On this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast, I interview Rick Allen and TJ Osterman who created Paperstac. Paperstac is a company that helps investors find, buy, and sell performing and non-performing notes on real estate. Rick and TJ both have extensive experience investing in real estate themselves. They have bought and sold over 400 homes before they got into the note business. I talk to both Rick and TJ to learn how they got into real estate, what they love about the real estate note business, and how others can get into it as well.

I have operated my blog for over four years and have talked to a lot of people over that time. Many people want to invest in real estate, but few actually do it or stick with it. I do not like to use the word fail, but many prospective investors set out to buy real estate and never do. I think failure results from giving up before accomplishing something, not simply having things go differently than you had planned. On this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast, I talk about why so many people who want to invest in real estate fail. The biggest reasons tend to be money, time, attitude, and fear.

Earlier this week, I wrote an article about the new tax code and how it could affect the real estate market. I decided I would do a podcast on it as well since I know many of you prefer to listen than to read. On this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast, I go over the possible tax changes that will be coming soon. The tax codes are not official yet, but we have a really good idea what will happen based on the two bills that have been passed by the House and the Senate. The tax law will not help out homeowners, but it will help real estate investors.

On today's episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast, I speak with Steve White and Eric Worral of RentPrep. Steve started RentPrep to help large property management companies screen their tenants after working in the debt collection business trying to get bad tenants to pay their bills. I talk with both Eric and Steve about how they screen tenants, how they help landlords find great tenants, what it is like to try to collect debts from tenants, and things landlords need to watch out for when renting their properties. There is a ton of great information on this podcast, and I learned a lot, as I am sure many of you will as well.

I made a plan to purchase 100 rental properties back in 2013. When I made that plan I thought I could keep buying great residential rentals in Colorado. I had no idea prices would almost tipple, while rents went up only 50 percent. Because of the market I have had to change the way I invest. I bought my last residential rental in 2015, and have been focused on flipping instead. I like to make goals every year and for 2017 I did not have plan for buying rental property, although I did want to find a new market to invest in and invest in a 50,000 square foot or larger building. I have bought four smaller commercial properties this year, which was better than I could have hoped for. At one point this year I had a 280,000 square foot building under contract, and I have a 70,000 square foot commercial property under contract now. To hear all about my commercial investments, how my strategy has changed, and what I plan to do in the future make sure to listen to this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast.

Over the years, I have had a number of great house flips, but I have had some bad ones as well. I have made some big mistakes, and I have also had some uncontrollable issues come up that cost me a lot of money. While I never like to lose money on flips, I always learn something that can help my business in the future. On this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast, I talk about my worst flipping experiences, what I learned from them, and how they helped my business.

Dr Matt Motil has had a lot of reasons to be mad at life. He went through the housing crash in Arizona losing his life savings, he battled cancer at 30, and got a divorce in part to health problems with his son. Despite many setbacks Matt did not give up, he kept investing in real estate until he was able to build enough passive income to quit his career. On this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast Matt and I talk all about what he has been through and how he found success with rental properties.

Vinney Chopra came to the United States to get his MBA to further his engineering career. While he was here, he found his dream job and then discovered real estate. Over the last decade, Vinney has purchased 26 apartment complexes worth over $200 million. He did not buy these properties on his own but instead used syndications to buy them with other investors' money. I have interviewed a number of apartment syndicators, but one thing I liked about Vinney is he has bought 12 apartments in the last two years, showing you can still make money in a hot market. You can hear how Vinney made it to the United States, found success, and get his tips all on this weeks episode of The InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast.

Chris Prefontaine has been in the real estate industry for many years as an agent, broker, landlord, flipper, developer, builder, and landlord. He was hit hard during the housing crash and decided he needed a new strategy to make money in real estate. His plan was to make a lot money without using any of his own money. He was able to do this by finding properties he could lease to own, which he could then turn around and lease himself. You can listen to how he made a lot of money in real estate, lost most of it, and came back to reinvent himself on this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast.

I have been a real estate agent and real estate investor for over 15 years. I am biased when I talk about using real estate agents, but I am also extremely experienced when it comes to real estate. Being in the industry as long as I have, I see how valuable a good real estate agent is for both buyers and sellers. Real estate agents can be expensive, but they are usually well worth it because of the money they save their clients. On this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast, I talk about why buyers and sellers should use real estate agents. I also discuss how to find the best real estate agents and use them effectively to get deals or to help you sell your house.

So far, I have bought 25 properties in 2017: 23 flips and 2 rentals. This is buy far the most properties I have ever purchased in one year, and I still have a few months to go. For me to be able to buy that many houses and commercial properties, I have had to expand the way I find deals. I have bought properties from the MLS, wholesalers, Zillow, direct marketing, networking, and auctions—all this year. On this episode of the InvestFourMore Podcast, I talk about how I get deals from all of these sources. I also discuss how the ways I find deals have evolved over the years.

On this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast, I interview Hunter Thompson,who has been a passive real estate investor for many years. Hunter started investing in mortgage notes and then moved into syndication. Hunter chose not to be the person who put all the deals together but rather the person who invests in those deals and lets other people do all the work. Hunter feels his best use of time is finding the right investors to invest in. One of Hunter's favorite investment niches is self storage buildings. I talk to Hunter about how to find the best self storage investments and why they are so attractive to him.

Lane Kawaoka is my guest on this week's episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast. Lane is a full-time engineer but also loves to invest in real estate. Lane has always worked on the west coast or Hawaii, where it is really hard to find cash-flowing rental properties. He has had to invest out-of-state to find deals that made sense to him. On this show, we talk about how he first got involved in real estate and how he both bought houses from turn-key companies and  on his own. We also talk about what his current goals and how he is changing his investing strategy.

I have gotten two hard money loans in my 16 year career as a real estate investor. Both of those loans I obtained this year from Ben Shaevitz with Patch of Land. I shy away from hard money loans because of the high rates, hoops you must jump through, and length of time it can take to get the loan. However, I worked with Patch of Land because they were able to eliminate many of those difficulties. The thing that really helped me out was they did not require a full appraisal to get the loan completed. Not only did they lend to me without an appraisal, they were able to complete one loan in less than a week, which helped me get a deal I may not have been able to get otherwise. On this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast I talk with Ben about Patch of Land, how how he got started in the business, and why I decided to finally use hard money.

Tyler Sheff has seen a lot in his real estate career. He started flipping houses in his early twenties and was very successful before the housing crash. Tyler also held some properties as rentals and eventually sold his properties before the crash, which caused him to incur a huge tax bill. Tyler decided there had to be a better way to invest in real estate, so he started buying apartment buildings after the housing crash and held more of his properties instead of selling them. Tyler eventually got his real estate license and started his own podcast that discusses real estate investing. On this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast, I talk with Tyler about his career and what he has learned over the years.

Kathy Fettke has seen a lot of ups and downs in the real estate market while living in San Francisco. She has bought rentals in San Francisco, but it can be really tough when almost every property costs more than one million dollars. After a health scare with her husband, she knew she had to find a way to create passive income while living in one of the most expensive markets in the United States. She has learned to buy rentals and even develop land in other markets to create that passive income and wealth. Kathy has also become an expert at helping others invest in other markets for cash flow. She tells us all about how she got started in the real estate business, how she built passive income in the face of a crisis, and how she helps others build more cash flow from markets across the country. You can listen to it all on this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast.

On this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast, I interview Shannon Denniston. Shannon has been an extremely successful real estate investor, entrepreneur, and real estate agent. Shannon had always planned on a career in the real estate industry and even majored in real estate in college. Things do not always go as planned, and Shannon ended up starting a very successful technology company in college, which delayed his entry into real estate. After making a lot of money and paying a lot of income taxes, Shannon’s accountant told him to buy rentals. He started buying rentals, became a real estate agent, and now is even flipping houses. On the show, we talk about how he got into the business, why he thinks he has been so successful, and what new and exciting things he is working on now.

One of the biggest roadblocks to investing in real estate is getting the money to buy houses. I get a lot of questions about how people can find the money to invest with, but the first question you should ask is how much money will you need. Once you know exactly how much money you need to invest in real estate, it becomes much easier to get that money and actually buy a house. You will also need varying amounts of money depending on what kind of real estate investing you do. Flipping, renting, wholesaling will all take different amounts of money, and the type of property you buy will also make a difference when trying to figure out how money you will need as well. On this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast I talk about how much money you will need to invest in different types of real estate using different strategies.

Real estate agents can make a lot of money, and have a lot of freedom. It can also be very tough getting started as an agent. Many real estate agents do not sell a house or make any money for months after they get their license. It can take some agents years to learn the best way to generate business, and some agents never figure it out. On today's podcast I speak with Aaron Hendon who is one of the top real estate agents in Seattle. He tells us what it took for him to become success, how long it took, what he does to find leads, and also gives some tips for investors and other buyers who are looking to buy properties.

Buying Rentals and flips can be an awesome opportunity to make money. However, buying the property is only one step of the process, you usually have to repair properties as well. Even if you buy rental properties that are in perfect shape, you will have to repair them at some point after you run into some less than stellar tenants. I have 15 rental properties and 14 active fix and flips right now. There is a big difference in the way I repair my flips versus my rentals. On this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast I go into how I repair my properties, and what other investors should look out for when buying houses that need work.

Hard money loans are a great option for real estate investors who want to flip houses. However, there are many different types of hard money lenders and many different types of hard money loans. In the past hard money was extremely expensive, but competition has driven the cost down in recent years. On this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast I talk with Dan Leyden, who is a founding partner of Asset Based Lending. Dan talks about the different types of hard money available, rates, terms, how to finance repairs, who can qualify, and he also talks about his company and how they lend hard money.

The real estate market has been crazy in Colorado. Median prices in my town have jumped from $110,000 to $280,000 in 5 or 6 years. My town has some of the lowest prices in the area! With real estate prices increasing so fast, I decided to stop buying residential rental properties and focus more on flipping. There were a number of reasons I stopped buying rentals, but the biggest one was that I would not cash flow on properties anymore. On this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast I talk about the current real estate market. How crazy it is in Colorado, how the rest of the United States is doing, how you should invest in a crazy market, and why you cannot use national trends to decide how to invest locally.

On this episode of the InvestFourMore Podcast I talk with Jarred Kessler who is trying to start a company that would eliminate the need for real estate agents. I am a real estate agent, and a big proponent of using agents to make the most money when selling or buying houses. This podcast definitely had some tense moments and differing opinions! Jarred started a company called Easy Knock after being in the financial services industry and believing that the way houses are bought and sold is inefficient and out dated. The idea is that buyers and sellers of homes can use the website to complete transactions without the help of a real estate agent. We go back and forth quite a bit about the advantages of this idea, and if it is really beneficial to consumers.

I have had up to 20 flips going at once this year, which can be a lot to handle.  I have a great team who helps me, and I have systems to get them repaired and sold. Before my team can do anything with the properties, we have to find properties to buy! In the past, I bought most of my flips from the foreclosure sale then had to change strategies and buy from the MLS. In the last year, I have bought many flips from wholesalers, and I am adding additional ways to buy. I have had good luck buying flips from the MLS and wholesalers, but I have not been buying as many houses as I thought I would. Last week, I bought my first flip since the middle of May. I have a goal to buy three flips every month, so that was a pretty long spell without buying any houses. I now have three more houses under contract and am getting back on track. On this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast, I talk all about how I find deals in today's real estate market.

One of the biggest hurdles to real estate investing is the cash needed to flip or buy rentals. Investors have to put more money down than owner occupied buyers, which makes it tough for many people to ever buy an investment property. Not only are there higher down payments for investment properties, but if you want a really good deal you may have to spend money on repairing a house as well. It also takes time to find good deals, find contractors, manage properties, and sell properties. Crowdfunding is one way to invest in real estate with less money and less work. Real estate crowdfunding is when a group of people pool their money together to invest in a fix and flip, an apartment complex, or some other type of property. Amy Kirsch is the Director of Investor Relations with Realty Shares, a crowdfunding company. She talks with me on this episode of the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast about how crowdfunding works, the pros, and the cons for people investing into projects and those looking to get funding for projects.