Real Estate Rookie

Investing in rental properties can be challenging at first, which is why so many investors tend to take it slow. Tyler Madden had the luxury of NOT being able to do this, and it’s worked out well in his favor. Just over a year ago, we interviewed Tyler on episode fifty-five of the Real Estate Rookie Podcast. At the time, Tyler was an “accidental landlord”, but a lot has changed since then. Tyler f...

Today’s episode is all about understanding yourself. Nick Baumgart, an Enneagram expert, explains how to use the information from the Enneagram in your everyday life. The Enneagram test is used as a way to understand your emotional habits. Unlike other popular personality tests, the Enneagram focuses less on what you do and more on who you are. The test breaks down your motivations into three part...

The 2022 housing market is off to a wild start. We’ve seen home inventory at decade lows, interest rates have finally started to rise, and more homebuyers are looking at fewer houses. As a real estate investor, it can be tough to navigate a market like this, especially when you’ve never bought a rental property before. What you need is data behind the decision making, and today, we’ve got just tha...

This week’s question comes from Channa through Ashley’s Instagram direct messages. Channa is asking: I have three rental properties and am looking to refinance them all. Should I do an adjustable-rate portfolio loan on all three or do separate fixed-rate loans on each property?  As real estate investors, we tend to have many different options when financing rental properties. Some, like adjustable...

Stacey Stegenga wasn’t always a landlord, she was a nurse. But not just any nurse, Stacey was a flight nurse, helping transport military patients across the US. When she stepped away from flight-nursing, she picked up travel nursing, moving around the US for months at a time to provide medical care wherever needed. She finally ended up in Denver, where her pay was cut in half and her expenses saw...

How much cash flow do you need to quit your day job and go full-time into real estate investing? You may have a big number in your head when we ask that. Maybe you’re thinking of replacing a six-figure salary with six-figure cash flow, but that's probably far from what you truly need to quit. In fact, you can quit with a lot less cash flow than what you’re being paid today! Joining us again is Dar...

As a dreamer and life-long learner, Hashim Ismail makes it a goal to push himself. Hashim officially started his real estate investing journey eleven months ago but began learning about real estate just two years ago. He dealt with analysis paralysis, but after making a goal to start in 2021, he decided to jump in with both feet. Through hard work, dedication, and optimism, Hashim has closed on se...

Welcome to part two of a rehab estimation masterclass with real estate mogul James Dainard! As mentioned in part one, James has created a multi-level brokerage where he has been involved in 3,000 transactions. His excess experience has allowed him to create an almost scientific process for his flips. In today’s podcast, James builds off part one and gives you a step-by-step guide on how to emulate...

Welcome to part one of a rehab-estimation masterclass with real estate mogul James Dainard! James has earned his title by being involved in 3,000 transactions over the past fifteen years and creating a multi-level real estate brokerage. He has mastered the art of estimating rehab costs which has allowed him to invest on a seriously large scale. Currently, he is working on thirty flips and has 400...

This week’s question comes from Nash through Ashley’s Instagram direct messages. Nash is asking: How do I quit my job and become a full-time real estate investor? Nash isn’t alone in asking this question. Almost every Real Estate Rookie Podcast listener has pondered this as well. Even our hosts, Ashley and Tony, asked themselves this before leaving their jobs to pursue real estate investing full-t...

Despite what most people would like to think, success has no timeline. There will be some "perfect" opportunities that don’t work out, which is why you must persist. You can either become stuck in one failure or use that failure to propel you forward. Our guest, Andrew Bresee, has learned to use missed opportunities to propel him forward. Andrew was infected with the “real estate bug” in his teena...

This week’s question comes from Carlos, who directly messaged Ashley on the BiggerPockets Real Estate Rookie Bootcamp! Carlos is asking: Do you recommend, or is it even possible, to use a hard money lender from a different state? Hard money lenders and hard money loans are a crucial part of real estate investing for many real estate investors. If you’re a rehabber, flipper, or BRRRR-er, there’s mo...

Real estate favors those who value risk. An investor’s willingness to take a calculated risk separates the good from the great. And today’s guest, Grace Gudenkauf, is definitely on her way to greatness. This ambitious 24-year-old has managed to get seventeen doors between eight properties under her belt in less than a year, and she shows no signs of slowing down. She was first introduced to real e...

This week’s question comes from AJ through Ashley’s Instagram direct messages. AJ is asking a question many new investors have: If I borrow down payment money from friends or family, what’s the best way to pay back the down payment while cash flowing on the property? For many rookie investors who don’t have large cash sums sitting around, much of their initial investment has to be done through bor...

Knowing how to find a real estate agent is one thing. Knowing how to find a truly investor-friendly agent is another. While most real estate agents and realtors can show you homes on the market, send you MLS listings, and do the needed paperwork, investor-friendly agents do much, much more. These types of agents are so important to a real estate investor, that they can be thought of as a more perm...

This week’s question comes from Ryan through Ashley’s Instagram direct messages. Ryan is asking: What job would be best for real estate investors? I’m currently doing maintenance for a contractor, but am having minimal takeaway. What’s the best move for financial freedom? Real estate side hustles and full-time jobs come in all different shapes and sizes. What one job path may lack in salary, it ma...

Property management is a difficult yet crucial part of real estate investing. In today’s episode, our guest, Adam Widder, who was a former property manager, shares his four guiding principles that make property management more manageable. Adam got his start after college while stationed in Kansas. A fellow ROTC member advised him to start investing, and following his advice, Adam tried to find a p...

This week’s question comes from Xavier through Ashley’s Instagram direct messages. Xavier is asking: Can I use an FHA loan for a vacation rental? What’s the best way to scale without paying high down payments? Xavier brings up a great question that many rookies have been asking. We all know we can get a conventional loan with very low down payment requirements for an owner-occupied investment like...

Every investor wants all their properties to be loaded with high cash flow, but that’s usually not the case. Realistic expectations are essential to the longevity of your career and the maximization of your investments. Progress over perfection should always be the goal. As today’s guest, Ali Garced, stated, “progress is progress, and it will eventually add up”. Given that her dad is an investor,...

We’re continuing the Rookie Reply Direct Message trend! This week’s question comes from Minnie through Tony’s Instagram DMs. Minnie is asking: Should you partner with family members when investing in real estate?  While this may not be the most fun question that Tony has received in his DMs, it’s a very necessary one to answer, as many real estate investors start their journey partnering with fami...

Real estate requires a lot of self-motivation and discipline to succeed. Successful investors know that nothing happens overnight and nothing comes to you easily. Today’s guest, Terry Harris, had the perfect amount of drive and persistence when he began his real estate journey. He now owns five properties and has closed twenty wholesale deals.   Terry started getting into real estate when he came...

Ashley and Tony’s DMs are open for real estate Q&A business! Just like last week, this week’s question comes from Tony’s Instagram DMs. The question? How are you scaling your real estate portfolio so quickly? How do you finance your deals? For most rookie investors, real estate financing seems like a big hurdle to get over. With deals flying off the MLS so quickly nowadays, having your funding loc...

Most people assume they’ll achieve financial freedom after they make their dream salary, but what they don’t realize is you can’t out-earn your toxic money habits. Today’s guest, Daniel Shin, learned this quickly when he started making his full-time surgeon salary. As a child, Daniel was fortunate enough to live the ideal suburban lifestyle, but when his dad got laid off during a recession, things...

Ashley and Tony’s Instagram DMs have been blowing up! This week’s question comes from Collette through Tony’s Instagram direct messages. Collette is asking: Do you make offers based on pro forma or actual rent numbers? If you’re a real estate rookie or a residential-only investor, this may be the first time you’ve heard the term “pro forma” before. A real estate pro forma is simply a spreadsheet o...

While leaving your W-2 to pursue real estate can be intimidating at first, it’s important to realize the skills you learned at your W-2 don’t all go to waste. Most of what you learned is transferable when it comes to the wonderful world of real estate investing. Instead of looking at your W-2 as a means to an end, think of it as an experience-based asset. This is exactly what today’s guest, Emily...