Hi everyone, welcome back! This week we’re talking about all things inherited tenants: the pros and cons of each, plus our personal preferences on inherited tenants. This episode is an absolute must-listen if you’re entertaining the idea of purchasing any property where you could potentially inherit tenants. Let’s get started!Pros of Inherited Tenants:Immediate rental incomeEstablished rental historyReduced vacancy riskLow turnover costsCons of Inherited Tenants:MaintenanceCompatibility issuesRental agreements and lease termsUnknown tenant backgroundLimited control over tenant selectionIf you are looking for more great resources on self-managing your rental properties, you can enroll in our Property Management Academy, to learn how you can save thousands of dollars year after year.That’s all we have for you this week, friends. We’ll catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Learn how to self-manage your rentals with our Property Management AcademyLeave us a review on Apple PodcastsLeave us a review on SpotifyJoin our private WIIRE Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hi friends! We are so pumped to have you join us this week because in this episode we are joined by Rachel Richards. Rachel is a financial advisor, turned real estate assistant, turned self-published author, and is also a thriving REI boss-babe who makes big moves in the world of syndications! Rachel is a true inspiration of what it looks like to build your business from scratch and we hope you will take away some powerful thoughts to help you also start to make some big moves in your portfolio, even if you are just starting out.Rachel, aka, ‘Money Honey Rachel’, started out in the real estate world in fairly low-paying jobs and at one point was also an assistant to a highly toxic realtor. This person made their employees cry on a regular basis and at one point, Rachel remembers looking at herself in the mirror on a particularly bad day with this person and decided…“This is it, I’m going to find a way to buy a rental property this year".”Within six months, Rachel had made an offer on her first property and closed in early 2017. Looking back, she remembers talking about investing and wanting to take action on it, but just hadn’t pulled the trigger so this was exciting and highly empowering.“I really do believe that anyone my age, at any income, can achieve financial independence.”Rachel started out with only $10k in savings and purchased a duplex with long-term tenants as her first property. The second was a boarding house, and now Rachel focuses her time and investments primarily on syndications, which has become her absolute favorite way to invest as they truly are the ultimate passive income.Currently, Rachel is invested in 10 syndications as an LP (Limited Partner).To learn more about what Rachel is currently working on, you can find her over on Instagram.Thank you so much for tuning in, we’ll see you next week! Resources:Visit Rachel’s websiteGet Rachel’s Passive Income Starter KitGrab your copy of Money HoneyGrab your copy of Passive Income Aggressive RetirementJoin our WIIRE Property Management AcademyLeave us a review on Apple PodcastsLeave us a review on SpotifyJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hello everybody, welcome back to another podcast episode! This week we are walking you through each of our 2nd-ever deals, which were both coincidentally multi-family properties. We are sharing our experience with how we found the deals, the ways we financed/purchased the deals, how we handled inherited tenants, and what we’ve learned since. Let’s get started! Amelia’s First Multi-Family PropertyAmelia purchased her first multi-family property, a fully occupied quadplex, in December 2020. She happened to purchase this deal from the same seller as her first deal which made things super simple since she had already worked with them before. The property had two units with 1 bedroom/1 bathroom each, one unit with 2 bedrooms, and one unit with 3 bedrooms. To purchase, she put down 20% of the $135k purchase price on a 20-year amortization with 4.5% interest.Since this property came fully occupied she has trained the tenants on her processes and also learned a lot from them as far as how to get inherited tenants on board with the processes of having a new landlord. One of the tenants ended up moving out when she initially raised the rent, but the other three are still living there 2.5 years later and keep their units in excellent condition so she is in no hurry for them to leave.This property is one that Amelia really doesn’t have a need or desire to sell unless something amazing came along. Grace’s First Multi-Family PropertyGrace purchased her first multi-family property in April 2021, on a referral from her uncle. It was 2 duplexes, all of which were fully occupied. The properties were in a good area and all in good condition. Three of the occupants were families and one was an insurance claim tenant.To finance this purchase, Grace went in on the deal with her boyfriend and her sister, splitting the down-payment three ways and she even talked her local bank down to only 10% down on a $255k purchase price, due to the built-in equity she saw the property had.They self-managed the property and decided to rehab one of the units into an MTR to rent at $1,600. Now two of her family tenants are still there, one has turned over and Grace plans to keep this multifamily basically forever.One lesson Grace has learned from this particular property is that up/down duplexes are vastly different than side-by-side units. This is a great learning episode because we are sharing so many of our personal lessons learned, the ways we have lost and saved money on multi-family properties, and why it’s so important to spend time placing good tenants, rather than just taking the first applicant you get, and also why you should keep good inherited tenants rather than risking the costs associated with vacancies.Thanks for listening, catch you next week!  Resources:Learn how to self-manage your rentals with our Property Management AcademyListen to Dion Mcneeley’s Bigger Pockets episodeLeave us a review on Apple PodcastsLeave us a review on SpotifyJoin our private WIIRE Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hello everyone, welcome back to another podcast episode! This week we are joined by Jesse Vasquez, an expert in the REI space and we are so excited to hear him share his insight on the things he has accomplished and the things he has dove into that we have not dabbled in quite yet. Jesse has an amazing YouTube channel where he shares a lot of excellent content on getting started in REI and growing your REI portfolio.Jesse actually got into the MTR space by accident. He had been working in 17 years and saw so many clinicians coming into the area with a midwest accent (sound familiar?). He met a nurse named Barbara who was staying at a Motel 6, in a terrible area, paying way too much. By getting to know her he found out how much of a need there was for housing in the area for people like their own travel nurses.He sold the only vehicle he owned, a Toyota Tacoma, to purchase his first MTR property at 34 years old in 2015. With little to no support, he took his first steps into the MTR space. However, what he did have was a vision for what he wanted to do to help these travel clinicians and other traveling healthcare workers.Jesse firmly believes that sometimes you have to take those desperate measures to make big moves.If you want to get more info or connect with Jesse you can find him on Instagram @therealjessevasquez.Thank you so much for tuning in to the WIIRE podcast, we’ll see you next week!  Resources:Get more info on Jesse VasquezCheck out Jesse’s YouTube channelConnect with Jesse on InstagramJoin our MTR CourseLeave us a review on Apple PodcastsLeave us a review on SpotifyJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Welcome back friends! Can you believe we are celebrating episode 50 already! We are so grateful for each one of you and want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for joining us on this REI journey and hope we’ve provided insight and entertainment into what it looks like to go full-time investing!In episode 50 we are sharing our list of 10 creative ways that you can get started, right now, in real estate investing. This particular list is for someone with little to no money to get started with but is willing to jump in with both feet and do the hard work. We will also dive into the advantages and disadvantages of each one.We like to say that you need to have at least one of these three things to get started: 1) money, 2) time, 3) experience.Let’s get started!Our list of 10 Creative Ways to Get Started In Real Estate:Live-in flipRental arbitrageWork for an investorHouse-hackKeep you own home as a rental when you move (also known as ‘accidental landlord’)PartnershipsFind a mentorBecome a private money lenderBecome a realtorWholsalingThis is another one of those questions we hear a lot because so many are in this exact situation so get ready to expand your horizons and shift your mindset to see what is possible to start getting started!See you in the next episode! Resources:Get your copy of the Creative Finance Playbook + use code WIIRELeave us a review on Apple PodcastsLeave us a review on SpotifyJoin our private WIIRE Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hi, friends! We’re coming at you with a BONUS EPISODE this week where we’re still riding our high from our weekend retreat with some inspiring REI women in Charlotte!If you’ve ever considered attending one of our retreats this episode is going to (hopefully) give you the push you need to get your name on our retreat waitlist and join us in-person at our next retreat!Still have questions? Feel free to DM us on Instagram to get them answered.Thanks for listening and we hope to see you at one of our upcoming retreats, friends! Resources:Get on the Retreat WaitlistLeave us a review on Apple PodcastsLeave us a review on SpotifyJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hi everyone, welcome back to another episode. Last week we talked about your buy box and one of the things that should be in your buy box is property, or neighborhood, class. So this week we are going to break down the various classes of properties or neighborhoods, what they look like for us, what they might look like for you, and how you can benefit from knowing which ones are right for your portfolio. We will also be sharing our own personal examples of the various classes we have invested in as well as which class we most prefer to work within.First, topics like this are highly subjective, so please remember that what might be considered an A or B class to us, might not be in your area, and vise versa. Property and neighborhood classes have pros and cons on every level and we use a sliding scale to break them down and differentiate them, giving you some general rules of thumb as guidelines.Next, let’s talk about the various classes of neighborhoods:A ClassB ClassC ClassD ClassEach of these is defined very differently, and will look different based on the area you are investing in, however one thing to keep in mind is always your WHY and exactly what it is you are looking for (hint: remember your buy box!).In all, it comes down to two things:What are you looking for: appreciation or cash flor (or maybe a little of both)?What can you afford?If you have a question or topic you would like covered in an upcoming episode, send us a DM on Instagram and we will queue it up!That’s all we have for you this week friends, we’ll catch you in the next episode! Resources:Check out Steadily for your REI businessLeave us a review on Apple PodcastsLeave us a review on SpotifyJoin our private WIIRE Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hi, friends! If you’re a frequent listener of the WIIRE podcast you’ll hear us talk a lot about our ‘buy boxes’ and in this weeks episode we’re going be diving into exactly what a buy box is, why having a buy box is important, how you can determine your buy box criteria and what our buy boxes look like. Let’s start by defining exactly what a buy box is…A buy box is a short, concise list of criteria of the exact deal you want to purchase.  Example of a buy box:“A single family home located in Des Moines, Iowa that has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, medium to low rehab, under $x (dollar amount).” Why should I have a buy box?A buy box is used to tell people (family, friends, investors, other REI professionals, etc.) exactly what it is that you are looking to buy. What criteria should be in my buy box?LocationNeighborhood ClassPurchase priceMetricsPhysical characteristicsRenovation level Lastly, remember that as you grow your REI business and your life changes you can adjust your buy box to keep your portfolio growing!We hope you loved this episode. Come hang out with us over on Instagram and share your buy box with us and we’ll catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Get TenantCloud for your REI bizLeave us a review on Apple PodcastsLeave us a review on SpotifyJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hi, friends! Welcome back to another episode of the Women Invest In Real Estate podcast! We are so excited to have you join us this week because we are welcoming Seena Ghetmiri (yes, our first male guest, but don’t run away - you are going to want to hear his story!). Seena actually started out on the traditional path, heading to college and becoming a dentist when he decided to take his future into his own hands and pivot into the world of real estate investing.Leaving his 9 to 5, after following such a traditional path as his family expected, is such a hot topic and Seena’s story will truly resonate with so many of our listeners. Seena’s Middle Eastern family very much is the ‘higher-education parent generation’, where he did what he was ‘supposed to do’ by going to college and having a career in an upper level field.After graduation from dentistry school, Seena moved to San Diego from New York, although he quickly learned that working his job looked much different than he expected it to. He worked at that practice for 2 years before relocating again to Austin to take, at the time, what was his dream job. Things got better at this new practice but after the honeymoon period wore off he had the realization…“This cant be ‘IT’.”Seena wanted to start a family with his wife, but also wanted to be able to show up for them. This job wasn’t lighting him up and while the pay was there, his heart was not. He told his wife he wanted to take 6 months off and explore the world of REI. She supported him fully and he put in his notice and went all in. This maybe wasn’t the best route, but for him, it worked.Seena and his wife have since grown an impressive REI portfolio, has launched a podcast (a MUST LISTEN!), and he and his wife are expecting their first child.Thoughts from Seena:Share your interest - put it out into the universeFind a good mentor (they don’t need to be an REI expert!)Take calculated actionCreate an experience for your guestsGive yourself permission to dreamFind a way to raise the level of urgency to just get startedMake the move, you only have one shotIf you want to learn more about Seena, follow along on his journey, or want to connect with him, you can find him on Instagram. We also highly recommend checking out his podcast, Ghet Investing.Thank you for tuning in, we’ll catch you in the next episode! Resources:Connect with Seena on InstagramVisit Seena’s website Ghet InvestingListen to Seena’s Podcast, Ghet InvestingPeach House Denver Airbnb:  Luxury 5 BR Retreat|10 min to DT Denver|Hot Tub - Houses for Rent in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, United States - AirbnbLeave us a review on Apple PodcastsLeave us a review on SpotifyJoin our private WIIRE Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hi, friends! We’re so excited to have you back! Mid-term rentals are by far our favorites at WIIRE and we have really refined our processes throughout our years in the business and one of the ‘fun’ aspects of owning mid-term rentals is of course, furnishing them! So in this episode were talking all about how to get creative when furnishing your MTRs without breaking the bank. Let’s dive in!Our 5 golden rules to furnishing MTRs:Keep it cute, cozy and comfy.Select furniture that is easy to put together (or buy pre-assembled items off of Facebook Marketplace).Include a starter set of items people won’t want to run out and buy right away (think spices, dish soap, laundry detergent, trash bags, etc.).Choose easy to clean items (duvet covers, dark linens, mattress protectors, cushion covers, etc.)Miscellaneous! This is everything that doesn’t fit into an above category.Post your ‘house rules’ on the back of the front door (Wifi password, when garbage pickup is, door codes, etc)Thermostat + water reminders for when they are going to be our of the unit for several daysProvide pet poo bags if you allow pets (you’ll thank us for this!)Have a keypad entry that allows a master codeInclude a washer and dryer, when possibleTwo final thoughts on furnishing your MTRs is that keep it simple - you don’t need to provide luxury accommodations (unless that’s your specific niche) and also, remember that a little goes a long way.If you have some unique ways you’ve furnished your properties we would love to hear them so shoot us a DM on Instagram!That’s all for this week friends, we’ll catch you in the next episode! Resources:MTR episodes: Episode 5, Episode 13, Episode 15, Episode 17, Episode 39Leave us a review on Apple PodcastsLeave us a review on SpotifyJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Welcome back to another podcast episode! This week we are excited to welcome our friend Anam Ali-Hashambhai to the podcast. Anam is a real estate investor born and raised in the Dallas, Texas metroplex and also where she and her husband have chosen to plant their roots and build their REI empire.Anam and her husband are self taught investors who have grown their REI portfolio to an impressive $25 million. But, like most people, they started much smaller. Since the cost of buying real estate in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is significantly higher than in some other areas, and paired with the fact that they were using their own capital, Anam and her husband realized they needed to widen the scope of their properties to be within 45-60 minutes of the Metroplex. They spent many hours together driving from one property to another after their full-time jobs, building their relationship along with building their business.Whats more impressive is that they have done all of this using the BRRRR strategy, they self-manage all of their units, and for the first few years, used their own savings and capital top fund their buys. However, during COVID they began using hard money lending and realized they wished they would have done so sooner to allow them to scale their business faster.While they have dabbled in multi-family properties, Anam and her husband primarily plan to continue investing in single family homes.What is a BRRRR? It stands for:BuyRehabRentRefinanceRepeatHere are our 5 best reasons the BRRRR strategy is such a powerful strategy:You can recycle and reuse capitalYou can use other peoples moneyYou can achieve greater equity positionHigher quality tenantsLess maintenance + CapExThat’s all for this week! A HUGE thank you to Anam for joining us; if you’d like to know more about her or follow along with her REI journey you can find her on Instagram. You can also hear more about her and her investment strategy by joning us at our Virtual Summit, Set to Scale, later this week - happening on May 17-18!See you next week, friends!  Resources:Grab your tickets to our WIIRE Virtual Summit happening on May 17-18Connect with Anam on InstagramLeave us a review on Apple PodcastsLeave us a review on SpotifyJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hi, friends! Welcome back to another episode! This week we’re answering another question we hear a lot and that question is ‘do I need an LLC to invest in real estate?’. While there really isn’t a cut and dry answer, we are going to share with you our personal thoughts on the subject, as well as our own experiences.Just a reminder, we are not attorneys and while we love sharing words of wisdom, we always recommend consulting with your attorney to find out what will best suit your specific business and personal legal needs.In this episode we’re diving into:What is an LLC and what does it doThings to understand about an LLCProsConsBenefitsTax details First, what is an LLC?An LLC, in its simplest form, is what separates your business liabilities from you personally, for asset protection. This means that a tenant cannot come after you personally, should something go awry at one of your properties. The long and the short of it:If having (or not having) an LLC is what is keeping you up at night, and keeping you from getting started in real estate, STOP! Put it aside and revisit it later because this is where so many people find themselves stuck, and never even get started. That’s all we have for you this week but if you have a question you’d like us to chat about on an upcoming episode please feel free to email us! Also, if you haven’t done so we would LOVE it if you could leave us a review wherever you listen to your podcasts to help other listeners like you find us! We will catch you in the next episode! Resources:Leave us a review on Apple PodcastsLeave us a review on SpotifyJoin our private WIIRE Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Women Invest In Real Estate podcast. We are so excited because, in this episode, we're going to talk about a creative finance deal that Grace just did and is probably one of the best creative finance deals she has done lately. We have both been so busy doing our own thing and keeping our businesses in line that Grace has not even shared these deets with Amelia so it’s going to be a good conversation! Let’s get started!But first, you haven’t already (especially if you’re new to creative financing), we highly recommend listening to the episodes in our Creative Financing mini-series with Jenn & Joe Delle Fave. Find them all here:Ep 35Ep 36Ep 37Ep 38 How She Found The DealThis particular house/deal was found through one of our favorite sourcing methods, referrals! A friend of Grace’s told her about this person who was looking to sell their home only a few years after they originally purchased it due to some major life changes. She reached out to the seller and the seller was super responsive to her offer, and they had already built that know, like, and trust factor in play here which immediately set them up for a successful deal, especially since it needed to move quickly.Grace bought the house via a wrap mortgage, taking over the owner's debt, buying the house, and owing what the house was worth. She really did not have any equity, basically owing what the house was worth (about $77,000 owed on the house). Grace offered the seller $91k, less the newly surfaced issues from the sewer repairs, which were estimated to cost roughly $12k bringing it to about $79k. The seller jumped at the offer and it was a done deal.  Here is an approximate breakdown of what Grace paid for the deal:$270 at closing$10k sewer repair$1k referral fee$1k attorney fees Some of the most common questions Grace will answer in this episode are:How do you make her mortgage payment?What about insurance?Did you buy the house in a trust?What are the risks of creative financing?Where did you learn everything you know about creative financing? Thank you for tuning in, friends! We hope you’ll join us on May 17 & 18 for our Virtual Summit where we’re bringing together top real estate investors from across the country to share their insights, strategies, and success stories!We’ll catch you in the next episode! Resources:Listen to the Creative Finance series: Ep 35, Ep 36, Ep 37, Ep 38Grab your tickets to join us at our Virtual Summit May 17 & 18Use the code WIIRE to get $250 off the Creative Financing PlaybookLeave us a review on Apple PodcastsLeave us a review on SpotifyJoin our private WIIRE Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hi, friends! We hope you are ready for some of the best tips and strategies we have for managing and ‘training’ your tenants. This week, we’re diving into red flags to watch out for when it comes to new/potential tenants (and inherited tenants!), and sharing with you some of the ways we have ‘trained’ our tenants to shift them onto our property management software and follow basic rental procedures. Let’s dive in! Red FlagsSob story tenantsWants to  pay multiple months of rent at a time/upfrontCarries ‘cash in hand’ the day they tour the unit to rent ASAPHas no rental historyBad credit score (medical bills excluded)Someone that just seems ‘off’ on FacebookWhile some of these may be case by case, you need to learn to use your best judgement and truly go with your gut. Some of those sob stories may be completely true and someone may have simply had a run of bad luck, but in our experience this is rarely the case in those instances. (Bonus! If you have a tenant who needs to better their credit store, TenantCloud offers rent recording to help bump credit and this offers both owners and tenants win-win!) Managing & Training Your TenantsTraining isn’t just for your property management and staff - but can also be used to get tenants all on the same page as well! Here are some of the situations where you can manage and train your tenants:Paying rent in person; instead transition them to online payments on TenantCloud or directly deposit to your bankSetting tenant communication boundariesCreating expectations for maintenance requestsOutline rules and regulations in your lease (+ enforcing them!)Enforce late fees/rent payment due dates (TenantCloud makes this one super easy by automatically applying them to late payments!)Once an eviction notice has been posted any and all communication should be in writingStick to your eviction notice policy!Our final piece of advice this week is to treat your business like a business by creating and sticking to your boundaries! We will catch you in the next episode! Resources:Use TenantCloud for your REI businessGrab your Early Bird tickets to join us at our WIIRE Virtual Summit May 17 & 18Leave us a review on Apple PodcastsLeave us a review on SpotifyJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hi friends! Welcome back to another podcast episode! This week we’re joined by Mark Dehaan, CEO of TenantCloud, and were chatting all things PM software, from how TenantCloud got started to what is in the works for them now, plus why we both love using this software every day in our businesses! Let’s dive in.Mark is a father of four, based in Salt Lake City, Utah. He loves family activities and all things outdoors and first got his start as the co-founder of Rentler. Rentler is a brand within TenantCloud focusing on listings, with TenantCloud being the property management software tool. Mark's parents have a background in real estate and investing and having done some real estate investing himself, he understood the need for not just a good tool, but a great tool. He partnered up with a friend to launch Rentler and down the road they merged with TenantCloud. TenantCloud, as you all know, is near and dear to our hearts. Grace has been a long-time Tenant Cloud user and recently converted Amelia over to using it in her business. TenantCloud has grown immensely and has built a team all over the world supporting landlords, property owners, investors, tenants, and more with their unique and highly innovative software tool.TenantCloud has so many amazing features and we’re still discovering more and more of them constantly because they are constantly coming up with new features for all of their users.  Some of the features that make TenantCloud stand out against its competition are:Offers tenant, property manager, landlord, and owner portalsAllows you to sign leases, collect rent, handle maintenance requests, and communicate with tenants - in a simplified user experienceYou can push your listings out across multiple platformsAccounting features such as expense tracking + other tax features to make it easy to hand off your financial records to your CPATenantCloud offers the lowest barrier to entry for tenants Some of our favorite TenantCloud features are:Offers an amazing amount of power on a highly user-friendly interfaceEasy to bring your team onto your portal (tenants, maintenance team, etc)Ability to grow your business without constant price increases for adding more units to your portfolioProperty Board for messaging multiple tenants in one multi-unit propertyExcellent customer service, resources, and FAQsIf you are just starting to look for a property management software tool, here are the bare bones of what you should be looking for in a tool:Rent collectionLease signingMaintenance requestsTenant messagingTenantCloud also has some amazing features coming down the pipeline and Mark gave us a sneak peek! A few things you can watch for are:Accounting/reconciliation features for tax seasonCustomizable application screen by adding income verificationOpt-in for credit reporting for tenants to help them boost their credit score (amazing!)A major focus of TenantCloud’s business model is to do the heavy lifting, for you. They want to see your business grow and are there to help you do exactly that. That’s all for this week, friends! We’ll catch you in the next WIIRE episode!  Resources:Use TenantCloud for your REI businessGrab your Early Bird tickets to join us at our Virtual Summit May 17 & 18Leave us a review on Apple PodcastsLeave us a review on SpotifyJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hi, friends welcome back to another podcast episode. This week we're going to talk about the five things that you should do right away when setting up your REI business. This episode is near and dear to us as we're both guilty of missing a few steps along the way when we were getting started! Even if you've already established an REI business, putting these five things into practice will make a massive difference in your business in the long run. #1 BookkeepingWhether you're choosing to outsource your bookkeeping or do it yourself, make sure you set yourself up for success by starting your bookkeeping processes early. We highly recommend using QuickBooks, but there are so many options on the market if it’s not in your budget. When it comes to setting up your QuickBooks or bookkeeping software, we also recommend that you hire a professional to set it up, that way you could choose to self-manage it and do the updating, categorizations, etc. as you go, to give you a hands-on look your finances on a regular basis. Along with hiring a bookkeeper, we also recommend finding a CPA who is well-versed in real estate tax processes. #2 Open A Business Bank Account & Credit CardWe both prefer Capital One because you can generally get approved even without a business credit history and their app is very user-friendly, allowing you to easily see all of your finances in one place. Ideally, we recommend having one account per business entity. #3 Create Business ProfilesOne of the first things you absolutely need is an email address. We also recommend getting a Google Voice number to keep your personal number, personal. You also might consider setting up a PO Box so you don't have to give out your personal address if you don't have an office space, and bonus points if you set up your business social media accounts! #4 Get Setup On A Property Management SoftwareThis is another one of those things we recommend starting early because it will make your life so much easier in the long run. Using a property management tool will allow you to house all of your tenant communication, collect rent, get leases signed, and so much more, and keep everything organized and in one place. Tenantcloud has an excellent free version we recommend checking out. One of the biggest perks of property management tools is that late fees are automatically applied to rent, so you don't even have to think about applying them when rent is past due. #5 Create Your SOPsStart out by creating a checklist of everything you're doing; what happens and when. Document all of your processes: everything you do in your business day to day, month to month, week to week, year to year.  These checklists become your SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and what allows you to do things like train future employees, hire a property manager, or just keep yourself accountable. It should contain the ins and outs of how you run your business and can be as simple as a Google doc. Having SOPs in place helps to decrease decision-making and make sure that things don't slip through the cracks. As we say: learn from our mistakes. don't do what we did but heed our advice and put these into practice now;  you'll thank us later.That's all we have for you this week. We appreciate each of you tuning in every week and if you haven't we would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reading each review brings us so much joy and really helps us get to know our audience a little bit better. We will catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Use TenantCloud for your REI bizLeave us a review on Apple PodcastsLeave us a review on SpotifyJoin our private WIIRE Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Women Invest In Real Estate podcast! We're so happy you're here. This week, we're bringing you another midterm rental episode, and this time we’re talking about alternative ways to rent your midterm rentals. We're super excited about this because both of us are realizing that we need to be more active in targeting a wider group of traveling professionals, other than simply focusing on travel nurses. Let's get started! ContractorsAmelia actually also loves to rent to travel contractors! Already having two travel contractors lined up to rent an MTR from her this summer, this profession is becoming much more common and it's definitely worth having in your arsenal. These tenants will be renting an MTR from her for about 5 months over the summer months, which is when construction really starts to pick up in Iowa. She is also leaving the units vacant for a bit longer than she normally would because she knows she's going to have this longer booking which makes it worth her while to have a longer vacancy. For these tenants, their company is actually paying the bill directly. The individual is on the lease, but the accountants from the companies are the ones paying the rent. Also, if you haven't caught on, Amelia prefers to rent to male tenants since they tend to cause fewer issues and do things like small repairs themselves versus calling her to take care of them.Grace had a lead for a contractor who came in the month of December and wanted a year-long lease for an MTR property. She wanted to start with 4 months and ultimately wanted to be able to extend to a year but she also wanted a unit with a garage and unfortunately Grace didn't have one available at the time. She did not score that tenant but looking back she realizes she should have done everything she could to get that year-long lease. Additionally, Grace's uncle also is in real estate and tends to rent his unfurnished properties to a lot of gutter crews who come in from out of state. For the most part, these crews are there to eat and sleep and typically pay top dollar for the units. They bring their own air mattresses and live the simple life during their stay just because they can't or don't want to pay $100+ dollars a night for a hotel. Corporate ClientsNext to travel nurses, corporate professionals are another big market to tap into. Grace knew that corporate professionals could be a great target market after working in the corporate world for a time. There are lots of employees, clients, interns, etc., who travel for a few months at a time for their company. In many cases, the company/business actually rent the unit and houses whoever they need to during the course of the lease. With corporate clients, you also want to keep in mind that for the most part, they are looking for higher-end properties that have a bit more polish. If you have a property in a great area with a spacious yard, garage, or even a really nice loft or apartment building, this could be a great market to look into targeting. Lastly, corporate leases also won't just fall into your lap you'll need to do some leg work and go on the offense to find these contracts. Insurance CompaniesInsurance companies, in our opinion, are probably the most high effort but likely offers the higher reward on the list. While we may have gotten close, we simply have not rented to this particular market yet. The idea is that you hook yourself up with insurance companies and when they have a family or individual whose home is uninhabitable due to a fire, storm, etc., they put them into your property at their expense. Typically they get a stipend or monthly allowance so this is another market where you can charge quite a bit more for rent. You basically become a short-term, midterm, or possibly even a long-term housing provider, while their home is being renovated.One of the more challenging aspects of targeting insurance companies is that there is less often a need for this type of housing so you really need to have availability when the company calls on you. This is best suited if you have multiple properties in the area, for availability purposes, but not out of the realm of possibilities if you only have one. Lastly, if you’ve been tuning in and haven’t left us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you tune in from, we would love it if you could take 1-2 minutes and leave us a review! Those reviews mean the absolute world to us and helps us so much!Thank you so much for listening and we'll catch you next time!  Resources:Get TenantCloud for your REI businessCheck out Jesse Vasquez on the BiggerPockets podcastJoin our private WIIRE Facebook GroupConnect with us on Instagram

Welcome back to the fourth and final episode in our creative finance mini-series with Jenn and Joe Delle Fave. In this episode, we’re going to talk about using Facebook to source creative finance deals, because Jenn and Joe do a fantastic job of using this free resource to find tons of leads.Check out the first three episodes of this miniseries:Episode 35Episode 36Episode 37As you know, Jenn and Joe have been doing this full-time since March 2020, but they began their real estate journey back in 2017 and that is when they really started diving into using Facebook and social media to spread the word about their business. In 2017 Jenn surprised Joe by telling him that they were about to go live on Facebook to show off the Rehab on a house that they were going to be doing. Joe had no idea what Jenn was even talking about because going live on social media really wasn't a big thing yet. Like a deer in headlights, Jenn started the camera rolling on Joe, and it grew from there. Jenn's thought process behind it was that if people could sell things on social media like vitamins, jewelry, and Beachbody workouts, why couldn't they sell (or rent) real estate? It quickly escalated and Jenn and Joe realized that if they could find buyers for properties they could likely find sellers as well. Having a personal Facebook page is one thing, but starting a business Facebook page is much different and gives you a much more professional presence on social media. Jenn and Joe's early social media presence was minimal and mostly from the buying side. They occasionally would list properties they had for sale and they realized that the more involved they were with the post, the more traction the posts got. They gained the most traction by going live on their page. After using local Facebook groups to gain more traction, they eventually graduated to doing sponsored ads, but they still love live videos. They are also proponents of referral offers; these typically tend to be great leads. Bonus points if you share a photo or video of the referral on your social channels!Maybe you’re ready to grow your Facebook presence but don’t have deals under your belt yet. Use photos you find online of what you're looking for. When you share what you're looking for on social media people can come to you with what they have or what they find when they're out and about. Post a photo of a fixer-upper with the caption “I buy houses just like this, do you know anyone selling a property like this one?” No one knows (or needs to know) that it’s not actually your house from a previous deal, it's simply what you're looking to buy. People want to see you, and buy into you; they want to see what you are up to in your business.While it does take time to set up your Facebook account the right way, it doesn’t cost a thing. It doesn’t need to be glamorous, it just needs to be about you and your business. Posts and content that include a human face perform better than those that don’t. This is an excellent way to build that ‘know, like, and trust’ factor, without actually meeting someone in person.Thanks for listening friends! We’ll catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Book a Consultation Call with Jenn & Joe and mention WIIRE to receive $2,500 off their programs!Visit Jenn’s websiteConnect with Jenn & Joe on InstagramCheck out Jenn & Joe on YouTubeJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Welcome back to the Women Invest In Real Estate podcast! This is episode three is our four-part mini-series with Jenn and Joe Delle Fave and we are so excited to dive into today's topic: rent to own. Rent to own has a very specific creative financing strategy that Jenn and Joe are well-versed in.But, before we get started if you haven't listened to the first two episodes in this mini-series follow these links to check them out:Episode 35Episode 36Jenn and Joe began implementing the rent-to-own strategy in 2017. They had a handful of single-family homes rentals at the time and the thought of being a landlord became overwhelming and simply put, daunting. They were self-managing all of their rentals when they stumbled upon this new process and they decided to take it head-on. The summer of 2017 was a crazy summer for Jenn and Joe. all of their leases were coming due so they decided to give their tenants first right if they wanted to purchase the homes, which none of them did. They all moved out and Jenn and Joe converted all of the single-family homes into rent-to-own properties. The reason why they love this strategy so much is that they get to help their renters turn themselves into homeowners; what many would call the American dream. While they’re technically losing doors if tenants buy the property but that's okay because they can always get more doors. Their goal is to work with tenant-buyers and collect a large non-refundable option deposit upfront before they move in.The tenants then continue to pay monthly rent and Jenn and Joe make cash flow each month. also with rent to own the tenant-buyer is responsible for items such as maintenance, any repairs to the property, and all utilities. Also, the tenant is more likely to keep up with all of the repairs and home maintenance when they're planning to purchase the home in the long run and they've already paid the non-refundable option deposit. Those tenants are treating the home like their very own, decorating landscaping and making it theirs and that is a really cool thing to be able to do for someone who might not otherwise have the opportunity to purchase a home.Some of their favorite ways to advertise their rent-to-own properties are:Facebook groups and/or marketplace (surprise, our favorite too!)CraigslistZillowRoad signs…Any…way…possible!With all of these methods, you can typically expect a huge influx of interest, but the key to filtering through all of them is to look specifically for the people who have that non-refundable option deposit, in hand.That concludes episode three of our four-part creative financing series with Jenn and Joe, make sure you tune in next week for the fourth and final episode! We’ll catch you next week, friends!  Resources:Book a Consultation Call with Jenn & Joe and mention WIIRE to receive $2,500 off their programs!Listen to WIIRE Episode 35Listen to WIIRE Episode 36Visit Jenn’s websiteConnect with Jenn & Joe on InstagramCheck out Jenn & Joe on YouTubeJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Welcome back to the Women Invest In Real Estate podcast, friends! This episode is part 2 of our 4-episode mini-series with investors and creative finance specialists, Jenn & Joe Delle Fave. This week, we’re diving into how to find creative finance deals and what to say to a seller to get the conversation started, plus we’re walking through how to put together and negotiate a creative finance deal from start to finish. Let’s get started!If you haven’t already, go back and listen to episode 35, where Jenn & Joe broke down the most common creative financing methods. “If you don’t have leads, you don’t have a business.”How do you find creative financing leads?One of Jenn & Joe’s favorite ways to find leads is actually by connecting with people on social media, specifically Facebook (also one of our favorites as well). Believe it or not, Facebook is one of the largest platforms that people go to list properties they’re trying to sell. But, they’re not looking in real estate groups. They look at local buy, sell, trade pages, and also local garage sale pages to find leads as well.  What do you say to the seller when you want to propose a creative finance deal?One of the best parts of Jenn & Joe’s Creative Finance Playbook (keep reading!) is the script they give you to use in this exact scenario. It’s all about asking the right questions to keep the conversation moving forward. The most important piece of this is to make sure you find out why they are selling so you can pinpoint how you can best help them reach their goals and stay in alignment with your own.  How do you fill out a creative financing purchase agreement?While each deal can differ based on terms, the basics remain the same. Jenn & Joe use a standard purchase sellers agreement for their county that outlines:Who is the buyerWho is the sellerBoth parties informationPayment terms (including: purchase price, monthly payment, term length, money down, or any other comments/notes)Any addendums or other required informationAll of this information will be forwarded to your attorney who will put together the final agreement. Thanks for listening friends, make sure you tune in again next week for part 3! We’ll catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Listen to Episode 35, part 1 of the 4-episode mini-seriesBook a Consultation Call with Jenn & Joe and mention WIIRE to receive $2,500 off their programs!Visit Jenn’s websiteConnect with Jenn & Joe on InstagramCheck out Jenn & Joe on YouTubeJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hi everyone, welcome back to the WIIRE podcast! This week we are excited to welcome our dear friends, and Grace’s mentors, Jenn & Joe Delle Fave. You’ll remember Jenn, who joined us recently in episode 33, and this week her husband Joe is joining us for a jam-packed episode about creative financing. This episode is going to be full of awesome information, plus they’re sharing a special offer for their Creative Finance Playbook just for our listeners. We’re so excited, so let’s dive in!Joe has been buying houses as a REI for just over 20 years now. He and Jenn met about 15 years ago, they got married, and started a family together, all with regular 9-5 jobs. Joe was a finance manager at a car dealership and Jenn was a teacher. They began doing real estate on the side together and had a vision of doing it full-time and eventually turned that dream into reality in March of 2020.Hear more about their story in episode 33 here. Before they even knew what BRRR meant, they were buying houses, fixing them up, then refinancing and pulling cash out of their deals. While they weren’t the first to do it, they knew their process was highly unique and they could do something different. From there, they learned how to creatively finance buying and selling properties to place themselves in this niche market. They weren’t just buying houses, they had a strategy behind their buys and a strategy behind selling properties as well.“Creative Financing, in its simplest form is the ability to buy real estate without having to go through the traditional process.”In this episode, we're breaking down these 4 creative financing strategies:Seller FinancingSub ToWrap MortgageLease SandwichMake sure you tune in to episodes 36, 37, and 38 to hear more about creative financing (and so much more!) from Jenn and Joe Delle Fave!Thank you so much for joining us this week, we’ll catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Book a Consultation Call with Jenn & Joe and mention WIIRE to receive $2,500 off their programs!Visit Jenn’s websiteConnect with Jenn & Joe on InstagramCheck out Jenn & Joe on YouTubeJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hello everyone, welcome back to another podcast episode. This week we're talking about our favorite topic (again), mid-term rentals! This is not only one of our favorite topics but from the feedback we’ve been getting we are learning it is your favorite topic too (amazing!)! So in this week’s WIIRE podcast episode, we will be walking you through all of the software we use in our businesses to manage our MTRs!We have learned so much about the various software tools as we have moved through the various stages of our businesses and we are so excited to be able to break down what has worked, what didn’t, and are sharing some of our best tips or running a successful MTR. When we each launched our businesses we didn’t have a ‘list’ of software tools, but instead, we learned as we went along so we’re going to save you a lot of legwork by sharing all of our research and lessons learned. Let’s dive in!Tool #1: FurnishedFinderThis should be the very first place you go to market your MTR to potential tenants. They specifically target the traveling nurse niche of the market, along with some other traveling professionals, and will find so many leads from this one place! FurnishedFinder is the place for you to be when you are ready to list your property because this is where you will find so many leads. You will receive booking inquiries and housing requests, but it is also important to remember to be actively reaching out to potential leads, rather than waiting on them to reach out to you, first.Tool #2: TenantCloudTenantCloud is an amazing website that will help you move tenants off of FurnishedFinder and into a property management space with ease. Once you have found your lead on FurnishedFinder, you can migrate them over to TenantCloud, which allows you to do everything from creating leases, maintenance requests, communication, invoices, and accepting rental payments, and more, for a super budget-friendly price. Remember, it is super important to build a solid foundation for your REI business if you plan to scale and TenantCloud is a great way to start!Tool #3: HospitableHospitable allows you to keep all of your tenant's stays from all of the various platforms (FurnishedFinder, Airbnb, VRBO, etc.) in one place to avoid overbooking, and much more. The calendar feature in Hospitable is amazing but you can also set up notification settings, for example, every time a tenant moves Hospitable can notify your cleaner automatically - a total game-changer! You never have to schedule cleanings automatically. It also reminds you (or your property manager) to do things like send back a deposit, etc. So many features that can help take the thinking out of recurring tasks that are normally forgotten.Best Tips for Running a Successful MTRUse keypad locks, for unit entry, instead of traditional key locks. Smart or basic, both work great!Provide your tenants with a Welcome Guide (or, shameless plug, get ours when you join MTR Profit Academy!)Get yourself a damn good cleaner, who is a good communicator and knows how to check in using technology!If you want more info on MTR Profit Academy, check out our website or email us directly! We’re more than happy to help and would love to inside!Alright, that is all we have for you this week. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Join us inside MTR Profit AcademyVisit FurnishedFinder to find leads for your propertiesUse TenantCloud to get organizedCheck out Hospitable for your bizJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hello everyone, welcome back to another podcast episode. This week we are so pumped to introduce you to our friend and mentor, Jenn Delle Fave, who is going to talk about all things wholesaling, and also dive a little bit into creative financing since that is her niche. Jenn and her husband Joe are all about creative financing and wholesaling can be such a scary topic so we are going to break down exactly how it works so you can dive into it, a little less scared. While it can be scary to start, wholesaling can be an extremely fruitful tool to have in your investor toolbelt. Jenn and Joe have been married for just shy of 13 years, have two kiddos that they homeschool, and recently relocated from upstate New York to sunny Florida. They love having the ability to live their lives on their own terms! They do real estate full-time, having just opened an office with full-time employees, and also offer coaching. Lots of different avenues and are excited for what 2023 will bring their way!It is also important to note that they are not realtors, so when we say they opened an office, it’s not a real estate office, it's specifically focused on creative financing and wholesaling. To say they stay busy would be an understatement, but they truly are passionate about their work and while it may sound cheesy they know they are in the right place doing what they love because they truly enjoy it.Their journey started when Joe wholesaled his first deal well over 20 years ago, before Jenn was even in the picture. But when they met in 2008, they began buying junk houses together off the MLS when the market crashed, they discovered they despised being landlords. They decided to pivot into the rent-to-own model and began to learn the art of creative financing. They started accumulating properties with little to no money down, taking over sellers' payments, and have been able to build their portfolio well into the 20s. They actually help people own their own homes so the numbers are constantly changing with gaining and losing doors. Jenn and Joe have also really dove into wholesaling to help their company grow. After Joe’s first stent, it didn’t happen again until 2020. To learn more about Jenn you can head over to Instagram. They also have an awesome   Facebook group, Creative Finance Playbook with Jenn and Joe, where they go LIVE every Tuesday. Inside their group they offer free trainings, talk about their deals and share other great information. You can also follow them on their YouTube channel.Thank you so much for tuning in. We'll catch you in the next episode.  Resources:Connect with Jenn on InstagramCheck out Jenn & Joe on YouTubeRegister for Creative Financing PlaybookVisit Jenn’s websiteJoin our private WIIRE Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hello everyone, welcome back to episode 32 of the WIIRE Podcast! This week we have a special request from one of our followers on Instagram. Melissa writes: “Hello loving your podcast. I'm new to real estate and we are looking for strictly cash flow to pay for liabilities we have. My husband wants to buy our first investment property with cash, hold, and then later when rates come down, and hopefully, the place appreciates, refinance. I would love a podcast on buying all cash and whether you think that would be okay?”The short answer, it depends. But what does it depend on?Well, there are a few factors we would take into consideration before making this decision and in this episode were going to talk about strategies for buying cash, the perks, and the pitfalls of both ways. What it really comes down to is being able to predict when rates are going to come down. If we could do that, we would be crazy rich. But since we can’t we need to know how to lean into what you know and what you are comfortable with. If you know that you have no debt on a property and you want one cash-flowing rental then that could be a great option. However, if you are looking to scale we would advise against it because you want to keep your capital moving, as quickly as possible in most cases.So many things can happen to any one given property so consider that. We like to have some diversification in our portfolios. Even if all of your properties are in the same market you can still have a diverse portfolio because you are not relying on one single tenant to pay for everything for you. If you are planning to buy a property then BRRR, or refinance within six months to a year, then we would consider that purchase. Melissa also mentioned refinancing when the rates come down, but consider this: why not purchase it via financing right now, then refinance again when those rates come down? “Just because you have a loan on it doesn’t mean you can’t refinance it.”For us, we're in scale mode; so it's all about the next property. However, Melissa might not be. She might want one and done and that's okay. It’s a really personal decision and there is a lot to consider on both sides. Thank you SO much, Melissa, for submitting that question. If you have a question you’d like us to feature in an upcoming episode send us a DM on Instagram or reach out via email. Thanks for tuning in, we’ll catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Get instant access to our Property Management AcademyJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hey everyone, welcome back to another WIIRE podcast episode. This week we’re diving into a fun topic; 7 ways to find off-market properties. Both of us have purchased a good majority of our deals when they were off-market so we have some great stories and experiences to share with you. Method 1: Driving for DollarsThis tried-and-true method involves you simply getting into your car, and taking a drive. While we have found that this method tends to work better in smaller towns, that doesn’t mean it won’t work anywhere, it just means you have to be more specific. What we do is drive around, looking for run-down multi-family properties, write down the address, then looking up the owner's information on the assessor's website. Once you find out who the owner is reach out to them, and ask if they have considered selling. Start the conversation, don’t overthink it, and don’t be afraid to ask. Lastly, remember that some ‘no’s’ might also mean ‘not right now’.  Method 2: Direct MailThe direct mail method can happen in two ways: one is if you are looking on a smaller scale to find a property you like (think about method 1) and write them a handwritten note. The second way is more of a professional approach, but also more costly and yields a larger number of leads. However, with this route, you have to be prepared to funnel in a large number of leads and scale quickly. Method 3: Calling For-Rent SignsThis is how Grace found her first property. She called the number on a for-rent sign and after realizing the owner was an investor she asked if they had any available properties they were interested in selling. After getting a list of around 30 properties, Grace asked to see the crappiest property because they knew they could make a massive dent and turn it into a BRRR. After walking the property they went under contract, while it was off the market.  Method 4: WholesalersIn the world of REI, knowing people is truly where it’s at. Make sure you are joining local Facebook groups and attending local networking events to make those connections with wholesalers in your area. If you are going the wholesale route, make sure you are crystal clear on your buy-box so your time is not wasted by people sending you properties you wouldn’t even consider. Lastly, wholesalers are willing to sell quickly, for a lowball cash offer, which means you have to have cash and close quickly. Method 5: Word-of-Mouth/ Contractors/ NetworkingAnother favorite method of ours, word-of-mouth is an effective way to find off-market properties. Don’t be afraid to shout from the rooftops what you do and what you are looking for. We recommend having a space (whether that is on Facebook or IG) where people can follow you and you can keep your name in their heads so when they do hear about a deal, they remember to connect with you about it. This also goes for letting your contractors know because they know a lot of people and are very well-connected.  Method 6: Social MediaWe touched previously on social media but when you make sure people can find you easily and see what you are doing people are much more likely to reach out to you. Also, we both have experienced organic leads (both legit and not-so-great) from social media, so make sure you are posting those rehab photos! Method 7: Connecting with Current LandlordsThis final method is another tried-and-true one and we cannot emphasize enough how important it is to utilize your network. Contact investors/property owners, you have purchased from before, or other local landlords to see if they know of any gems that might not be on the market. By purchasing off-market deals you are also avoiding realtor commissions and landlords are always happy to have more money in their pocket from a sale.  The moral of the story about off-market properties is that sometimes they're hard to find, but if you just keep your eye out, you're constantly putting yourself out there, and you're always asking questions, they will come to you.We hope you enjoyed this episode and we will catch you in the next one.  Resources:Get clear on your Buy-BoxListen to our Guide to Rental ArbitrageJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hello friends! Welcome back to the WIIRE Podcast. This week we are super excited to welcome Datha Santomieri from Steadily insurance onto the show to share with us all things landlord insurance. Datha is one of the co-founders and head of insurance at Steadily, an insurance solution for landlords, and also REI investors themselves. Datha has done a few flips of her own and one of her first flips was on a 7,000-square-foot property (what?!?) in Kansas. When she tried to get insurance on it during the renovation period it took dozens of phone calls and very few follow-ups to find an agent that knew how to correctly cover her property. It was such a clunky process and Datha knew the process could, and should be, much simpler. With her co-founders having similar experiences they knew it just didn't make any sense why it had to be so complicated to find insurance for investment properties. After a few years of frustration, they realized they were best positioned to solve the problem themselves. Being an insurance person herself, Datha had spent her entire career in the insurance industry, building programs and rolling out technology and operations to support them. Steadily’s customers love them because they have taken the friction out of something that didn’t need to be complicated in the first place. In this episode, Datha is sharing: Intel between the different types of policies and propertiesHow to make sure your property is covered, correctlyWhat vacant property insurance meansCash value vs replacement value of a propertyThe benefits and how you can best use SteadilyFor more info about Steadily and find out how they can support your REI properties, head to their website to learn more!Thanks for tuning in, we’ll catch you in the next episode!   Resources:Check out Steadily for your REI bizFind Steadily on TwitterLearn about Steadily on LinkedInGet the scoop on Steadily on InstagramHear more about Steadily on FacebookJoin WIIRE’s private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Hello everyone! This week we're going to talk about a very popular topic, arbitrage. More specifically we are going to focus on MTR arbitrage because that is the realm where the majority of our personal experiences lie. Rental arbitrage has become increasingly popular. It is what we would call a buzzword in the real estate world right now, and for good reason. Let’s dive in!We do want to note that a lot of this information will also be helpful when it comes to short-term rental arbitrage as well because when it comes to MTR or STR arbitrage, the execution is nearly the same, either way. It can be a great way to first get started in REI and especially so if you don’t have a lot of capital to work with.  What is rental arbitrage?Rental arbitrage is when you lease a property, then turn around and release it, typically as a mid or short-term rental. Think of it like flipping a lease, except you are the middleman. You are getting the initial lease from the owner, then turning around and releasing it for more money so you are making a profit. What are the benefits of rental arbitrage?It requires less capital to startThere is significantly less risk involvedThey are very easy to startOffers a high ROIYou can choose turnkey properties for quick setupYou can potentially land properties with low, to no maintenance, that you are responsible for since you do not own the property What are the disadvantages of rental arbitrage?No tax benefits since you are not the ownerLess control over the propertyNo control over neighboring tenantsYou are subject to property rules and rent raises by the owner If you are looking for a simple way to get started in REI but have low capital, arbitrage could be an excellent way for you to dip your toe into the industry, before taking the full dive. Thanks for tuning in, we’ll catch you in the next WIIRE episode!  Resources:Check out Steadily for your REI bizJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on InstagramReserve your spot for our retreat in Salt Lake City

Hey everyone! Welcome to the WIIRE podcast. This week we’re super pumped to welcome onto the podcast our friend Hannah McCoy, a real estate investor who has a very unique perspective on the travel nurse industry because Hannah is actually a travel nurse herself! As an MTR owner, Hannah is bringing a lot of intel to the table and we are excited for you to meet her and get to know a little bit more about not only her journey in real estate investing but also hear a few trade secrets of the travel nurse industry.Hannah began investing in February of 2020 with her boyfriend and now owns four duplexes and one single-family property (plus they’re under contract for another) near where they live just north of Pittsburgh, PA. As an ER nurse, Hannah wanted to be able to travel and make more money and has been working as a traveling nurse since 2021. She decided to try something new and knew the money you could make as a travel nurse was a huge draw and she was so excited to be able to do something different and keep not one but two income streams. Since 2021 Hannah has gained a lot of experience when it comes to looking for, staying in, and how travel nurses best utilize MTRs, and can offer a unique inside perspective to our audience. The travel nurse industry has dramatically changed (and still continues to change) and Hannah is sharing her take as both a travel nurse who stays in MTRs, her perspective as an MTR owner, and the changing seasonality of travel nurses, to help bridge the gap between how we as owners can better understand how travel nurses operate under their contracts and also offer them better services.If you want to see what Hannah is up to you can subscribe to her YouTube Channel or follow her on Instagram.Thanks for tuning in, we’ll catch you in the next episode!  Resources:See what Hannah is up to on InstagramCheck out Hannah’s YouTube ChannelCheck out Steadily for your REI bizJoin our private WIIRE Facebook CommunityConnect with us on InstagramReserve your spot for our retreat in Salt Lake City

Hello friends! We’re excited to dive into this week’s podcast episode content because it’s another episode that YOU, our amazing listeners, asked for! It also is on our list of most common questions we receive so in this episode we’re sharing exactly what we look for (including red flags) in an investment property. For us, knowing what to look in an investment property for has become second nature when we are analyzing deals, but if you are someone who is just starting out you likely have no idea where to even start - and that is totally okay!First, we’re going to talk about what we look for in single-family properties. Amelia is one who is really never looking for a single-family home, but when she does, give her the smelliest house you can find, especially for those that need cosmetic updates as well. Amelia loves the phrase ‘smells like money’ because even a smell can scare off buyers, and often times it’s not that hard to get rid of odors. Grace tends to also look for houses that stink, because again, a smell can be gotten rid of with some work. Also, those tend to have less competition in a buyer pool. Grace also has learned that she now stays away from houses with less-than-desirable layouts or funky driveways, especially when the house is on a busy road. We both love houses that are packed full of ‘stuff’. In many cases, buyers can’t see past the junk and all you have to do is remove the junk and there can be so much opportunity behind it. A few other things we stay away from are houses with foundation issues, bad neighbors, and those that are located in less-than-desirable neighborhoods/locations. Moving onto multi-family homes, we agree that houses with funky driveways and interior layouts, monster/Frankenstein-converted houses, properties with little to no off-street parking, and common areas to keep clean, are all things we stay far, far away from. When we are looking into buying a multi-family property we look for those that are under-managed. Mismanagement is a huge area where you can add value by coming in and really overhauling their units (and business processes) and in turn, raise the rent. For the most part, tenants are okay with the increase in rent because it means you are taking better care of the property. When it comes to buying a property, one big red flag we look for as a buyer is if the seller won’t let you see all of the units. In most cases, a seller not letting you see each unit means they aren’t properly being cared for or maintained. However, if you are in the position where you are buying the property and are aware that there are problematic tenants/units, that is a completely different story and you can work with it.Next, if a seller is unorganized or seemingly hiding their financials, we recommend staying far away from those. With the exception of someone selling a simple duplex, etc., and has no other units, sellers should always be organized and upfront with their financials. The more intricate you get, the better the financials you have to have because there are so many more pieces to the puzzle. ​​We would love to hear what you look for when buying/selling your properties and if you have any other questions you’d like us to answer in an upcoming episode! Last, we would also love to have you inside our private Facebook Community where aspiring and existing investors come together, learn, grow and support one another.We’ll catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Check out Steadily for your REI bizJoin our private Facebook CommunityConnect with us on InstagramReserve your spot for our retreat in Salt Lake City

Welcome back to another episode of the WIIRE Podcast. We hope everyone had a great New Years and we are so excited to jump into 2023 with all of you! This week on the podcast we are going to talk about some of the mistakes we made in our businesses in 2022 and how we are going to fix them moving into 2023.  Mistake #1: BookkeepingThis year we both learned exactly how important it is to either outsource your bookkeeping tasks entirely or set yourself up with a strong bookkeeping foundation from the get-go, in your business. Bookkeeping is something that never stops which means that you really need to stay on top of it so you don’t continue to get further and further behind. If bookkeeping is just not your jam, we get it. But in this case, we highly recommend outsourcing your bookkeeping early on, to make sure your finances are kept in order, track your expenses, etc., especially come tax season. If you plan to track your expenses and manage your books internally, that’s great! But make sure you set yourself up with a strong foundation either by using a bookkeeping platform and setting up a bookkeeping routine you can stick with, or outsourcing setting up your system and having them teach you how to manage it yourself.  Mistake #2: Putting Things On Hold For The Next Big ThingLong story short, Grace’s deal to purchase the manufacturing business didn’t pan out, and while they were out time and some lawyer fees, the biggest bummer was that they had hit pause on so many things they could have been doing. They could have purchased more rentals, upped their equity, cash flow, etc. Our biggest piece of advice here is to always keep moving.  Mistake #3: Not Having a Daily Routine/ StructureBeing self-employed has amazing perks, one of which is the freedom to design your own lifestyle. The challenge is that it can be super easy to fall into the trap of not getting as much done as you could because you don’t have a daily routine or structure for your day, to allow you to be as productive as you could be.In 2022, we both learned that by actively blocking our calendars, we were able to be so much more productive.  If you want to deep-dive into your relationship with time management so that you can you can live the life you desire without the stress, join Amanda Boleyn’s live group coaching program, Attention Audit, where she will be teaching her 4 P’s to Effective Time Management. Thank you for joining us for our first episode in 2023! Catch you next time!  Resources:Join Amanda’s Beta Group Coaching Program Attention AuditConnect with us on InstagramReserve your spot for our retreat in Salt Lake City

Hello everyone, welcome back to the WIIRE Podcast! We know you all love hearing about all things MTR so this week we are bringing you another episode about MTR strategy, except this time we are talking about the 5 pitfalls (which we’ve lovingly termed ‘cash-flow-killers’) you’ll definitely want to avoid making with properties in your REI portfolio.   1. UtilitiesIf you’re not tracking tenant utility usage, you should be. Utilities are typically covered for tenants in mid-term rentals, but you’ll want to make sure that your tenants aren’t going over ‘average’ usage for the utilities. We recommend adding a utility addendum to your lease explaining that any overage from the average usage (which can typically be found on your utility company’s website) will be billed back to the tenant. You can also post signs on the doors so when they go to leave the property, they’re reminded to check things like the lights and thermostat, and not leave them in use when they aren’t even home. Lastly, you could invest in a thermostat that you can control remotely and set limits on.  2. LocationC & D class neighborhoods, simply put, are just not recommended for MTRs. Even units in some B-class neighborhoods will sit vacant longer than desired because traveling professionals know what kind of areas to look for and which ones to stay away from. Vacant units will always cut into your cash flow, so choose your MTR location very wisely.  3. Noisy LocationsMany MTR tenants are traveling nurses, and as you could guess, work nights (or even around the clock) on some days. Typically they are only in the unit to eat, sleep, and repeat so they want to come home to a quiet space they are comfortable in and aren’t interested in dealing with a noisy neighborhood or noisy neighbors. 4. Cleaning FeesThis one can be a bit tricky. It’s nice to be able to cover your tenant's cleaning fees - it’s one less thing for them to pay, right? While true, that also cuts into your cash flow.After covering cleaning fees for quite some time by just charging more for rent, Grace has discovered that she is likely leaving money on the table because it cuts into her cash flow. She realized that she could simply include a cleaning fee, along with the deposit, and tenants are still happy to rent her units, despite the cleaning costs coming out of their pocket. She also realized that for the most part, tenants are used to paying a cleaning fee. Amelia collects a deposit to hold the unit, then 1-2 days prior to move-in collects the 1st month’s rent along with the cleaning fee.5. Not having a detailed list of supplies for your unit.Do you know exactly how many cups, plates, forks, towels, etc., are in each one of your units? If you don’t you should. Now before we proceed, we will be the first to admit that we have both been super lax here, but it is on both of our ‘goals for 2023’ lists to do a much better job of this one.Go through your units with a fine tooth comb. By having this list for each unit, when your tenant moves out you know not only needs to be replaced and charged back to the tenant. Keep this list handy for yourself, your cleaner, or your property manager so everyone knows exactly what should be in each unit so you aren’t losing money by keeping your rentals stocked and passing those charges along to the tenant. That’s all for this week friends, thank you for joining us. If you have any questions or topics you’d like us to cover shoot us a DM on Instagram!Catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Join our WIIRE MTR Profit AcademySee what Amelia is up to on InstagramCheck out Grace’s updates on InstagramConnect with the WIIRE Community on InstagramGrab your spot for our retreat in Salt Lake City

Welcome back to another podcast episode! We recently received a great topic request on Instagram to talk about low and no-money-down deals that we’ve each done so this week we are diving into exactly that. In this episode, we will be sharing three examples of deals we’ve done, all real-life examples from our personal portfolios, and we hope they are super helpful and allow you to think outside of the box!Amelia purchased a single-family home in April 2021 after having found the deal through a local investor she saw working through Facebook Marketplace. But by the time she called him about the deal, it had already sold, so Amelia did a bit of research and found out that the seller owned multiple properties in the area. She reached out to see if he had other properties for sale and offered a package deal for multiple properties. This offer was for a 30-day close on four properties and despite dragging her dad along (kicking and screaming), it was a killer deal.  Amelia and her parents partnered 50/50, but none of them had to come out of pocket for money with their creative financing techniques.  Grace also has done her share of creative financing and on her deal wanted to use instant equity that they were buying into. At the time she had one single-family home that was under construction and wanted to buy two duplexes (four units) for $255,000. 20% Down would have been $51,000, which she absolutely did not have at the age of 23 and only one year into her W-2. Even splitting it 50/50 with her partner wasn’t going to work, but Grace was willing to work some creative financing to make it happen. Grace knew the owner of the four units who had had a wholesaler approach him to purchase the units. Grace convinced the seller to let her look at the unsigned contract and told him, in short, that it was basically a piece of crap, and he should sell to her instead. The good news was that the wholesaler had already worked the seller down to his bottom dollar of $255K. Grace called the bank she had used for a previous deal, which turned her down. She called a second bank, one she had been banking with personally, and spoke with the VP directly, who knew Grace and her background well and was willing to take the chance on her deal of 10% down. Being newly employed at the time and her boyfriend being unemployed, Grace turned to her sister to bring her in as a 3rd partner in the deal. Her sister agreed and this allowed Grace’s portion of the down payment to drop from the original amount of $51K to only $8,500.  The final example were going to share is the first (and only) deal Grace and Amelia have partnered on together. In a previous episode you heard us share that we purchased a property in Amelias hometown from one of her friends parents for only $38,940. Having mentioned to the seller about a year prior her interesting buying, the seller remembered that seed Amelia had planted. One important thing to note about this deal was that the seller is moving and not taking everything with them, and was moving into an apartment and didn’t need the immediate seller payoff. Amelia and Grace negotiated to pay her one year after closing, so they could fix it up and flip it with no down payment. They planned to do some painting, updated the flooring, and sell it for between $60-70K. During the process, plans changed and they ended up putting a renter into the property, furnished, and with a few other unexpected expenses coming up, they had to do some additional work to refinance the property so Amelia could solely own the property and buy out Grace’s portion. A few months in, Amelia refinanced with her local bank to purchase Grace’s portion of the property, which appraised at $65K. To buy out Grace’s portion of the property Amelia partnered with her parents because, despite Amelia financing the down payment, her parents adore the property and would like to flip it when the current tenant moves out. All in all, they were under contract for $38,940 and did a wrap mortgage for the financing, and paid her off in full after the 1-year time period.  One final recommendation…Don't be afraid to wheel and deal with your bank. Some of them will say no, but some of them also might be interested in what you have to offer, especially if they know that you can get the deal done. So the first deal you do, maybe you won't be able to wheel and deal as much. But as you establish that relationship, just ask and make sure you're exploring all of those options.We hope you liked the breakdown of these deals. As always, if you have any recommendations for future episodes, feel free to DM us on Instagram. We love getting your requests, and we will catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Grab your spot for our WIIRE retreat in Salt Lake CityConnect with Amelia & Grace on Instagram

With 2022 drawing to a close, tax season is nearly upon us. This week on the podcast we are joined by our friend, Natalie Kolodij, a Real Estate Tax Strategist who is sharing her expertise with us on what we should be doing to prepare for tax season when it comes to REI. Natalie is an IRS Enrolled Agent and Real Estate Tax Strategist who has been working exclusively in real estate since 2014. Natalie is highly specialized in her niche and loves helping people get set up with the right strategies to really work on building their wealth in the most effective way they can.The first thing we cover in this episode is how you can save on taxes by having your rental property transition (temporarily) to a short-term rental property, before turning it into a long-term or mid-term rental. One of the key things with normal rentals, long-term rentals, or even mid-term rentals, is that they're in the same category for taxes called ‘passive income’ to the government, meaning that you don't pay any payroll taxes on it. But a trade-off there is that when a passive activity like a rental creates a loss, you can't always use it, depending on your circumstances. There are certain circumstances where you can, and some circumstances when you can't. So typically, if your annual income is above $100,000, you might not be able to use that loss. It can always offset other passive income, but not your W-2’s or other income types. It's in its own bucket and that is passive loss limit. You don’t lose it, but rather it carries forward into the next year. Short-term rentals are a unique hybrid area where if you have a short-term rental, where the average stay is 7 days or less, then it can qualify as non-passive. By breaching that nonpassive designation, any losses you create are no longer subject to that income limit and there’s no true cap on that. So with a short-term rental, you can do something like utilize cost segregation, where you push some of your depreciation up to the front end, have a big loss in one year, and be able to fully deduct it against your earnings from your W-2 job (or flipping income or any other types of income). It creates a really great loophole. In this episode, Natalie shares so many great tips and tricks, just like this, about how to prepare yourself for tax season, find the right accountant for your business, and so much more, in a way to help set you up for a stress-free tax season. She also shares her Year End Tax Prep Checklist for Real Estate Investors with our listeners. Want to connect with Natalie or find out more about her current client offerings? Shoot her a DM on Instagram or visit her website to learn more!Thank you for listening, friends! We’ll catch you in the next episode!   ResourcesVisit Natalie’s WebsiteConnect with Natalie on InstagramGrab your ticket to our 2023 retreat in retreat in Salt Lake City

Hi everybody, welcome back to the WIIRE podcast! We are so excited to welcome our friend and real estate investor, Jessie Dillon, to the show this week! Jessie is not only a member of the WIIRE Community, but has attended two of our retreats, and today she is going to be telling us all about how she rents out a room in her home as a mid-term rental.Jessie is based in central Massachusetts and rents out the room in her own home as a house hack, and aside from her REI business she owns a beauty business and is a wife and stepmom. Jessie has grown her REI biz to 5 doors and in 2022 alone grew her portfolio from $0 to $1.5 million! Why rent by the room?Jessie started investing in real estate in January 2022 and at the time lived in an extremely reasonably priced apartment with a fantastic landlord. While he was a great landlord, he owned multiple properties, causing him to not pay super close attention to each individual property. Jessie decided that she would only move and increase their cost of living if it was the absolutely perfect situation. Eventually, Jessie found a duplex property on Zillow that had been listed for roughly one month and was only one mile away from their apartment. After looking at the numbers they went all in on it and by that evening had signed an offer (in a smoothie shop, nonetheless) for the property. It was in a great neighborhood, half of it was newly flipped and the listing agent was also the owner who had done the work. It was so easy - no one else really even needed to be involved. They purchased the property in July and moved in at the end of August. Right away they got a long-term tenant for the other half of the duplex and they began tossing around the idea of renting out their guest room as a mid-term rental. They debated whether they wanted to share their personal space with a complete stranger and eventually decided that the potential income it would bring in was too good to pass up and they should at least try it out. Within 6 weeks they had a tenant locked in. How much does your tenant pay in rent?Their monthly mortgage payment is $3,850, and between the income from the other half of the duplex and their mid-term tenant, they only have to cover $50 of that monthly mortgage payment. They basically are getting $700 per month of principal paid down, with their $600K asset appreciating (in a high-appreciation state), and them only paying $50 towards the principal interest, taxes, and insurance, it’s just too good of a deal. Jessie and her husband purchased the property for $590K using an FHA loan and also a private investor from their circle.Next came furnishing the unit. Jessie kept it super simple and while she considered going the normal marketplace route, she opted to go with mostly new items because that way if the in-house mid-term tenant thing didn’t work out, she would at least have a super cute, furnished guest room. So, how is it working out having someone else live in your space?Actually, great! She shares our space respectfully and we get along great. They did a full background check, social media search, Facetime calls, formal lease, etc., the same as they would for a short-term tenant or a mid-term tenant in a separate property. It’s been about 6 weeks and she actually might extend it out further. Jessie listed the property on both Airbnb and Furnished Finder. The tenant pays $1,700 per month, which includes everything, including ‘light pet care’ and laundry service since Jessie works from home (creative bonus income!). If you want to know about Jessie or connect with her personally, send her a DM on Instagram!Thank you for joining us this week, we’ll catch you in the next episode! ResourcesConnect with Jessie on InstagramJoin us March 2-5, 2023 for our retreat in Salt Lake CityFind out more about the WIIRE Community

We are back this week with episode 21 of the WIIRE podcast and joining us this week is our friend, Cat Storing who recently joined us at our WIIRE retreat in Orlando. Cat is going to be sharing with us all about her experience in hiring Virtual Assistants (VA) to work on her team. Cat had so much to share and brought an amazing energy to the retreat, and we are so excited to have her on this episode.  All About CatCat is a business coach, is really good with technology (her claim to fame), is an author, hosts the REI Podcast, is excellent at figuring out processes, and is really into real estate investing. And while she loves doing all of the things, she is still just one person, so this is where hiring a VA has come in really handy in her business. She has worked as a personal stylist and also in purchasing and now has transitioned into real estate and business coaching. Cat helps people monetize their expertise and is an amazing resource to so many people.  Cat’s First VAWhen Cat hired her first VA, she was ready to really dive into the world of social media but knew the demands of social media and the dedication it requires. She also knew she couldn’t be doing all of these things, and posting to social media while still working her full-time job. Cat found her first VA (located in India) on UpWork and her specifics was giving the tasks to her VA and having them complete them overnight so that when she got up in the morning she could review them first thing. The problem (that she now realizes) is that she did not manage them well enough and they wound up taking advantage of her. She paid him on a weekly basis and since she wasn’t reviewing the tasks, he quickly figured that out, and simply stopped completing the tasks. Now, Cat has learned how to successfully manage her VAs and review their work, prior to submitting payment. Her biggest recommendation for those looking to hire their first VA is to allow them to learn your ways.  Cat’s Best Tips for Hiring a VADecide exactly what tasks you need to outsource (or what you simply don’t want to do)Look for a VA in your niche if you are looking for a real estate VA look for those specifically)Once you begin working well together figure out if they are teachable and want to learn more tasks before offloading additional tasks on themHave a system in place to review their tasks regularlyTreat your VA the way you would want to be treatedStart before you need to hire someone (i.e. NOW!)Test the waters with different VAs If you want to see more about what Cat does, visit her website or connect with her on Instagram. Thank you so much for joining us, we’ll catch you in the next episode! ResourcesJoin us March 2-5, 2023 for our retreat in Salt Lake CityCheck out Cat Storing’s websiteConnect with Cat on InstagramHear Amelia’s episode on the REI PodcastHear Grace’s episode on the REI PodcastFind your first VA on UpWork

Hi friends welcome back! This week’s podcast episode is a fun one because it’s another behind-the-scenes episode where we’re going to dive into exactly what we are working on and give you a unique glimpse into some exciting things we each have happening in our businesses. Amelia’s UpdatesA few weeks ago Amelia (and her biz partners) submitted an offer and letter of intent to purchase a motel property and finally heard back from the sellers. While it wasn’t a resounding ‘YES’ to their offer, the sellers did ask to sit down with them and get to know them and their businesses, and really build that ‘know, like, and trust’ factor. A big part of why they want to sit down with Amelia and her team is because they’ve asked them to carry $1M of the down payment on a seller-financed note. This will allow them to vet them as sellers and learn about their experience and it is a great start to moving forward.Amelia found this deal by posting on a local Facebook group for investors in Des Moines, Iowa. She had a pretty graphic created depicting her exact buy-box, and what she is looking for, and very quickly a broker reached out to her. Despite it being slightly outside what she was looking for, they anticipated she might still be interested in this unique property. Amelia had previously tossed around the idea of purchasing a hotel/motel type of property so really this wasn’t entirely outside her buy-box. With a higher purchase price, this 41-unit motel has a lot of potential, and she is super excited to see how this deal moves forward (knock on wood).  Grace’s UpdatesGrace and Brandt are in the process of purchasing a manufacturing business, even though the purchase is moving a bit slower than anticipated. For this purchase, they agreed on a 20% down over 7 years at 4.5%. A business acquisition works a lot like a large real estate deal where you have your letter of intent and then you have to get your purchase agreement signed. They had their letter of intent signed and sent a purchase agreement approximately 30 days ago and they’ve heard back from their attorney that their next step is to collateralize their real estate, which they had already anticipated happening. To do this, they made a list starting with the highest equity to the lowest, prioritizing things they want to hold onto. The seller asked for 20% down so they will be financing 80% at a purchase price of $820K. To finance this purchase they are using private money, plus the money they have from cash-out refinances that have been sitting. They cashed out their 8-unit BRRR about 3 months ago and haven’t used that money either, so all of this will be added to their financing. They’ve submitted their list and are just waiting on the response from their attorneys and they are excited to move forward!They found this deal because a few months back, Brandt expressed interest to Grace in buying something other than traditional real estate; a business. After doing some research they eventually found this manufacturing business that was up for sale on BizBuySell. With both of their backgrounds in engineering, this was a great opportunity and they jumped on it. They plan to implement better management as well as better systems and processes and make this business a long-term purchase.  Hopefully, on the next BTS episode, we both have promising updates!Do you have questions or things you’d like to hear us talk about on an upcoming episode? We would love to hear them! Just DM us on Instagram. Thanks for tuning in, we’ll catch you in the next episode! Resources:Grab your spot for our retreat in Salt Lake CityConnect with Amelia & Grace on InstagramGet the book Buy Then Build by Walker DeibelFollow Codie Sanchez

Hello everyone, welcome back to the podcast. In this podcast episode, we're going to talk all about creative financing. Specifically, we will be breaking down the three main types of creative financing: seller financing, wrap mortgage (also called a wrap-around mortgage), and Sub2 mortgage. When you hear the words “creative financing”, you need to understand that is an umbrella term for seller finance, wrap mortgage, Sub2 finance, etc.; all of those terms are in the realm of creative financing. Many times people confuse seller financing (us included!) with these very specific, and different, types of financing.  Seller FinanceLet’s first break down seller financing. Seller financing is when the seller lets a buyer buy them out over time, and the property has no debt on it. You can negotiate the terms to be exactly how you want and it can be much quicker to close, especially with rising interest rates, to benefit both you as the buyer and the seller. A seller finance deal has a purchase price, a down payment, a monthly payment, and a specific term length. Wrap MortgageThe second type of creative financing we’re going to discuss is a wrap mortgage or wrap-around mortgage. Think of a wrap mortgage as a seller finance deal, but with debt on the property. With the purchase of the property and you are taking your mortgage and wrapping it around the existing debt on the property. An example of this would be this: think of a property with a $95K mortgage on it. You come in and buy it for $105K, which wraps around the initial mortgage and whatever the difference between the mortgage debt, and the purchase price is the equity that the owner has. Just like a seller finance deal, a wrap mortgage has a purchase price, a down payment, a monthly payment, and a specific term length.Sub2 MortgageThe last type of creative finance we’re going to cover is the latest buzzword, Sub2. Sub2 is essentially the same thing as a wrap mortgage, except you're not giving the seller any equity. Also with a Sub2, you're not preparing any documents that show that you are owning the house, like you would with a mortgage. An example of a Sub2 would be if you are taking over someone’s house, it means that you are taking over the existing loan. Say the loan is for $95K, which is a $600 payment, you take it over at $95K. In the $600 payment, the seller basically gets to walk away with their hands clean. Maybe they had a super distressed property, maybe they moved out of the house three years ago and they've making been making two mortgage payments and they're just ready to be done. For whatever reason they're willing to let you take over their mortgage and just walk away. The difference is that you don't draw up a mortgage agreement stating who is purchasing the house from whom, for $X per month for X number of years. That document is what would protect the seller down the line if they decide to go get another house in terms of showing a DTI (debt to income ratio). With a Sub2, there is no seller protection and no mortgage documents outlining payment terms/schedules.  To summarize…Creative financing is the umbrella term. Seller finance is when a seller sells a debt-free property and the buyer pays them back over time. A wrap mortgage is the same thing, however, there's an existing piece of debt that the buyer takes over and they pay it back over time. Sub2 is the same thing as a wrap mortgage, except for there are no mortgage documents that protect the seller from DTI requirements. If you have any additional creative financing questions feel free to shoot us an email or DM us on Instagram.Catch you in the next episode! Resources:MTR Free TrainingConnect with us on Instagram

Hey everyone welcome back to episode 18 of the Women Invest In Real Estate podcast. We are super excited to talk to you today about how to know when it's time to go full-time in real estate investing and a couple of steps that you should take prior to quitting your full-time job. Plus, we're going to dive into our personal stories and when we knew it was time. Amelia’s JourneyIn 2020 Amelia flipped a property (hear this story in episode 1) and this led her to the realization that she was interested in buying rental properties and replacing her income from her full-time job with rental income. She then bought a tri-plex which cash-flowed around $700-800 per month. At the time her income from her full-time job was right around $50k so she was used to sticking to a strict budget and living below her means but knew she could get to where she could quit her full-time job. Quickly after that, Amelia then purchased a quad-plex from the same seller and was cash flowing around $1,000, so she was already at $1,800 per month. Being that Amelia was already debt free, she really only needed to bring in enough to cover her own rent and food. She eventually reached 7 doors, and by the end of the summer of 2021 was up to 15 doors and just shy of replacing her full-time income. She also knew that by quitting her 9-5 she could focus more on her REI career and be able to bring in even more income. The last step before she quit was going under contract for an 11-unit property with her partners from Idaho. Roughly 30 days later, she left her full-time job and never looked back.  Grace’s JourneyWhile working remotely from Iowa as a mechanical engineer Grace’s income was sufficient but far from making her a millionaire. She was supposed to be relocating from Iowa to San Diego to begin working in-person for her job and in February of 2021 after wrapping up a large BRRR project. She felt really good doing this real estate project in the place she was born and raised and knew that it just would not be in the cards in California. She asked her company if she could work remotely permanently which they quickly shot down. She decided it was time to try this real estate thing on her own. She gave roughly three months’ notice to give herself time to prepare. Grace took the time to step out on a limb, and create an emergency fund for herself and she ended up taking some of her 401K out just to live on as a cushion (totally worthwhile in the long run). Amelia and Grace constantly remind themselves that you can’t fully see the opportunities that can come when you don’t have time or energy to look because you’re working full time. Once you are able to focus on entrepreneurship full-time, there are so many ways and things that you can do to make money.Best tips to prep for quitting your 9-5:Give yourself a deadline to replace your full-time incomeRemember your WHYBe personally debt free!Know exactly what you spend every single monthEstablish good relationships with lenders after you have a few successful projects under your belt but before you quit your jobHave an emergency fund (most people say 6 months is sufficient but think hard about your personal situation)Don't forget, that there is some opportunity cost with you still being in a full-time job and you have the ability to make even more in real estate if you can focus full-time on that instead.Thank you so much for listening! We will catch you in the next episode.  Resources:Listen to WIIRE episode 001Find a Healthcare Plan for your solo biz

Hey everyone! Welcome back to episode 17 of the Women Invest In Real Estate podcast. In this week's podcast episode we're going to be talking all about how you can make your mid-term rental stand out in a saturated market. This is such a great question and so relevant right now because the mid-term rental market is on the verge of some fierce competition and it’s super important to make sure that your listing stands out among others to keep your occupancy rate high and vacancy level low. You won’t want to miss this! Tip #1: Post great photosWhile we’re both guilty of not following this rule, if your MTR is in a highly saturated market we highly recommend investing in a professional photographer to take your listing photos. If you must take the photos yourself using your cell phone here are a few good rules of thumb to follow: use landscape mode, make sure your finger is not in the photos, take photos of small details (washer/dryer, kitchen utensils, etc.), and always brighten your photos.Tip #2: Accept petsWe have learned that many travel nurses travel with furry companions and you can do things like requiring an additional non-refundable pet deposit and charging monthly pet rent to keep your listing in demand and keep the tenants happy to have their pets with them.Tip #3: Provide laundry accessNurses, specifically, do a lot of laundry. They can’t go to their hospital shift in a dirty pair of scrubs and having to sit at a laundromat outside of their working hours is less than ideal. Also, generally, the first amenity people look for, is laundry. So if you can swing it, and you’re in a saturated market, invest in putting a washer and dryer in your unit (or have a shared laundry space).Tip #4: Add a security systemMany of our travelers are solo travelers and having that extra security feature can help people feel much more comfortable and safe when they are traveling in large cities. Also, some insurance companies offer a discount for having an active security system installed.Tip #5 Update small touchesSmall changes can make a big impact, without making a big dent in your wallet. Update light switch plates, cabinet hardware, faucet heads, and outlet covers; even simple ceiling fixtures can be a nice bonus to travelers (ceiling fans are big sellers!).Tip #6 Focus on the bathrooms and kitchenA big visual point in any property is the kitchen and bathrooms. Investing in even small updates in those spaces can go a long way.Tip #7 Create an inviting outdoor spaceAfter working a long shift in a hospital or corporate office, traveling professionals enjoy having their evening meal or even their morning coffee on a nice patio. Add a bistro table and chair set and this will help your unit stand out amongst the competition. It's so nice to have just that little outdoor space where you can spend time.Tip #8 Write a detailed description (that sets the mood)The more details you can add to a description the fewer questions people will have. They know what to expect which is a huge draw for a potential tenant. Help them envision what it looks like to live there: “enjoy your coffee outside on our shaded patio in the mornings and evenings”. Put yourself in the tenants’ shoes and answer the questions before they are even asked.Tip #9 Make the barrier to entry low Make your responses and communication timely; the application process easy; the deposit process seamless, and never wait to respond to questions and inquiries. If you wait more than 1-2 days, chances are that tenant has already moved on.  That’s all for this week. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to us on Instagram.Thanks for listening and we’ll catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Join WIIRE inside The CommunityConnect with us on Instagram

Welcome back to another podcast episode! This week we’re doing a deep dive into partnerships in the world of real estate investing. We’re so excited to share with you the different types of REI partnerships, how we have structured our own partnerships, and also things to consider when it comes to implementing partnerships in your own REI business.  Two Types of REI Partnerships: Debt & EquityEquity PartnershipWith an equity partnership, both parties are owners of the property. They both have a piece of the pie. And while your partnership style will depend on exactly whom brings what to the table, in the end, you both own the property. Pros of Equity PartnershipsEquity partnerships allow you to buy more property, with more credit available and more funds available in general. Also, with equity partnerships, you are merging two strengths together, making for a very powerful partnership and two parties who are typically willing to really give the project their all. Cons of Equity PartnershipsIf you wind up not getting along with your partner, in the long run, that can get quite uncomfortable. Make sure that every so often you reassess your partnership (agreement) and its functionality. It also typically comes with a longer timeline because these types of partnerships operate for years. Make sure the person you partner with is someone you get along very well with.  Also, many people don’t want to split the piece of their pie. And while 100% of nothing, is still nothing, you need to make sure you have a strong operating agreement for things that might come up. This partnership reduces risk and increases the availability of capital between the parties. Debt PartnershipA debt partnership is at the very simplest, a loan. Think of it just like you are borrowing money from a bank, except these funds are coming from an individual person (often referred to as a ‘private investor’). This type of partnership and loan comes with a specific timeline, interest rate, payback period, etc. Pros of Debt PartnershipsThese partnerships are often much shorter, and once you’ve paid back your investor, you’re all in, on your own. There are also a lot of people looking for dept partners - maybe they have extra money they are looking to invest and you have the know-how and expertise to allow them to invest with your REI project. Ultimately, in our opinion, the biggest pro of debt partnerships is that they are short term and once you’ve paid back your investor, the property, and income, are all yours. Cons of Debt PartnershipsDebt partnerships typically come at a higher cost. You have a higher interest rate to borrow private money, so typically you have a much shorter timeline for these; BRRRs, flipping, etc., where there is an exit strategy and end of a timeline. These types of loans also typically last under one year and you must pay off the loan in full by the end of that year.  How To Find REI PartnersA great place to look for equity partners is in your own backyard. Talk to family and friends, interact with colleagues, and post on social media that you’re looking for new partnership opportunities. Show them what you’ve done, what you are currently doing, and build that ‘know, like, trust’ factor with them to make them want to know more. Another place to find great equity partners is through your local real estate investing groups and meetups. All of the people in that room are already interested in what you do, so look there to network and structure new partnerships. To find debt partners, look for investors who already have that extra money. Whether it is equity in their home, a self-directing IRA, or someone with a higher income (doctor, lawyer, etc.) but who doesn’t have the time to do the project themselves. These kinds of people typically want to be hands-off (ideal for a debt partnership), so you are their boots on the ground.  Tips for PartneringPut yourself out there and don’t be afraid to ask for partnerships, but don’t try to partner too early.Negotiate and include a management fee if you will be doing the property management yourself. Make sure you outline a reassessment of your partnership after 1-2 years.  A final piece of advice about partnerships:Be cautious, but optimistic.Thank you so much for listening! We would also LOVE to hear more of your burning REI questions or episode ideas so shoot us a DM on Instagram! See you in the next episode!  Resources:Join the MTR Profit AcademyConnect with us on Instagram

Hello friends! Welcome to episode 15 of the Women Invest In Real Estate podcast. This week we are super excited to be fielding some FAQs that we often receive from our followers on Instagram. We’re going to answer some of these questions and hopefully help you out on your REI journey. The FAQ LineupWhen purchasing a property, should a mid-term rental work as a long-term rental first, numbers-wise?Our take: Absolutely. It should definitely function as a long-term rental first, at least enough to where it's going to cover your mortgage, your insurance, your property taxes, and your utilities. At the very least, you want to break even. What is the difference in amenities/supplies in an MTR as compared to an STR?Our take: We each provide a ‘starter pack’ of items such as paper towels and toilet paper, but in the long term we don’t provide these for the entire stay. We consider what they need to have a comfortable first couple of days while they get settled in, move in their clothes, buy groceries, to have a nice day.  If you know you could get $X for midterm rental, what would you pay for the property?Our take: We want to cash flow $200-400, or ideally as a long-term rental. As a bare minimum, we consider the 1% rule when analyzing deals. Where should I list my midterm rental and how do I find tenants and comps for monthly MTR rates?Our take: FurnishedFinder. You can check out comps and find tenants all in one place. We also recommend AirBNB to help fill gaps between bookings as well.  What value do you use for vacancy when running your numbers in MTR versus LTR?Our take: Amelia uses 8%, for MTR, even though we've found that it's significantly less than that. But again, she runs her numbers very conservatively and she also has some gaps in between bookings (maybe a week or two here or there) which adds up. Also consider that some banks, when you're underwriting larger deals like five+ units, they'll usually actually require a 10% vacancy in your underwriting. They simply want to see that the property still functions even if there is up to a 10% vacancy for the year. Do your units have washer/dryers? We have no room for hookups and I'm pretty sure it will be a hard pass for some people, with others expecting cheaper rates.Our take: You pretty much answered your own question. We recommend checking out FurnishedFinder for the specific area you’re considering and see if there are listings available that don’t have hookups for washer/dryer and it will show what is available. If they're all available right now, that means people don't want them. If they're not available for another two or three months, it means they are getting booked, so you could probably go for it. For Amelia, her units don't have washer/dryer, but there is a washer/dryer in the unit in a shared room. However, it is a hard pass for some people to not have a washer/dryer in their unit, and that's okay. We also recommend taking a play from our friend Britt’s playbook and getting creative by offering a laundry service for an upcharge. Our friend Jess got creative by offering pet care because she lives on the premises and works from home. This is a game changer for travelers with pets, especially traveling nurses who work long hours. How do you get a hold of insurance companies to offer your an MTR for insurance claims?You actually can call the adjusters at insurance companies. They have a department that's called a re-homing or re-housing department, and insurance companies will place displaced families in your units and pay for their housing. This is also an option to offer to local realtors to offer to people who have sold their houses and are still in between homes. If you want to dive deeper into what we just touched on in this episode check out our MTR Profit Academy, which gives you the A to Z on how to start a midterm rental and successfully rent it out.Have more questions? We would love to hear them! Shoot us an email or DM us on Instagram.Thanks for tuning in, we’ll catch you in the next episode!   Resources:Join the MTR Profit AcademyConnect with us on InstagramList your MTR on FurnishedFinderFill your gaps using Airbnb

Welcome back to episode 14 of the podcast. This week we’re going to focus on how to scale your REI business quickly. This is another question we hear quite often from our followers on Instagram and since we each scaled our businesses quickly, having gone from 0 to more than 20 units in only one year, we’ve learned some hard lessons along the way. We’re sharing our best tips and practices for scaling quickly.For Amelia, the realization of needing to scale quickly came when she purchased her first triplex on her own, had it rented out, and it was cash-flowing well. She had been bitten by the REI bug and turned around and purchased her next property rather quickly. She used the money to purchase her triplex from her first deal, which was a flip. She had planned for her next buy to be a buy-and-hold, so she already knew what she was looking for in the market. We frequently talk about how real estate investing really isn’t hard. It’s actually a simple concept, but can be hard to put into place. However, at the same time if you can do a decent job and have a decent product it could bring you a lot of success. Grace realized she was going all in on REI when she realized that it could literally be an end to a means and allow her to quit her job. Two deals in, Grace and her partner (Brandt) decided they were going to keep buying and not let a lack of funds stop them. They would find good deals, and the money for each buy, along the way. They did each of their first 10 deals very differently but her first most people would find the most interesting. Keep in mind they have never sold any of their properties. It was a BRRR and they put down 20% bank loan and then used cash to pay for the rehab. Grace’s second deal was two duplexes and was split evenly between herself, her boyfriend, and her sister. They paid $255,000 and they convinced the bank to let them put 10% down, drastically reducing the amount of cash they would need to pay upfront to get this deal. Eventually, Grace began to get super creative with her financing so she could continuously purchase value-add deals so she could re-access the capital out of it to pay off private money, etc. Simply said, Grace got scrappy with her financing and it has definitely worked out in her favor. We both have decided to see our goals and design how we want our future to look around those goals. Then, we go for it. For both of us, real estate investing is “passive”. We have built out our systems and put them into place which allows us to continuously move the needle forward.  Another way we have been able to scale so quickly is to find good partners to work with along the way. With constant buying, the money will eventually run out and in order to continue to scale we have figured out ways to not use all of our own money to tackle every single buy. When we first met a year and a half ago, we decided to partner up, and look where it has brought us! Partnering can be absolutely amazing if done the right way. One more important detail when it comes to scaling is financing. Grace used different lenders for her first three buys and has since stuck with the 3rd. It is a commercial lender which means their terms aren’t as favorable but the financing is easy to get. Plus she got in good with this lender by building a relationship with them and proving to them time and time again that she will under-promise and over-deliver on what she says she can/will do.Amelia has also built a good relationship with her lender and while they do still occasionally ask for her tax returns, they also know the level of return they can expect from her. Best Practices for Scaling & Building a Relationship with Your Lender:Be flexible/easy to work withPerform well: under-promise then over-deliverShow them you’re a professional, don’t be a mom-and-pop shopHave a strong mindsetKnow your buy-box (good-deal criteria)Spread the word - you never know who is looking to sell a property!That’s all for this week! Thank you so much for listening, we really appreciate you all so much and we will catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Join the WIIRE Property Management AcademyGrab our MTR Starter Guide

Welcome back to another podcast episode! This week we’re sharing the top misconceptions about midterm rentals that we commonly hear and going to debunk each one of them for you! Not allowing yourself to get caught up in these common misconceptions could actually get you ahead of the game just by knowing how to tell apart a fact from fiction about midterm rentals. Let’s get started! The ListMyth #1: The units in midterm rentals must be luxury or extravagant. The Facts: Keep it simple: clean, safe, comfortable, and affordable. For the most part, traveling professionals are only in this space to sleep so their needs are low and they are trying to keep their costs that way too.  Myth #2: Midterm rentals are only for traveling nurses.The Facts: Recently a teacher who was brand new to the area moved into one of Grace’s midterm rentals because he didn’t know exactly where he wanted to put his roots down yet in his new local area. Amelia has housed all sorts of construction personnel, solar panel and wind turbine contract technicians, traveling corporate employees for companies like Starbucks, and more. They are only working 1-3 month contracts and don’t want to live out of a hotel for the entire time so they choose midterm rentals that suit their needs.  Myth #3: MTR tenants are always the best tenants.The Facts: While this might generally be true in 95% of cases, there is still that 5% of tenants who have been problematic renters. (Throwback to episode 13 where Amelia dished about her tenant who caused her internet to become suspended!).  Bonus Myth #4: Midterm rentals only work in large cities.The Facts: Cedar Rapids has a population of about 120,000 people and Grace lives in a town of about 1,000 people and MTRs are absolutely successful there. Amelia has a MTR in a lake town and her cottage is going to be an MTR for the winter when travel slows down for the season. She put up the listing on FurnishedFinder and within two hours her MTR tenant had paid their deposit and booked the unit! Bonus Myth #5: Short-term rentals have a higher vacancy level.The Facts: In reality, our midterm rentals typically were near 0%. We both work our business to keep our vacancy levels as minimal as possible where a tenant moves out and a new tenant moves in within a matter of hours, allowing for just enough time for a good cleaning and turnover.  That’s all for today friends, thank you for joining us! Catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Enroll in MTR Profit AcademyJoin the Property Management AcademyList your property on FurnishedFinder

Hello everyone, welcome back to episode twelve of the Women Invest In Real Estate podcast! We have had such great feedback and so many questions about our day-to-day’s, so today’s episode is another behind-the-scenes WIIRE episode where we’re going to give you the scoop on what we are both up to in the world of real estate investing and managing our properties. We’re going to start off with a crazy story that Amelia has been bursting at the seams to share (and has made us wait until we recorded this episode to share) all the deets about recent happenings at her mid-term rental property! Amelia’s Internet NovellaA few days ago Amelia received a call from Mediacom that they were suspending her service for illegal video downloading. She inquired about the specific router and with several units sharing routers she had to determine exactly when the video downloading occurred to narrow it down to the exact culprit (tenant). The downloading apparently began the day after this tenant moved in and she was taken aback because they claimed they had called her to inform her previously (nope, they did not, nor could they prove it). No one (and we mean NO ONE) likes to deal with utility companies and this time was no exception.Amelia’s red mane was flaming and she was furious about the problem this tenant had caused, because not only did he cause her account to be suspended, but Mediacom informed her that if it continued they would be canceling all of her accounts! This would be quite problematic because not only were all of her units in this building run on Mediacom, but a few others as well, including her personal account. She asked them to give her a few hours to nail down the tenant and resolve the issue and as soon as she hung up she immediately called the tenant. While Amelia normally prefers to handle all of her tenant communication in writing, time was of the essence and she needed an immediate response. When he answered she immediately informed him that she was aware of what was going on and that the internet has been suspended and he was to remove all content from all of his devices, effective immediately, or she would be taking legal action against him.To cover her back, she sent him a text message detailing exactly what she had just verbally told him, as well. He was very apologetic but still received a BIG timeout from Amelia’s paid-for wifi.  Grace’s Next MoveWith more than 12 units using Mediacom for internet service, they finally advised Grace to move to a commercial internet account (quite literally to help her avoid situations just like Amelia’s), so it doesn’t cause an issue across the board on her accounts.Grace is also in the process of hiring an in-house Property Manager and could not be more excited! After so much back-and-forth about the decision to hire Grace has pulled the trigger and is now learning how to ‘be the boss’! This investment will come back to her simply on the time she will be saving by having someone else handle all of the little (and big) details for her biz. For the time being, Grace has been in a reactive stage. She reacts as requests come in, and would rather be able to be in more of a proactive space where she can be prepared for things ahead of time. It is going to be a whole new stage in her business. Other UpdatesAnother announcement Amelia is excited to announce is that if you tuned into our first BTS episode you heard that I was under contract on a seller-financed triplex and they finally closed on that property last week! The first thing they are planning to tackle on this project is actually replacing the roof. It will cost around $22,000 to fully demo and replace (including the removal of 4 old layers) the roof of this property. She is also going to have the gutters replaced as well which will add on another $4,000, spending $26,000 right off the bat, which they are financing through a line of credit and they will BRRR into a commercial loan once they are finished with the rehab.A couple of fun surprises they found on this property were that it still has old knob-and-tube wiring. While it is in good condition, they will likely still go ahead and replace it since so many walls will already be opened up. Another surprise was that this owner actually did a full clean-out from all of the ‘stuff’ that originally had been packed into the property (rare, but a much-appreciated surprise!). Lastly, while they were pulling up the old, brown shag carpeting they discovered beautiful wood floors, in immaculate condition!That’s all for this episode, friends! If you’re looking to connect with us outside the podcast you can find us each on Instagram:Amelia’s IGGrace’s IGThat’s all for this week, we'll catch you in the next episode!  Resources:Join the Property Management AcademySee how you can use TenantCloud in your businessCheck out Hospitable for your vacation rental properties

Welcome back to episode 11 of the WIIRE podcast! In this week’s episode we’re sharing with you about our very first (ever) rentals; how we found them, how we managed them, and if we still have them in our portfolio.  Amelia’s First Rental PropertyAmelia’s first rental property was a triplex in a small town in her hometown, with a population of around 5,000 people. It was a 2-story property with 3 units; two bedrooms, one bathroom on the first floor, and two units with one bedroom and one bathroom each on the 2nd floor. Amelia found this property listing on Zillow and really, only by accident. She typically had only been searching for single-family properties and didn’t realize she had the multi-family filter selected when she came across this property. She scheduled a time to walk through it and was taken aback by the awful tenants living in the residence. So she wrote what she now calls a ‘love letter’ to the owner stating how she was excited to purchase a property in her hometown and be able to give back by providing quality housing to the residents of her hometown. With the list price sitting at $99,000 she submitted an offer of $65,000 and after some negotiation they landed on a purchase price of $78,000. Amelia purchased the property for all-cash because the appraisal was taking a long time to come back so she made it an all-cash purchase with the intent of refinancing into a mortgage right when the appraisal could be completed. This wound up being a blessing in disguise situation because the property needed some work and she was able to make them to the property before the appraiser came out. When they finally did come out to do the appraisal it appraised for $92,000. Part of Amelia’s contingency on this offer was that the property must be sold vacant, meaning no inherited tenants upon closing. With only 45 days until they closed the tenants moved out and Amelia ran the numbers again on this triplex (crazy for a first rental!) and knew there was no way she wouldn’t make money on this property. It’s been nearly two years and taking the risk on her first-time rental property as a flip, wound up being a huge success and now cash flows around $800-900 per month.  Grace’s First Rental PropertyAfter looking for a few weeks Grace and her boyfriend purchased their first rental property when she saw a property for sale, called the seller, and asked for a list of properties they were interested in selling. He sent over a list of about 30+ properties and was trying to sell them down to about 8 or so. She told him she wanted to see the grossest property he had.He did, and it was absolutely disgusting. An absolute gut. Backing up a few steps to her Buy Box, Grace knew they needed to BRRR because they had the money for a down payment and for the repairs, but did not want to buy cash. They also knew they wanted it to be a single-family property, and the town Grace lives near. They also did not want inherited tenants so they could start work right away. Plus, they were going to DIY the project. When it came time to start working on the property it seemed to be even more disgusting than they initially thought and found more trash than they could have ever imagined possible. After purchasing with 20% down, they told their bank they would be refinancing it ASAP so the bank put them on a construction loan so they only had to pay quarterly interest on it until they refinanced it. It took about 6 months (which was 3 months over their initially estimated timeframe) and between $35,000 and $36,000 (when they had only estimated $23,000), which added a significant about of stress to the entire project. One of Grace’s ‘fondest’ memories (and biggest lessons) of this particular project was that when they were roughly one month out from completion, they made a schedule of what needed to be done. The entire 3-story property needed painting (doors, walls, ceilings, trim, you name it). She scheduled herself 3 days to paint which quickly, and painstakingly, turned into one month.Their hard work paid off and was roughly $120,000 and when all was said and done the property appraised for $185,000. They pulled out roughly 70% equity and walked away with around $8,000 extra to use on their next deal. Today, Grace still has this property in her portfolio (renter occupied) and has learned some major lessons to take along her REI journey. If you’ve enjoyed hearing our stories in this episode head over to Instagram and give us each a follow and see what we’re up to now!Follow AmeliaFollow GraceCatch you in the next episode!  Resources:Grab your seat for our free 60-minute trainingJoin the Property Management Academy

Hey friends, welcome back to episode 10 of the Women Invest In Real Estate Podcast! This week we are so excited to welcome Kayla Thorp, also known as thatlandlady on Instagram. Kayla is a residential real estate investor in upstate New York whose real estate portfolio currently sits at 40+ doors, mostly in the long-term rental market. Kayla is one of the smartest people we know in the REI biz and we are so honored to have her join us today on the podcast and dive into how she systemizes her business.Kayla started out like the majority of investors, self-managing her rentals but since then she and her husband now have their own property management team they can rely on to keep their units and operations running like a well-oiled machine. After purchasing their first couple of rental units, they started out using Cozy.co, and when Cozy merged with Apartments.com they realized the service was not serving them well, nor was it meeting their tenant needs. They pivoted and made the switch over to Buildium, and ultimately switched again to AppFolio, which is what they still use today.One thing Kayla impresses on other investors is that if you buy a property and don’t factor in a management fee, you are not buying an investment. You are buying a full-time job. The reason for this is that eventually if you want this to become a more passive business, you will need to hire a manager (which hopefully you will see a good ROI with appreciation and rent growth). For Kayla, that time came sooner than later and they were quickly glad they had factored in that management percentage from the beginning. Being able to keep that management percentage to fund their own business and lifestyle, while building their portfolio, became super valuable for them. At that point, they were already ready to put more systems in place to be able to hire out different pieces of their business.Their first property management hire was an internal hire. Because Kayla had done her due diligence and created SOPs for each step of her business in the early stages, it made this transition much less painful. They could continuously point back to all of their documented systems and procedures for every detail of exactly how to screen a tenant, turn over a unit, review standards for rental criteria, and so much more. Being in New York, a very tenant-friendly state, Kayla has had to adjust her management style in a much different fashion than most others operate. Because New York has a unique set of laws and regulations regarding things such as evictions, collecting pet fees, the inability to check previous eviction history, and so much more. They have developed a problem-solving style that has really helped them get through most of these situations, without having to go through the eviction route.Kayla and her husband also started the Rochester Housing Coalition, which is a group of housing providers and also nonprofit organizations that deal with homelessness in their city to address some of the housing policy concerns and to help the city work through those things in a way that's beneficial to everyone.Eventually, Kayla and her husband were able to pivot their business and hire their first external property manager, who was actually an old friend of their business partner. They began to hand it off piece by piece starting with maintenance ticket coordination. They began by introducing them to their maintenance team. Introduced them to their ticketing system, worked out all of those kinks, and handed off just that piece. Next, they handed over learning the rent collection system, collecting outstanding rental payments, and so on. Ultimately Kayla’s goal for herself and her husband was to get down to only working in their business for a total of 10 hours per week before they would consider the stand-up complete. Finally, they were ready to really test their systems and booked an Airbnb, out of town, for a full month to allow their team to really run the show successfully with their hands off. Kayla’s Tips for Property Management1. Do not be afraid to reach out to your investing community.For the most part, the real estate investing community is so welcoming and genuinely wants to help one other. We all want each other to succeed. 2. Visualize the absolute worst-case scenario and piece together exactly how it could play out. Could you handle that? Consider if you’ve done all of your homework, you’ve measured and taken responsible risks, and you have done your due diligence. If you cannot cover that risk and if there is not something that you are willing to live with, in that scenario, then you might need to change your strategy and direct it towards a scenario that you can live with.  Kayla and her husband have now transitioned to a property management team. This is an amazing option if you have a larger portfolio and they chose to partner with someone who had extensive property management experience and was also interested in starting a property management company. Kayla and her husband brought the systems, processes, and business knowledge to the table, so this operating partnership made perfect sense for them. If you want to learn more about Kayla’s business you can visit her website or connect with her on Instagram.Thank you so much for joining us this week, see you next time! Resources:Sign up for our FREE 60-minute trainingConnect with Kayla on InstagramSee how Kayla operates her businessCheck out the property management software Kayla uses in her biz, AppFolioFind out more about the Rochester Housing Coalition

Hi everyone, welcome back to the WIIRE podcast! In this week’s episode of the Women Invest In Real Estate podcast we’re going to talk about the five property management mistakes that you should not make. We’ve each learned some of these the hard way and want to help you avoid them at all costs too!First and foremost, a reminder…Do as we SAY, not as we DO! 5 Property Management Mistakes1. Not using a property management software!  Yes, they cost money but hear us out. This investment will not only save you time and energy but will streamline your processes, tenfold. We love TenantCloud and highly recommend checking it out. There are a few key things a property management software should do for your business:Allow you to collect deposits, rental payments, fees, etc.Submit maintenance requestsSign rental agreements/leasesCommunicate with clientsBookkeeping (you’ll thank us come tax season!) 2. Not setting (and sticking to) regular business hoursWhat that means is don't train your tenants to think that you will reply instantly on Saturday and Sunday, or even instantly at all. We are huge proponents of setting business hours so our tenants know when they can reach us and what our rough turnaround for requests is, aside from emergency situations of course.What does this look like? If you are on your computer at 7:30pm on a Sunday evening and you see a question come in (not an emergency), let it sit until Monday. Then on Monday, respond by letting them know you just received their request from the weekend and add the rest of the response to their request. Unless you want property management to be an around-the-clock business, set your business hours, and stick to them. (There will be situations that are clearly emergencies or more urgent and this does not apply to those.) 3. Failing to properly onboard a tenantOnboarding tenants is definitely more work on the front end of a move-in, but it is so beneficial in the long run. Setting ground rules and training your tenants on expectations from the start is going to help save you a lot of headaches down the road. After they sign the lease, provide them with a simple welcome packet. This could include:Instructions on submitting maintenance requestsHow to setup utilities (bonus points for adding websites or phone numbers)Expectations for property/communityYou should also include a move-in checklist where the tenant goes through the property in the first few days, notes anything that is broken/needs repairing/is damaged then turns it in so they are not held responsible for those upon move-out.  4. Not having an Estoppel Agreement in place for inherited tenants.An estoppel agreement is a fancy way to describe a document that reiterates the terms of a lease for an inherited tenant. It includes anything that might be a verbal agreement between the tenant and the current landlord. With estoppel agreements, we also ask for all outstanding maintenance requests to ensure there are fewer surprises upon purchase of the property. Key components of an estoppel agreement are:How much their deposit wasWhat they pay in rent and any fees each monthWho is responsible for the utilitiesWho lives at the residenceAny verbal agreements in place between landlord and tenantLease length 5. Last but certainly not least is doing quarterly, biannual, or annual walkthroughs of your units.This is so important because it gives you a chance to get into your units and make sure they are being properly cared for but also allows you to look at general maintenance that needs done to keep the property in top shape and not degrade over time (looking at faucets for water leaks, checking for mold, pests, etc.). It will allow you to stay aware of any issues that may arise or what to expect when a tenant moves out and how much work you could expect to have to turn that unit over. Avoiding these 5 things is simply about being a proactive landlord, rather than a reactive landlord. We too are guilty of (likely) all of these, and like everything in business, there is always room for improvement. See you next week! Resources:Check out TenantCloudJoin the Property Management Academy

Welcome back to episode eight of the Women Invest in Real Estate podcast! In this episode, we’re giving you a behind-the-scenes look at what we are up to in our businesses, and we’re kicking it off with an eviction story from Amelia. Let’s get started! Amelia’s Tenant Eviction StoryWith what is Amelia's first (and also hopefully her last) eviction, she’s learning some excellent lessons on handling tenants and the process of an eviction. This particular tenant has been problematic for the past 9-10 months and it has escalated to his becoming verbally abusive towards her and physically destructive to her property.While no property owner wants their property to sit vacant, it will serve her much better in the long run, to hire a lawyer and evict this tenant. She will be able to rehab this unit and be able to up the rent on the unit - so while evicting a tenant is never an ideal solution, in this case, it is the best choice. She has positive, regular cash flow from her mid-term rentals and can afford to let the unit sit vacant while she goes through the eviction process and rehabs this unit.  Hiring a LawyerHiring a lawyer has been the absolute best decision to move through this process and has served Amelia well. Amelia paid her lawyer a retainer of $1,990 to essentially handle her entire eviction process. If the tenant leaves without having to go to court she will receive $900 of that back and feels it has been 100% worth it.  Best tips for the eviction process…Communicate only in writing, not by phoneIf you can afford to do so, hire a lawyerDon’t accept a partial rent payment if you’re already in the eviction processSend documents, or any deposit/checks, via certified mailPut your human feelings aside and just like move forward from a business standpoint Grace’s UpdatesGrace is in the process of purchasing a single-family (nearly turn-key) home that is on the same street as her existing four-plexes. For this property, Grace negotiated a seller-financed deal that was a bit different than others she has done because this particular seller is an investor herself. It will be a quick turnover - a solid house, in a solid neighborhood - just needs a fresh coat of paint before listing. She has already reached out to some insurance agencies who are all interested in renting this property for their clients. After this house is finished, Grace is excited to be done rehabbing and buying for a solid three months so she can do some traveling and just take a massive break. Grace has been rehabbing for nearly a year and a half straight and is excited to hit pause after this house is complete. Also during this time, Grace is excited to get some much-needed systems upgraded and new systems in place to help her productivity and also take a good look at where she’s at and what direction she wants to take coming up.  In The Works…Amelia currently still has 5 inherited tenants. Once they move out she plans to convert them into mid-term rentals, however, there are two tenants who might be hold-outs as long-term tenants. Frankly, she is fine with that. They have been there for 10 and 17 years and despite being under market value provide stability and the property functions well as it sits right now. Amelia also has an Airbnb property in Clear Lake Iowa which reached over 80% occupancy for July and is set to make over $2,500 in cash flow on this property in July alone. This has given her the bug to keep her eyes peeled for vacation rental properties that makes sense for her. Grace on the other hand doesn’t want to be all mid-term rental. She likes the consistency and stability that comes with her long-term rentals. Like Amelia, Grace also has her eyes peeled for an Airbnb-style property that is small, doesn’t require a ton of rehab work, and will serve her well. Another reason Grace is looking to add an Airbnb property to her portfolio is that she wants to be able to hire an internal property manager but right now it doesn’t make sense financially. But if she add an Airbnb to her portfolio that would add to her cash flow she would be in a better position to add this person to her team and take some work off of her own plate. That’s all for this week, thank you so much for joining us and getting a little behind-the-scenes look at the happenings in our lives as real estate investors! We're so happy that you're listening and you can follow us over on Instagram for more updates! We'll see you in the next episode! Resources:Stay connected with the WIIRE CommunityGet the scoop on Mid-term Rentals