Real Estate Rookie

This week’s question comes from Mantas on the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group. Mantas is asking: My buddy placed an offer substantially above asking price and the seller, before accepting the offer, asked my friend if he would pay the difference if the appraisal came in lower than the offer. Anyone encountered this situation and what would be the best response if any? Ah, the classic appraisal g...

If you’re unsure about real estate, run the numbers. It’s that simple. Once you run the numbers, you’ll have clarity on which decisions to make and tangible reassurance that you made the right ones. Today’s guest, actress Brec Bassinger, shares how focusing on the numbers has given her the confidence to become the successful investor she is today. Brec’s name may sound familiar to some of you. She...

This week’s question comes from Tony’s Instagram direct messages! This rookie real estate investor is asking: I have a good chunk of equity in my home, should I pull out cash to purchase a rental property? If not, what should I do with the equity? If you want to know how to use home equity to buy real estate, you need to know your options first. As many homeowners are sitting on massive equity gai...

You often hear about house hacking as a means to an end, a simple way to start your real estate journey, but what if it could be more? What if house hacking could be your ticket to financial freedom? Today’s guest, Craig Curelop, author of The House Hacking Strategy, shares how he reached financial freedom through house hacking and how to follow along in his footsteps. Craig started where most do,...

The best real estate investing apps are ones you could not live without. Whether you’re a full-time real estate investor, managing a few properties, or still trying to get your first deal done, these apps can help you find, manage, and cash flow your rentals quicker. Ashley and Tony both use these apps daily and probably couldn’t run their real estate investment portfolios without them. To help yo...

Your connections and relationships are invaluable in real estate, so how do you get to know the right people? How do you build a lasting, mutually beneficial relationship? The answer is simple—you show up, get your name and face out there, and listen. Building a network can seem intimidating, especially starting from scratch, but today’s guest, Jeffrey Donis, breaks it down step-by-step. Jeffrey D...

This week’s question comes from Natalie on the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group. Natalie is asking: How did you narrow your focus to determine your strategy? And how do you get good at analyzing real estate deals?  This is one of the most-asked questions we receive. When you’re starting as a rookie real estate investor, every strategy seems like a good one. You may hear a guest on the Real Estate...

What differentiates a top producer from everyone else? The most common answer is hard work, ambition, and charisma, but what does that even mean? Hard work, while a universal concept, changes depending on the context, so what does hard work entail in real estate? Today’s familiar guest, David Greene, answers all these questions and more in today’s episode and his new book, SKILL. SKILL is only par...

What is due diligence in real estate? If you ask most new investors, they’ll have some sense of what due diligence is, but may be confused about what it really means. Is due diligence when you analyze your deal? Who should you be in contact with during due diligence? How long does a due diligence period usually last? And what happens if your deal turns out to be a dud in due diligence? In reality,...

House hacking is one of the easiest ways to get into real estate investing. Thanks to its flexible financing options, low down payment loans, and ability to cut your rent in half (or eliminate it), house hacking is truly a phenomenal investing strategy. In short, house hacking is when a homeowner or investor buys a house or multifamily and rents out the other rooms or units while they live in one...

Networking tips only matter as long as they work. Everyone knows the classic ones—bring a business card, wear a nametag, and look people in the eye. But, when you’re meeting with investors who have big portfolios, it can be easy to get flustered all of a sudden. Maybe you run into your dream mentor at your next real estate meetup—what do you do? Both Ashley and Tony were able to buy their first re...

Cash flow and revenue should always be your main focus, but that’s not always the case. Often, the focus tends to be on the number of doors, with many investors not realizing you can make more with less. Today’s guest, Welby Accely, has mastered the art of maximizing revenue per unit and automating his flips. Despite his primary focus being quality over quantity, Welby has done over 100 flips in j...

This week’s question comes from Aaron on the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group. Aaron is asking: What paperwork do I need to close an off-market deal? If presenting a cash offer, can it all be done between me and the seller? Do you typically ask for an inspection period? Off-market real estate deals can seem tricky when you’ve never done one before. For the most part, investors only deal with on-m...

Today’s guest, Alicia Marks, started real estate investing unintentionally in 2011 when she became an accidental landlord. It wasn’t until eight years later, in late 2019, that she decided to intentionally invest in hopes of reaching her financial goals faster. Since then she has closed on five doors, has done one live in flip, and has six more under contract. Besides being a part-time investor, A...

This week’s question comes from Andrew on the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group. Andrew is asking: How would you handle a prospective tenant that has a bankruptcy on their record?  Tenant screening is almost as important as rental property screening. A bad tenant can not only cost you potential rent but cause thousands or tens of thousands in damages if not handled correctly. This is why landlords...

In today’s episode, you’ll get to see the third major reason why Alpha Geek Capital, Tony’s fast-scaling real estate company, is so successful. Omid Tehranirad is the third partner in the group, acting as the first layer of protection, or as he puts it, the “chastity belt”, of the partnership. Omid is the head of investor relations and splits operational duties with Sara, Tony’s wife.   He discove...

This week’s question comes from Brandi through Ashley’s Instagram direct messages. Brandi is asking: Our current home could give us about $260,000 in net proceeds if sold. We plan to purchase rentals with those proceeds. But, our home is in a good location with good appreciation. Should we sell our primary to buy properties or refi and make it a rental? The sell vs. refi argument is back once agai...

When you think about long-distance investing, what comes to mind? People usually have reservations about investing out-of-state, but today’s guests took it a step further and invested from halfway across the world. Today’s guest, Caleb Drake, has closed on nine doors with one flip underway. Caleb was active duty military for fourteen years, and once he joined special ops he was deployed for six mo...

This week’s question comes from Rodney through Tony’s Instagram direct messages. Rodney, like many investors, has been told that you need twenty percent down to buy a rental property. Rodney wants to know the best way to fund a property without breaking the bank. He's asking: Should I save for a down payment or is there a way to get a rental without the twenty percent down? It’s not uncommon for r...

Financial literacy is the first step to becoming a millionaire. Unfortunately, the US is a (relatively) financially illiterate country, so to become financially independent and add more zeros to your net worth, you have to self-educate. Fortunately, today’s guest has published a book and workbook that lays out exactly how to become a millionaire, even at a young age.  Dan Sheeks lives and breathes...

This week’s question comes from Jessica through Tony’s Instagram direct messages. Jessica has seen what Tony and his wife Sara have been doing while building their short-term rental empire. But, Jessica is having some doubts. She’s asking: How do you invest in real estate when the idea of debt scares you?  Many new investors have this fear. If you’re buying your first property, the thought of five...

Someone has to step up to the plate when a challenge presents itself, and today’s guest always does. Tammy Skeath began her real estate journey in 2018, and despite being faced with several unique obstacles, she has found immense success. She currently has seventeen units and plans on expanding exponentially within the next few years. Tammy was inspired to get started after watching her cousin con...

Every week, Ashley and Tony reply to a frequently asked question from the BiggerPockets community. But, this week, they’ve decided to finally answer the most asked question yet: what happened with Tony’s Shreveport deal? If you’re an avid Rookie Reply listener, you’ve probably heard Tony talk about one property that he has been trying to sell for over a year. Well, it’s finally sold, and Tony’s he...

There are those who accept their circumstances and then there are those like today’s guests —the Donis Brothers (Jeffrey, Kenneth, and Kerwin). These three brothers have created immense success for themselves at only twenty & twenty-three years old through self-education, network building, and hard work. They’ve done seventeen wholesale deals and co-sponsored three multifamily syndications with a...

This week’s question comes from Kurt through Ashley’s Instagram direct messages. Kurt is asking: We’d like to buy a vacation property with my brother and sister-in-law. My wife and I would handle the management while my brother would bring the down payment to the table. How do we quantify each party’s contribution when dividing profit and equity in the property?  Real estate partnerships can be a...