The Open House Podcast: Where Women Talk Real Estate

Steph interviews Kreasha Williams, who is just an all around inspiration and your next IG obsession. Kreasha has been dabbling in different areas of creativity/design for years, and realized that there was a need for culturally inclusive and beautifully curated Airbnb spaces. She wanted to create an Airbnb that she herself would want to stay in - thus Mocha’s Home was born.

Besides her beautiful properties, Kreasha has a lot to gain inspiration from. She has hustled her way through various fields, and still is pushing her way to the top of the Airbnb empire through various endeavors, such as property management, rental arbitrage, and interior design. Trust us - you can learn a lot from this bad a** lady. Thanks so much Kreasha for joining us!

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Comments, suggestions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Want more hear more from Open House? Follow us on Instagram and check out our website!

Please stay tuned for more episodes every Tuesday, and subscribe so you don’t miss them! You can find us on Spotify, Stitcher and Apple Podcasts. If you like our content, please leave a rating and review.

Related Resources

• Kreasha’s website: Mocha’s Home
• Girl’s Empowerment Network
• Mocha’s Home IG
• Kreasha Williams IG
• 7 Steps to Become a Legal Airbnb in Austin Texas!
• A Year Airbnb-ing My Room in Austin TX
• Teacher Turned Real Estate Investor Via Househacking!
• How To Buy a House In Your Early 20’s And Make Money In Austin, TX.

In this episode, Kristina and Steph discuss ways to increase your credit score before buying a home. They draw from their personal experiences as investors, and Steph even explains in detail how she raised her credit score from 642 to 750 after only 6 months! See - it’s totally possible to raise your score in a short amount of time!

Besides ways to increase your score, they also highlight things that could negatively affect your score without you even realizing it, from $1 late payments to getting married. There is a lot to absorb and learn from this episode - so make sure to listen closely!

As Kristina mentioned, we are doing an Open House swag and Visa gift card giveaway of $250! To enter, write us a podcast review, take a screen shot, and send it to our Instagram here.

Get in Touch
Comments, suggestions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Want more hear more from Open House? Follow us on Instagram and check out our website!

Related Resources

• Mint.com - Finance management site Kristina uses
• Check your credit at both Credit Karma and Experian - calculate average
• You Need A Budget (YNAB)
• Ramit Sethi and Tim Ferris Podcast Episode

In this episode, Kristina chats with Dionte Chantel, a woman with an insanely impressive real estate portfolio, especially considering she’s only been in the biz 9 years! Dionte is a real estate entrepreneur, developer, Realtor and wealth strategist in the metropolitan New York City area. She has dabbled in it all! From wholesaling to developing to being an RE paralegal. Her range of experience has made her an expert in her field, and she is someone to really listen to and learn from.

Dionte shares so much valuable advice - and discusses how to make lifelong partnerships, learn and grow from mistakes, and give back to your community through Real Estate. She is the perfect example of fearless investing, because she takes risks, and learns and grows from them. Although she has had set backs, she has been able to build wealth through Real Estate, and educate and help others to do the same.

Get in Touch
Comments, suggestions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Want more hear more from Open House? Follow us on Instagram and check out our website!

Related Resources

• Open House Course Waitlist
• Dionte’s website
• Wholesaling defined/how to
• The Special One-Time Assistance Program (SOTA)
• Section 8 housing information
• The Reality of Rent: What Your Inaction is Costing You
• How to Legally Protect Yourself in a Real Estate Partnership

Kristina and Steph discuss in depth how to find the best realtor and lender for you. They break down the ways to weed out the contenders, and discover who is the best fit to help you along your home buying/selling journey.⁠
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From what your Realtor/lender should do for you to the questions you need to ask to find your perfect match - we will give you all the answers! You'll finish this episode with a much clearer idea of what your perfect Realtor and lender look like, and how to find them in a sea of people. And guess what? This episode will help you no matter where you live!⁠

Get in Touch
Comments, suggestions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Want more hear more from Open House? Follow us on Instagram and check out our website!

Related Resources

• Why You Should Avoid Zillow at All Costs
• Renovation Loans- Broken down by an Expert! 
• How Much Money Will I Need to Buy a House?
• Become Familiar With Your Real Estate Contract
• 5 Austin Home Buying Resources For While You’re Stuck at Home
• 7 Tips for Buying a Home with Multiple Offers in a Hot Market

Steph chats with Anjelica Rivas, an urban planner, who is passionate about creating equitable access, power and mobility, in the built environment. They discuss the problems of gentrification, limited affordable housing, HOAs, and low housing stock in Austin, and ways in which we, as buyers and investors, and do better for our entire community. From ADUs, to missing middle housing, to changing current policies, we can help make a change in our city and learn a lot from this episode.

Get in Touch
Comments, suggestions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Want more hear more from Open House? Follow us on Instagram and check out our website!

Related Resources

• First Time Homebuyer Course Waitlist
• The Alley Flat Initiative
• Friend’s of Hyde Park
• Missing Middle Housing
• Investing with Integrity with Anjelica Rivas, Webinar Recording
• How to Build a Tiny Home (ADU) blog
• Open House Podcast Episode 4: Healing From White Supremacy and Making Mindful Home Buying Decision with Kaneischa Johnson

In this episode, Kristina and Steph discuss 5 common questions they get from first-time buyers. Those questions are:

1. What is an ADU?
2. What do I do in a competitive market/multiple offer situation?
3. Should I buy a house or condo?
4. Do I need a high credit score to buy a home?
5. If I plan to move in 5 years, should I wait to buy?

Not only do they break down these questions, but they give detailed answers about how to tackle the topics as a first-time buyer. Both ladies have been in the real estate game for years, and they’ve been asked the questions countless times. Their detailed answers will minimize your fears, and make you more comfortable to tackle buying for the first time.

After listening to this episode, you will feel more ready than ever to start the buying process, and know exactly what kind of place you’re looking for, what your finances should look like, and what to do when you’re buying in a hot market.

Get in Touch
Comments, suggestions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Want more hear more from Open House? Follow us on Instagram and check out our website!

Related Resources

• Company Steph is using for her ADU: Platinum Cottages
• How to Build a Tiny Home: From Costs to Construction
• The Life of an Austin Tiny Home Dweller
• Should You House Hack a Condo or House in Austin?
• How Do I Make an Offer in Austin’s Hot Real Estate Market?

 In this episode, Kristina chats with her past client, Michu, about her first home purchase. Michu bought a major fixer upper with her partner, Lope, and talks about why she chose that home, the process of fixing it up, and why being a business owner helped her through the process. She gives some incredible advice, and breaks down prices and what she learned along the way. Through all the work, they now have around $300k in equity in their home after only spending around $60k in renovations! These numbers are wild, and there’s so much we can learn from Michu and Lope’s buying experience.

 Click here to see before and after renovation photos! 

Get in Touch
Comments, suggestions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Want more hear more from Open House? Follow us on Instagram and check out our website!

Related Resources

• Michu’s Company, In-House International
• How I Renovated My East Austin Home In 20 Days
• What to Expect When Renovating
• Renovation Loans- Broken Down by an Expert! 
• How Many Square Feet in an Acre

"Live and think differently than others now, so you can do more with your money later."

In this week’s episode, Kristina and Steph discuss 5 ways for 20 somethings to buy investment properties. These methods are all tried and true, and have been utilized by both ladies since their mid-20s.

They’ll discuss: 

1. Getting a minimum down payment program
2. House-hacking (i.e. supplementing mortgage payments with home generated income)
3. Partnering with someone (i.e. friend, significant other, family member)
4. Learning to do things on your own (i.e. repairs, upkeep)
5. Buying further from downtown for lower prices

A huge take-away is that by investing in properties, they were able to accrue wealth, and use that money to invest even further. These strategies are not just off the top of their head - they are tried and true, and they've got the properties and money to prove it!⁠ You’ll finish this episode feeling inspired to buy, and find your own ways to get creative through investing.

Get in Touch
Comments, suggestions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Want more hear more from Open House? Follow us on Instagram and check out our website!

Related Resources

• How To Buy a House In Your Early 20’s And Make Money In Austin, TX.
• How I Bought a 1 Acre House in Central Austin in my 20s
• Teacher Turned Real Estate Investor Via Househacking!
• House Hacking, Affordable housing strategies every Austinite should consider
• The 5 best ways for millennials to buy affordable homes in Austin
• How to Find Quality Roommates & Tenants 

"People in power and privilege hold the burden of change."

This week, we're doing something a little different. Rather than a traditional interview, we wanted to share a recent webinar that  Kaneischa Johnson, a Austin-based inclusive leadership and culture advocate, prepared and presented for us. This collaboration was originally intended to serve as a the start of our team's internal education around the role of white supremacy in real estate, but grew into a larger conversation we wanted to share with our community as a whole. 

This episode is fantastic starting point for anyone looking for brief history of racism and white supremacy built into real estate, steps to take when to recognize their own privilege and actionable ways to dismantle white supremacy despite being trapped in a capitalistic society. We hope it leaves you inspired (and somewhat prepared!) to ask hard questions, challenge standards, and face the ways you can empower your community through your own accountability.

Get in Touch
Comments, suggestions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Want more hear more from Open House? Follow us on Instagram and check out our website!

Related Resources

• The Color of Law (Book) - I recommend purchasing from small, black-owned book stores! 
• "How to be Anti-Racist " (Book)
• "How Redlining Shaped America" (Video) - Produced by The Root.
• "The Problem We All Live With" (Podcast - 2 parts) - Produced by This American Life
• "White People: Here's Why Moving to a Good School in a Good Neighborhood is Racist." (Blog Essay) - Available on Chicago Unheard
• "Racial Equity & Social Impact Course" (Virtual Course - 4 parts - $100 total) 

In this episode, Steph and Kristina discuss the five things you should know before buying a house, from what your realtor gets paid to how much you'll actually need to buy your first house. Most people go into the home buying process for the first time incredibly nervous because they “know nothing” - and that is ok! It’s completely normal to not know the process and what to expect - and that’s why you need to find a great agent to help you, especially one that focuses on first time home buyers.You should leave this podcast feeling more comfortable starting your home buying journey, and be even more excited to take your first steps! 

Get in Touch
Comments, suggestions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]

Want more hear more from Open House? Follow us on Instagram and check out our website!

Related Resources

• More first time buyer stories here
• Austin home buying resources
• Understanding your real estate contract
• How To Buy a House In Your Early 20’s And Make Money In Austin, TX.
• Fifteen things to know before buying in Austin
• How Much Money Will I Need to Buy a House?
• Five ways for millennials to afford Austin homes