Real Estate Rookie

Put Your Vacation Rental on Autopilot with Hospitable

Ask Your Question for a Future Rookie Reply

Buy “The Book on Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor”

What Is a 1031 Exchange in Real Estate? How to Guide & Examples

(00:00) Intro

(00:46) 1031 Exchanges

(11:50) Should I Rent or Sell?

(18:43) Making Home Improvements

(23:59) Ask Your Question!

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Leaving Her W2 Job to Chase Financial Freedom with THIS Real Estate Business Dec 11, 2024

Show notes

Burned out at your W2 job? Tired of climbing the corporate ladder? Starting a real estate business could give you financial freedom, but is it worth giving up the security of a biweekly paycheck? This entrepreneur thinks so, and today, she’ll give you the blueprint for forging your own path in real estate!

Welcome back to the Real Estate Rookie podcast! Melissa Shelton is not only an investor, but also the founder of Dear Valentine, a business that blends luxury, hospitality, development, and management. Quitting her nine-to-five job to become a full-time entrepreneur wasn’t an easy decision since she had worked tirelessly for many years to reach the top of her field. But, in the end, her “why” won out, and she mustered up the courage to go all-in on her dream!

In this episode, Melissa will show you how to launch a “small and nimble” real estate business. You’ll learn how to set goals, grow your clientele from scratch, and build a business plan that keeps you afloat. But that’s not all. Melissa also has tips for limiting overhead costs, finding deals that give the highest returns, and hiring people who propel your business forward!

In This Episode We Cover:

How to start a real estate business that gives you financial freedom

How to get your “foot in the door” and land your first client

Creating multiple income streams that insulate your new business venture

Crafting the perfect “pitch” that gets new investors and partners on board

How to overcome the fear of failure when pursuing entrepreneurship

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Buy the Book “The Quitter’s Manifesto”

Melissa’s Instagram

Canva

Stay-at-Home Mom to “Accidental” Investor with a $600K/Year Business

Connect with Melissa

(00:00) Intro

(01:40) Catching the Real Estate “Bug”

(04:59) Leaving Her W2 Job

(09:42) Preparing for Entrepreneurship

(21:51) A Day in the Life

(23:37) Melissa’s Business Model

(27:04) How to Find Clients

(35:56) Staying “Small and Nimble”

(39:36) Connect with Melissa!

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-495

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$50K/Year Cash Flow from ONE Rental by Beating the Market to This Strategy Dec 09, 2024

Show notes

$50,000 cash flow from ONE rental!? Not many properties will give you this kind of return in today’s housing market, but this investor beat his competition to an innovative investing strategy, and it’s paying huge dividends. Want to find out what it is and how he did it? You don’t want to miss this one!

Welcome back to the Real Estate Rookie podcast! Garrett Brown envisioned himself running restaurants or operating hotels before real estate investing took him down a different path. He got his real estate agent license, flipped a few houses, and then, in a full circle moment, put his background in hospitality to good use—buying three condos at a discount and converting them into short-term rentals. But when Houston, Texas, like many Airbnb markets, became oversaturated in 2021, Garrett landed on a new strategy that would allow him to stand out. It gives vacationers a taste of the great outdoors without sacrificing the luxuries and comfort of a cozy home!

If you want to know how to earn five-figure cash flow from a single rental and keep your vacation rentals booked year-round, stay tuned. We’ll also get into why you should document your investing journey online (even if you’re just starting) and the trick to finding discounted properties!

In This Episode We Cover:

How this investor makes $50,000 in annual cash flow from one rental “unit”

The innovative rental property that blends luxury and the outdoors

How to stand out in any market by offering “unique stays”

Where most short-term rental bookings are coming from in 2025

Why every rookie should document their investing journey on social media

Scoring a deep discount on property by knowing a seller’s motivation

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Pre-Order the Book “Smarter Short-Term Rentals”

Real Estate Rookie 91 – 8 Units, 10 Wholesale Deals, and $0 Spent on Marketing w/ @liliinvests

Connect with Garrett

(00:00) Intro

(00:53) Agent to Investor

(04:00) Garrett’s FIRST Deal

(09:59) The Motivation to Sell

(14:21) Creating “Unique Stays”

(21:54) Land Hacking 101

(28:04) Permitting Challenges

(32:28) Funding the Dome

(35:42) Cash Flow & Bookings

(44:31) Connect with Garrett!

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-494

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How Many Rental Properties Do You Need to Quit Your Job? (Rookie Reply) Dec 06, 2024

Show notes

Many people invest for appreciation. Others invest for tax benefits. But some investors want enough monthly cash flow to replace their W2 income and help them quit their nine-to-five jobs. When can you go full-time with real estate investing? How many rentals do you need? Stay tuned!

Today, Tony and co-host Garrett Brown are diving into the BiggerPockets Forums, and our first question comes from someone who has launched six vacation rentals in just five years. Should they diversify their portfolio? Are they ready to become full-time investors? We’ll share our thoughts! We’ll also hear from someone who’s thinking about selling an equity-rich property to pivot to short-term rentals in the Midwest. Listen in as we show them how to choose a market and set up their Airbnb business. But that’s not all. One investor has bought a rental property that is already booked months in advance. Can they cancel those bookings? Raise their nightly rates? Stick around to find out!

Looking to invest? Need answers? Ask your question on the BiggerPockets Forums!

In This Episode We Cover:

When to leave your W2 job to focus on real estate investing full-time

How to diversify your real estate portfolio without changing your strategy

When to sell your rental property and tap into your home equity

The top factors to consider when analyzing a short-term rental market

How to manage your vacation rental portfolio in five hours per week (or less!)

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Pre-Order the Book “Smarter Short-Term Rentals”

Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area

Real Estate Rookie 297 – Traveling the World Thanks to One $6,500/Month Rental Property

Connect with Garrett

(00:00) Intro

(00:36) Diversification & Leaving Your W2

(08:40) Choosing a Vacation Rental Market

(17:52) Managing Short-Term Rentals

(24:58) Airbnb Fees & Using Home Equity

(27:58) Occupancy Rates & Pricing

(33:32) Connect with Garrett!

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-493

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How to Save for Your First Rental Property in 2025 (Starting from Zero!) Dec 04, 2024

Show notes

Do you want to buy a rental property in 2025 but fear money could get in the way? Putting 15%-20% down is a huge hurdle for new investors, but there are several strategies you can use to limit your expenses, grow your income, and even put LESS money down. If you want to know how to save for a down payment as quickly as possible, you need these money-saving tips!

Welcome back to the Real Estate Rookie podcast! Before you can invest in real estate, you need to lay a solid financial foundation, and today, personal finance expert, master live-in flipper, and co-host of the BiggerPockets Money podcast, Mindy Jensen, joins the show to weigh in on this crucial topic. Do you have your spending in check? Are you finding ways to grow your income? How’s your credit score looking?

Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to level up your finances, we’ll share some actionable steps you can take toward buying property in 2025. We’ll also talk about ways to leverage your retirement accounts to buy real estate, whether you should pay down debt before investing, and other investments (that aren’t real estate) that could help you build wealth!

In This Episode We Cover:

ow to go from ZERO dollars saved to a full down payment for a rental property

Whether you should pay off your debt before investing in real estate

Creative ways to grow your income so that you can save money faster

How to avoid a 20% down payment when buying your first property

Leveraging your retirement accounts to buy passive real estate investments

How to build wealth with other investment vehicles (beyond real estate)

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

BiggerPockets Money 97 – Intentionally Choosing the Path to Financial Independence with Financial Mechanic

BiggerPockets Money 35 – Hacking Your Life to Live for (Almost) Free with Craig Curelop

Qube Money

Buy the Book “Real Estate Rookie”

BiggerPockets Money 110 – Systematically Increasing Income and Intentionally Decreasing Spending with A Purple Life

Connect with Mindy

(00:00) Intro

(01:13) Laying a Financial Foundation

(06:10) Saving for a Down Payment

(12:58) How to Grow Your Income

(22:59) Other Investment Avenues

(28:24) Leveraging Retirement Accounts

(31:58) Paying Off Debt vs. Investing

(41:07) Connect with Mindy!

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-492

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7 Deals in 5 Years by Doubling Down on Rentals in a Tough Housing Market Dec 02, 2024

Show notes

When interest rates rose, many investors stopped buying. But not Ryan Irwin. This rookie doubled down on real estate, choosing whichever investing strategy made the numbers work. Even in a tough housing market, Ryan’s big bet on real estate paid off, as he’s now up to seven deals and earns a solid chunk of cash flow each month!

Welcome back to the Real Estate Rookie podcast! It can take a new investor months, sometimes years, to find their first deal. But when Ryan was just starting out, he did the two things every rookie should do: he told everyone he was investing in real estate, and he started attending networking events. Building these relationships has allowed him to buy multiple rental properties, flip houses, and invest in syndications—all in just five years!

But Ryan doesn’t aspire to build his own real estate “empire.” He just wants a small real estate portfolio that gives him financial freedom. Now that he has several deals under his belt, he plans to stabilize his portfolio and squeeze even more cash flow out of his rental properties by refinancing and paying off his mortgages one by one!

In This Episode We Cover:

Why Ryan is doubling down on real estate (even in a tough housing market!)

The number one thing you can do today to fast-track your investing journey

Why a virtual assistant should be your first hire as you scale (and where to find one!)

Two things you can do to increase your rental property cash flow

Chasing financial freedom with a “small and mighty” real estate portfolio

How to scale faster by automating and delegating low-level tasks

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

The House Flipping Framework

Set for Life

Shop the BiggerPockets Black Friday Sale and Get Up to 60% Off Your Next Book Purchase

Buy the Book “The Small and Mighty Real Estate Investor”

Achieving FI with Fewer Doors: The Small and Mighty Real Estate Portfolio

Connect with Ryan

(00:00) Intro

(01:31)Discovering Real Estate

(07:07) Ryan’s “Lightbulb Moment”

(12:49) Current Portfolio & Funding

(19:03) Key Systems & Processes

(28:56) Cash Flow Numbers

(35:27) Advice for New Investors

(36:23) Connect with Ryan!

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-491

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How to Maximize Your Rental Income on a Single Property (Rookie Reply) Nov 29, 2024

Show notes

Are you leaving cash flow on the table? Even if you own a single rental property, there are all kinds of strategies you can use to generate more rental income, whether it’s house hacking, renting by the room, or converting your long-term rentals to short-term rentals. And we’re just scratching the surface!

Welcome back to another Rookie Reply! Today, we’re diving back into the BiggerPockets Forums to answer some more of your recent questions. First, we’ll hear from someone who’s at a crossroads with their property. This house has paying tenants and consistent monthly cash flow, but the investor would need to sell the property this year to claim it as their primary residence and dodge capital gains taxes. Stay tuned to find out if they should sell or hold! Then, after a few cash-flow-boosting strategies, we’ll discuss using a HELOC (home equity lines of credit) for a down payment and the potential pitfalls you could run into!

Looking to invest? Need answers? Ask your question on the BiggerPockets Forums!

In This Episode We Cover:

How to determine if you should hold or sell your rental property

How to reach your cash flow goals with the fewest properties possible

Creative ways to maximize your rental income on a single property

How to set realistic cash-on-cash return goals for 2024 and beyond

Potential pitfalls to avoid when getting a home equity line of credit (HELOC)

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Real Estate Rookie 447 – Making $300K+ Profit Per Rental and Scaling FAST with “DADUs”

Real Estate Rookie 375 – Making $160K/Year From ONE “Rare” Property Thanks to Seller Financing

Protect Your Properties with an LLC Through Corporate Direct

Buy “The Book on Rental Property Investing”

Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area

Real Estate Rookie 195 – Financially Free in 2.5 Years by Buying “Low Risk” Rental Properties

(00:00) Intro

(01:01) Should I Hold or Sell?

(10:13) Maximizing Rental Income

(20:43) What’s a “Good” Cash-on-Cash Return?

(23:40) Should I Get a HELOC?

(32:36) Ask Your Question!

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-490

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How Much Real Estate Did We Buy in 2024? (Deals, Mistakes, and More) Nov 27, 2024

Show notes

Today, we’re talking about the real estate deals we did in 2024. What went right, what went wrong, and what mistakes did we make that you must avoid in 2025? This year was wild for the real estate market—you probably felt it, too. Whether you were buying rentals, flipping houses, or just getting started, this year felt hot, cold, and lukewarm all at the same time. So, how did we end the year? Did we hit our 2024 goals, or was this wild housing market just too much for us?

We’re sharing exactly what our 2024 goals were, whether we hit them, and what we’re planning for in 2025. We decided to give up one real estate investing strategy that wasn’t worth it anymore; we made some BIG mistakes by choosing the wrong agent, hiring the wrong people, and forgetting to systematize some properties. But we also made some solid moves that saved us when some of our deals began to fall apart.

Don’t repeat the same mistakes we made—learn from them instead! Tune in, write these lessons down, and build a better real estate portfolio in 2025!

In This Episode We Cover:

Our 2024 real estate deals in review and the one strategy we’ve decided to ditch

How choosing the wrong real estate agent can completely throw off your closing

Mistakes we made by hiring the wrong people to take care of our properties (we did this three times THIS year alone)

Why the right contractor is worth the extra cost (and can save your flip)

Tony’s newest house flip and how he’s trying to make up for a BIG loss

Our 2025 goals and why we’re deciding to scale SLOWER this coming year

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Grab the “Real Estate Rookie” Book

Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area

How to Start Flipping Houses for Huge Profits in 2025 (Step-by-Step!)

(00:00) Our 2024 Goal Progress

(10:04) We’re Giving Up On This

(14:53) DON’T Choose the WRONG Agent

(19:26) Hiring the Wrong People

(22:30) The Right Team Pays Off

(29:37) Tony’s New House Flip

(33:52) Our 2025 Goals

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-489

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How I’m Flipping 12 Houses (at Once!) All While Traveling Nov 25, 2024

Show notes

At the age of twenty-seven, this “rookie” has already completed over 100 real estate deals. The key to her success? She’s been in real estate since she was just seventeen years old. Seriously! By starting early and taking action, she has been able to make mistakes, sharpen her skills, and set herself up for success!

Welcome back to the Real Estate Rookie podcast! While her peers headed off to college, Dominique Gunderson got her real estate license and started learning the ropes. Before long, she was wholesaling—using direct mail, flyers, cold calling, and other strategies to complete more than forty deals in just eighteen months. But that’s not all. She then used these profits to buy herfirst rental property in cash when she wasn’t yet lendable. Once she was priced out of her hometown of Los Angeles, she turned to New Orleans, where she started flipping houses remotely!

Today, Dominique manages several projects simultaneously, and in this episode, she will walk you through her process for doing a long-distance flip—from building an out-of-state team to estimating rehab costs and managing contractors from afar. You’ll even learn about her exit strategy for the properties that don’t sell: the BRRRR method!

In This Episode We Cover

How to find off-market real estate deals and flip them for a profit in 2025

The key adjustments house flippers need to make in today’s housing market

How to build your team for long-distance real estate investing

The number one red flag to watch out for when hiring a general contractor

Crucial tips for managing an out-of-state renovation project

Estimating rehab costs and building a scope of work from hundreds of miles away

How to fund your fix and flips (without the banks) through private money lending

And So Much More!

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-488

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Calculating NOI for Real Estate and How to Start Investing with $70K (Rookie Reply) Nov 22, 2024

Show notes

Want to estimate your NOI (net operating income) BEFORE you buy a rental property? Calculating NOI in real estate isn’t hard, and after doing this dozens and dozens of times, we’re sharing how to estimate things like taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs so you know you’re buying a killer deal. Speaking of first deals, how much do you need to get started investing? $20K? $50K? $100K? A fellow rookie has $70K ready to invest but doesn’t know the next best move. We’re sharing exactly how they should start, and you can copy these steps no matter how much money you have.

It wouldn’t be a Rookie Reply if we didn’t discuss tricky tenant situations. One investor has a tenant who is FED UP with a broken outlet. Sounds pretty reasonable, right? Well, the tenant is giving the landlord an unreasonable ultimatum. What should the investor do? Let the tenant take care of things on their own (and potentially damage the property) or put their foot down and follow the lease agreement?

Looking to invest? Need answers? Ask your question on the BiggerPockets Forums!

In This Episode We Cover:

How to estimate your taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs before you buy a rental property

The expenses that short-term rental investors always forget when running numbers

How to respond to a tenant when they’re sending you unreasonable maintenance requests

The first step you should take when deciding to invest in real estate

How to get your first rental with just $70K (or less) and mistakes beginners make

And So Much More!

Links from the Show