Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing

Whether it's real estate investing or a multimillion-dollar corporation, the basic components of businesses all operate the same way. If you can grasp the concepts that create a successful business, you can transition your understanding to nearly any industry, including real estate. Some real estate investors have an innate sense of how the business works. They may not be particularly interested i...

Since the inception of Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing, the podcast has been downloaded more than 30,000 times. While that number can't compete with Joe Rogan's downloads, it's pretty incredible for 35 episodes of a real estate podcast. Since 2022, Jonathan has been welcoming amazing guests to Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing. He met most on social media. This podcast allows him t...

A lot of new real estate investors make the mistake of believing it's passive income. Doing real estate the right way means being involved--especially if you're new to investing. And you should treat it like any other entrepreneurial venture because it's a business like any other. While handling your real estate business alone is tempting, your strengths and weaknesses will become more prominent w...

It's not uncommon for someone to fear real estate investing, especially for people new to the concept. They might believe they don't have enough money to start or maybe aren't sure what types of properties they should invest in. Rather than push through their analysis paralysis, they never even begin. Having a coach in your corner can help you overcome indecision and build generational wealth with...

Data is key when it comes to making informed decisions in the real estate investing world. Whether you love spreadsheets or not, data allows you to develop some level of trust with the person doing the data analysis. While some people take comfort in having mentors, others only trust the numbers. And for a lot of people, especially beginners, data allows them to get over the early hump. But is it...

Property management sometimes has a bad rap in some areas of the country primarily because of poor customer service. Whether they don't reply to your emails or answer your calls, that can be frustrating for any client.  Whether you're new to property management or still considering it, remember that the happier your tenants are, the fewer calls you get. And sometimes, too, it can be quite difficul...

Our educational system teaches us how to fit in a box of how to be good employees. But why become somebody else's passive income, when we can be the ones to create it?  Whether that's through investing in businesses or stocks, or real estate, this is not rocket science. It takes persistence, hard work, education and surrounding yourself with the right people if you truly want to achieve your goals...

Real estate agents have access to resources when it comes to properties. Sadly, a lot of agents don't buy real estate primarily because they don't have an investing mindset. But whether you're a real estate agent or not, real estate investing should come at the top of your list when you're thinking about wealth building. That being said, there's a right way and a wrong way to do it, so you have to...

In real estate investing, the reality is that passive income is far from passive. It takes hard work to get the right deals and find the right people to do the job. You also have to have the mental acuity to negotiate deals and handle potential setbacks. But there are things you can do to make it better and more efficient for you. In today's conversation, Jonathan chats with Dusten Hendrickson, fo...

Real estate is a very tough space to navigate but when you have the numbers and you've built up your reputation, it's much easier for people to trust you and invest their money with you. In today's conversation, Jonathan speaks with real estate investor and serial entrepreneur, David Toupin, about how real estate investors can build trust through performance. David started real estate investing at...

Living BIG – what does that look like for you? For Sarah Weaver, that meant real estate investing and going from 3 units to 15 units in 90 days across four states. And that's not all.​​ In 2022, she traveled to 46 countries on six continents in just eight months. And in the last 10 weeks, she has been to San Diego, Bangkok, Phoenix, Kansas City, New Jersey, New York, Iceland, Amsterdam, Guatemala,...

There's so much to be learned when it comes to real estate investing. You have to be clear on what to purchase, where to invest, when the right time to buy is, why you're buying, and how to raise capital. The more clarity you have about these things, the closer you will get to your vision. Daniel Kong clearly knew where he was going and how he was going to do it. Thanks to the books he read, the p...

One of the most important traits for investors is the ability to pivot. As a real estate investor, you need to have multiple exit strategies or opportunities so you're always ready in case life happens. That's exactly what Zeona McIntyre had done when she saw that her short-term rentals (STRs) were not doing well during the pandemic and discovered a better market with medium-term or mid-term renta...

A real estate business is far from being passive. There are a lot of things you need to juggle – employees, contractors, investors/partners, property management stuff, etc. You need to carefully research which asset class to invest in and markets to tap into. It's a big puzzle where you have to make sure all the pieces fit together. There are a lot of things that go into making sure that, not only...

Don't just get paid on a deal once. By putting the right system in place, you can actually get money on a deal now, then continue to get paid monthly, and ultimately, cash it out down the road as you're building your wealth. That's exactly what Chris Prefontaine has developed – a system that gives you three paydays per deal, instead of just one. Chris is the Founder and CEO of Smart Real Estate Co...

The real estate investing world is not for the faint of heart. And while you have to have the education and the right network to succeed, you also have to focus on the mental side of real estate investing. The moment you think differently, you also do things differently. So as you go from one to ten syndications, you change, and then as you go from 10 to 50, you also change. And a lot of that has...

One common theme among real estate investors is that they stay working at their job until they're able to do real estate full-time. You obviously need capital to do the investment. But aside from that, there are a couple of other things you have to consider to ensure your success in the real estate investing space before fully diving in. In today's episode, Matt Picheny, a real estate investor, au...

The great thing about real estate investing is that you can choose to focus on a lot of different areas – multifamily, mobile home parks, self-storage, house-flipping, etc. However, how do you know which ones are the right investments for you? In today's episode, Pete Reese joins us to discuss the art of land flipping. An investor for more than 20 years, Pete is also a licensed broker in the state...

Whether you're new to real estate investing or you're thinking about getting into this world, you might think scaling is too much. But as with any other business, everything is scalable. You just have to have the right mindset, the right people, and the right processes in place. In today's episode, Ryan Saulle, co-founder of Freedom Home Buyers, shares how his company got to scale to over 80 deals...

If you want people's money or if you're struggling with attracting people to what you're doing, you have to have some proof that you are capable of doing it. Authenticity plays a huge role in making that human connection as well. In this episode, Zasha Smith, a licensed civil engineer turned full-time real estate investor, talks about the value of the proof of concept. Zasha Smith worked for 10 ye...

Whether you're new to investing or you're looking to grow your portfolio, getting clear on your goals is super important and you have to make sure your decisions are helping you move in that direction. ​​ One of the challenges that many people face when it comes to deals is raising private money. And if this is something you're struggling with and would want to get better at, then you've got to pu...

One of the most rewarding things about flipping houses is when you see the finished project and someone else is going to take ownership of it and becomes obsessed with it. Unfortunately, not everyone thinks the same. A lot of people think they could get into flipping without really being mindful of how the project is going to go or how the finished project is going to look. They're all about the m...

When you're flipping houses or doing short-term rentals one of the key things that set you up for success is having a decent understanding of construction – and having a hospitality background surely helps too! Today's guests are Devinne Bravoco and Justin Balunsat of Just Divine Properties. Devinne and Justin started a local residential redevelopment company after both being in the corporate worl...

There are two ways people get involved in real estate: either they stumble upon it or they purposefully do it. Today's guest, John Errico, somehow experienced both at different points of his real estate adventure.   John got involved in real estate in an almost accidental manner. Tired of paying rent, he and his wife, who was also an attorney, decided to buy a two-family property and ended up hous...

There are a lot of things that could go wrong as a landlord, but in order for your tenants to take the best care of your units, you have to take the best care of them. The more you give each tenant their own space as well as stuff that makes it feel like home, the more they're going to treat your property like home.    Remember, your tenants are the caretaker of your unit while you're the caretake...