How I Got Started

Alright, so we've heard all the tips and tricks throughout the podcast episodes, but how in the world did this Lady Landlord get started!?

Read the Full Story in Lady Landlords here.

1) No matter what your past or your current circumstances, you can get into real estate investing

I started in a completely different career and tried other business ventures that simply didn't pan out. I quickly realized what a farce "Go to school and you'll get a good job" was! I wanted to go in a different direction.

I bet many of you can relate to me there…

So I moved to Europe and bought a bar! But that turned into a fiasco that left me in a bunch of debt! You can already see I didn't have the ideal situation at all to start investing in real estate. I eventually met my now husband Emilio, who had the dream of owning his own home, but I was already pretty beat up from all these losses I had!

Then I told him…

… I would only buy a house if we found a way to make this an asset (make us money), instead of just a liability (losing us money). I was drained and in debt, and yet there was still a way to make our first property happen!

How did I make that happen, you might ask? It's a simple strategy called House hacking, which takes me to my second key point!

2) What is a House hack, and why is it awesome?

A house hack is when you purchase a property, and you rent out a portion of that to someone else. It can be a room in a single family unit, or a multifamily unit. You live in one of the units, and you rent out to other tenants.

The latter is what we did.

This way you eliminate your own rent, and you can pay your mortgage with the rent from the other tenants. You can build equity while maintaining the property, which is a great way to get some momentum started and build your confidence in investing!

Benefits of House hacking:

1) Fastest way to eliminate your own housing costs

2) Learn to care for a property like repairing and maintenance on a smaller scale

3) Earn cash flow that you can save and use towards your next investment

Listen, I get it, it's scary to start something new.

Real estate can seem intimidating, but with a little bit of info and guidance, you can start just how I did. All it takes is making that first step. The Lady Landlords Community is here to be a community and resource! You can utilize our tips, tricks, and advices to get going!

Read the Full Story in Lady Landlords here.