From Fitness Trainer & Oil Field Logistics to The Duplex King of Houston | How Larry Reyes Built 38 Projects, Invented the Stackable Duplex & Is Now Going Commercial | Pick Up The Phone Podcast
The Man Who Changed Houston Real Estate Forever | The Duplex King Larry Reyes | Pick Up The Phone Podcast
Before Larry Reyes came along, nobody in Houston had ever built a true stacked duplex — one full unit downstairs, one full unit upstairs — on a 2,500 square foot lot. The city didn't have plans for it. Engineers said it couldn't be done. His own lenders doubted it. But Larry spent nine months going back and forth with the City of Houston, working with his engineer to crack the firewall code — a two-hour fire-rated separation between units so the upstairs tenant has time to escape if a fire starts below. Once he solved it, he built it. The first day it hit the market, it got 45 showings. What he didn't know was that most of those people weren't buyers — they were measuring, filming, and taking notes. Within months, copycats were popping up all over Houston. Someone he had mentored — let ride in his truck, walk his job sites — had quietly stolen his floor plan and was building it for other investors. Larry couldn't copyright it. He couldn't sue. But the City of Houston inspectors, who had watched him build these things right every single time, gave him a title that nobody could take: The Duplex King. This is that story.
💡 KEY TAKEAWAYS:
✅ How Larry went from personal trainer to #1 salesperson in all of 24 Hour Fitness USA — at just 22 years old
✅ Why Larry quit his real estate license within 5 months of getting it to go full investor — and never looked back
✅ The oil field crash of 2013 that forced Larry to pivot — and how it accidentally launched his real estate career
✅ How Larry opened a restaurant in honor of his late father — and why selling it was the turning point that brought him back to real estate full-time
✅ How Larry became the FIRST person in Houston to build a vertical stacked duplex on a 2,500 sq ft lot — solving the firewall problem that stumped every engineer and took 9 months of back-and-forth with the City of Houston to crack
✅ The stolen plans story: how someone Larry mentored secretly filmed his job sites, copied his floor plan, and started building it for other investors — and why Larry couldn't stop them
✅ How the City of Houston inspectors — not Larry himself — gave him the title "Duplex King" because every time they showed up to inspect, everything was done right
✅ How Larry has worked with the same private lenders for 11 years — and the trust-based relationship that has never required a single renegotiation
✅ Why Larry builds duplexes in just 12 weeks — and how he manages 13 active projects simultaneously with his son and daughter
✅ Larry's plan to become a private lender in 3 years — lending his own $5M at 10-11% and eventually funding his son's empire
✅ Why Larry's business model focuses exclusively on ARV $240K and under — and why he refuses to chase bigger deals
✅ How Larry buys land, closes in 7-8 days cash, and why generational land transfers are creating the best buying opportunities in Houston right now
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📌 Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction & Welcome to Pick Up The Phone Podcast
00:23 - Meet Larry Reyes: 38 Projects, 19 Duplexes, Stackable Duplex Inventor & 12-Unit Commercial Deal
00:53 - Born & Raised in Houston: Federal & Fleming to North Shore
01:48 - Getting His Real Estate License in 2007 — And Quitting It in 5 Months
02:05 - The $300 Commission That Changed Everything: Watching an Investor Work
03:49 - #1 Salesperson at 24 Hour Fitness USA at 22 Years Old
05:10 - First Real Estate Deal: FHA Loan, Fix-Up & Selling for a Profit
06:24 - The 2008 Market Crash & Going Into Oil Field Logistics
06:51 - The 2013 Oil Field Crash & How Real Estate Came Back Into the Picture
07:09 - Opening a Restaurant in Honor of His Father
10:38 - His Father's Passing & the Decision to Sell the Restaurant
12:14 - Back to Real Estate Full-Time: The Pivot That Changed Everything
13:13 - Building His First Duplex & Meeting His Private Lenders in 2015
14:28 - 11 Years With the Same Private Lenders: The Power of Trust & Loyalty
15:51 - How Larry Scaled Without Any Hard Money or Banks — Private Lending Only
16:27 - Larry's 3-Year Plan: Becoming a Private Lender With His Own $5M
17:40 - The Invention: Why Larry Decided to Stack Duplexes Vertically on a 2,500 Sq Ft Lot
18:03 - The Firewall Problem: What Nobody Had Solved Before & How Larry Cracked It
19:17 - 9 Months With the City of Houston: Getting the First Stackable Duplex Approved
24:48 - 45 Showings on Day One — And Most of Them Were Copying His Floor Plan
27:00 - The Stolen Plans: How Someone He Mentored Took His Design & Built It for Other Investors
35:00 - Why You Can't Copyright a Floor Plan — And How Larry Responded
37:51 - How the City of Houston Inspectors Named Him "The Duplex King"
38:00 - Scaling to 38 Projects in One Year: The Systems Behind the Volume
41:00 - The First 12-Unit Commercial Deal: Why Larry Is Going Bigger
45:00 - Private Lending Relationships: How to Build Trust With Lenders Over Time
50:00 - Larry's Business Model: ARV $240K and Under — Why He Won't Go Higher
52:18 - Goal: Be a Private Lender in 3 Years — Lending $5M at 10-11%
54:00 - Buying Land: Cash Closings in 7-8 Days & Generational Opportunity
55:00 - Building Duplexes in 12 Weeks: How Larry Manages 13 Projects at Once
56:00 - Running a Family Business: Son as GC & Agent, Daughter as Bookkeeper
59:00 - Inspections in Houston: 21 Inspections Per Project & Why Relationships Matter
62:59 - What Larry Is Buying Now: Full Rehabs, ARV Under $250K, Off-Market Land
64:01 - How to Connect With Larry Reyes & Bring Him Deals
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🔗 CONNECT WITH LARRY REYES:
Instagram: @_larryreyes_
DM for deals & inquiries
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The Man Who Changed Houston Real Estate Forever | Larry Reyes Built the First Vertical Stacked Duplex on a 2,500 Sq Ft Lot, Solved the Firewall Problem Nobody Else Could & Got His Plans Stolen — Now He's The Duplex King | Pick Up The Phone Podcast
