House Money Weekly

In this week’s House Money Weekly segment, Lauren and Alan together with Mandy discuss blog 152 - What Do A, B, And C Asset Classes Mean in Real Estate? Alan finds that understanding the classes you're investing in helps you communicate with other real estate investors. Alan clarifies that an asset class does not reflect the tenant base. Second, it is simply a quick scorecard based on the property's location and condition. During their conversation, Lauren asks Alan and Mandy if they have ever been surprised when they inspected a property and found it different from how it was advertised. Mandy makes a “catfish” joke, then shares her understanding of A, B, C, and D assets. Asset Class A represents properties in the best locations and conditions, while Asset Class C and D denote those in the worst locations. Asset Class B encompasses properties that fall between these extremes. An important reminder from Alan is that just because you purchase an A-class property doesn't guarantee it will remain as such. Regarding choosing an asset class, Mandy advises knowing your goals. Lauren suggests purchasing a small multifamily property and house-hacking it, likening it to training wheels for becoming a landlord. Alan prefers to renovate to “level up” the asset class of the property.

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Mortgage Minute: Jasmine answers the question: What is an escrow account and how does it work?

Sponsored by: Jasmine Mortgage Team https://www.jasminemortgageteam.com/

Real Estate Is Easy Segment

Lauren interviews Bryce Garcia. He is currently house hacking, and out of the house hack, he runs a dog sitting business with his partner, where the dogs are their roommates! Additionally, he manages two other short-term rentals. Along the way, he started writing online about his short-term rental experiences, which deepened his interest in writing. This led him to invest in learning copywriting and ghostwriting. Bryce has been able to assist many real estate investors, whether through ghostwriting or consulting on digital marketing and lead generation from platforms like X or LinkedIn. Bryce also shares his backstory, which led him to real estate. One of his properties is performing well while the other is not. His short-term rental property in Myrtle Beach is particularly successful, having been very profitable this year with a cash-on-cash return between 15% and 20%. His other property is a condo in Austin that he originally house hacked, which started out well. However, the rise in short-term rental supply in the area led to breaking even the following year. Now, he faces a $36,000 assessment from the HOA. Bryce highly advises against buying in an HOA. Lauren asked Bryce why he chose real estate investing and what he likes about it. Bryce sees real estate as a combination of everything he loves. The potential for cash flow and the opportunity to build businesses around it caught his attention. Lastly, Bryce makes real estate easy by surrounding himself with people who are into it. This has been significant for him, as none of his friends or even his parents were into real estate investing. When he moved to Austin and met real estate investors, Bryce found that real estate investing became more accessible. Alan is a huge fan of meeting people in person, or at least on video or by phone. Mandy believes that you are the average of the 5 people closest to you, and that’s why she agrees with Bryce.

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https://x.com/brycewgarcia

Guest Host Segment

Guest Host Mandy shares that small multi-family properties are the very fastest way to reach financial freedom. Mandy recommends starting with house hacking. Alan agrees that is the safest way and the fastest way to build wealth. They take a little side quest to discuss books before diving back in. This is advice from Alan: if you're pre-qualified for a $200,000 single family house, you're probably qualified with the same amount of money and same down payment as a million-dollar quadruplex. Alan thinks this is the safer approach: if you lose your job, you still have some people paying your mortgage for you. You become a millionaire by waiting. Mandy agrees that scale is safer. Mandy's reminder to the people she meets when it comes to buying small multi is it is not harder, it's just more. And you have access to people who give you more time.

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House Money Weekly

In this week’s House Money Weekly segment, Lauren and Alan discuss blog 150 - The BROKE Method to Buy Real Estate with No Money.  Alan figured out a way to buy more than $30 million in real estate without using his own money. It sounds easy, but it's actually a lot of work. He came up with the "BROKE Method" to explain how he does it. The "B" stands for Big Deal Finder. This means there's a lot of money involved or you can make a big profit, but you have to bring something valuable to the deal. Once you find a good deal, it's easier to get money and find partners. Being good at finding these big deals is the first important step. The "R" stands for Reputational Pull. Having a good reputation not only attracts people who want to invest with you but also attracts opportunities that aren't available to everyone. Alan's reputation comes from owning small multi-families in Atlanta. He lets people know that if they ever want to sell, they can come to him. Whatever you're good at, make sure people know about it. The "O" stands for Ongoing Outreach. You can't just tell people once what you're looking for. You must keep updating them and keep talking to new people. The "K" stands for Knuckle Up Ability. Since Alan isn't using his own money, he must work hard instead. He might have to manage workers or do tough jobs himself. The "E" stands for Execution Option. Not every plan will work perfectly, so you need to have backup plans. Alan likes for each deal to have 3 ways it can make money. Being flexible and having different options is key.

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Mortgage Minute: Jasmine answers the question: How often does the lending quote change by the time you get under contract?

Sponsored by: Jasmine Mortgage Team https://www.jasminemortgageteam.com/

Real Estate Is Easy Segment

Lauren interviewed Kelly Koontz, CEO of Submeter Solutions in Seattle. His company specializes in submetering and utility recovery for multifamily properties. Kelly believes too many landlords are paying their tenants’ utilities. He explained that in many multifamily properties, utilities are lumped into the building's expenses, leaving landlords to figure out how to bill tenants for their share. Kelly highlighted the benefits of using submeters in buildings. Submeters are accurate and affordable water meters installed in each unit, allowing tenants to pay only for the utilities they use. For example, installing submeters in a five-unit building costs less than $3,000 total, with landlords recouping their investment in under a year. He also explained the difference between submetering (installing meters for individual units) and utility recovery (billing tenants for their utilities, RUBS – ratio utility billing method). Lastly, Kelly shares that makes real estate easy by relieving landlords of the burden of estimating utility costs. Instead, his company ensures that these costs are accurately passed on to residents. Additionally, they offer a utility billing service to landlords, handling the setup and sending detailed bills to residents every month. They even collect payments and reimburse the landlord accordingly.

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Third Segment

Lauren talks about surveillance cameras. Lauren and Alan have different views on surveillance cameras. Alan uses them for some of his homes and Airbnbs, with just a Ring camera outside. Meanwhile, Lauren has cameras around all her properties, but they're only outside. Before April 30th, 2024, Airbnb allowed inside cameras if disclosed and not where there would be an expectation of privacy. Alan would be uncomfortable and wouldn't book a place if he knew there was an interior camera, even if it was disclosed. Lauren is unsure about having inside cameras. As a woman renting a room, she might want hallway or kitchen cameras for safety if there's a male neighbor next door. She's also concerned about not being able to protect herself if she were to home share. Cameras can't even go in locked spaces like the owner’s closets for theft prevention. Lauren experiences having inquiries about properties but not pushing through the booking because they are not comfortable with exterior cameras that are just there for safety purposes. Alan also noticed that most security cameras are now worthless because burglars have figured out how to jam Wi-Fi signals so if your camera is not hardwired then they know how to cut the power and make them temporarily useless.

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House Money Weekly

In this week’s House Money Weekly segment, Lauren and Alan together with guest host Bryce discuss blog 153 - What do I do if my town changes its STR rules? Lauren and Bryce both specialize in short-term rentals (STRs) for their real estate investments. Bryce owns properties in Austin, where a recent rule change now allows property owners to list their homes as STRs without needing to establish them as homesteads first. Option #1 suggests selling your Airbnb if new STR rules prevent you from renting it as an STR. Alan noted that some listings advertise as a "furnished property," meaning they’re selling not just the home but also its furniture. The upside is that a well-updated, well-furnished property in a desirable area can sell quickly. However, the downside is a lot of formerly Airbnb properties are also for sale. If many other Airbnb properties hit the market at the same time, competition could be tough. Alan advises considering selling before the laws are finalized to avoid complications. Lauren sees this as an option but not her top choice. Option #3 (discussed second) is to make sure you can pivot into a mid-term or long-term rental. This means offering stays of 30 days or longer for mid-term, and year-long leases for long-term rentals. Bryce successfully converted his STR into a mid-term rental, hosting tenants for periods ranging from 30 to 60 days. Option #2 (discussed last) is to turn your STR to a primary (or secondary) home. If your property is already furnished and in a desirable location, this could be a practical move. If it is a second home and not a rental property, the majority of the days you're using it is for your own use or your family's own use rather than to make money off of it. Some benefits of this are that you can get cheaper insurance and better loan rates. Preparing for rule changes involves thinking ahead, so have a backup plan for each property!

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Mortgage Minute: Jasmine answers the question: What are the differences between an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) and a fixed rate mortgage?

Sponsored by: Jasmine Mortgage Team https://www.jasminemortgageteam.com/

Real Estate Is Easy Segment

Lauren interviewed Matt Weber, a partner and Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Alpha Funding, who transitioned from being a personal trainer to becoming a real estate investor and hard money lender. Matt pointed out common misconceptions about real estate investing, such as the belief that you always need substantial funds to get started. He emphasized that money is widely available and that investors don't need to handle every aspect alone; instead, they can rely on a supportive team. He also clarified the concept of hard money loans, noting their typical duration of 12 to 18 months and the benefit of paying interest only on the loan rather than the principal. Hard money is an asset-based collateralized loan. They’re not owner-occupied loans. Having been involved in lending since 2007, Matt highlighted the risks investors face, particularly from unexpected external events like global pandemics. He stressed the importance of having a solid support system in place to navigate such challenges. Unlike traditional lending where personal finances are scrutinized, Matt's approach involves underwriting the deals themselves, focusing on the viability of each investment opportunity. And lastly, Matt makes real estate easy by putting good people around him. All hosts agree having the right team makes all the difference. Bryce shares a great example.

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Guest Host Segment

Guest Host Bryce talked about creating content about real estate. He met Lauren on X/Twitter during a Twitter Space. Bryce was inspired by how Lauren shared her real estate journey and her quick analysis of rental properties. This motivated Bryce to start doing the same. One of his popular posts was about his experience with his condo’s HOA, which caught the attention of many people who had similar experiences. Unexpectedly, some people have hired Bryce to help them on social media. Bryce wanted to know Alan and Lauren’s thoughts on the impact of writing and posting real estate stuff on different social media platforms. Alan said he gets his best deals because people knew he buys properties in Atlanta, which he talks about on Twitter and in podcasts. Lauren noticed that social media overwhelms some people. She agreed with Alan that some people consume social media, while others create content. Lauren suggested that starting with simple actions, like writing a tweet and hitting send, can be the easiest way to begin. Eventually, you can add other platforms as well. After a while, you have a backlog of content you can repurpose too. Together, the hosts and Bryce talked about how to effectively use social media to share their investing journeys.

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Book mentioned: Story Worthy

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Happy Independence Day (July 4th) to our American listeners!

Alan and Lauren are taking this week off and stop by with a quick message for you all.

In short, they're going to take a break soon (July 25 - Aug 29). They give some updates on their lives and briefly give some rental updates. Lauren is also busy with a move and vacations, and Alan's real estate realtor business is picking up. So, you can look forward to 3 more original episodes this month, then they're going to be taking a month off of the podcast and blog.

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House Money Weekly

In this week’s House Money Weekly segment, Lauren and Alan discuss blog 157 - Boost STR Returns with These Airbnb Alternatives. When it comes to Short-Term Rentals, it is hard to stand out especially if you're new to Airbnb because of the intense competition. The 1st alternative is Hopper which is ideal for last-minute bookings. If you need to purchase a plane ticket or visit a specific city on short notice, this app allows you to make bookings quickly. You can list your property on Hopper, making it available for immediate bookings when cancellations occur. Lauren notes that OwnerRez API integrates with Hopper. The 2nd alternative is Kid & Coe, catering specifically to family bookings. If your short-term rental is child-friendly and located near playgrounds, or equipped with amenities like trampolines or swimming pools, this platform is tailored for you. Lauren is concerned about maintaining kid-friendly items such as pack and plays, which may get misplaced or damaged. The 3rd alternative is Peerspace that focuses on booking spaces rather than overnight stays. If you have a large room suitable for corporate meetings, photoshoots, or workshops, you can list it here. As a property owner, you can also explore other listings on Peerspace for inspiration. Bookings on Peerspace can be hourly or half-day, offering an additional income stream between guest stays. The 4th alternative is Flok, which is designed for booking retreats. It caters to companies organizing business retreats or startups planning off-site meetings. Typical amenities include conference-size tables and spacious living areas equipped for presentations. Flok is popular among customers and small business owners looking for short-term rental options ranging from weekends to week-long stays. In conclusion, all 4 alternatives discussed have a niche and it exists because the riches are in the niches. So understand your short term rental niche and make sure it's being promoted!

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Mortgage Minute: Jasmine answers the question: How do you calculate property tax?

Sponsored by: Jasmine Mortgage Team https://www.jasminemortgageteam.com/

Real Estate Is Easy Segment

Lauren interviews Matthew Teifke. He's been in the real estate business for 13 years and he started in college. When he was in first year, he got rookie of the year as an agent and ended up getting his master's degree of commercial real estate from Texas A&M University. He is currently a 50/50 partner on about $70 million worth of real estate and he owns a brokerage out of Austin, Texas, and they have about 130 real estate agents. Matthew shares how he saw his mother who worked, cleaned houses and saved up to buy rental properties and that inspires him. One of Matthew's mom's strategies is to buy and rent a property and have it paid off and that will be her retirement and for Matthew, his strategy was starting as an agent and he just wanted to learn as much as he could. Matthew also shares his own definition of Commercial Real Estate and that is RV parks, retail buildings like shopping centers, apartments and basically anything outside a single family. Lauren and Matthew also talk about retail spaces and Matthew feels like it's overlooked right now and there's less people actively trying to buy those deals. For Matthew, he believes that the opportunities are bigger in retail real estate and also RV parks. Matthew noticed that a lot of single-family investors want to scale up over time and get into multifamily but they don't think about retail or RV parks. Matthew is a big believer that real estate is a team sport and getting the right team in place can make retail exciting. Lauren thinks that being a solo operator feels safer than doing partnerships because when you are in a partnership, a lot of things can potentially go wrong in terms of relationship and contract disputes. Matthew says there’s actually less risk in partnerships, as long as it’s the right people. And lastly, Matthew makes real estate easy by having your team.

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Third Segment

Alan wanted to talk more about short-term rentals with Lauren with the Entrepreneur piece by Dan Latu with the headline, “Airbnb host battles nightmare guest squatters who refuse to leave after 8 months and they say they're legal residents.” Stories involving squatters have become prevalent in the real estate sphere, motivating Alan to discuss potential red flags highlighted in the article with Lauren. One significant red flag mentioned in the piece was when the guests initially booked a rental for two guests from October 25th to May 24th. The situation took a concerning turn when the woman requested to continue their communication off the Airbnb platform and exclusively through cell phone. Upon moving in, she insisted on making payments solely in cash instead of using Airbnb's payment system. Lauren recognized several alarming aspects in the story. Another red flag is that the guests were consistently late with their payments almost every month because the credit card linked to their Airbnb account frequently bounced. The next red flag is when the guests did not check out as scheduled. The Airbnb host accommodated their request to extend their stay for the weekend. Subsequently, the guests posted a notice on the door asserting their status as legal residents of the home. They warned that they would pursue legal action against anyone approaching the property and declared their intention to remain until formally evicted. This situation persisted for a total of eight months. Lauren shares her own story of when an Airbnb guest attempted to squat in one of her properties. Alan provides some insights on evictions in Georgia.

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In this week’s House Money Podcast episode, we have for you Adulting Is Easy Podcast episode 148 by Lauren Keen Aumond where she talks to Alan Corey and discusses his book “A Million Bucks By 30.” Alan grew up with parents who were public school teachers, so he knew about money but didn't have much himself. He decided he wanted to make a million dollars by the time he turned 30 and write a book about how he did it. He started right after college, when he was 21 years old. Alan's plan was to save a lot of his earnings by sending a big chunk of his paycheck to a bank across town so he couldn’t easily get to the money there. At only a $50k salary per year, he was saving more than half! He did a lot of side hustling as well, with surveys and things like that. After that, every January 1st, he'd check how much he saved and use it to buy property. His first move was putting $10,000 down on a $99,600 condo in Brooklyn, which he bought when not many people were buying property in New York City after 9/11. Alan made saving money into a game and thought about his future self when making decisions. He was patient and didn't spend money on immediate pleasures. He even rented out part of his one-bedroom condo to help pay for it. Now that he's achieved his goal of becoming a millionaire, Alan and Lauren both agree that it's smart to start by paying yourself first and earning more. Of course, they both know that house hacking helped catapult their wealth. They say that building wealth opens up opportunities, but you have to start somewhere. Note that growing your wealth is important, but it’s not the most important thing in life. Alan didn’t become instantly happier when he became a millionaire. Now, Alan is a fan of starting with discipline and watching spending but focusing on earning more later. Lauren agrees and outlines how she did both in her 20s. Getting into sales is a great way to earn more. Alan and Lauren also discuss House Money Media.

Mortgage Minute: Jasmine answers the question: What does DTI stand for and why is that so important to know?

Sponsored by: Jasmine Mortgage Team https://www.jasminemortgageteam.com/

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House Money Weekly

In this week’s House Money Weekly segment, Lauren and Alan get together with their special guest Kelly Koontz. They discuss blog 149, Avoid These 3 Common Real Estate Scams. There are way more than 3 out there but these are some of the scams Alan or his clients have experienced. Scam #1 is wire instructions spoofing. For this scam, the scammers get access to the email of the real estate agents, or mortgage lender, or client and they sit in the inbox waiting for a message. They will send an email to whoever has to wire the money and typically it's the buyer or the closing attorney. The scammers will spoof emails, pretending to be the closing attorney with the email signature that looks exactly the same with a fake email address with a message of wiring a money urgently. Unfortunately, Alan had a client who fell for this scam. When Lauren first started in real estate, the sellers would send the wire instructions, but now, it’s a PDF with wire instructions but also it has an instruction to call a number to get those four numbers which adds another step but that stops the buyer from getting scammed. Kelly had a close business owner friend who experienced getting scammed similarly. Kelly reminds us that you should not think that getting scammed is only happening to somebody else, it is real and it's happening all over the place. Scam #2 is WhatsApp Conversations. Scammers will pretend to be a new client and will tell you to move the conversation to WhatsApp. If you're talking to a wholesaler, an agent, or a lender and they want to move the conversation to WhatsApp, it's probably a scam because that's not how business is done in the United States. The reason scammers do this is because it can be encrypted and anonymous, it doesn't cost them any fees and they can easily hide. Scam #3 is Buying a Timeshare. Timeshare is like a hotel resort but you only get to book a week. Every week of your chosen week is “yours” at a certain hotel, you pay for a downpayment of approximately $30,000 and you pay for an “HOA” fee each year. If you ever want to sell your timeshare, they'll never resell or buy yours, you're on your own. That's why a scam companies were formed. There will be law firms who pretend like they’re going to help you get out of your timeshare and then you will pay them $20,000 and once paid, they will be gone. In summary: 1) beware of urgency, 2) there’s no free lunch, 3) know if you’re the kind of person who could get scammed, and 4) when it comes to timeshares, remember that you should value flexibility. 

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Mortgage Minute: Jasmine answers the question: What are closing costs?

Sponsored by: Jasmine Mortgage Team https://www.jasminemortgageteam.com/

Real Estate Is Easy Segment

Lauren interviews Eric Hughes. He is a real estate investor and coach. He lives in New York and Florida. He has 25 doors in Memphis, Tennessee, of basically almost all single family homes and one duplex. He runs the website Rental Income Advisors that is particularly catered for new investors. He chose Memphis because when he was deciding where to invest, he wanted to get into a market where he could cash flow. So, he had to go to a low cost of living market where homes were cheap and Memphis was one of those places. Lauren asks Eric if all rental properties don't have cash flow, and he explains why all rental properties do not have cash flow and why some weren't even meant to cash flow. Most of Eric’s portfolio is in Low-B neighborhoods, so not the most expensive neighborhoods in Memphis but also not the worst neighborhoods. It is sort of like working class neighborhoods and homes cost $120,000. They rent for $1100-$1200 per month, which is a 7.5 cap, and a 5-8% cash on cash return. Since Eric lives in 2 different states (neither of which is where his portfolio is located), Lauren asks if he has any hesitation or fear about investing out of state. He bought one property first to see how the process worked with a property manager and everything was normal. The idea that you can just be sitting in New York and buying a property in Memphis, turning it over to somebody else to manage it cuts against a lot of the traditional real estate guidance that many people have encountered. Even after leaving his job to focus on his portfolio, having these 25 rentals helps him to pay all his bills, even though he has loans on most of them. Aside from his portfolio, he also has a coaching business and some bookkeeping for small businesses is his sources of income. Right now, Eric doesn’t have a lot of future plans on his real estate investing journey, his portfolio is functional and still serving its purpose. And lastly, Eric makes real estate easy by keeping it simple.

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[email protected]

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Guest Host Segment

Guest Host Kelly discusses utility recovery and managing utility costs. For example, let’s say there is a toilet flapper that's running in somebody's unit and the resident doesn’t have any direct responsibility for how much water is being used and the responsibility will go to the owner of the property. One of the highlights he found is that people don't realize that the little sound of that water running in the toilet can be easily 6,000 gallons of water over a month. If you get a water submeter installed on your property, the algorithms in the data collection can see that the water is running for 24 straight hours and the owner can get an email or a text the next day that tells them they need to go check that out and when that happens everybody wins. The hosts share their experience of having a massive water bill out of nowhere and how Kelly’s advanced submeter can help them. Alan adds that you need to know what the laws are when billing for utilities.

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House Money Weekly

In this week’s House Money Weekly segment, Lauren and Alan get together with their special guest, Matt. They discuss blog 148, 3 red flags you might be a slumlord. Alan bought 50 single family homes with an average price of $30,000 and he wrote this blog because when he tells people that he’s a landlord, people will tell him he is a slumlord. Alan wants to clarify that the price of the home does not determine whether you are a slumlord. Red flag No. 1 that you are a slum lord is when your property is unsafe for tenants. Slumlords are known for providing unsafe housing that usually comes from ignoring repairs or trying to not have a lease and only taking rent payments in cash. Red flag No. 2 that you are a slum lord is when they operate in cash. Lauren noticed that some tenants think that you are a slumlord if you're not fixing everything all the time but there is a delicate balance between keeping things safe, like by keeping them cooled or heated and keeping water running, versus nice-to-have updates. She also points out that you should only be renting units that are safe for people. Red flag No. 3 that you are a slum lord is that you break fair housing rules.

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Mortgage Minute: Jasmine answers the question: What can investors do to make getting a loan easier?

Sponsored by: Jasmine Mortgage Team https://www.jasminemortgageteam.com/

Real Estate Is Easy Segment

Lauren interviews Michael Albaum. He is a Fire Protection Engineer turned real estate investor that became a real estate consultant and van lifer. He started his career as a Fire Protection Engineer in the insurance industry. Michael originally thought bigger was better, so he owned 75 doors, but that was a little bit too big for him. Currently, he now has 65 doors which consist of single family, condo, small multi family, and some commercial multi family. He also has short-term and mid-term rentals which started doing because of the pandemic. Furnish Finder is what Michael uses as a platform for listing his midterm rentals. Michael shares that he manages his properties remotely. Lauren and Michael started doing short-term rentals in the same year which is 2021 and that was the peak of short-term rentals. He has 3 in the smokies currently, one of which he’s going to arbitrage out soon. Lauren asks Michael what he thinks about the future of short-term rentals. Michael is also more excited about short-term space now than in 2021 because it’s getting harder and those who are good at this will survive while those who don't won’t. Michael believes if you’re thinking of entering short-term rentals, figure out how to be one of the good ones and don’t just try it because you heard it is easy money. And lastly, Michael makes real estate easy by setting yourself up the right way from day one.

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https://twitter.com/MichaelAlbaum

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https://www.myfiacademy.com/

Guest Host Segment

Guest Host Matt debunks the myth that people need money to invest in real estate. Matt shares their new program called MB Alpha. It is like a business working capital that is not secured by anything and you can use it and complement that with Alpha’s money which is 80 to 90% of the funds. Alan clarifies what you’d use this money for, and there are a lot of options. He also clarifies the terms: one-year 10-12% interest only is typical. Lauren asks Matt if early investors can execute this when they've never done a deal before, and Matt says the answer is yes. The hosts then talk about their hard money loan experience. Matt’s company prides themselves on their personal touch. Don’t forget to check out House Money Media’s BROKE Method course too.

Follow Our Guest Host:

https://www.alphafunding.com

https://www.instagram.com/alpha_funding

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Lauren:

https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

https://www.youtube.com/@adultingiseasy

Alan:

https://twitter.com/RealEstateMaxi

https://www.instagram.com/realestatemaxi

House Money Weekly

In this week’s House Money Weekly segment, Lauren and Alan get together with their special guest Matthew Teifke. They discuss blog 147, the five most important things about your short-term rental business. Alan wrote this blog with Lauren’s help, obviously. One important thing to remember is that short-term rentals are more than just real estate investing. You are a host - not just a property manager. You have guests - not tenants. You must provide an experience for your guests. Lauren shares that she spends 20 minutes a day for her 9 short-term rentals. Matthew’s opinion is to never buy real estate that has only one strategy that works. The 2nd important thing to remember is the systems are good for both the host and the guest. If everything is systematized (rules, check in procedures, check out procedures, communication, house rules) then every guest has the exact same experience then the reviews will reflect that which is an excellent way to make the short-term rental investing successful. For Lauren, if you're not systematizing and automating, you're going to end up in a lot of difficult one-off situations. The 3rd important thing is to never stop analyzing your market. Look at the average daily rate of the neighborhood and the average length of stay because it changes from pre-purchasing to the quarter after buying and then the year after buying. Lauren analyzes her markets approximately monthly and she looks at which amenities other people add while still keeping the amenities she offers very limited. The 4th important thing is to treat your extended team very well even if it means overpaying them because it will go much further in the long run. And the 5th important thing is that reviews trump everything. Remember, you're running an online review business and not just a real estate investing business because reviews will either make or break you.

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Mortgage Minute: Jasmine answers the question: Why does a good credit score matter?

Sponsored by: Jasmine Mortgage Team https://www.jasminemortgageteam.com/

Real Estate Is Easy Segment

Lauren interviews Danielle Fountain, the founder of The One Realty in Austin. They focus on taking a data driven all in one approach to real estate. She was in the military for 10 years. Then, she realized that she has a passion for numbers and for people and that’s where The One Realty was born. Lauren asks Danielle about the Austin real estate market and it has been in the news even pre-pandemic because it went way up and appreciated on average by about 65% from May 2022 until November of 2023 and then it dropped around 21%. One thing Danielle does is she posts daily on what is happening in Austin's real estate and she looks at data numbers every day. Danielle also shares what she saw in the real estate market of Austin and what are the probable causes of the price increase and drop. Danielle’s advice to the people who are scared of the idea that if they buy a property then suddenly price goes down is that real estate is not day trading. You have to look at real estate as a long-term plan. Lauren asks Danielle a controversial question "is your primary home an investment?" Danielle’s answer is that it’s an investment if the cash out is utilized. If you're not using any value from it and you're just living in it, then it's not. Danielle looks at her primary as a long-term investment because eventually she’ll rent it out and it will no longer be her primary. She will keep it and she will buy her next one. And lastly, Danielle makes real estate easy by being data driven. Matthew, Lauren, and Alan react and agree with Danielle.

Contact our Guest:

https://theonerealty.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellemarieatx

Guest Host Segment

Guest Host Matthew discusses the market right now. Matthew sees that there are crazy deals out there, but you just have to do singles and doubles deals and then you will find home runs along the way but don't just wait for it and just be on the sideline the whole time. Matthew believes we’re at the bottom, so get off the sideline. Alan shares his experience of investing in his first property when the market was at its lowest and how markets improve which turns into a double or triple. Alan is a fan of thinking of each property as a lottery ticket. Matthew thinks one deal can charge your life, but you need to be in the game to get it! Lauren says that you can't recognize home run pitches if you aren't looking at a lot of other pitches first. The hosts close by encouraging you to analyze deals and make offers TODAY.

Note that both Alan and Matthew will be on the show Real Estate King on Apple TV in June!

Follow Our Guest Host:

https://www.teifkerealestate.com/

https://www.instagram.com/matthewteifke/

https://www.instagram.com/teifkerealestate/

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Lauren:

https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

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House Money Podcast Episode 50

This week's House Money Podcast brings you something special! As we count down to our one-year anniversary celebration, we're shaking things up with a bloopers and outtakes episode. It's been an incredible year filled with laughter and conversations about the real estate market. Each week, we dive into various discussions, but now it's time to take a lighthearted look behind the scenes. Join us for this fun-filled blooper episode, reminding us that even in the world of real estate, laughter is the best medicine. Here's to one year of House Money Podcast – let the bloopers roll.

Mortgage Minute: Jasmine answers the question: Why does a good credit score matter?

Sponsored by: Jasmine Mortgage Team https://www.jasminemortgageteam.com/

Follow House Money Media:

https://twitter.com/HouseMoneyMedia

https://www.instagram.com/housemoney.media/

https://www.youtube.com/@house-money

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Follow Your Hosts:

Lauren:

https://twitter.com/AdultingIsEasy

https://www.instagram.com/adultingiseasyreal/

https://www.youtube.com/@adultingiseasy

Alan:

https://twitter.com/RealEstateMaxi

https://www.instagram.com/realestatemaxi