The REI Concierge Podcast

Today, Tim and Lisa have James Maffuccio on the show!

Jim is the Co-Founder of Aspen Funds.  Aspen Funds focuses on helping investors earn high yields every quarter without the built-in volatility of traditional investment options. 

Jim Maffuccio has enjoyed a long and successful career in real estate, and has some battle scars to prove it.

Before Jim discovered note investing, he was a thriving real estate developer in southern
California. One of his projects, Traditions, even won a Gold Nugget Award. But the housing crisis brought his success to a screeching halt, teaching him a valuable lesson about market
volatility in the process. After moving to the Midwest, where he flipped houses to put food on
the table for his family, Jim came to a realization: when the market stabilized, the people on the right side of debt would cash in big. In 2009, he began investing in mortgage notes, and three years later, with his investments proving to be secure, consistent, and highly
profitable, he partnered with Bob Fraser to launch Aspen Funds. So far, the business has
purchased over 1,000 loans in more than 30 states and grown to three separate funds in just
over six years.

With Aspen Funds, Jim oversees acquisitions and underwriting as well as relationships with primary sources and key vendors. More importantly, he helps people receive consistently high yields on their investments while helping homeowners stay in their homes, too.

Aspen Funds Website
Invest Like  Billionaire Podcast


Connect with us:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Lisa
Schedule a call with Jean

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

Connect with us:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Jean

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

In today's episode Lisa and Jean discuss various transitions in RE investing and the rising rates.

Transitions come after closing on a new property, tenant turnover, changing property management companies, personal moves, and more.  Planning ahead for transitions can help decrease the stress associated with them!

Also, with rising interest rates, what can investors do to stay on top of things, keep searching out deals, and not get in over their heads?

We come up with several great ideas including:

• Keep searching and always keep your eyes open (never know when a deal will appear!)
• Exercise patience
• Zoom out -- then zoom in somewhere else.  There are SO many different markets to explore!
• Stay in community!  It's much easier to get through difficult times if you know you aren't alone -- and you aren't alone!  

Connect with Tim and Lisa:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Lisa
Schedule a call with Jean

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

Connect with us:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Jean

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

In this episode (Jean's first in a co-hosting role!!), we discuss some of the mindset barriers that come into play when choosing between a rental property as solely an investment vehicle, and choosing a location where you may want to spend more time yourself. Tune in for some tips and tricks about how to potentially find asset classes in expensive markets that allow you to affordably spend the time you want to there, AND turn a profit when you're living in your primary residence. We also discuss the continually rising interest rates, inflation, and potentially adding a mix of short term, medium term, or ADU hacks to your portfolio of long term buy and hold properties. As always, we discuss how real estate investing is not a "one size fits all" venture, and there are a million ways to be successful. Each investor has to find the mix that works for their risk tolerance, and helps them to attain their financial goals. Spoiler alert, this strategy tends to change organically as you grow your portfolio, and that is completely fine!

Connect with us:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Jean

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

Tim and Lisa talk with Eric Saul, Residential Architect and Owner of Saul Architects.

Eric lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, in addition to his architecture firm, he's a RE investor, has lots of experience flipping houses, and knows all about house hacking and ADUs.

This is a fantastic conversation that will help you sort out when you need an architect, structural engineer, contractor, or someone else to get your renovations completed professionally. 

We also talk about ADUs and think it would be worth further exploring ADUs in a full episode.  Let us know if you are interested!

More about Eric:

Ever since he could remember, Eric has been fascinated by buildings, architecture, and cities. What started with Lincoln Logs and Legos eventually became real buildings.

Eric received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Notre Dame. Following graduation, he worked for several different architecture firms in California and Maryland where he developed his skills in multi and single-family residential projects, commercial buildings, and religious facilities.  Since founding Saul Architects in 2005, Eric has designed over $100 million in construction and over 500,000 square feet.

With over 150 local projects completed to date, Saul Architects has quickly become one of the leading residential architecture firms in Takoma Park and Silver Spring, MD. Our firm has grown an extensive list of clients with projects popping up all over the area. Our clients continue to refer us while providing the highest reviews for quality, knowledge, professionalism and customer service. 

In addition to being experts in residential design, Saul Architects are also experts in obtaining Montgomery County historic area work permits, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), and Takoma Park tree protection plans.

Saul Architects is licensed to practice architecture in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.  He resides in Takoma Park, Maryland with his wife, Diana, and his dog, The Dude. When he is not designing houses or sketches urban design ideas, you can find Eric playing or coaching baseball.

Connect with Eric here.


Connect with Tim and Lisa:

Schedule a call with Tim
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Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

Connect with us:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Jean

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

Today, Tim & Lisa talk with Alton Dawsey.

Alton has worked for the Federal Government for over 19 years in both domestic and overseas assignments.  He currently resides in the Washington DC area.

Alton has been investing in RE since 2009, and has experience wholesaling, flipping, landlording, seller financing, and investing in tax liens.

He shared his experience with zeroing in on notes and tax liens as his primary RE investment strategies and why he's chosen this path.

This is a great episode with so much information!  Listen in and learn a ton!

Connect with Alton here!


Connect with Tim and Lisa:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Lisa

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

Connect with us:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Jean

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

In today's episode Tim and Lisa share a few updates on Lisa's process of (trying) to purchase a Quad.

And we discuss a recent article in The Washington Post, Investors Bought a Record Share of Homes in 2021.

While lots of institutional investors are buying homes, we think it's very important for personal investors to continue to invest and provide quality homes for our tenants.  It's an additional reason to develop this part of your financial portfolio and can be a win-win situation for both tenants and landlords!


Connect with Tim and Lisa:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Lisa

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

Connect with us:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Jean

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

Tim and Lisa discuss the ins and outs of closing from afar. 

How to keep the entire team in touch and communicating, taking proactive measures as the "Communications Manager," and the differences of closing from out of the country using the Embassy Notary Services versus using a POA.

We hope these ideas will keep you from being too stressed during your closing! 

Please reach out at any time with questions and we'll be happy to support you!


Connect with Tim and Lisa:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Lisa

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

Connect with us:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Jean

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

Our guest today is Jean Aldinger, Real Estate Agent, Investor, and our newest team member here at The REI Concierge!

Jean has years of experience investing locally in the Napa Valley as well as from a distance in the Midwest.  She brings her expertise, lessons learned, and positive outlook to her own portfolio and will be sharing with us as well!

We are super excited to be expanding our team to serve our clients better!

Enjoy getting to know Jean and learning about her journey!


Connect with Tim and Lisa:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Lisa

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

Connect with us:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Jean

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

Our guest today is Scott Sweitzer, owner of Prime Settlement and Prime Estate Planning.  Scott is also a rookie real estate investor and already finding some amazing deals!

If you've ever wondered why we need to work through Title Companies, listen up!  Scott answer this and so much more.  

Scott shares his experience with Section 8 housing as well as so many valuable insights into the importance of estate planning.  This is a great conversation and we can't wait to have Scott back for more learning!

Scott's websites:

• Prime Settlement
• Prime Estate Planning

Connect with Scott:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-sweitzer-6a30135

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/prime-settlement-inc

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/prime-estate-planning

Instagram: www.instagram.com/primeestateplanning

Instagram: www.instagram.com/primesettlement

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PrimeSettlement

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PrimeEstatePlanning

Connect with Tim and Lisa:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Lisa

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

Connect with us:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Jean

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

• Atomic Habits by James Clear (book)
• Make Life Less Difficult Podcast by Lisa Tilstra

Connect with Tim and Lisa:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Lisa

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com

Connect with us:

Schedule a call with Tim
Schedule a call with Jean

Learn more at thereiconcierge.com