his investing. He focused on single-tenant net lease (STNL) properties in strong markets because he wasn't buying for himself. He was buying for his estate planning, to leave his kids and grandkids an easily managed portfolio, and he didn't want them to have to worry about having to oversee outside management, or the maintenance of the buildings. He did the analysis on every property himself, and we would go over the numbers with him. There were occasional mistakes, but for the most part he was spot on.
One deal stands out. During escrow on a property he wanted to acquire, our team spoke with the franchisee about their lease. We ended up structuring a deal where the franchisee signed a new 15-year lease and remodeled the property after the close of escrow. The deal closed, and after the lease was restructured, we ended up selling the property less than a year later for a $1,000,000 profit. Dr. Gaines loved each deal he did, delving into the property locations, the demographics, and of course the different tenants (many of whom he had never heard of outside of California) and wanted more properties to build out his portfolio.
We worked with Dr. Gaines for several years, until his health took a turn and he could no longer be out and about. By then he had built a portfolio of solid investments that he was very proud of, and his family was set up for many years to come. Dr. Gaines loved living life and his family, and he treated both with fervor and passion. We are thankful for the time we got to spend with him.