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Women in the Arena
Women in the Arena is the celebration of everyday women living extraordinary lives in plain sight. We seek to inspire, encourage and challenge you to reach for the great heights you're made for.
Women in the Arena
Part 1 of 3: Real Estate Investing for Beginners - Learning the Basics with Sandra Holtmeyer
Get your notebooks and pencils ready! This is part 1 of a 3- part series to learn the basic building blocks of real estate investing. Unleash your potential by learning how to achieve financial freedom through real estate investing with our inspiring guest, Sandra Holtmeyer. Sandra, a former dietitian turned real estate mogul, shares her transformative journey from a demanding 25-year career in nutrition and hospital management to becoming the owner of First Freedom Properties. This episode promises to provide practical strategies and motivational insights, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in gaining financial independence.
Facing the challenges of being a single mom and a corporate employee, Sandra's story is a testament to resilience and determination. Discover how she balanced her demanding job with the pursuit of real estate investing, starting from the pivotal moment she decided to rent out her townhouse instead of selling it at a loss. Sandra offers actionable advice on leveraging private money and partnerships, managing rentals, and overcoming financial constraints, turning her personal experiences into a guide for others on the path to financial freedom.
In this episode you will learn:
- The way to start
- How to invest with little to no money
- Where to access resources in your area
- The gotchas to look out for when you are a novice
The purpose of this entire series is to provide a foundation to those that have always wanted to learn more about real estate investing, but had no idea where to start. Here is the opportunity to learn from an expert that started from the bottom with zero experience and has built a thriving business. Her message to all of you...if she can do it, so can all of you.
Don't Miss It!
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***Last thing- This is my WISH LIST of interviews:
• Joan Jett
• Dolly Parton
• Viola Davis
• Ina Garten
Maybe you can help a girl out...***
Go check out all of our episodes on our website at: https://womeninthearena.net/
If you'd like to connect, reach out to me at audra@womeninthearena.net
***One last thing...I have an interview wish list because a girl's gotta dream
- Viola Davis
- Dolly Parton
- Ina Garten
- Joan Jett
Maybe one of you can help me out!
Thank you all for supporting this show and all Women in the Arena!
Welcome in everyone and thank you so much for joining me again this week. This week we're going to do something really special. This is going to be the first part of a three-part series that I've been wanting to do for a very, very long time. This is something that I believe, and my guest believes is the true ticket to financial freedom, and that is investing in real estate. My guest this week is Sandra Holtmeyer. She is currently a real estate investor and her company is First Freedom Properties.
Audra :But she hasn't always been an investor. She had a 25-year career as a registered and licensed dietitian. She was sought out for her expertise and she had appeared on radio and television just to learn from her experience and her deep, deep knowledge in nutrition. But she knew what we're about, ready to explain to you that financial freedom is truly found within investing in real estate. But what keeps people from doing this is the knowledge, and this isn't for the faint of heart. It takes some grit, takes a lot of ingenuity and a little bit of fearlessness. It is my pleasure and my honor to introduce to you Sandra. Sandra, thank you so much for being here and welcome to the show.
Sandra :Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Audra :I'm so excited for you to be here. I'm so excited that you agreed to do this, because when you and I first met, we both agreed that the true path to financial freedom is investing in real estate, and especially for women, because we don't want anybody to feel trapped in an abusive situation, whether it be by a partner, whether it be by a job, a career, a situation and there is options. But what keeps people there is that they think they have a lack of them and you're here to say, no, that's not true, that's right. And what I want to do first is give people a background your background in who you were before you became a real estate investor and how you got started, and then we'll tell people as to what is real estate investing, why it is and how it is.
Audra :Like I said, this is part one of a three-part series, so if you have pencil and paper, I suggest you get it now. Put this on pause, go and get it. She's going to share lots of information you'll want to know, and this is just the beginning of your knowledge journey. There's no way that we have enough time to share everything, but this will get you on your way. So, sandra, tell us a little bit about your background, on who you were before you started this amazing journey of your financial freedom in real estate investing Okay great.
Sandra :Yeah, thank you. I think I was pretty average before Local gal went to college, became a dietician, started working in hospital food service, which I loved for years and years, had a corporate job, went to work every day, had a family, had two kids doing the mom thing, working full time, busy kids in sports and scouts and birthday parties and all those things and it's hard. It's hard for moms that work full-time, especially a demanding corporate job. I worked the last few years I was up to 60, 70 hours a week pretty routinely and on call 24 hours a day. I was in a management position at a hospital and we were expected to be on call 24 hours a day. Rarely did I have to go in in the middle of the night, but it happened. So I was just in that rat race for a long, long time and loved it, but it was hard and rewarding.
Sandra :At one point I was facing a divorce and went through a divorce and, like so many folks do so, I was a single mom sharing custody with the kids, so I had them sometimes. Sometimes I didn't. When I didn't have the kids, I tried to stack most of my hours on those days. You know really try to get everything done on those days. So the days I did have the kids, I could get off at a normal time and try to be a normal mom and cook dinner and go to the games and do all those things. And I did that for a long, long time, like I don't know five or six years, and then realized that the schedule really wasn't going to change. I went through several different positions, promotions, you know, kind of reached that glass ceiling at work and loved it until the very, very end.
Sandra :And when it came time to move out of a townhome I bought when I got divorced. Out of a townhome I bought when I got divorced. Let's see, I bought it in 2009 and I was moving out in 2014. So in the St Louis market we hadn't fully recovered from the housing market crash in 08, 09. I mean, prices were still that I would have had to sell the townhouse for less than I paid for it and I wasn't upside down or in financial dire straits. But I just didn't feel like losing money on it. I'm a little competitive that way. I'm like I'm going to keep this thing. And so I thought, well, really the only way to do that is rent it out. So I figured out how to do that and that's one of the stories we'll probably cover in this series. Here we're doing Kept it as a rental and that was really the beginning of my real estate career.
Sandra :I never, ever thought I would be doing real estate and during that process I had some friends that were real estate investors and he was teaching a class on investing and wholesaling. I had that one rental. I bought a couple more. I'd kind of figured out hey, this is a pretty cool gig, somebody else is paying my mortgage, it's appreciating, I'm getting cash flow, so depreciating, I'm getting cash flow. So I wanted to keep doing that, but I was out of money to buy more. I only had so much money I'd saved up but I was having to put 30% down. So I ran out of money and told my friends I need to find a legal way to make more money on the side. And I have no idea how to do that because I'm already working 60, 70 hours a week. Took that class, had a, had a coach and a mentor, and then quickly realized this is my next step. It's fallen in my lap.
Sandra :I'm in real estate and didn't, you know, intend to be here, but it's a viable option. I see the possibilities here. I up and quit my corporate job, so there's a little more to it than that. But that's how I ended up in real estate. I didn't plan to. I tell people I went from wearing a hairnet and hospital food service for 25 years to flipping houses and it felt like almost that instant looking back. But we all have a skill set, from wherever we're at now to move into real estate.
Sandra :I managed several commercial kitchen renovations. I was used to managing regulatory agencies and inspectors, managing clients and multiple budgets and employees and contractors. So I had all these things. I didn't realize how well they would fit, but they really served me well. And you don't have to have a food service background. I thought that was kind of unique, but I know people from other backgrounds that have skills that translate well. So if you think you can't do this, you can once you really look at it. I mean there's going to be pieces you have to learn, but I guarantee everyone would come to this with many tools on their belt that will fit.
Audra :Well, what I want to highlight is that you were a working mom, and I know that this is going to resonate with many people that are listening. You were a working mom 60, 70 hours. I know that that is going to hit home for many people that are listening. You were a working mom 60, 70 hours. I know that that is going to hit home for many people that are listening, because we are all working really, really hard. You're working a corporate gig. You were trying to keep up with your kids, trying to do the best you can, and then you became a single mom.
Audra :So not only were you trying to manage your job, you were trying to manage your kids and try and be present in both places, and I know there's a lot of us that can relate to trying to be present in all places at all times, which is exhausting. So I'm sure that you were feeling wrung out at the same time because you were trying to be present for everybody else probably for everybody but you I'm sure that you were feeling empty because there was probably nothing left for you. At the end of the day, you just probably fell into bed completely exhausted and you did the next day all over again. And there was. You were probably for those five years, and maybe even longer. You were walking around as a zombie with not a whole lot left for you.
Sandra :Yeah, I think a lot of moms are in that boat and sometimes we don't realize it until the end. We kind of hit that wall, and that's, for me, what happened. I hit that wall. I'm like what am I doing? I'm missing out. And I actually took my kids saying mom, when are you going to be home? Why are you gone every night? You know when are we going to do this or that? And I just felt guilty, like we all do all of us do you know.
Sandra :And then our kids grow up and we're like, oh, I'm wasting so much time or I miss so much I could as can. But I made a change and it was a really good change and it's, you know, evolved over time and we'll talk about that more, I'm sure. But yeah, I, I once I saw that there are options and I had a real possibility in my lap. I hadn't figured it all out, but I knew I could figure it out with the help of my coach and my friends, and I did. You know, I, I had the luxury of having a good job and I'd saved up some money, and I know, not everyone's in that situation, but you can still plan for things. You know, I squirreled away and that's safe.
Sandra :For five years I mean this I saved up, you know, six months worth of salary, but that took me five years, you know. So it's not smart to just quit your job cold if you don't have alternate resources, Because I started a business. Starting a business is expensive, so my six months worth of money lasted like three months. So it's not for the faint of heart, but you can do it, and there's things that I would have done differently had I known. So I'm happy to share those things and I like to share those because I want other people to succeed. Real estate fuels our economy in many, many ways, so I love helping people and homes and communities and families. You know it's. It all is synergistic when it works well together.
Audra :And the reason why I wanted to highlight all of this is because Sandra did not start out as this real estate tycoon. She did not come from a wealthy family. This was not something that she was even in her sphere of influence at the time. She was a working mom, then became a single working mom who worked in nutrition in a hospital. That is why we're pointing this out. So if she can do it, we can all do it. And, like I said at the top of the hour, this is so important to us because we want you all to have financial freedom. We don't want you to feel like you don't have an opportunity to leave a situation that is abusive to you, whatever the situation may be, because this gives you a path forward. That's why I wanted to say that, because this is so near and dear to my heart, because I just I want you to have options.
Sandra :So and I know that Sandra feels the same way, because she connected on that feeling- yeah, yeah, I put up with it way too long, and I think a lot of us do, cause that's how we're trained. You go to college or get whatever job training and you get a good job and you stay with your job. I mean, I stayed with the same company 25 years. Who does that Now? I had several positions along the way and promotions and worked in different locations and you know that kept me motivated and driven, but I, the longer I stayed in it, the more hours I continued to work Like it just got worse and worse over time and it was like an abusive relationship.
Sandra :You know I I I don't think my direct boss intended to abuse me, but the situation and the corporate environment and the healthcare environment and this was before COVID and it was tough then. Budgets were tight, you know, it was a non-for-profit hospital system. There's not, you know, a lot of money to spend in the kitchen or on food service or you know. So we were always, you know, felt like we were in the trenches working hard, and I was always happy to help my staff. You know, I mean, sometimes they would tease me. All I did is walk around with a cup of coffee, but, boy, when I dug into work. I mean, they were I still like to tell these stories. I, I, I was really good at washing dishes, so you put me in that dish room and I could just go, go, go. And you know, so I, I, I enjoy working with my folks and working with teams, no matter who it is, and and we all pour our heart into things like that. But I think, looking back, I was pouring more of myself into my job than my kids and I feel guilty about that, you know.
Sandra :So I, this gave me an option, and a really viable option, and I will just tell you that and I don't say this to brag and to say I'm all that, but being self-employed, you have so many more options and you have financial freedom to go as far as you want or to screw up or do well, but in the end, I ended up making about double what I used to make and I would have never, ever, been able to make that working for somebody else. So I have freedom now. I get to make a lot more of my own choices and I'm I'm making more money. And, like I said, I don't say that to brag, you know, but I say that to inspire people like this is possible. If a hair net wearing food service manager can get into real estate and double their salary, then anybody can do it. Because, like you said, I had no experience. I never, five years before that I would have never said, oh, I'm going to be in real estate. I, you know so. So you never know. Never say, never, never say never.
Audra :But you're tenacious, smart and, let's face it, you are a working mom, and working moms can pretty much figure out anything. You've got all the skills you need. You've got all the skills you need, so let's start with some hows and whys. Okay, so let's start with. You had some money saved up, so that was a nice place to start. But there are some women that are listening that are like that's great, I would love to be in that position, but I'm not. That's I would love to be in that position, but I'm not. Maybe I she, maybe there's a woman listening that doesn't have any money saved up, or maybe a little money saved up, or doesn't have any credit, or whatever the case may be. There are still avenues. You had mentioned through the your conversation that you had run out of money, but there are still avenues to invest. Absolutely Everybody. Get out your pencils and paper. This is the time. Start taking notes. So, sandra, where do they start?
Sandra :There's so many places to start. I mean, you've probably heard ads on the radio or TV, you know. Invest with none of your own money. Invest with other people's money. There really are legitimate ways to do that. Some of it can be scammy so you have to be careful, but some are legitimate. So one of my favorite ways to invest is with private investor money.
Sandra :So I work with some individuals that well, the first one was a family member, so I'll just start there. Your family knows and loves you and they may not trust you yet, but I had a family member with some equity in a house and so they got a line of credit on the house and that was some money I could use for a reasonable interest rate. You may have equity in your own home. You can get a line of credit and use that so you can use the leverage in your own home and that's the bank's money, not your money. I mean it's kind of your money because it's your equity, but they're fronting the cash to you that otherwise is locked up in your mortgage that you can't get to. So lines of credit and I always recommend, before you quit a job or make a change, really, really, really, and I can't emphasize this enough get a line of credit or a home equity line of credit credit cards before you quit your job, while you still have a paycheck. Get qualified for those loans then, because after you quit it's going to be two or more years. You've got to show two years of income self-employment income before you can get that, which really means you're into year three, because that's two years of tax returns self-employment income before you can get that, which really means you're into year three, because that's two years of tax returns. So you have to get through two more years of tax returns being self-employed. So that's the first thing, even if you never use it. Usually you pay zero interest on those if the money's just sitting there and not being used. So that I highly recommend Do that number one.
Sandra :You may have family members that may have money to loan you and may be willing to loan you and, honestly, if they're investing in real estate, there's ways to do that where their money is protected, and we can get into that another conversation. But I can teach you how to do a private money loan. But it's legal. The money goes straight to the title company, not to me. They're not giving Sandra a check. It goes to the title company, a deed gets filed with the county, it's all legal. We can get into more of that later.
Sandra :But private money and the way you find people is, I just let people know I'm investing in real estate and looking for people that want to invest in the local real estate market and a lot of times they'll say, well, what's that mean? Well, do you have money in an IRA that's maybe getting a low interest rate? A lot of people are only getting 5% 6% in their IRA or a CD that's getting ready to mature, or they have money in a 401k that they can borrow out of and I pay in this market I'm paying 9% interest to private investors. So if they're only making four or five and I can pay them nine, many people will look at that and say, hmm, I'd rather make nine. I can take a loan out or my money's maturing anyway, or I'm looking to move it and they can lend me that money. And that's money they can't use anyway. Right now it's locked up until they retire, so but I can use it, they can lend it to me, and some people just have cash, believe it or not, but they do. I don't, but they do. So those are easy ways to invest with other people's money. You can partner up with someone. The very first rehab I did, I partnered with someone for the experience. He said if I find the deal, he would fund it. And then I managed it and we split the profit at the end. So I had none of my money in it but I had to put my elbow grease in it. I had to find it and then manage it, but I made some money at the end. So that's one way to do it.
Sandra :Wholesaling is another way to invest in real estate. Well, you're not really investing, but it's another type of real estate investing where you find a house, a distressed home where someone wants to sell it, and then make sure it's legal in your state. It's legal in most states, but it's not in a couple. You can assign that contract to someone else. So you found a house but I'm not buying it. I assign it to Joe Smith who wants to buy it. He buys it and then I can get paid at closing. You know a referral fee or whatever's legal in your state. I'm an agent, so they can pay me a commission.
Sandra :Now my brokerage takes part of that. But you know that's semantics, but there's. There's ways you can do that and I didn't invest any money. So I find the house, have the seller, I find an end buyer meet. It's like you know, matchmaking so I matchmake them and then I can get a five or $10,000 fee for that. So that's one way to do it and it doesn't cost any money. You $10,000 fee for that. So that's one way to do it and it doesn't cost any money. You can volunteer to work for somebody else and get what we call bird dog fees, where you just help people feed them addresses hey, I saw a vacant house here. Or I know my neighbor's moving. I don't know what to do with it. And again, you can just find people match them up and ask for a fee for that. That's just a few of the easy, quick ways to get in with really not much experience. So I hope that helps.
Audra :But I didn't even know you could make money that way.
Sandra :Yeah, yeah, yep, just make sure you know what's legal in your state. In Missouri it's legal to wholesale, but I'm an agent, so I'm regulated a little bit differently, you know.
Audra :So it's just, you just have to know those things, because driving around your neighborhoods you'd be like you know, so it's just, you just have to know those things. Because driving around your neighborhoods you'd be like you know that house has been empty for months, or I know that that house is, it's been, it was certain someone passed away. The kids don't want it, they don't know what to do with it. Right, and you know about it and I bet so-and-so would want to buy it. That kind of stuff happens all the time.
Sandra :You'd be surprised how many are out there. I've done several houses that have sat vacant for years Two in one year actually. That sat vacant like 10, 13 years. The family just moved out, but they never sold it. They didn't get around to it. It needed some repairs, or they just left furniture there they were still storing, or maybe they were running a small business out of it and wanted to keep it for that reason. But it got to the point where they were ready to sell it and it's been vacant for years.
Sandra :So or people inherit a home and they don't know what to do with it, or emotionally they just can't let go of it, but in the meantime it's deteriorating and then it gets finally gets to the point where we got to do something with this house. So yeah, absolutely, keep your eyes open. Those houses are everywhere. You can connect with another investor in your local area and say, hey, if I bring you a deal, will you partner with me or will you split it with me or would you pay me a fee? Super easy to do. Most towns have real estate investing groups locally, so you can go on the Meetup app and see what's out there. You can check on Facebook. You can just Google real estate investing groups near me and get connected, and most of them are free or have a small fee $10 or $20 to go to a meeting something like that and start connecting with local investors. You will find people that want to buy deals. If you find one, and they will split them with you in some form or fashion and you'll get paid for that.
Audra :So let's talk about things like when people are probably thinking going, oh I can do that, oh I can do that. Let's talk about some stuff that they need to be on the lookout for Scams, because if you're a novice, then there are some unscrupulous people out there that will probably want to take advantage of someone that's new, trying to learn this stuff and, you know, might want to take you for for any kind of money that you may or may not have. So what are some danger thing signs, red flags, whatnot, that you'd need to be alerted to if it's someone that's not so truthful?
Sandra :right. Um, I would ask them for references. Who have they worked with in the past? Ask them which title company they close at and call the title company. Say, hey, I'm looking to work with this partner. Are they legitimate? Do they actually close? How many deals have they done with you? They will tell you because I tell people. If they want to check me out, I said, you know, call such and such title company, they'll vouch for me. You know, if someone has nothing to hide, they won't mind doing that.
Sandra :There are agents that also do some investing as well. So if you can find a local agent that does investing, they love a referral fee. So if you do the work, ask them. Can we split this somehow? Or ask them if they know legitimate investors in the area. They probably do Word of mouth, go to local real estate investing clubs. Investors in the area they probably do Word of mouth, go to local real estate investing clubs. But that's the two best ways, I think, is find out which title company they close at and get a referral from a reliable real estate agent in the area.
Audra :Now you had mentioned something that I had taken note of, as you were explaining how to get access to funds and whatnot. Some people are thinking you know, I have a 401k and 401ks don't really gain a whole lot of money. I mean, granted it's, some people are getting found money because their companies are matching or whatever the case may be, but you're not really gaining a whole lot. Would you advise that, when they're trying to get started in investing, at least just to give them a little seed money, would you advise them take out a little loan against your 401k with the intentions of paying it back and invest it that way? Would that be a good way to start?
Sandra :It could be, and some 401ks allow loans, some don't. So that would be your first thing is call your custodian of the 401k and see if you know you're able to take a loan and just make sure the deal is actually profitable, because you're going to have to pay that money back If you don't make money or you lose money on it. Now you know you're in the hole over there, so just make sure it's a good deal. But yeah, that's if you can tap into that, you know. Another one is a life insurance policy. I twice I took some cash value out of a life insurance policy that allowed me to take a loan, and once I just took some of the cash back and didn't pay it back. So if you have a life insurance policy or someone you know that trusts you has a policy they can take a loan against that's another avenue as well.
Audra :I bet you nobody even thought of that. I bet you there's a life insurance policy that you guys have that you haven't even thought of and it may allow you to do a loan against you never even thought of it. So there's all kinds of creative ways that you didn't even know that could be money that is working for you Exactly, rather than just sitting there. So let's talk about some other things Now. There are some people listening that are like I live in a weird area that has some interesting real estate challenges. California has some interesting real estate challenges.
Audra :California has some interesting real estate challenges. Where I live in, arizona has some interesting real estate challenges, and I mean I can go on and on with the different areas that have some interesting real estate challenges. You're not necessarily limited by geographics, are you?
Sandra :That's correct.
Sandra :That's correct. You can do a lot of these types of deals anywhere in the country, and some people only do deals out of state. I work in my local market, but there's ways to do that and actually you can YouTube and Google different ways to do that. There's a lot of folks that have shared free information online on how they do it, but you could definitely just one brief example explanation of how you could do that is start looking for for sale by owner houses and maybe another town Maybe you have a relative or somebody that lives there, so this is a town you're familiar with See what houses are selling for, what rent rates are for.
Sandra :All that's available online. And then, if you find a house that might have some potential, you can also Google local real estate investors or contact a local real estate investor group and see if they'll share their buyers with you. Just connect with them, you know, get one or two names of some good buyers and find out what their parameters are and what they're looking for. I mean, I'd love for somebody to shop for me, you know, and just feed me deals. So you can definitely do that, and all of that's available online. A lot of it you can get off of Zillow Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace local real estate market stuff.
Audra :So you can definitely do a lot of that from home. So what are they looking for? Because people are probably writing things frantically down going this sounds great, but the internet is overwhelming. Some are a little bit more sophisticated than others. Going oh, I think I have an inkling there are some going. I don't have a clue. So what would they be looking for? That would be like oh, I think I know an investor that might be interested in that. I can bring them a deal, but I don't know what I would be looking for.
Sandra :Yeah, I know when I started and most people when they start they think the hard part is going to be finding buyers. But that's really the easy part. There's a million investors. The hard part is finding the property. So if you're really worried about it you could start with looking for the buyers first, connect with those local clubs and put some feelers out in different cities and have a conversation with them. And hey, you know, my name is Sandra, I'm I'm out of the St Louis market but I'm looking to help wholesale in your market. Are you looking for people to feed you deals and what are you looking for? And if they are legitimate, they'll probably take at least a few minutes with you to tell you where they wanna buy, what zip code, what price point.
Sandra :Now you won't be able to see the house. They would be boots on the ground to go look at it. But if they give you your parameters and you find something that seems to fit that criteria, I guarantee they'll be interested and they can vet it really quickly. So you're just kind of skimming the surface and they'll do the deep dive on it because you won't know really what condition the house is in. I mean, there might be a few pictures, but it's probably not a picture of the water heater or the electrical panel or the roof, you know.
Sandra :But yeah, that's that's where I would start. I would start at the end, with the buyer and work your way backwards, because they'll feed you a lot of the information and they may even tell you their favorite sources to find it and they may have a database that you could already tap into. Like people are afraid to talk to other people, but it's an open book test. If you contact them and get someone that's really hungry or motivated, they will work with you. Some won't, they'll say what and just move on. I guarantee there's buyers out there that would do that.
Audra :The way you'd explain this makes it sound super easy, but why doesn't everybody do it then?
Sandra :I know it's time consuming, that's the big thing. Even me I don't do out-of-state deals because I'm focusing locally, but I know it's time consuming, that's the big thing. Even me I don't do out of state deals because I'm focusing locally, but I know people that only do it from their laptop, you know, and that's all they do. So it's time. You know it takes time to find the buyers, research the properties, connect with people, especially if you're in a different time zone. But you can do it and you can set up a system. And if you're just, you know, doing kind of the spaghetti approach, where you're just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks, that's where you're going to be wasting your time.
Sandra :You've really got to focus, focus on an area, focus in on a couple of good buyers and then let them help you focus on what they're looking for. Like I said, it's an open book test. They'll tell you. So I think that's what people lack is just you got to dedicate time and then you've got to be really focused. If you say, well, I'm going to try these 30 cities, you'll never get through that list. I mean, you just won't Pick one and refine your process and figure out what works and then, once you kind of find something that works for you, getting the system down then expand. Okay, let me try this market and let me try that market. It takes discipline to do that. You know time and discipline, just like anything else. Yeah, exactly, anybody can do this. They really, really can.
Audra :It's not instant gratification, just like going to the gym. It's not you'd work out once and oh, I'm better. This is. This is something that takes time and dedication, patience it sounds like patience is involved and that you, you have to be tenacious, so you can't give up. You just have to keep trying.
Sandra :Yeah, it took me probably three months to get my first wholesale deal. So it is not quick. I mean some people find one the first weekend. They're looking months to get my first wholesale deal. So it is not quick. I mean some people find one the first weekend they're looking, but I got my first one off of Craigslist.
Sandra :I was just sitting on the couch swiping through my phone looking at Craigslist and ran across this house that was for sale by owner. I thought, well, that's a cute house and that seems like a pretty good price. I mean, I know my own market but you can do some pre-research. You can go out to like if you want to look at, let's just say, the Evansville Indiana market and look and see what's for sale and kind of what the prices tend to be and, you know, do a little research. But then once you know you know a little bit starts going through and like, wow, this, this house is pretty cute and the price seems pretty good.
Sandra :And I just called the lady and say, hey, I'm interested in your house. What can you tell me about it? I didn't tell her I was an investor. I didn't tell her I wanted to flip it or wholesale it. I, you know, if people don't know what that is, you don't want to scare them off, but I just wanted to know about her house and she was telling me about it. So somebody's got to go look at the house and then try to negotiate the deal. So it was that simple just swiping through and make a phone call and go see the house.
Audra :So we've talked about the what, we've talked about the how and we talked about the why. Sandra, what else haven't I asked you, at least for today, for episode one today, because you've given us a lot of information and I'm sure that there are people that have been furiously writing and trying to figure out oh my gosh, how can I do have to rewind and listen to this several times, but what else haven't I asked you that they should know, at least for today?
Sandra :You know a mistake I see a lot of new investors make, or I already talked about, you know, getting some money lined up one way or the other if you can and if you can't. We talked about different ways to do it. I would say I see a lot of people doing a lot of research, going to every course, watching every video and going to YouTube university and spending weeks and months and sometimes years. I've seen people for years. They go to these classes, you know whatever local classes or meetings are available, and never pull the trigger.
Sandra :So I would say don't wait too long. You're not going to know everything anyway. Just jump in, find a house that you think might be a deal and just go down that path of you know what do I do with this one? Who can I talk to? Who might be interested? Just jump in, don't wait. You're never going to know it all. Even as a I've been an investor for eight years now and a licensed real estate agent for seven I don't know everything. Stuff comes up all the time that I've never run into. So don't wait, just find a deal and go.
Audra :So you did the first year of investing without being a realtor.
Sandra :I did. I was not a realtor in the very beginning. You don't have to be a realtor to do this In most states in my state you do not. There's two states and I don't have to be a realtor to do this. And in most states in my state you do not. There's two states, and I don't want to say which ones because I don't want to say it's wrong. Just check that. You have to be a licensed agent to sell a house. But I tell people in my state it's like selling your car where I live. You don't have to take your car back to the dealership to sell it. You can sell it for sale by owner and do the bill of sale in the driveway.
Sandra :So houses are the same way and a lot of people don't know that, that you don't have to. I mean, we all know what for sale by owner is right. You just stick a sign in the yard. So as an investor, you're just taking advantage of that situation. There's a private owner that wants to sell and maybe you're the buyer, or maybe you find the buyer and you're the person that helps them. So find the buyer and you're the person that helps them.
Sandra :So I say really, just jump in. Just jump in and and you're. You're probably not going to get it right the first time or two, but you'll be learning every time. Okay, this one didn't work because of that. Or oh, this happened and this won't work. Or oh, it's in a flood zone. People probably may not want to buy in a flood zone, or you know, repairs it happens all the time. So just don't be that person that sits in every class and watches every video and says I want to wait till I learn everything. I've heard people actually say that I don't want to do it until I learn everything. Well, who knows everything about everything? So, learn enough to get started and you'll figure it out as you go.
Audra :Is there anything, at least when you started in the beginning, that you're like I wish, when in the beginning, when I was learning, I wish I would have done differently that you can tell everybody don't do this.
Sandra :Right. I wish I would have had a line of credit on the house I lived in to tap into that little bit of equity. I wish I would have done that before I quit my job. I wish I would have gotten a coach sooner. I had a coach on wholesaling, but I did not have a coach on rehabbing and some of the other things. But I'm glad I partnered with someone on my first rehab. I learned a lot.
Sandra :I wish I would have watched more information on some of those things. It's free to see what's on YouTube. I find Facebook information is not as reliable as some of the gurus on YouTube. So just do enough free to see what's on YouTube. I find Facebook information is not as reliable as some of the gurus on YouTube. So just do enough research to see who's really been around for a while, who is highly rated, who gets a lot of followers and likes, because there's a lot of people that don't really know what they're talking about. But they can sell a course or whatever. So yeah, but get connected with your local real estate investment group.
Audra :They are really a wealth of information, so do enough that you are at least armed with knowledge, but not so much that it paralyzes you that you don't do anything.
Sandra :Right.
Audra :Yeah, now, I know that this is kind of a silly question, but I want to ask it just so the audience can hear Would you ever go backwards?
Sandra :Oh no, never, I say. I don't even care if the door hits me on the rear on the way out Like I, I would never go back, never, ever. I you know it. It was time for someone else to take over. I did it for 25 years. I love being self-employed. I love being in charge of my destiny good, bad or indifferent. You know I've made mistakes. I've made money. I've had some deals that didn't go well, but ultimately it's on me. I get to choose who I work, with what hours I work, what days I work. If I want to take the morning off and do something, I can. I just made a quick trip down to Florida this weekend. I didn't have to get permission or take time off, I just took my laptop with me and went.
Audra :I would never go back.
Sandra :Never, ever. I love it, I love it, I love it. I loved my career the first few years and then, once I'd hit that wall, I knew it was the end. And no, I don't look back and regret one thing.
Audra :And your boys.
Sandra :My boys. I did it for my family, yeah, and one of my sons is investing now too. He tried college for a year and a half was not for him. I said that's fine, you tried it and now you know, and he's flipping his eighth house already a year and a half in. So you know he was, he hitched his wagon to me and you know I'm teaching him. But any of us can do that. We can find another experienced person who's willing to partner with us. Or let us bring them deals and let us learn from them Not everyone, but they're out there. I mean, that's how I learned rehabbing and how he's learning it. So you can definitely do that. You don't have to pay for that. Just offer to make it worth their while, split it or pay them a chunk, whatever.
Audra :Because this is your business and this is how investors make money. And if you say, hey, I'll bring you a deal that is one less deal, they have to go find themselves.
Sandra :Oh, absolutely Absolutely. A lot of rehabbers don't have time to be out there looking for properties. They want people to feed it to them. And agents you know I get a lot of deals from agents. I deliberately and not just because I'm an agent, because they have pocket listings Somebody brings them a house you know grandma's old, dinky house and they don't want to put it on the market. Because a lot of agents are take pride in their beautiful listings and their quick sales and if it's a crummy house they're like. But they're connected.
Sandra :So, um, connect with local agents and say, if you have ever have anything you don't want to list, maybe I'll buy it or maybe I'll help you find a buyer and you can pay me. So I do that all the time. So, yeah, that's, that's another easy way to do it, it doesn't cost you anything. It's about building relationships, you know, and a lot of contractors too, because if they're, if they're a rehabber, people assume they're buying the house. But they probably don't, they're probably just doing the work. So connect with those guys. Say, if anybody ever approaches you with a house and asks you to fix it and they're looking to sell it, let me know, I'll pay you a fee if you bring me a deal. So there's so many ways to work this. You just really have to get creative and let everybody know you're looking to buy houses and you're looking for a rehab, and it will happen.
Audra :Because there's plenty of houses out there that still have that awful avocado green kitchens in there. I know there's a ton of them and those probably aren't selling light hotcakes, so those need a little bit of love, and I'm sure that those are ripe for investors. For someone to come in and say, yeah, I'll buy it. Let me go ahead and clean it up real quick and flip it for a giant profit.
Sandra :Yeah, Most of the houses I get are somebody's parents or grandparents went in the nursing home. The family has this house it's time to get rid of. Nobody has the time or money to flip it themselves, so they're just looking for a viable option, a fair price. But that's most of that's about 80% of the houses I get. So they're all out there. We all have parents and grandparents that are, you know, moving on to their next phase of life. And now we've got a house that's got a pink toilet and green shag carpet. So, but they're good houses, you know. They just need to be brought into this century. So somebody's going to do it. Why?
Audra :not you? Why not you, sandra? I promised you that we would wrap this up in 45 minutes because it's a lot of information and I know that everybody's trying to absorb it all at once, and I told everybody to write everything down. Play this back several times so you can absorb this, because it was a lot of great information to get you started and, like I said, this is only part one of a three-part series. Sandra has so much more information to share. So I will say thank you, sandra, so much for sharing your information and getting us started and giving people a lot to think about and for them to start at least considering. Well, if she can do it, well, maybe I can do it. So thank you for spending the time with us to get people start thinking about. Well, maybe I can.
Sandra :Yeah, if I can, anybody can. I told you I wore a hairnet for 25 years, right? So yeah, anybody can do this. Anybody can do this.
Audra :Sandra, thank you very much for being here my pleasure. Thank you for seeing my vision with this. That still financial freedom. The best way to get there is through real estate investing. You just need a little bit of know-how, a little bit of tenacity, a little bit of fearlessness to start. So thank you for partnering with me to at least give a little bit of fearlessness to start. So thank you for partnering with me to at least give a little bit of know-how out there, and the rest is up to everybody else. So thank you for being here and thank you for giving the know-how.
Sandra :You are very welcome, thank you.
Audra :And thank you to all of you for listening and we'll see you again next week.
