After moving from his home state of Georgia to Oklahoma, Dee Brock discovered a burning desire to buy rental properties . He had bought himself a primary residence and cosigned with his mother on her home, but knew he wanted to accrue units that could be cash flowing. He was then able to get a HELOC (home equity line of credit) on his primary and use it to buy a foreclosure . Everything was going well, but Dee wanted more structure, more advice, and more of a game plan. Someone at his church gro...
Apr 07, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 67
This week’s question comes from Mitch on the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group . Mitch is asking two questions: How do you close on a property sight unseen and how do you finance off-market deals? Our two lovely hosts have expertise in both of these areas. Tony has bought a fair amount of property sight unseen and Ashley has used some very creative strategies for financing off-market deals . Here are some suggestions for both of Mitch’s questions: Get your agent, inspector, and general contracto...
Apr 03, 2021•17 min•Ep. 66
Real estate investing works differently for different people. Some people like to gradually buy small properties, then start looking for larger deals, and then go into commercial financing for big deals. Tommy Polise always knew he wanted to buy real estate and had spent five years analyzing markets and educating himself , but never bought any properties. In 2019, that changed. Tommy had been looking into single family homes but found that he’d only be walking away with a small amount of pure ca...
Mar 31, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 65
This week’s question comes from Mantas on the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group . Mantas is asking: How do I place properties under a newly acquired LLC? Before you place your properties in an LLC, you’ll need to ask yourself if you need an LLC in the first place. This really depends on your goals as an investor and whether you have a partner or not. Many investors skip the LLC route and put a rental property solely in their name, while other investors that work with partners choose to either st...
Mar 27, 2021•22 min•Ep. 64
It’s hard to leave a comfortable job , especially when you’re working with family. What happens if you can’t make your entrepreneurial dreams work, what if you need health insurance , what about your bills? This is the predicament that Sean and Ann Wayne were in, only a couple short years ago. Thankfully, they made the jump, and now they’re flipping more than ever! Sean and Ann left college with around $93,000 in debt , but were able to pay it off quickly due to their thrifty lifestyle and saver...
Mar 24, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 63
This week’s question comes from Kaylee on the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group. Kaylee is asking: When looking for a lender (specifically 203k) what is the best most effective way to find them? Do I need to find someone local? Am I overcomplicating? Whether it’s a 203k loan , or any other loan, having a consistent and quality lender is incredibly important when building up your real estate portfolio. Ashley and Tony have both used a handful of lenders to fund their different types of deals. Her...
Mar 20, 2021•12 min•Ep. 62
While traveling throughout southeast Asia, Michael Su asked what he could be doing to protect himself if he ever didn’t have stable income. As a digital nomad , travelling from country to country, all while working at a startup, Michael was used to risk. He realized that the best way to mitigate and reduce the risk of him ever being in a dire financial situation was to make his own income. The best way to do that? Buy rental properties! Michael had already been following some popular real estate...
Mar 17, 2021•49 min•Ep. 61
We’re asked a lot on how to analyze short-term rentals . Since short-term rentals have different expenses, rent estimates, and occupancy rates , running a short-term rental analysis may seem tricky at times. Both Ashley and Tony own short-term rentals and know the often overlooked costs of running a profitable getaway. If you’re still looking for the best way to analyze your short-term rental prospect, Ashley and Tony may offer some much needed guidance! Here are some suggestions: Understand you...
Mar 13, 2021•18 min•Ep. 60
Starting out as a rookie investor means you most likely have a lot of questions that need to be answered before you dive in and buy your first home ! Whether it’s a primary residence, a house hack, or an investment property , you’ll need to know about loans, agents, inspections , and more. With us today is Scott Trench and Mindy Jensen , co-hosts of the BiggerPockets Money Podcast and authors of the new book First-Time Home Buyer . We’ve rounded up some of the most popular questions asked on the...
Mar 10, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 59
This week’s question is a very common one that has frequently come from novice and experienced real estate investors alike. If you own rentals, you may be thinking about this as well. When do you do the work yourself vs. hire it out? The answer depends on different factors, such as where your rentals are located in relation to you, how solid of a team you have, whether or not you have experience doing the work, and more. Tony and Ashley both have different experiences when it comes to swinging h...
Mar 06, 2021•13 min•Ep. 58
Everybody knows someone who has attended some kind of course, workshop, or “guru” consulting. Maria Acosta attended one after watching HGTV, and ended up buying her first rental property from someone at the conference. What she thought she was getting was a turnkey duplex that had professional management and was rented out on both sides. What she actually got was a trashed duplex without tenants and a roach infestation . Bad luck right? Thankfully, Maria isn’t a quitter, and all that did was ins...
Mar 03, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 57
This week’s question comes from Cory on the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group. Cory is asking: Owner financing would buy me some time to get the property rented and cash flowing as well as build some equity before taking it to my bank for conventional financing. Any tips, suggestions, stories on doing this? Many real estate professionals have an opinion on owner financing (also called seller financing). Some love it, some hate it, and some just haven’t had any experience with it. Ashley has had ...
Feb 27, 2021•14 min•Ep. 56
Talking to Tyler Madden for any more than a minute, you can tell that he’s a smart guy. But would you ever guess a general contractor and real estate investor has degrees in biology and chemistry? Probably not! Tyler went to school to be a doctor, but after leaving school he found himself in the restaurant industry . He was serving tables, which later turned into bartending, and later managing the restaurants himself. He enjoyed the growth he found in the restaurant industry but realized that th...
Feb 24, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 55
This week’s topic comes from our hosts, Ashley and Tony . They’ve heard many rookies ask the same question: what are the BEST real estate apps to have? Well, Ashley and Tony have rounded up their favorite apps and created a list so you and your partners can invest more successfully and with less headache! Ashley and Tony break down some of the best apps that they use in their real estate investment careers . Here are some of their suggestions: Stessa : Manage the accounting and documents of a pr...
Feb 20, 2021•15 min•Ep. 54
Kristie LeSage didn’t mind her 9-5 much before she went on a hiking trip to Yosemite. When she turned her phone off for a few days, hung out with friends, and spent time in nature, she realized that she wanted more freedom in her life. After that hiking trip, she returned home to her husband and told him it was time for her to quit. The problem? She didn’t know how she was going to make money when she left her job. After doing some options trading and making money off of it, she made the decisio...
Feb 17, 2021•55 min•Ep. 53
This week’s question comes from Meghan on the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group. Meghan is asking: How do I keep up the momentum after closing on two deals, when my debt-to-income ratio is too high to get another loan? I’m too new to bring experience to the table, and without much cash or financing, what do I bring to the partnership? We’ve heard this A LOT from rookies, and this is one of the main reasons that rookie investors get stuck and stop investing consistently. Ashley and Tony both have...
Feb 13, 2021•15 min•Ep. 52
Real estate investors are very busy people, and often, rookie investors become busier than ever as they’re learning the tricks of the trade. Kevin Christensen is no different, he works a full-time job , runs a retail store with 5 locations, and self-manages his long and short-term properties, all while doing some handyman work himself! As a United States Marine , Kevin was used to the “improvise, adapt, and overcome” mentality, which has served him well in his investing career. Kevin only starte...
Feb 10, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 51
Welcome to the first Rookie Reply episode of the Rookie podcast! We’ll be taking questions from Facebook, Instagram, the BiggerPockets forums, and maybe even the Rookie Request Line (Call us at 1-888-5-ROOKIE). This week’s question comes from Trevor on the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group. Trevor is asking: What was the hardest part of getting started? What helped you overcome that obstacle, and how do you mitigate analysis paralysis? This is a question we often get, so it’s perfect for the fir...
Feb 06, 2021•10 min•Ep. 50
Not many college students get their real estate license while in college, let alone during freshman year. Andres Bustamante did just that, becoming a leasing agent so he could cover his housing and tuition costs. Andre didn’t know if he would go into real estate full-time after college, but when he found the BiggerPockets Podcast in the Summer of 2019, he decided to make the jump. Andres reached out to a guest on the show, who later became his mentor and asked Andres to join his team! In his fir...
Feb 03, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 49
After Richard Kelly shadowed a veterinarian for the day, he realized that his passion wasn’t performing surgery on animals, it was actually money. This led him to become a banker and after he was given the book Rich Dad Poor Dad , his interest in real estate investing was sparked. After deciding he wanted to become a landlord, Richard found BiggerPockets and started listening to every episode of the podcast he could. After feeling confident enough in the real estate investing education space, he...
Jan 27, 2021•59 min•Ep. 48
Andres Bernal came to America to play tennis with only $500 in his pocket. He thought that professional tennis is what his life would end up revolving around. After playing for 2 years and being burnt out from work , Andres decided to take some advice from his family members: start buying real estate . After buying his primary residence, he started looking into multi-family homes that could make him some cash flow each month. He later put down 3.5% with an FHA loan to purchase a triplex, and ren...
Jan 20, 2021•54 min•Ep. 47
Most rookie real estate investors want to hit a home run on their first deal, Annie and Trey Johnson did it completely on accident. Neither of them were interested in being landlords or real estate investors, but after they made six figures profits on their first home, they realized there was real money in the real estate game. Annie and Trey were looking for a home to raise their family in. They found the perfect plot of land which had a new manufactured home and a scenic view. After living in ...
Jan 13, 2021•48 min•Ep. 46
Not one, not two, but three real estate rookies join us on the first Real Estate Rookie episode of 2021! Beth Henson, Jackson Seedott, Jordan Crockett all started their real estate investing careers in 2020, but are in different stages of the game. They each have contrasting strategies, goals, and visions for 2021, making this interview even more interesting! Beth acquired 6 units in 2020! She’s also got 3 more units under contract and is ready to close in early 2021. Beth is also flipping house...
Jan 06, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 45
You asked, we answered! This week we’re tackling the most common and most interesting questions asked on the rookie request line ! If you’ve sent in a voicemail, you may be featured on this week’s episode! Questions such as: What is better, LLCs vs. Sole Proprietorships for buying properties? How to find a great real estate agent What do you do after you’ve bought your first rental? The best investment types that AREN’T real estate How to start buying rentals after bankruptcy And many more great...
Dec 30, 2020•54 min•Ep. 44
Jacqueline Smith knew that she didn’t want to have a big loan on her first house. The way she solved the problem: buy a foreclosed home and do a live in flip ! It worked out so well, that she later decided to do it again, on her second home. Her and her husband then had the idea to go at it full time. Even during COVID-19, Jacqueline and her husband have 4 flips in the making, and are looking to add more when deals pop up. She’s been through a lot in her short flipping career, from a tornado com...
Dec 23, 2020•57 min•Ep. 43
Lauren Keen Aumond was only 22 years old when she got her primary residence under contract, and 23 when she purchased it. She realized that the rents in her area were higher than the mortgage payment of buying a house , so she bought a home, leased out a room, and incidentally discovered house hacking . At 23 she was only paying $200 a month to own a home that would appreciate for many years to come. This is when Lauren decided that real estate would become a bigger part in her life than she had...
Dec 16, 2020•56 min•Ep. 42
Kyle Mack was only a senior in college when he bought his first duplex, house hacked it, and caught the real estate bug. Since graduating he’s held a handful of jobs, from retail, to becoming a leasing agent, and even a commercial real estate broker . But that wasn’t what Kyle’s degree was in, he was actually planning on becoming a doctor. Kyle talks through how he gained the confidence to take on an 18 unit apartment building , not too long after closing on his first property. He also talks abo...
Dec 09, 2020•59 min•Ep. 41
Investor couple Anam and Aamir have been hard at work during COVID, locking down deals and BRRRR -ing more and more houses . Through years of system-building and deal mistakes/lessons, they were able to create a system that allows them to save time searching for deals and know immediately whether a property is worth the investment or not. After pinpointing exactly what they wanted in a deal, Anam and Aamir took the time to develop systems and processes that would help them get properties rehabbe...
Dec 02, 2020•53 min•Ep. 40
Thomas Tsitouridis is truly a jack of all trades. As a kid, he was used to helping on the project-management side of his parent’s 64-unit apartment building (taking out the trash, helping with tenants, and so on). He later realized that real estate investing would hold a special place in his future. Thomas later worked for a construction manager , then chose to start his own construction business, property management business, and long term buy-and-hold business. Using the experience and cash fl...
Nov 25, 2020•53 min•Ep. 39
Feeling stretched for time in your investing career ? Today we talk with Adam Whitney , an active duty military member, working full-time , with children, a wife, and an active investment portfolio! With so much going on at once, Adam makes it look easy, juggling his hectic military life while accomplishing his long term goals . Adam started learning about real estate over a decade ago, but didn’t dive in until 2017. Thanks to his “ruthless work ethic” , he’s been able to stack up his rental por...
Nov 18, 2020•49 min•Ep. 38
