🗞️ News & Moves 🏠

Affordable Chicago real estate entices clients for offices: Griffin’s Flats. (Bloomberg)

Chicago’s real estate market is waking up—big deals, big names, and a fresh wave of confidence.

Call it a comeback.

Office sales are at their highest in almost ten years.

Tenants are coming back to Chicago's empty office towers.

In 2024, Downtown Chicago's leasing activity reached 9.1 million square feet (msf).

This was up by 12.2% from the 8.2 msf in 2023.

Big companies like JPMorgan and Coca-Cola are expanding their footprint.

Governor Pritzker bought Ken Griffin’s luxury condos, which used to symbolize Chicago’s decline, at a 44% discount.

With Google and Bain & Company, Inc. (Management Consulting Firm) looking at what’s available, Chicago is more than stable.

It’s preparing for a comeback, especially with wealthy investors joining in.

The city’s past its worst.

The only question now is how high it can climb.

The biggest crypto heist in history went down—$1.46 billion vanished from Bybit. (Elliptic)

Forget bank robberies—this is digital grand larceny.

On February 21, hackers stole $1.46 billion from Bybit.

This amount is more than Saddam Hussein’s $1 billion bank heist.

North Korea has built a strong ability to break into target organizations and steal crypto assets.

They launder these gains through many blockchain transactions.

They pass through 50 wallets and use shady exchanges to launder the money.

The FBI confirmed North Korea’s involvement.

This fuels its billion-dollar missile program.

Elliptic and Bybit are working hard to track and freeze funds.

But Pyongyang's money laundering is first-rate.

The question isn’t who did it—it’s whether anyone can stop them before the money disappears for good.

🚨 The Fed Pulse 🚨

The first half of 2025 is shaping up to be a slow burn, but the foundation for a stronger second half is still intact.

New home sales fell in January.

Money supply growth stayed steady at 0.9%.

However, signs show the market is adjusting, not struggling.

Jobless claims made headlines, but underlying trends show stability.

Real personal income is growing at a gradual pace.

This gives consumers some breathing room.

New tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico might raise inflation a bit.

However, this effect should lessen after a few quarters.

Long-term interest rates are changing.

The 10-year Treasury yield has fallen to 4.26%.

This drop opens doors for borrowers.

For investors, this isn’t a downturn—it’s a transition.

The economy is changing.

I took notes for 3 days—here’s the gold in one email

Each February, I meet with a close group of real estate pros, entrepreneurs, and investors.

We call ourselves the Vail Mastermind Group.

We meet for 3 days, skiing and masterminding.

This was our fourth gathering.

With each one, our talks deepen.

Our insights become sharper, and our clarity grows stronger.

In this meeting, we covered a lot.

This time, we covered everything—investing, business, longevity, relationships, parenting, and even why your first sentence in any conversation matters more than you think.

So, instead of one big lesson, I’m sharing 20 of the best wisdom nuggets from our time together.

Money & Investing

1️⃣ If you can stay with the S&P for at least 5 years, you will win. 

Stop chasing alpha—most people lose because they get emotional.

2️⃣ Buy, stay for the long haul, and don't sell. 

Long-term investing works because time in the market beats timing the market.

3️⃣ Cost average, always. 

Buy the same stocks every month.

Don’t worry about the price.

Just buy.

4️⃣ Dividends + real estate cost segregation = powerful wealth strategy. 

Use dividends for income and real estate depreciation to offset capital gains.

5️⃣ Your goal should be cash flow, not net worth. 

Cash flow pays for life.

Net worth just looks good on paper.

6️⃣ If you buy a building with fleas (AKA problems), don't convince yourself that you can get rid of them. 

If few owners before you couldn't do it, you may not be able to do it too.

7️⃣ Sell problem buildings, keep problem-free ones. 

Some buildings are smooth sailing to operate, and some have never-ending drama.

And you never know before you buy which one is which.

8️⃣ It takes a long time to build cash flow—don’t give up. 

Most people quit before they see the compounding benefits.

9️⃣ If you start a fund, you're starting an operating business that needs 5 to 10 years to see returns. 

Raising capital for this time horizon is more difficult than you think.

🔟 Flipping properties is great—until you can’t flip anymore. 

Build cash flow alongside flips so you aren't forced to work forever.

Life & Relationships

1️⃣ Spend more time with your kids NOW, not later. 

Some of us thought, “I’ll work hard while they’re young, then enjoy later.” Wrong. They need you now.

2️⃣ Put your phone away when you’re home. 

It's a simple idea, yet being fully present at home—physically and mentally—makes a big difference.

3️⃣ Date nights should be automatic. 

Put weekly date nights on your calendar. If they’re scheduled, they will happen.

4️⃣ The first sentence you say to someone matters most. 

“You know how much I love you” is better than “Why didn’t you do this?”

5️⃣ If your teenage kids don’t want to spend time with you, don’t stop asking. 

They’ll come around. Just keep showing up.

6️⃣ When do you realize you’ve already won? 

Winning isn't about hitting a specific number, it's about feeling grateful for everything you've done when you look back on it.

7️⃣ Read: "Parenting with Love and Logic." 

A simple guide for raising responsible kids with clear boundaries.

No nagging or power struggles—just effective parenting.

Health & Longevity

1️⃣ Training your HRV is optimal for stacking your odds of longevity.

Here is how you improve it:

• 30 minutes of Zone 2 training, 4-6 times per week

• 20 minutes of Zone 4-5 training, 2 times per week

2️⃣ Sleep is non-negotiable.

Lack of deep sleep = guaranteed memory loss and a very real risk of Alzheimer’s.

3️⃣ Cold plunge → workout → sauna.

The order matters.

If you do a cold plunge last, you kill your workout gains.

Final Thought: Less is More

The biggest takeaway from the weekend?

Simplify.

1️⃣ Laser focus beats doing too much. 

The dream you choose matters more than how hard you work on it.

2️⃣ $1 in cash flow today is better than $2 in projected equity in three years. 

Because projections don’t pay the bills.

2️⃣ You are in principal pay-down business.

Never sell and let your tenants pay off the loans.

A lot of us left Vail thinking about the same thing:

What am I doing that I don’t need to be doing?

That’s all, folks.

Hope it was worth your time!

Be Well,