... and Landlord! Rental Real Estate Investing Podcast

Do you like to travel? Would you do more of it if you did not have to pay for your airfare and could fly for FREE? And do you have a business? Having Rental Properties IS a business... So, if you've answered "YES" to each of these questions, then you need to learn about Credit Card Points Hacking. Your Rental Properties (and other businesses) can earn you FREE travel with points!

I travel a LOT (over a dozen flights this year), and I've yet to pay a single penny for airfare (other than a couple of upgrades for more legroom on longer flights and a couple of checked bag fees - that I even got back). And that doesn't even include FREE flights for my wife and son; and even a couple of times where I used my points for some other family members to fly for FREE.

My businesses generate enough points each month that I haven't paid real money for airfare in years. I even have enough points to be an aid to others, using my points to lower the travel expenses for some family members.

How? Because I don't pay my business expenses directly. Instead, I put every business expense that I possibly can on a points credit card. And I then pay that card in full each month. But the benefit of placing the card in the middle of the merchant or vendor and my business, is that the credit card rewards me with points. In most cases its a straight dollar-for-dollar reward, in which $1 charged on the card gives me 1 point. But some cards give double and triple points - maybe for certain categories like gas or food.

However I can, I hack my legitimate and necessary business expenses into points that I can redeem whenever I wish for FREE travel. If you have a business that has any amount of frequent or reoccurring expenses that can be paid with a card (the higher the better), then you're missing out on a great opportunity for FREE travel, if you are not paying those expenses with a points credit card.

Business owners fly for FREE... And owning Rental Properties IS a business!

On the main image for this episode you see a roof logo silhouette, the words "Real Estate", and then a reference to "Slogan Here". When you're starting your Real Estate Business, you'll certainly come across stock logo templates like this, and any designer you're likely to hire will almost certainly come up with something along these lines for your review and approval.

You'll spend time going over all the samples, drafts and mock-ups of what will become your Real Estate Business logo. You'll come up with several slogans, eventually settling on one that fits well enough with your business name, logo and brand. You'll then get business cards created with your nice new logo prominently featured.

Maybe you'll keep it simple and go with a card that just has your local phone number and your email address will be @Gmail.com. But if you're like many starting a new business (especially a Real Estate Business) - you'll want a very easy to remember (maybe even a vanity) phone number; and you'll certainly want your website address listed on your business cards.

So in addition to spending countless hours on your business logo, you'll spend weeks (or even months) working on a website for your new business. But because you almost certainly named your business prior to getting your Domain Name (a mistake) - the website address is something horrible.

Maybe you named your business "Prestige Home Buyers, LLC" - and PrestigeHomeBuyers.com was TAKEN, as was PrestigeHome.com or PrestigeHomes.com (just for example - I have no idea if these are active sites or not, available, taken or otherwise). And you certainly won't be getting Prestige.com - so you end up registering PrestigeHomeBuyersLLC.com (which is horrible); or PrestigeHomeBuyers.net.

When you see website and email addresses with LLC, INC, NC or non .COM extensions, it almost always means the person named their business BEFORE obtaining their domain name. So in this episode of the Podcast, I go into some detail as to how to avoid this mistake for (CRIME against) your business. I suggest getting your ideal domain name FIRST, and then naming your business SECOND - to match the domain name (and without any LLC or INC).

But all of this is not even the real point of this episode. The real purpose here is to express that all of this stuff related to your business name, business cards, website, etc... is NOT what you should be focused on in the first place. Don't get bogged down in the trap of spending your primary time and effort in setting up your business. Instead, spend that time and effort getting your first (or next) rental property!

You don't really have a business anyway until you've got some properties (I'd go as far as to say several). Because most people having one or two rentals don't have a business in place. So focus on getting some properties, and worry about creating a business later.

But when you do get to the point of being ready to create a business, this episode of the Podcast will provide you with some key insights into how to go about doing it right - so that you do not end up with a website address like Prestige-Home-Buyers-LLC.net.

This episode of the [... and Landlord!] Podcast is asking the question, "How Do You View Money?" - Because that's where it all starts. How you view (or think about) money, will determine how you treat it. Because things you treat badly won't stay around for long, if they come around at all.

Here I relate some of my challenges with my own view of money - my thoughts and the books I read that lead to me changing that view. And best of all, how money started to flow my way along with opportunities for more - once money became something I desired and valued for what it was... A tool that makes me a better version of who I already am, as well as, a greater blessing to those I know and love.

2020 is only 2 months away... How has your 2019 been? But more importantly, what are your prospects for 2020? I've never done New Year's Resolutions, but I do set goals, and I'm very excited about what 2020 is likely to hold for me and my family - and business should be very good.

And I believe I owe this outlook on what's to come for me in 2020 to the focus of action and highest / best utilization of my time that I've put into place since 2015, and especially here in 2019.

In this 32nd Episode of the [... and Landlord!] Podcast, I relate my challenges of focus. How I struggle to be the most efficient and productive version of myself by leveraging systems, processes, people and building a team to offload those tasks that are just as well completed by others as myself. I came to realize, that even if others are only 80% as good at the task as me - that's good enough, as my time is best applied towards those few tasks that only I am able to do for my businesses.

I also go into some of the things that I had to sacrifice in order to better focus on what was really important to me and my pursuit of financial freedom - which was becoming a Rental Real Estate Investor... and Landlord! Less important to me than this achievement was listening to music, playing and watching sports, watching TV. Those things and other entertainment does nothing to make money for me or move me any closer to financial freedom - so that makes it a waste of time.

I also detail how not everyone is entitled to be in our lives, so anyone who is not a benefit is a detriment - and therefore needs to be blocked, or otherwise limited in access. Everyone in my life needs to play some role in making it a better life, or I will work towards blocking / limiting them in my life. Around me is a no negative influences and no leaches zone... You should create the same for yourself.

Let's start planning how we're going to use these 2 remaining months of 2019 to make 2020 the best year of our lives yet. And focus on the important things and achieving our goals should be at or near the top of the list of things we're going to do to make that happen.

Have you ever noticed that many of the tallest and most impressive buildings in the Downtown areas and throughout most Cities have the names and logos of Banks at the top? This is because Banks make money from money - and not just when the tellers are open from 9 to 5 Monday to Thursday and to 6 on Fridays. They make money from money 24 x 7 x 365... A ton of it! But have you ever considered that YOU can do the same thing?

The rich get and stay rich by investing in assets - assets that create cash-flow. In other words, they invest their money into things that make more money. They don't work for money - they make money work for them. And you can do the same thing, by being the Bank as a Private Lender against Rental Real Estate.

So this 31st Episode of the [... and Landlord!] Rental Real Estate Investing Podcast is for those of you who really don't want to be a Landlord, but who would still like to invest in Real Estate... You can! You can become the Bank, by being a Private Lender for people like me, who want to be Landlords, and who thereby seek to buy properties for rehab into rentals (BRRRR).

You can be the Bank for me and other Landlords (or those who seek to be), by lending in the first or second position against Rental Real Estate. Listen to learn more about what might be your key to all the income you may need to live a life you never thought possible. Also learn a bit about Self-Directed IRA's as yet another way of creating a massive nest-egg for your future.

Real Estate Investing is a team sport, and its hard to win the game when you're not playing as a team. My teammate is my wife. So how do you get your spouse to even want to join you in this particular game of being a Rental Real Estate Investor... and Landlord?

In this episode of the [... and Landlord!] Rental Real Estate Investing Podcast, I relate how my 20 years of entrepreneurial endeavors have benefited from (and were made possible by) the unwavering support of my wife - starting before we even got married. She's been my rock, and I couldn't have done it without her - so I share some of those details.

But since I'm the one in business... I'm the one buying Rental Properties. I'm the one going to seminars, conventions and trade-shows. I'm the one reading countless books and listening to podcasts each day. So here I cover some of the things I've done to bring my wife along on this journey - fully informed and excited herself about each step along the way.

If you feel that your spouse isn't on your team (yet), when it comes to this particular game of Rental Real Estate Investing - maybe this episode will start you down that path of building confidence and interest in them as to why they've got to get into this game ASAP! Because this game can make the average person rich - and you don't have to know how to do anything with a ball or a deck of cards. All the talent you need for this can be learned. And its so much easier when your spouse is on your team and fully in the game.

I am a "Transaction Engineer" - Which is my way of saying that I engineer (or create) transactions of Real Estate deals, using whatever means or tools are at my disposal. Lease-Options are one such tool in my belt that I've used to great success. So in this episode of the... and Landlord Podcast, I relate my story of having used Lease-Options to successfully acquire 3 Rental Properties - essentially for FREE!

Now yes, I did have to put some money into each property - at least initially. Each required an "Option Fee", which is a non-refundable pre-payment of some amount of the purchase price to create a binding contract. For these 3 deals, the Option Fees were $100; $1,000; and $3,000 - respectively. Also, each property needed approximately $9,000 of rehab (give or take a few thousand) - to make them rental ready.

But I use zero-interest credit card promotions for most of my rehab expenses - so that's FREE money not coming out of my pocket. And here, the properties themselves kicked off enough positive cash-flow (once rented), to both payoff the credit card balances prior to any interest hitting. They also paid me back for any actual cash out of pocket, such as for the Option Fees or any rehab expenses that I couldn't put on a zero-interest card.

In this episode of the... and Landlord Podcast, I even relate how the properties increased in value during the Option period, so when I actually did complete the purchase a year or two later, I was buying them well below their current value - allowing me to walk away from the purchase closing table with a check in hand. How often do you buy a house and get paid to do so!?

Lease-Options are a two part contract... The first part is the Lease, which is not much different than any Lease for any property, where you agree to pay a monthly rent to occupy the home for some period of time, along with other rules, requirements and restrictions. Some slight differences here are that you are not going to occupy the home yourself, but instead have the right to sub-lease the property to an end Tenant of your choosing, and collect all rents.

The second part of the contract is the Option, which gives you the right to purchase the property at any point prior to the end of the Lease / Option period, for an already agreed price - that does not change regardless of if the value of the property should go up or down during that period. The Option contract gets recorded against the property title / deed, so that it cannot be sold to anyone other than the Option holder during the Option period. You have the property on lock.

And it is typically the case that in exchange for being granted a binding Option to purchase the property and full control, the Option holder is also fully responsible for paying all expenses related to the property, which would most often include the mortgage; taxes; insurance; repairs / maintenance; rehab / upgrades, etc... Because after all, you are making money on the property - its essentially yours, as you have full control and all rights. And depending on the market and property conditions, you may also be paying a premium of some amount to the owner for this privilege.

So I'm a real fan of Lease-Options, because if you can find a home and potential seller with the right motivation(s), and you can craft a presentation that explains the value and benefits to the owner, while overcoming any obstacles and objections (there may be several) - you can truly create a win / win / win situation.

Of course the first two wins are you and the seller; but that third win is for the Tenant who now gets to live in a great home that would not have otherwise been available - if not for your being a "Transaction Engineer" who understand and can leverage the power of the Lease-Option.

So this is another special announcement episode - this time announcing Blue Chariot Realty! You may remember previously (in Episode #12) I announced Professional Property Management Services from Blue Chariot Management. Well, now I'm announcing my North Carolina Licensed Realty Firm (Blue Chariot Realty) - of which I (Jonathan Taylor Smith) am the Licensed Broker-In-Charge.

Further, Blue Chariot Realty has joined with eXp Realty - so its "Blue Chariot Realty, Brokered By eXp Realty". More on that later, but I did not want this episode to be completely self-serving, so I've also packed in lots of information about "The Investor's Realtor" and working with Realtors as an Investor to obtain more Rental Properties.

What makes a good Investor's Realtor? Well, of course, like I very humbly mention in this episode - you want a Realtor just like me! But if you're not seeking properties here or your not local to the Raleigh / Durham (Triangle) area of North Carolina - then you can't work with me as your Realtor. Instead, you need to find someone just like me, and so I go into a bit of detail to that end as to what you should be looking for in a Realtor.

You see, a lot of Investors do not want to work with a Realtor who is also an Investor themselves - for fear that such a Realtor will keep all the great deals for themselves. Hey - maybe so, but they can't buy everything! And getting in good with them, making yourself known as a real Investor who is able to close quickly on any decent opportunities - will make you far more likely to be top of mind when such an opportunity comes along that they can't buy for themselves.

So in this episode, I go into some of those details as to why you should WANT to work with an experienced Realtor who is also an Investor. Then I spend the rest of the time talking about myself and Blue Chariot Realty 🙂 - as what kind of a special announcement episode would it be if I didn't!?

"The secret to success is to own nothing, but control everything." - Nelson Rockefeller

So last week in Episode #26, I spoke on the need of Landlords to treat this profession seriously and run their Rental Properties like a business. Well, this week I speak on why you should avoid the title of "Landlord" and being known as the property (business) owner entirely - own nothing, but control everything.

But for me, its a matter of pride that I own over a dozen Rental Properties - so my default answer to the question of "Are you the owner" has always been to quickly and proudly say "YES!" - and claim full Landlord status. Why shouldn't I?

Well there are reasons you shouldn't. A better answer to that question may be "No, I'm the Property Manager". And so in this episode of the [... and Landlord!] Podcast, I go into details as to why being known to be the owner, is not likely to your benefit. Its better to be known as the Property Manager than Landlord or owner.

Because the owner is a mean and greedy SOB in the eyes of many; whereas the Property Manager is just a hard working employee (just like the Tenant) - who must unfortunately adhere to the lease in all dealings.

The Property Manager would love to waive the late fee for the Tenant, but they must adhere to the lease and treat all Tenants the same. As Property Manager, you'd love to let the Tenant out of their lease early, but you must adhere to the full term of the lease. You have no problem with allowing the Tenant's boy/girl friend move in, but as the Property Manager, you must adhere to the lease's stated authorized occupants.

When you're the owner, you're the bad guy. But when you're the Property Manager, the lease becomes the bad guy. This may sound like semantics, but it gives you tremendous freedom from negative perceptions from Tenants when you can point to the lease (that they agreed to and signed), and explain that you must adhere to the lease in everything - no exceptions. And when you are not seen as the owner (who is thought to be able to make exceptions at will) - life as the Property Manager becomes smooth in comparison.

So in this episode of the... and Landlord Podcast, I talk about my initial desire to claim full Landlord status, proudly being known to be the owner. But how I've since come to realize that this is not necessarily in my best interest. And so upon coming to this realization, when now asked by a prospective Tenant, "Are you the owner?" - my response is now always, "No, I'm the Property Manager." - listen to this episode to learn why you might want to make that your answer to this question as well.

Are you a Landlord? If so, did you know that being a Landlord and owning Rental Properties is a business? If not - that's the problem I discuss in this episode of the [... and Landlord!] Rental Real Estate Investing Podcast.

You see, there are a lot of Landlords out there who SUCK at being a Landlord - often because they fail to treat their Rental Properties like a business. Your Rental Properties are both your product and your service, and your tenants are your customers. But this is one business in which the customer is certainly not always right (although I'd argue that may also be true of ALL businesses).

Landlords tend to have a bad reputation. This goes back hundreds of years, and in many cases, this reputation is well deserved. Much of the Landlord / Tenants Laws that exist throughout the world came into being to protect Tenants from abusive, dishonest and unethical Landlords. And in many cases, that pendulum has swung so far in the Tenant's favor, that well meaning Landlords cannot make a profitable endeavor out of owning Rental Properties in such locations.

Thankfully, that is not the case everywhere. Most places managed to strike a reasonably fare balance between the rights of the Landlord and those of the Tenant - as BOTH do have rights. But this does not relieve a Landlord of the responsibility to uphold certain standards. To know the law and uphold it in all dealings with Tenants, as well as, to maintain professional handling of all matters, communication, and on.

We as Landlords don't want to be doing anything TODAY, that further damages our reputation - that bad reputation obtained from past wrongdoing by others in our name. This stigma on the name "Landlord" is one of the reasons many have taken to calling themselves "Property Managers", which is something I'll speak more on in next week's Episode #27 - "Are You The Owner? No, I'm The Property Manager."

So in this episode of the... and Landlord Podcast, I speak about being a Professional Landlord running a Rental Property BUSINESS - and I go into some of the tools that I use to this end.

Businesses have documented policies, repeatable procedures, leveraged systems, tools, and a general consistency of professional high-level operation - from day to day; week to week; month to month and year to year... Always improving at each step along the way. This is exactly what the Landlord and Rental Property profession needs - to be operated as a business!