Patrick Carroll is a well-known figure in the real estate space. In a recent interview with the real estate billionaire, Carroll answered some questions about his successful career and philanthropy work.
Patrick Carroll started his real estate career in 2001 in Atlanta, Georgia. After moving from Tampa, Florida, just a short time earlier, he began flipping houses. Carroll started renovating and flipping homes while also working as a clothing rep. After running these businesses for two years, Carroll switched to real estate full-time in 2003. He has never looked back since. Today, Carroll has become a very successful real estate professional, including a well-known investor and entrepreneur.
When asked what inspired Carroll to become an investor and entrepreneur, he says he has always had the ‘vision’ of being a great business figure. “I always pictured myself as a successful businessman growing up. A lot of people grow up wanting to be pro athletes, I wanted to be a big-time businessman,” he says.
While his journey began in 2003 when he started working in real estate full time, his passion was built long before that. In 2001, after moving to Atlanta, Carroll started reading biographies of successful people. He also enjoyed reading Forbes Magazine for inspiration. “From this reading and curiosity, it solidified my desire. Also, having not gone to college, it was really the only option I had if I wanted to be super successful,” Patrick adds.
As Carroll has found lasting success, it hasn’t come without its challenges. This includes an industry that constantly changes and evolves. When asked about how the real estate industry has evolved over the years, Carroll says there has been tons of change. One of which relates to the money you can borrow to purchase a home.
“I used to be able to borrow 100% of the money to buy or develop a property. After the 2008/2009 downturn, that all changed, and you had to start putting actual cash (equity) into the properties,” Patrick claims.
“That forced me to have to really learn finance and become good at raising capital. I would go to New York every couple of weeks and pitch to large private equity investors, and ended up raising billions of dollars,” Carroll adds. This is when things really changed for the up-and-coming entrepreneur.
Patrick also went on to talk about what inspired him to start a career in real estate, including how he stayed motivated. “Some people laugh when I say this, but reading about Donald Trump really did motivate me to go into real estate early on,” says Carroll. “That and when I would read the Forbes 500 list, the majority of the wealthiest people made their fortunes in Real Estate,” he adds.
Since Carroll was young, he always wanted to be a wealthy businessman. Given this passion and desire, he was very determined to be successful and make a lot of money. “I was extremely motivated to become wealthy and prove to myself and others that I ‘made it’,” says Patrick.
While Carroll has always been determined to find success, there were some huge turning points along the way that made this dream possible. One of which was when he purchased his first 100% financed property, and learned he could do this again. Another big moment came when Carroll developed his first large student housing deal. A few other massive turning points were when he bought three property management companies, including when he successfully started raising institutional capital.
Throughout Patrick Carroll’s real estate career, he followed a particular investment philosophy that helped him along the way. According to the businessman, this philosophy has “never changed.”
One of his priorities is to “make your money on the buy.” This means you should only buy the property if it’s priced less than it’s worth. If you don’t, “you’re making a mistake,” says Patrick.
As part of this philosophy, Carroll also makes sure to “buy below replacement cost; buy with attractive financing and free cash flow in place from day one; and buy only the best locations,” he adds. Lastly, the billionaire states he only buys a property where you can attract a good resident base or tenant. “It’s too difficult to deal with bad residents or tenants,” Patrick says.
In Carroll’s real estate endeavors, finding lucrative opportunities has always been essential. While the process is much easier for the entrepreneur today, this hasn’t always been the case. Finding these opportunities was much more difficult when he was first starting out.
“Early on I would drive around nonstop and just study submarkets. Where were the good schools, the employment centers, etc.,” says Carroll. “I’d drive by properties on the weekends to see how things really looked. I’d look at the parking lots during the week and see if people were working. I would ask a ton of questions to just about everyone,” he adds.
This level of dedication proved to be very valuable for Patrick. After learning and educating himself daily about these properties, he was ready to raise capital. “Lastly, I knew if a lender was willing to lend on it, and I was able to attract an equity partner, more than likely my assumptions were correct,” Carroll concludes.
Patrick Carroll always stays up-to-date on what’s happening in the world around him. This helps him decide which opportunity to focus on next. When asked how he decides what to invest in, the billionaire said, “I read and pay attention. I also try to focus on necessary industries, things people will always need. And I want to be in sectors that are not too nichey.”
Today, Patrick Carroll continues to make investments and support new organizations. In fact, the successful entrepreneur just formed Carroll Global, a Family Office and Investment Company.
While Patrick isn’t invested in much right now, given the rising interest rates, he hopes to start back up soon. “Once the market settles, I will be looking to invest in real estate, clean energy, large publicly traded companies, private credit, and service businesses,” Carroll adds.
Patrick also touched on the trends or shifts he foresees in the real estate industry. He mentioned how people working from home has played a big role. “Office is obviously very challenging currently. People don’t want to go to the office, and if they do it’s only to the newest buildings in the best locations,” Carroll says.
Patrick also believes the current interest rates will have an impact on the future. “With interest rates being as high as they are, people are unable to “trade up” and buy more expensive homes, so I think people will stay put in their current houses, or rent longer,” he adds.
As real estate, investing, and entrepreneurship are integral parts of Carroll’s life, he also enjoys giving back. Philanthropy is very important to the successful investor and entrepreneur. Patrick donates to over 50 different charities worldwide, mostly focused in the areas of health, wellness, and early childhood development.
While Carroll has helped several different organizations, his work with the Boys and Girls Club may be his most impactful. Not only does he serve on the Board of the Boys and Girls Clubs in Tampa, but he also organizes special events for those in need. In fact, he recently partnered with Ben Kickz to gift 600 pairs of high-demand sneakers to underprivileged kids in Miami. Just a few months later, Patrick donated $100,000 worth of shoes to those in need in Tampa. And just a few months after that, in March of the following year, Carroll donated another 600 pairs of sneakers to kids in Atlanta, Georgia. This was all part of Patrick’s 10-stop tour across the country, which resulted in a donation of $1 million worth of sneakers.
With a focus on giving back and helping those less fortunate, Patrick continues to change the lives of those around him. Whether it’s his exceptional investment strategies or his countless donations to charities, creating positive change is what matters most to the successful entrepreneur.