Capital Partner · Operator

Building businesses.
Allocating capital.

Operator-led investing across real estate and operating businesses. Long horizons, direct partnerships, and a bias toward ownership.

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Amir Erez
2,500+
Transactions Executed
$250M+
Capital Deployed
Since 2009
Active Operator
About

I came up the long way.

I came to the United States in my twenties with no degree, no capital, and no clear plan — just the conviction that I wanted to build something of my own.

The years after taught me how to work. Sales jobs. Back-of-house restaurant shifts. Driving a tow truck on three hours of sleep. I learned locksmithing as an apprentice. In 2009, I went out on my own and opened a locksmith business in Wisconsin. I thought I'd stay six months.

The pivot came in 2011. I took an emergency call myself — my technicians were all out — to unlock a door for a man who said it was his home. It wasn't. He'd been foreclosed on during the Great Recession and was trying to get back in. Police arrived. We talked. I started asking questions about his house. That's where real estate began for me.

I co-founded Fair Deal Home Buyers in 2012. Since then, I've executed 2,500+ transactions and deployed $250M+ across real estate and operating businesses. One long-term partner has been alongside me the whole way, with smaller partnerships along the road.

What I know, I learned from mentors, books, operators I respect, and from doing the work. I'm a builder with an eye for operations and a bias toward ownership. Integrity and directness are non-negotiable — in how I operate and in who I choose to work with.

How I Operate

Four principles that shape every decision.

Ownership, not allocation.

I invest where I can think like an owner. That means concentrated positions, real operating leverage, and skin in the outcome.

Long horizons.

Compounding rewards patience. I partner with people who think in decades, not quarters.

Direct relationships.

Trust is built in person and across cycles. I work with a small number of partners — deeply, for a long time.

Operator's lens.

I've run the business before I capitalized it. That shapes how I underwrite, how I structure, and how I show up when it gets hard.

"The best partnerships are the ones where everyone is playing a long game and the incentives don't need explaining." — Amir

Partners

Who I work with.

I run a small book of relationships. The goal isn't a roster — it's the right few people across a long horizon.

I partner with operators, family offices, and select investors who value direct communication, aligned incentives, and patient capital. Most of my work comes through introductions from people I've already done business with.

What I look for in a partner

  • Long-term orientation. Decade-plus thinking. No reaching for quarterly optics.
  • Aligned incentives. Capital in the trade, not just on the sideline.
  • Directness. Say the hard thing. Early. I'll do the same.
  • Operational respect. Understand that the work is the work.
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Philosophy

On building, capital, and the long game.

Most of what matters in business isn't complicated — it's just uncomfortable, inconvenient, or slow. The edge is being willing to do the things most people won't.

Compounding is quiet.

The best outcomes I've been part of didn't look impressive for the first several years. Compounding doesn't announce itself. You show up, make decisions you can defend in ten years, and let time do the work.

Ownership beats optimization.

You can't optimize your way to a great outcome in a business you don't really own. Control, operating leverage, and skin in the game are the difference between a return and a compounding position.

Reputation is the asset.

Every deal, every call, every conversation is deposited in the same account. There isn't a clever way around that — and there shouldn't be.

Hire the operator first.

Capital is available. Good operators aren't. I'd rather pay up for the right person than get a bargain on the wrong one.

Inquiry

Let's talk.

If you're an operator, potential partner, or investor with something serious to discuss — I read every note personally.

The best outreach is specific: who you are, what you're working on, and what you're trying to accomplish.