Nerds Guide to FI Sarah

From stumbling into house hacking to building an Airbnb empire, Travis from @theyoungretireeby33 has a LOT to share with us. Travis began his journey to FI after reluctantly reading “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and his eyes were opened to different types of investing. At 24 he bought his first home and rented out 2 of the bedrooms-and realized he could live for free! Living in Orlando, he realized that short term rentals were where the money was at. Fast forward to today, and Travis is an expert in short-term rentals, and lucky for us we get to pick his brain.

We get real about Airbnb ownership, namely: what are the odds my house will get trashed? Travis explains how you can screen potential guests like you would screen a tenant, why your cleaning crew will be your best friend, and what to do when a guest steals your throw pillows (his answer might surprise you).  After hosting more than 2000 guests, Travis learned from first-hand experience how to handle situations and he shares the small touches that earn him great reviews. We chat about vacation home loans and financing, property management and the processes he uses to make things easy. He shares the software he uses to automate and outsource his bookings! I'm not going to lie, now I just want to Airbnb something.

You can find Travis on Instagram @theyoungretireeby33 and check out his guide to Airbnb hosting!


---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdsguidetofi/support

This week I’m talking with Zasha, a fellow mom, woman in STEM and real estate investor (did we just become best friends?) about what its like to invest in a high cost of living area. Zasha lives and invests in Maui, Hawaii both, in rental properties and flips. She didn’t start out with any real estate or financial background, instead she was a civil engineer for ten years. Before she was married, she sold her home she shared with her mother, and netted $100k+ profit! She had no idea this was possible and started to learn more about investing in real estate. Zasha has a wealth of different experiences in real estate, from flipping homes to rentals in section 8, to building attached dwelling units on her properties. We talk about criteria we look for when shopping for homes-you can’t beat that corner lot! She demystifies renting to section 8 tenants, and like most things, its less intimidating than it seems. She has worked her way from FHA loans to BRRR to using private money and partnerships. She has even dabbled in seller financing. Zasha isn’t afraid to try new things and make them work for her. Like me, Zasha’s goal is to make passive income month and be on the path to financial freedom.
Though I’ve been reluctant to jump on board, Zasha has sold me on the importance of a morning routine for success. She talks us through her tips-she wakes up at 4:30AM (ok probably not going to be able to do that one) and plans her day, visualizing what she will accomplish and using affirmations. Exercise is key and working on mindset daily. We both talk about balance and what's important to us. After this conversation I’m inspired to start thinking about my mornings differently. Step one: visualize owning a home in Maui…
You can find Zasha at @investwithzasha on Instagram!

---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdsguidetofi/support

We’re kicking off season 3 with Bonnie Galam of Landlord Law School™! Bonnie became interested in real estate investing during law school, and now self-manages 100+ units with her husband, along with her own firm, podcast, and website, offering templates and trainings for new investors. WHEW...its not clear when she sleeps. We talk about her journey into investing and using the BRRR (buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat) strategy. Though we both agree it feels like everyone and their mother is getting into real estate, we know there are still deals to be found! I ask Bonnie what its really like working primarily with student housing: Do the tenants pay their rent? Is everything just always covered in beer?  But it sounds like student housing isn’t as intimating as I thought (although wood floors are a MUST).

I have a list of legal questions for Bonnie including:

- “I just went online and formed my own LLC…is that terrifying?”

-Do you need an LLC per property?

-When’s the best time to form your LLC?

-How should I tighten up my lease terms?

We take a deep dive into LLCs and I ask her about the Series LLC. Bonnie teaches offensive asset protection methods, like getting everything in writing, good contracts, estate planning, etc. I learn that you can often get lease templates from attorneys and its more cost effective than having your attorney look at your existing lease. Every year Bonnie does an “asset protection self-audit” and asks herself “What didn’t work this year? How can I tighten up my lease to prevent this going forward?”. Bonnie is a wealth of information and offers so much information through her podcast, website and her Landlord Law School™ included in the links below. I have a feeling you’ll want to listen to this one and take notes! I feel smarter now after recording this podcast with such as fellow boss lady, love her and some killer #lawyershit

Find Bonnie:

https://www.bonniegalam.com/

podcast: Good Bones Real Estate Investing

Tools Mentioned:

https://kajabi.com/

www.avail.co

www.appfolio.com

www.anchor.com


---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdsguidetofi/support

This is a complete “pinch me” moment. I am thrilled I was able to connect with the one, the only, Paula Pant! In my eyes Paula is the Michael Jordan of the FI community (hence episode #23…see what I did there?) and I am beyond excited to share this conversation with you today. If you aren’t already a giant fan of Paula Pant of Afford Anything, you will be when we are finished with this episode. Paula has created a blog, a podcast, a community and now a comprehensive real estate investing course that takes her students through the entire investing process. Paula talks about beginning in real estate-one of many different investments she uses to achieve FI. Paula takes us through her most recent deal in Indianapolis from start to finish and we are able to cover so much ground. If you’ve been curious about out-of-state real estate investing this is the perfect episode to listen to. We talk about Paula’s “1% rule” (article linked below) and what we look for when starting to search for properties. Filtering through criteria is like filtering through a dating app. Sometimes you need to adjust your criteria and broaden your search before you “swipe left”. Paula takes us through how she was connected in a new market with investors and networking. She guides us through the negotiation process-and knowing when to let go of a property. We learn what an “escalation clause” is and how she utilized it in her process. We go through our thoughts on running the numbers-we are both “cash on cash returns” haters. Paula is a pro at zooming out to see the bigger picture. She analyzes how these investments contribute to wealth in the LONG term, while looking at the short-term opportunities. Paula has a comprehensive spreadsheet as a part of her course-which piqued my interest to track this. Her course covers EVERYTHING you’d need to get started in real estate including: finding a deal or creating a deal; local or out of state investing; financing; renovation vernacular; building your team; and buying negotiation. Enjoy the episode, I know you’re going to love it! Links and Resources https://affordanything.com/one-percent-rule-gross-rent-multiplier/ @paulapant on Instagram Podcast creation platform: https://anchor.fm or download the app Property Management Platform: www.avail.co


---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdsguidetofi/support

I’m so lucky to keep meeting awesome like-minded investors through this community, and that’s how I met Kier. We talk about everything from her real estate journey to comparing strategies to mindset and of course our favorite tasks to outsource.

Kier grew up with real estate in her blood. Both of her parents were in real estate, and they brought her along for the ride…including helping with all the fun stuff like painting and cleaning out hoarder houses. By the time she graduated high school she was ready to go straight for real estate as a full-time career; but instead, she got her degree first and her real estate license. Once she had her w2 job and met her husband (a contractor how perfect is that?) they bought their first flip in cash. Soon Kier got a taste for cash flow and her real estate journey took off.

We talk through her experience doing a live-in BRRR (buy, renovate, rent, refinance, repeat) and agree that inheriting tenants isn’t as scary as people make it out to be. We get into some of the nitty gritty of property management, comparing notes on tasks we outsource and what we take on ourselves.

We realize everyone suffers from the comparison game and there is NO timeline you need to follow during the path to FI. The best part about this community is surrounding yourself with other like-minded investors that inspire you. Kier is also a fan of Jen and Joe Dellafave (episode 18 & 19) and is considering utilizing creative financing. She mentions some great auction websites to look at, and we compare tools for running the business.

Kier has a lot of things to look forward to and I’m excited to see her continue this journey to FI!

Check out her Instagram @realestate.kier and her courses, she has a ton of great resources to share.

Enjoy the episode!

LINKS

Instagram: @realestate.kier

Website: https://likemindedinvestors.co

---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdsguidetofi/support

Instagram is an amazing resource for meeting like-minded investors in the real estate community, and that’s actually how I connected with Casey from @brickbybrickwealth. We discover we have a lot in common, including that we are both “talkers”, so we get into a LOT during this episode.
Casey began her career in SoCal and realized the 9-5 job with the long commute just wasn’t for her. She soon found her niche helping real estate investors.
Fast forward to a move to Memphis with 2 kiddos, her husband and a cat. She tried her hand at running an Etsy shop, but she quickly realized her time is a limited resource, and you can only produce so many items in a day. Casey and her husband soon began investing in rental properties (5 total) all with 20% down and traditional mortgages. Casey and I talk about what we’ve learned from rehabbing rentals (you can probably leave that popcorn ceiling untouched), and how sometimes a late fee can be quite exciting for us landlords. We talk about our methods of running the cash flow numbers for a property, and agree that usually the best answer lies somewhere in between the worst and best case scenario. We compare tenant screening methods and our deal breakers, and we also talk about some of the things we just have to let slide. 
Casey was encouraged by her sister to teach other people how to invest. She spent a year creating a 6 week immersive course to teach her process from start to finish—including helping others with out of state investing. You can check out Casey’s Instagram @brickbybrickwealth and her website brickbybrickwealth.com!

---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdsguidetofi/support