48 min
Building a Life, with Leka Devatha Growing Careers and Companies
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- Profesiones
Our guest today is Leka Devatha, a real estate developer, broker, and the host of the wildly successful meetup, Real Estate At Work. In this episode, we follow her journey from India to the US, leaving the corporate world to chase her entrepreneurial dreams, and we hear some of her most successful and challenging deals throughout her career. Join us and get inspired!
Learn more about Leka and her story at: www.growingcareersandcompanies.com.
The more you can put yourself in that growth-mode, the more amazing and bigger things you're going to do.”
“The beauty of real estate is that there is no roadmap. You literally can go and create the life that you want.”
02:14
Leka has always been entrepreneurial. She started her first company at 18 years old in India. When she got married, she moved to the US and worked in fashion merchandising. Leka didn’t feel empowered in her day job and wanted to do something more entrepreneurial.
One day she was listening to the radio and heard an ad from a real estate flipping company that held a seminar in her city. The seminar changed her life as she got very interested in real estate.
Leka’s first fix-and-flip was in 2014. Since then, she’s flipped over 50 properties ranging from residential to commercial and she started her first syndication this year.
“I try to find 3 to 4 different exit strategies for every project that I take on.”
10:39
Leka talks about the difference between passive and active investing. She sees a lot of value in passive investing as it is a great way to diversify your investments.
She shares some interesting stories from her real estate career. Once she bought a house that burnt down just 4 days before closing. Another time, she held onto a property for 4 years that she initially planned to flip in 3 months. According to Leka, she learned a lot from her deals and continues to learn every day.
Leka’s best pieces of advice on how to succeed in real estate:
Find 3-4 exit strategies for every project you take on. Don’t be afraid to make decisions and be flexible. Always be open to learning new things. Find off-market deals by networking in the industry. Network with your community and the wholesalers. Do what you say. Follow through with your promises. Leka is running a successful virtual meetup called Real Estate At Work where she features prominent speakers in the real estate industry. Join her meetup here.
The Final 3 Questions
What is the lesson that has taken you the longest to learn?
To hold everything she buys. Leka started as a flipper, but over the years, she learned that there is only so much real estate to go around. Now, if she finds an amazing deal, she holds on to it. The way to build long-term wealth is through appreciation and cash flow.
What are the 2 principles from the Growing Careers & Companies Framework that resonate the most with you?
Community and Innovation. Innovation for her is learning or finding things that nobody has done before. As long as you are in putting yourself in front of a learning curve, you are constantly innovating.
What do you hope others take away from your story?
That she’s just a normal person. She didn’t come from wealth but she put in the work and reached success. Leka encourages everyone to take one step at a time and play the long game. Eventually, you will succeed.
About Our Guest, Leka Devatha
Leka is a real estate developer and broker based in Seattle, WA. She is the President of Rehabit Homes, Inc. a company focused on residential and commercial redevelopment. She has spearheaded hundreds of transactions, developing around 100M in real estate. Leka brings 8 years of experience in construction management and redesign.
Leka has been featured on numerous podcasts and other media including Business Insider and BiggerPockets. She is a chapter contributor in the recently published
Our guest today is Leka Devatha, a real estate developer, broker, and the host of the wildly successful meetup, Real Estate At Work. In this episode, we follow her journey from India to the US, leaving the corporate world to chase her entrepreneurial dreams, and we hear some of her most successful and challenging deals throughout her career. Join us and get inspired!
Learn more about Leka and her story at: www.growingcareersandcompanies.com.
The more you can put yourself in that growth-mode, the more amazing and bigger things you're going to do.”
“The beauty of real estate is that there is no roadmap. You literally can go and create the life that you want.”
02:14
Leka has always been entrepreneurial. She started her first company at 18 years old in India. When she got married, she moved to the US and worked in fashion merchandising. Leka didn’t feel empowered in her day job and wanted to do something more entrepreneurial.
One day she was listening to the radio and heard an ad from a real estate flipping company that held a seminar in her city. The seminar changed her life as she got very interested in real estate.
Leka’s first fix-and-flip was in 2014. Since then, she’s flipped over 50 properties ranging from residential to commercial and she started her first syndication this year.
“I try to find 3 to 4 different exit strategies for every project that I take on.”
10:39
Leka talks about the difference between passive and active investing. She sees a lot of value in passive investing as it is a great way to diversify your investments.
She shares some interesting stories from her real estate career. Once she bought a house that burnt down just 4 days before closing. Another time, she held onto a property for 4 years that she initially planned to flip in 3 months. According to Leka, she learned a lot from her deals and continues to learn every day.
Leka’s best pieces of advice on how to succeed in real estate:
Find 3-4 exit strategies for every project you take on. Don’t be afraid to make decisions and be flexible. Always be open to learning new things. Find off-market deals by networking in the industry. Network with your community and the wholesalers. Do what you say. Follow through with your promises. Leka is running a successful virtual meetup called Real Estate At Work where she features prominent speakers in the real estate industry. Join her meetup here.
The Final 3 Questions
What is the lesson that has taken you the longest to learn?
To hold everything she buys. Leka started as a flipper, but over the years, she learned that there is only so much real estate to go around. Now, if she finds an amazing deal, she holds on to it. The way to build long-term wealth is through appreciation and cash flow.
What are the 2 principles from the Growing Careers & Companies Framework that resonate the most with you?
Community and Innovation. Innovation for her is learning or finding things that nobody has done before. As long as you are in putting yourself in front of a learning curve, you are constantly innovating.
What do you hope others take away from your story?
That she’s just a normal person. She didn’t come from wealth but she put in the work and reached success. Leka encourages everyone to take one step at a time and play the long game. Eventually, you will succeed.
About Our Guest, Leka Devatha
Leka is a real estate developer and broker based in Seattle, WA. She is the President of Rehabit Homes, Inc. a company focused on residential and commercial redevelopment. She has spearheaded hundreds of transactions, developing around 100M in real estate. Leka brings 8 years of experience in construction management and redesign.
Leka has been featured on numerous podcasts and other media including Business Insider and BiggerPockets. She is a chapter contributor in the recently published
48 min