BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast - 668: 10 Units in 3 Years and Giving Back While Getting Ahead w/Zasha Smith

Episode Date: September 29, 2022

Reaching financial freedom doesn’t mean grinding away for decades to finally retire. It may only take a couple of deals for you to create enough traction to quit your W2 or go full-time into investi...ng. But what if you have a family and children to support? Surely there’s no way to hit quick financial independence with those responsibilities? If you’re still not persuaded, hear Zasha Smith’s story. Zasha was working sixty-hour weeks, sometimes every day of the week, as a civil engineer. She knew that continuing down this career path would lead to long days, even longer nights, and time away from her children. After a quick Google search on “how to get rich,” she stumbled upon real estate investing. After her first successful home flip and her first rental property purchase, she gave her resignation, and the rest is history. Now, she’s got a portfolio capable of providing her a financially free lifestyle, with ten units acquired in just three years. Mind you, this all happened during the events of 2020, meaning Zasha deserves even more credit! She’s currently using her wealth to give back to the community, with plans to build affordable housing throughout her home state of Hawaii. Her “give back, get ahead” mentality is surely working, and it’s something all real estate investors should try. In This Episode We Cover: When to quit your W2 and pursue full-time real estate investing Finding off-market deals and beating Brandon Turner in his own backyard Affordable housing and how you, the landlord, can help those who have limited resources Masterminds, real estate meetups, and other ways to quickly grow your investing network  Real estate partnerships and red flags that every investor must pay attention to Giving back to the community and mentoring others who are just getting started And So Much More! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Youtube Channel BiggerPockets Forums BiggerPockets Pro Membership BiggerPockets Bookstore BiggerPockets Bootcamps BiggerPockets Podcast Get Your Ticket for BPCon 2022 Listen to All Your Favorite BiggerPockets Podcasts in One Place Learn About Real Estate, The Housing Market, and Money Management with The BiggerPockets Podcasts Get More Deals Done with The BiggerPockets Investing Tools Find a BiggerPockets Real Estate Meetup in Your Area David's BiggerPockets Profile David's Instagram Rob's BiggerPockets Profile Rob's Youtube Rob's Instagram Rob's TikTok Rob's Twitter Find the Real Estate Professional You Need Why I’m Investing in Affordable Housing for the Long Haul 10 Challenges to Seriously Consider BEFORE Quitting Your Day Job Books Mentioned in the Show: Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat by David Greene Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki Connect with Zasha: Zasha's BiggerPockets Zasha's Instagram Click here to check the full show notes: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-668 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Check out our sponsor page! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 This is the Bigger Pockets Podcast show 668. I feel like educating people on what exactly it is we do as real estate investors is very important. We're not out there buying deals for really low price points and then reselling it for really high without doing any work in between. A lot of times people don't know we buy homes that are in complete distress. They might have abandoned cars in the front. People might be in some sort of financial. natural situation that they can't get out of, and we're providing different solutions.
Starting point is 00:00:34 What is going on, everyone? This is David Green, your host of the Bigger Pockets Real Estate podcast here today with my co-host Rob Avasolo. If I sound a little different, you're not crazy. Today I'm recording from Scottsdale, so I don't have my normal audio and video equipment. I'm here in the casita of the house that Rob and I built because I freaking love this place and love being in the area. So we're recording the podcast. I'm in Scottsdale. Rob's at his normal place, but we're going to have to keep this intro short because somebody has to go to Austin, Texas with his wife because they are lazy and don't want to work. That's true. Listen, listen, we have two children. They're one and two and a half, and we have never vacated. I think that's how
Starting point is 00:01:13 you can, we've never vacationed away from them ever. This is going to be our first. We're going to leave tonight. Leave Thursday. We're going to be back on Friday. We're scared. We have faith in my parents to pull this off, but to be honest, I've been sweating bullets thinking about it. But it's going to be okay because I'm going to try to relax, which is something I never do. Today we have an awesome episode for you. We bring in Zasha Smith, who is invest with Sasha on Instagram. Sort of has a little connection to Brandon Turner out there in Maui. She's a Maui investor. And you want to make sure you listen all the way to the end because we tell a very funny story of how Zasha took a deal right out of Brandon's grasp. Recently, I've become
Starting point is 00:01:51 addicted to these horrible short videos on Instagram, which might also be on TikTok, of like crazy animals in Africa doing insane things. So you'll see like a lion comes steal food away from a hyena or a crocodile take food out of another crocodile's mouth. And that was what reminded me of with this deal that Zasha talks about is that Brandon thought that he had it and then boom at the last minute. She got it and she tells us exactly how so you can do it too. Zasha is passionate about giving back while building wealth. And I love it because she doesn't have it's me or you. I have to get ahead or I can help you get ahead. She's getting a good. She's getting ahead while helping others, and she does it in several ways. She does it by providing affordable
Starting point is 00:02:30 housing to her local community. She does it by providing mentorship and knowledge through the partnerships she's in and the masterminds that she attends. And she often approaches how to put a deal together in a way that works for everybody with a lot of integrity. So if you're somebody with a strong conscious that wants to find financial freedom, but you worry that doing that is going to make you a bad person today is a fantastic show for how you can put that to ease and see a path that you can take that helps other people while helping yourself. Rob, what were your favorite parts of today's show? Well, you know, typically I would add in like, you know, how the community aspect was great and how she's questioning it on the content. But my wife did just text me and she said, don't dilly-dally,
Starting point is 00:03:09 you have to pack. So I'm just going to say everything that you said was actually my favorite part. It was really nice to honestly, legitimately hear the human side of real estate. I think that's something that is very important for people to learn. Don't, you know, again, we're all chasing cash flow. We all want that, but she really tells a story about how it's like human first, right? Be personal with people and treat them like people. And if you do that, you can have really great success in this field. I want to get a T-shirt made that says, Chase Excellence, not Cash Flow. How about the cash flow? Don't Dilley, Chase Excellence. We'll workshop it. I was actually going to make a reference to your use of Dilley-Dally because it's equally
Starting point is 00:03:49 parts impressive and embarrassing that you were able to work that into a show. Rob, the 28-year-old the guy going on 77 every time we record. Do you ever notice how every passive investment somehow turns into a very active lifestyle, active spreadsheets, active phone calls, active stress? Here's a better question. What if you could buy brand new construction homes, 10% below market value, in the best markets across the country, without making real estate your second job? That's exactly what rent to retirement does.
Starting point is 00:04:19 They're a full service, turnkey investment company handling everything for you. In some cases, investors get 50 to 60. 75% of our down payment back at closing, plus interest rates as low as 3.75%. They've partnered with BiggerPockets for over a decade, helping thousands invest smarter. If you want to do the same, visit BiggerPockets.com slash retirement to learn more. Have you ever lost a DSCR deal because the financing just took too long? Red flags popped up late. The lender needed more time. The deal fell apart. Well, our friends at Dominion Financial just launched a program to help prevent that. With their new express rental loan, you can close in 10 days or less. And they still offer their price
Starting point is 00:05:00 beat guarantee so you can get great pricing and a timeline you can count on. Fast, simple, reliable. That's Dominion financial. Check them out at biggerpockets.com slash dominion. That's biggerpockets.com slash dominion. A lot of property managers think their job is answering tenant emails and coordinating repairs. That's not the job. The job of a property manager is protecting and growing your operating income and earning your trust while they do it. And that comes down to three numbers, occupancy, delinquency, and net promoter score. If those numbers slip, your income slips, and your trust slips too. And most PMs don't hold themselves to performance standards. They focus on activity, not outcomes. Mind is different. They obsess over the metrics that actually
Starting point is 00:05:49 grow your cash flow. Go to mind.com slash show me to see how much mind performs and get a month of management for free. Because if you're going to hire a property manager, hire one that manages your investment like an investment. Before we bring in Zasha, today's quick tip is consider making real estate your job. There's so many ways that you can make money in real estate other than just owning it and getting cash flow. You can flip houses, you can work for somebody else. Zasha has an acquisition manager that works for her who is the hero in the deal that she took from Brandon. You could be a real estate agent, a loan officer, a title officer, construction person, a bookkeeper, there are so many ways that you can make a living through real
Starting point is 00:06:27 estate. And the reason that I'm advising you to do it is you want the life that Rob lives. You want to be able to get in a car with your wife and take off to Austin and go to other places and not be thinking the whole time, oh my gosh, I'm using all my PTO. This trip is costing so much money. We can't stop and get corn nuts on the way because we're spending all of our money and gas. What you want to be thinking is I'm going to take a trip. And on this trip, I'm going to make more money in real estate than I spent to go on it so I get paid to take a trip. Real estate offers that flexibility. You know, I don't want to brag, okay? I try to be as humble as I can here, but we are actually taking a bus to Austin, Texas. It's Vaughn Lane. Apparently it's nice. I don't know.
Starting point is 00:07:06 I gave you credit by saying, okay. Well, you said, we're getting in the car and going. We're actually taking a bus that apparently serves food and drink. I don't know. I've never heard of it before, but it should be fun. Just want to remind you, ask yourself the question, how can you make an impact as you build your wealth. It makes the journey a lot more fun as well as satisfying in the end. All right, enough of listening to me, Yak. Let's bring in Zasha. And Zasha Smith, welcome to the Bigger Pockets podcast. This has been a long time coming. So glad to have you today. Aloha, everybody. Aloha. So for those of you who don't know, you can follow Zasha on Instagram at, is it invest with Zasha? Is that the handle? Yeah. Zasha and I have been sort of like aware of each other
Starting point is 00:07:48 through online things. I think we met briefly in Maui one time. And now we get to have her on the show. Zasha, can you tell us how you got started in real estate? Well, I feel like I'm just the average person who was working there, W-2. I had been working as a civil engineer for 10 years. And I was working 60 to 70-hour weeks going in on Saturdays. I seen my boss going in on Sundays and thought to myself, this is going to be my life. I'm now going to be working seven days a week on a 40-hour a week's salary and I wanted a change. And so I basically, you know, started Googling something silly like how to get rich and quick your job or what is the top way to build wealth. And I found out that majority of the people that had been coming up had some sort of stake in real estate.
Starting point is 00:08:39 And so from there, I stumbled upon bigger pockets, started listening to the podcast, going on the website, connecting with other investors, started attending meetups, and really gained that confidence to know that I could buy a rental property because I live in Maui, Hawaii, where the medium home price is over a million dollars. So I never thought of owning anything else but my own home. And so that kind of opened up my mind to see that there were other ways to buy these properties. I didn't just have to qualify using my job or using my income. There are other ways to leverage debt.
Starting point is 00:09:16 And so from there, I kind of just started buying properties. Okay, that's awesome. So can you tell us a little bit about what your portfolio looks like today and then just a little bit of that trajectory over time as well? So right now I have 10 rentals. I have nine long term and one short term all here on Maui. And it averages about $10,000 a month. So it's not $1,000 each person.
Starting point is 00:09:40 property. My short-term rental brings in about 3,500 to 4,000 a month, which basically makes up my nine other long-term rentals net cash flow, which that ranges between 500 to 1,000, depending on the type of loan that I have on those rentals. And then I also do a lot of fix and flips. So right now I have six projects going on. One is here on Maui. There's one on another island and then the rest are between Arizona, Georgia, Florida. I've been partnering as a way to scale the flipping business and have that active income versus trying to do everything myself. So in the beginning, I think I was a typical investor who was very hands-on. I was working my W-2. I bought my first flip, which is a condo here in Maui.
Starting point is 00:10:32 and I was just using logic at that point, right? So I found it on the MLS. It was listed at 300. I think I was using Zillow at that point. Contacted a realtor who was also an investor and said, hey, what are things selling for in this area? And he said, well, there's a comp at, you know, that just sold for 450s. So I thought to myself, well, it can't be that much of a difference between what it takes to fix it up and actually make money. And so that's kind of my, you know, indirect way of getting into real estate without overthinking
Starting point is 00:11:08 it because I think a lot of first time investors get into that analysis paralysis. But for me, it was just thinking logically and then taking action and using the resources that I already had in my circle and basically using the MLS, which is available to everyone if you have access to the internet as far as like Zillow, Redfin, and those other public sites. And then from there, I bought my first rental. I inherited a tenant. But initially, I think it was cash flowing net 300. I bought that also off the MLS, use a conventional loan, and went through the process of trying to find them another place, trying to raise the rent. Kind of did it on my own, self-managed. And I found it to be very rewarding in the end because I was
Starting point is 00:12:00 willing to work with them until they were able to qualify for affordable housing and buy a house of their own versus just kicking them out from the start, giving them the 45-day notice, even though I now cash flow between $8 to $900 a month, it was more so helping these people get to the next step as well. That's amazing. So can you remind us just for reference, when was that very first deal? Like, how long ago was that? It was in 2019.
Starting point is 00:12:27 Oh, wow. So really, you've built a great portfolio. in a few years here. And that very first deal that you were talking about, that was a flip? Is that one that you sold? And then you went into a long-term rental? Yes. Awesome. So I think this is the question, right? Everyone always says, like, how do I get started? When you were getting into your flip, how, you know, obviously is someone that you were saying, you're going based on the logic and you're like, all right, it shouldn't cost that much more to fix it and then make a profit here. Was this all self-funded getting started? Like, how did you actually get into that very first deal? So that was
Starting point is 00:13:00 also use, and this is not advice for anybody getting started, using a conventional loan. I had no idea that you couldn't use it to flip properties. So I qualified using a conventional loan and then use my own funds for the rehab. It was about 30 grand. So that was manageable for us. And I was the typical person going to lows on my lunch break, meeting contractors after work, paying them cash, just, you know, doing all the things they tell you not to do. So if you're getting started, definitely look into hard money or private money or something else because after that point moving forward when we sold the condo, my lender was like, hey, you said this is going to be a rental. And I was like, yeah, that was the initial plan. However, we pivoted into selling it short term.
Starting point is 00:13:46 And after that, he didn't give me any more loans. So that's okay. We're here for you. If that's what you need. That's, I mean, I guess because people don't realize this, but if you buy a house with a loan or you refinance a house, sorry, if you sell a house that was bought, within six months of getting the loan, the lender has to pay back all of the money that they made, but they don't get compensated for all the time that they put into it. So that's why people can get a little salty if you end up selling a house or refinancing within the six-month time frame. Little quick tip for everybody out there who may wonder, why did my lender ghost me and get so mad? I don't understand. I made the right move. They don't ever want to tell you that,
Starting point is 00:14:20 but that you do what it is. I am fascinated by an element of your story, Zasha, where you hear everyone talk about wanting to do what you're doing. There's people that listen a podcast. There's people that see this online. They follow the people taking the action, but they don't actually get out there and do it. What was it about your personal story that gave you the drive to take action where other people sort of think about it and talk about it, but they don't be about it? Definitely, I think growing up in low-income housing and just having that perseverance throughout my life to look for something better, look for a way to give back or help people that were in my position helps to drive me to get to that next level. And so even
Starting point is 00:15:00 while I was working my W-2, I always thought about what it would be like to have more, I'm getting into this engineering job to be able to live in an expensive market, but is that the only reason why I'm working? Is it to build wealth for my family, but have no time with them? I was trying to find that balance or that median in order to be able to, you know, basically live a life of person. perseverance and make an impact at the end of the day. And whether that be to my family or my community, I was trying to find that way to pivot into that from the engineering job. And how do you feel like, well, first of all, I guess I want to some clarity here.
Starting point is 00:15:46 Are you still working your W2 job? Are you still in the field of engineering? So after I bought my first flip and my first rental in 2019 at the end, I ended up joining a mentorship and then quit right away in January of 2020, right before the pandemic. So I don't know if it was a universal timing that said, hey, I'm going to give you the hardest year to try to get into investing and you're going to run with it or you're going to fail.
Starting point is 00:16:12 So it was definitely a challenge getting started. In 2020, I had bought my first multifamily, and my whole goal was to wholesale it. I ended up, you know, having to pivot because the person who was going to buy it, He shut down his office. He was going to buy it. He was a doctor and going to use it for his nursing staff. And so during the pandemic, shut down.
Starting point is 00:16:37 And I was kind of forced to keep it. However, that's one of my best deals yet. I'm cash flowing probably about almost $4,000 and it's a fourplex. And it's majority of the people who live there have Section 8, HUD, or some sort of rental assistance. So it's a very fulfilling property. to have as well. And every time I go past it, I just am happy that I learn to have different exit strategies. So a quick tip for everyone, if you're getting started or if you're looking at a deal,
Starting point is 00:17:13 always look for multiple exit strategies that you could use just in case one doesn't work out. So you mentioned it's a fulfilling property. Why is that? I feel like it's come full circle. So because I came from low income housing, I'm now able to help. these people who have low income or maybe fell on hard times and are accepting assistance because it does take a little extra paperwork working with government offices. And, you know, on my part, sometimes I have to wait till the fifth or the 10th of the month to get paid. So you have to be willing to wait a little bit longer and put in a little bit extra work to work with these affordable rental assistance programs. Is this something that you, I mean, because obviously you're
Starting point is 00:17:58 it kind of relates back to your upbringing and everything on that kind of stuff. Is the Section 8 component of real estate? Is this your way of sort of giving back? Is that like a big driver for you? Is it something that's kind of very familiar to you and you want to kind of help others in the way that you were helped when you were growing up? Tell us a little bit about that because I think it's really important. I think it sounds like there is purpose behind your story.
Starting point is 00:18:22 And I love to hear that because I think a lot of us will lose sight of why we're even doing this in the first place. Yes, so when I was growing up in the low-income housing, it just taught me very much to be humble, but also to strive for a better life. And I know things happen to people in their lives, whether it be death, whether it be, you know, some sort of health condition that falls upon them, or they get fired from their job and now they don't have any income. So I understand how it can happen to people. And people always are asking me, you know, what do you do to prevent yourself from, heard all this bad things about Section 8 that they'll trash your house. I said they're like any
Starting point is 00:19:01 other renter, right? You have to vet them. So run your background checks with them, check their credit score, talk to their current employers and previous employers and same for their landlords. So if you vet your tenants correctly, then everything should fall in place. Of course, it's not a hundred proof, but at the same time, give them a chance like everyone else and vet them, but also, you know, sticks to your standards. And one thing that I do differently with my tenants on Section 8 is I let them know, hey, I understand where you're coming from. This is my property. If anything happens to it or, you know, it directly affects my family. And I am hoping that, you know, we have, we built enough rapport with each other that you understand where I'm coming from. I'm
Starting point is 00:19:48 going to be a great landlord to you. If you be a great tenant to me, we're working together on this. So it's more so of us working together that will help them sustain, you know, a place to live. Because a lot of people here don't accept Section 8. And it's for that exact reason is they're worried about drugs. They're worried about non-payment. They're worried about, you know, them trashing the home and everything like that. But I don't look at that first. I look at that after I vet a few of them.
Starting point is 00:20:16 A lot of us came from backgrounds where we didn't have everything we wanted. And the drive to get ahead often comes from. pain in our past. And everyone has some form of pain they can tap into. It's not like it's unique just to you. But then I've noticed that while your past can be the fuel that can help you overcome the obstacles to get the future you want like what you're describing, there's also traits that sometimes we develop in our past that do not help us when we're getting to the next level. So I feel like a lot of successful people have to navigate the waters of what do I hang on to from my past? What do I have to let go up to think differently? Can you explain a little bit about what your specific journey was
Starting point is 00:20:52 like with how you reconciled those two things? I definitely am still working through a lot of things. I think I went through during my childhood and then also during my young adult years. But I think I still struggle with that as far as using that as my drive. But now where do I go? Now that I've kind of made it to a level where I don't have to worry. I've reached my financial independence number. I don't really have to build a bigger portfolio. How do I keep myself driven to wake up every morning and definitely move forward with my journey? It's definitely something that I've always struggled with. However, I feel like I just think about the amount of people that I can help and that has helped push me forward as far as being the driver for me now. So every person that I get to help on their journey,
Starting point is 00:21:46 help them even start to think differently because a lot of this I've found is your mindset. I never really thought about it until last year. I went through Steve Rosenberg's mastermind and he was really heavy on mindset. I didn't know how much that affected me. I thought, you know, I could just do one deal at a time, but he taught me to open up my mind and be like, hey, why don't you shoot for these bigger goals? I'm like, oh, well, I want to know that I can achieve things. And so he's, he really got me to think bigger. And I think a lot of people are stuck in that. They're just looking right directly in front of them instead of ahead. And so I think that helps drive me is helping other people to see the bigger picture. Yeah. I love that. It's a really honest answer. And I'm honestly really glad that
Starting point is 00:22:34 you said you're still working through it because I'm honestly in a similar place. Like my parents are immigrants from Mexico. And they are a lot of what drives me. And that is a big part of my story. and people are like, well, why do you still keep working? You don't need to work. Like, haven't you figured it out? Like, you know, you seem like you haven't figured it out. But, you know, I'm like, I don't know. I'm still working through all this. Like, I just want like everybody to be taken care of. But then I have this like complex, you know, where I'm like, well, I want to keep helping people. Like, that's a big part of my platform as well. And so mindset is definitely something that is constantly evolving for me. I know that you're really big into this,
Starting point is 00:23:13 like you just talked about, but you're also really big into masterminds and getting help that way and evolving your mindset. What are your thoughts on investing in that type of thing in getting help that way versus learning the hard way? I feel like if you have a lot of time, definitely go through all these things. You can go through all these things on your own. However, if you're looking to scale and really cut your learning curve, going to masterminds, being a part of mentorships, going to events will help give you the network and connections that you need in order to get to your goals quicker. So for me, I always try to, the biggest tips I can give people is to make connections, whether that be going to virtual or online meetups, whether that be going to paying, you know,
Starting point is 00:24:01 money and investing in yourself for these programs. It definitely comes back tenfold. Even for me, I just went to the Maori mastermind this last week, met, you know, millionaires and billionaires and people making a lot of money, but was also able to connect with them on a, you know, personal human level and be like, look, these are things we're all struggling with and we need to be able to help each other. I was definitely the smallest fish in the room, but I also had the largest social media following. So you'd be surprised on how many people came up to me asking me about that component. So really think about, too, how you can add value to
Starting point is 00:24:39 other people when you're going to these meetups or when you're making connections. Think of something you're good at and how you can use that as a platform for you to help them and in turn, they'll remember you. Yeah, you know what? I'm so the smallest fish in the pond, you know, and I love that. There's so much to gain from being the smallest fish in the pond because once you are the biggest fish in the pond, it's very hard to find anyone that can help you and teaching. So for me, I like surrounding myself by people that are much smarter. And I, you know, there is always the stigma of education and mentorship and masterminds. But I'm just like, no, not really. Like you want to surround yourself with people that have similar goals. Because I think
Starting point is 00:25:26 personally, there is just nothing more inspiring than being in a room full of people that are as on fire as you are or even more on fire. I just actually was talking about a similar thing, Asha, where I was in a room at a conference one time in the green room in a room full of millionaires and billionaires. And it was so crazy because they were just regular people. And I think that's like the crazy thing because you elevate these people to be like super brilliant computers basically. And then you talk to them and you're like, man, you're just a regular person and you figured it out and you're smart. And you're like, I'm smart too. I think I can figure this out. And I think it's like unlocking that, right? So are you still a part of masterminds
Starting point is 00:26:06 and mentorships, or is that something that you continually invest in? Yes, every year I try to at least go to four different events. I am a part of a few mentorships. And Ryan Pineda's Future Flipper Program is how I started my journey. The first mentorship I ever joined, and I was very hesitant at the time. It was, you know, $10,000 to join. I was like, oh, but I could learn all this stuff on YouTube, or I could do this on myself using bigger pockets.
Starting point is 00:26:35 and it was hard for me to dish it over, but it also gave me more motivation to make sure I made the most out of this program. I was going to come out of it, you know, with achieving my goals and just connecting with as many people and making those personal connections as I could because I was like, oh my gosh,
Starting point is 00:26:54 this is a lot of money for me, going from doing it all myself to now dishing out all this money. It makes you motivated to make the most use of whatever program. you're in, especially if it's a lot of money to you, then why would you waste it? Big time. I mean, that's honestly what it all boils down to.
Starting point is 00:27:12 I mean, there is so much free content out there. There's like the podcast or the YouTube side of it. I think really the core nugget of it is always, can you take action? And is there something that you can do to take action that will really fuel you and really, you know, set you on fire to kind of pursue these goals? So I know you started scaling up, you know, from where you started to now. Can we start talking about like you said that you started partnering up with people. You live in Hawaii and then you said you had a place in Arizona that you're flipping and
Starting point is 00:27:43 then another place somewhere else. How does that all work? Like why are you partnering up with people to scale? Like what is that strategy? So basically my goal is not to build a big wholesaling or flipping team. I want to essentially split roles by partnering, right? So we do majority of the time I do equity split. So whether it's 50-50, 70-30, depending on if I'm the capital partner, capital raiser,
Starting point is 00:28:09 or they need me to qualify for the loan because they've never done a rehab loan, say they own a few rentals, or they need me to manage the contractors or walk them through escrow process, or they are experienced investors and they say, Dasha, it's Wednesday, and I need $300,000. If you can raise this or bring this by Friday, you know, I'll give you some equity in this deal. So I think there's a lot of value in being, in being that person that they can come to. And also, you know, I never wanted flipping was never my goal. My goal is the passive income.
Starting point is 00:28:48 But along the way, if there's opportunities to make some active income along the way, then I'm more than willing to do that. And also helping other people get started. Of course, these are people that I've connected with, known for a while, met through mentors, or we have a connection with each other to hold each other accountable. It's just not, I'm not partnering with random people, just to be clear, but they're bringing some sort of value or deal. I'm checking with my network maybe in that area or in that state, in that market, and being like, hey, this person brought this deal, is it good or not?
Starting point is 00:29:20 They have the CMA from the realtor. They have the contractor bids. So they have all the details of the deal in place in order for me to make an easy decision. I was just about to ask you, how do you choose the partner you're going to get with? Because the concept of partnering is very different than the practice of partnering. It sounds like you're meeting them through these same groups that we're talking about. So majority of them, I've either met through mentorships or my community. And of course, each partnership is different. You could have all these numbers align. However, once you start working with them, you'll see their personality or more than morals, integrity, where their decisions lie. And then you can decide if you want to continue working with them or not. So I think it's very important. One, whenever you're thinking about a partnership to talk about communication, to see where they're at as far as what decisions they're going to make or how they would think about a certain situation. And then two, definitely getting something written down on black and white, what your role is
Starting point is 00:30:24 and what their role is and what the expectations are. Because I think that's something that's overlooked and they're like, yeah, this would be a good idea for us to partner. However, once you get in it, you thought that person was supposed to do something and they didn't. However, nothing is written down. Then it's harder to keep each other accountable. You know, I've noticed one of the big hesitations. And to be frank, I was the same way. Like, I didn't want to join GoBundance because at the time it was like $6,000 a year.
Starting point is 00:30:47 And I would just, I don't want to spend the money. I don't have to do that. I can read a book to learn it. And I had that mindset for a very long time. But then when I joined Gobundance, I got put in touch with a person who got me a line of credit at a bank in North Florida that ended up leading to 35. properties that I bought that they finance that I wouldn't have been able to normally do. And through that process, I learned a whole bunch. I wrote the Burr book.
Starting point is 00:31:07 I taught people about Burr. Now every partner that works with me in a deal gets all of the knowledge that I gained from everything I did brought into what they're doing. Like Rob was just talking about a deal we bought and he got to watch me kind of teach our realtor how to negotiate it. And now everything that I know goes into Rob's head. Rob now applies that to all the deals deals he does. It builds this exponential momentum when you get around the right people because everything
Starting point is 00:31:29 that they've learned and spent money. to invest in, you get. So I didn't just pay $6,000 to join Gobundance. I paid $6,000 to get access to the hundreds of thousands of dollars of money. The other members had spent developing their mindset, learning things. And partnerships sort of function in that same way, too. Do you mind sharing with some of the things that you've learned from partners that you've brought in? So you didn't just give up 50% of the equity, but what you gain from the other person and how that helped your business. So majority of the time, I'm the one teaching someone else, are helping to to bring these newbies up to their first deal.
Starting point is 00:32:05 Like in 2020, I had partnered with someone or became an accountability partner with someone and help walk them through their first wholesale deal, help walk them through a first flip partnership together, and then now they're off and doing it on their own. So that experience in itself helped this person take off on their own. So if you think about it, it's getting to do deals together,
Starting point is 00:32:31 but also having someone to walk you through getting their connections if it's their contractors, their escrow company, seeing who they use for their lenders, getting access to them. And then also having that safety net. If anything were to go sideways, you know how to get through and problem solve and find a solution. So I think that's the biggest key takeaway when you're partnering is that you get to leverage each other as far as finding a solution for that deal and making it happen. Yeah. So I've done a few partnerships. Can you, I want to, I want to ask you first. Maybe I'll give an example here, but are there any, any things that you've learned the hard way through a partnership? Was there ever a moment where you're like, oh, probably won't do that
Starting point is 00:33:14 again? It doesn't necessarily reflect badly on the partnership you have now, but just a learning that you can apply for a future partnership. When partnering, it's very, very important for you to define your roles. And for me, I always thought partnering with contractors would be the greatest idea because that's most of the time the biggest headache as far as dealing with projects is the renovation. So I've partnered with a few contractors that didn't really work out because they don't understand the investing aspect. They see us purchasing a house at $600,000.
Starting point is 00:33:49 We're selling at a million, but we're also putting $200,000 into the renovation. We're also paying money costs. there's a lot of costs that go into these projects that people don't really understand that we don't just want it's not the sell price minus the purchase price and the renovation. There's a lot of costs in between. And so even when you're partnering with people that are, let's say, contractors in the deal, they're putting their sweat equity in. That's how they're contributing to the partnership.
Starting point is 00:34:16 But there's so many other moving parts that they may not understand. And no matter how much you try to explain to some people, they just, you know, it doesn't register. And so at the end of the day, they might feel like they're getting the short end of the stick and vice versa. So that's what I talked about in the beginning is being very clear on the roles and who's doing what. So everybody's on the same page. But at the same time, you know, some people think that what they're bringing to the deal might be worth more than what you're bringing to the deal. And so that's what I've learned from partnering with other contractors is that it doesn't always pan out the way that they really think it is. And once they realize,
Starting point is 00:34:54 oh my gosh, you're not making that much money, then, you know, they decide not to do any further deals with you and then vice versa. Yeah, totally fair. I mean, I've I've been in the situation where we did very clearly lay out roles and expectations. And so that partnership has always worked out super, super well. But the one thing that I've realized with a lot of the partnerships that I started in is I just didn't future proof myself. Like I didn't, I didn't really plan for the future because it was a really good deal at the time. And I was like, great, I'm going to do all the sweat equity. I'm going to do all the work. And, At that time, it was great.
Starting point is 00:35:26 Like, it was gravy. But now, with the way that my portfolio has grown and the way, where I'm moving to in real estate, some of those roles and responsibilities really just don't make as much sense for me. And I just didn't have the foresight to really know, like, hey, in two years from now, if I'm successful at this, I'm going to be super busy. So, you know, I should probably think about that. And so that's one thing I always try to tell people is that exact thing.
Starting point is 00:35:49 Because really, if any tension ever starts to build up, if you're not super clear about those roles. If one set of partners believe that they're doing more work than the other, it can be a little bit tougher to maneuver all the way through. So I know that you've been doing this a bit. And I also wanted to ask a little bit about the mentorship versus partnership component of it. Are you ever going into a partnership specifically with the intention of mentoring? Is that just part of the job? Is that something that you're doing less now that you're a more seasoned and experienced investor? Yes. So in the beginning, when I first, started partnering because I never partnered before. I had done maybe about seven or eight deals
Starting point is 00:36:29 before I ever started partnering. So for me, too, the first partnerships that I had, I didn't really know what I was doing or how it was supposed to be. And so I took the spot of more so mentoring people into being comfortable investing. So now it's very clear roles. Okay, this, I bring the capital or I qualify for the capital. I'm the one making the monthly payments, whether be holding costs, utilities, that sort of stuff, turning on the utilities, coordinating with escrow, and then you are the one who's the boots on the ground,
Starting point is 00:37:03 coordinating with the contractor, making sure the timeline and the schedule is on par with where we're supposed to be. So it's very clearly defined roles, and if they ever want to know anything about what I'm doing, I definitely share that with them, but not necessarily take them through every single step, just because I have way too many deals going on to be doing that with every single person.
Starting point is 00:37:25 Yeah, yeah. And obviously that makes a lot more sense getting started and you're kind of working in. And just for the record, I don't think that there is any bad partnership when you're getting started to, when you're getting started specifically because you will learn so much. I think the cost of education there, or the benefit is education. Like a lot of people, they'll see deals that I've done and they'll say, well, hey, I know that you partnered up with somebody and you,
Starting point is 00:37:47 you gave a 50% equity and they got 50 and they put up all the money. I want that too. And I'm like, well, hold on, hold on, hold on little one. You can't always demand 50% when you're getting started, especially if you don't have a track record. If an investor comes to you and says, hey, I'll front the money. I'll do the financing, but you're only going to get 25% or 15%. I'm totally fine for a new investor to take something like that because it's the experience of working with an investor and with a partner that's valuable in your first deal more than the cash flow that you'll ever make. I totally agree. And especially when you come at it from a humbling experience, hey, I've have a lot of people who want to intern with me, hey, I'll do this for free. But essentially,
Starting point is 00:38:28 too, you have to think about what are you good at and what value can you bring to this experience person because they could hide, they probably have VAs are ready to do things. They already have systems and processes in place. How can you add value instead of making them work harder to figure out, okay, what are you good at? Where can I fit you into my business? You got to make it easier for that person, but also think about the amount of experience you're going to get or comfortability and confidence in yourself. If you see somebody else doing it, know exactly their process and how they're making it through this business, you can be like a fly on the wall or help them do paperwork or something like that and just be around. That's extremely valuable.
Starting point is 00:39:13 I wish I had somebody when I first started getting into this business like that, but I didn't know what I didn't know. And I went to these meetups and I thought everybody, you know, was doing their own deals. And especially when you go to competitive lead generation, like going to the courthouse steps, going to auctions, everybody has the mindset of it's me against you, right? So that's the mindset that I had coming in was everybody was to each their own. and recently, after joining mentorships, it really opened my eyes to the power of collaboration and having an abundance mindset. If you can win and I can win, why don't we work together? If you have a strength and I can help you with something that the deal needs, such as capital,
Starting point is 00:39:59 why don't we work together, do our individual roles, and then we can both make money, right? So if you're trying to do this whole entire business on your own, you will quickly get burnt out or you will quickly, you know, find out that in order to scale, you need other people. Yeah, I mean, the abundance mindset, I think someone once told me, like, you get nothing out of being competitive with a friend or a partner. There's enough out there for everybody. And I think as soon as I heard that, it just sort of unlocked this like, when I was like, oh, man, it's so true.
Starting point is 00:40:31 And so because a lot of people, you know, like on YouTube, I talk about all the stuff that I do. I talk about how much money that those investments make. I talk about markets. and I've had so many people that are like, are you crazy? Why would you give away all your secrets? Like now you're just creating your own competition. And I'm like, eh, I mean, there's like millions of homes in the United States. I think I'll be okay. I think it benefits people to learn and do it the right way because, you know, there's a little bit of integrity that we have to like teach people on how to do this,
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Starting point is 00:44:16 Don't overpay the IRS. Head to costsegregation.com before April 15th. Zasha, I think that you, the mindset work you've done has clearly had a very significant impact on how successful you are. It looks like every time I follow you, you're exponentially increasing how successful things are starting to fall in place. so I can see that that investment is starting to pay off. Talk to our community.
Starting point is 00:44:38 Tell us what exactly are you doing? What does your day look like as far as how things are structured? And what type of stuff catches your attention? You go, ooh, I like that person or I like that situation. I like that setup. I'm going to put more attention into this versus the just amount of stuff that hits you in a day that you realize that isn't worth my time and attention. What has completely changed my life?
Starting point is 00:45:03 feel is a morning routine. Because I have a family, I'm a mom, I'm a wife, and I'm also an investor, it is very easy to get run down by the day. So waking up early, I wake up at 4.30 in the morning, then I quickly, I just jump out of bed and start working out, get that done, write my affirmations, that gives me confidence going into the day. And then I write down the top three things that I got to get done to help me stay focused. Now, this isn't always happened. There are days where I take breaks, however, for majority of the time, I try to stay consistent with that. And then from there, I go into Asana.
Starting point is 00:45:42 I use that for my team as far as my social marketing team, my investment team, my VAs, we all coordinate in that platform and figure out, okay, what are these tasks that I need to do for that day, get that done? And then from there, if there's any new deals or new leads that come in, then I evaluate that, see if that's a market that I want to get into, a strategy I want to use, or maybe it's potential for long-term cash flow. And so recently, I've been really getting into RV parks. And so I'm entering into a partnership that they live in that area. They know they already have properties in that area, and they want to partner with somebody to bring capital. And so that is
Starting point is 00:46:26 where I'm seeing my role as far as an investor goal is to not necessarily focus on a specific strategy, but focus on a specific role in a deal. And so that's what my role is going to be moving forward. I'm trying to see if I can start a fund because it is hard once you sell a property, give the funds back to your private investors, and then all of a sudden you contact them for another deal, and then the money's gone or they've used it for something else, or they decided to renovate their bathroom and their house. So I've been finding that getting into other bigger, higher level strategies has been the way that I have to go now. That's really cool.
Starting point is 00:47:06 So is that your kind of method for scaling? Because obviously you were doing a lot of the flips. You're partnering in that capacity. But now you're looking at RV parks. I'm doing something very similar here. Are you doing that? A, because it's really cool. I mean, I think RV parks are fascinating.
Starting point is 00:47:22 But B, is this just your path towards scaling? Yes. So it's one of the past. So last year I bought my first short term. rental and it has made, you know, almost just as much as nine of my long terms combined. So it just opened my eyes to the possibilities of doing these more hospitality sort of investments versus the long term. I'm still going to do the long term investments, but it's been harder. I feel like everyone now, it's a bit more of a struggle to find deals. So if I can get into these hospitality sort
Starting point is 00:48:00 of RV parks or, you know, Airbnbs that can essentially make the deal still work without it having to be a long-term investment, then I'm going to jump into those. So I don't know if that was a good explanation for that, but that's definitely what I'm thinking about. The path to me is being that person figuring out what role, but not really concentrating on the strategy. So I'm still open to bigger, you know, multi-unit apartment buildings and other strategies. It's just, focusing on what is my role, what value can I bring to that deal that will benefit everyone. Yeah, well, I mean, it sounds like you're out there. I mean, you're teaching people in the community. Obviously, you're very active on social media. You're getting information out there and you're effectively mentoring the masses, right?
Starting point is 00:48:47 So they often say that you are as good as your reputation. It looks like you're killing it, basically. And I wanted to ask from your perspective, like, what are you doing in your life and your role and your real estate career to impact the local community? I feel like educating people on what exactly it is we do as real estate investors is very important. We're not out there buying deals for really low price points and then reselling it for really high without doing any work in between. A lot of times people don't know we buy homes that are in complete distress. They might have abandoned cars in the friend. People might be in some sort of financial situation that they can't get out of. And we're providing different solutions.
Starting point is 00:49:32 And a lot of times we put hundreds of thousands of dollars into renovating these homes. And then, of course, selling them for a profit. However, when you own a home, you get to choose who you sell it to. So you could potentially sell it to a first-time home buyer. You don't always have to go for the highest price or the person that has the most money or is coming in for cash. you can choose to work with someone who you feel will bring value to that community. And that's how I found a lot of people when I do buy these homes, ask me or while we're in
Starting point is 00:50:04 renovation phase, come up and say, hey, you know, we would love for you to put a local family in there because this is the vibe of the community. And we want them to contribute and not just move here and then, you know, find another place, move out. So there's different ways where you can have an impact without, you know, compromising your morals or integrity and also adding value to the community. And then as well for the rental side, right, for long term, you can choose a Section 8 tenant versus someone willing to pay, you know, a couple hundred dollars more if you're at the
Starting point is 00:50:37 regular rental rate. It all depends on your financial goals and your financial situation. However, I'm at a place where that's important to me. So it may take a little bit more footwork working with the HUD offices. It may take a little bit more time to get their rents in on time. but I'm willing to work through that in order to keep with my goal and making an impact on the community and adding value. And do you find yourself, do you think you'll continue investing in affordable housing as you continue to develop your real estate portfolio and your career and everything? That's definitely my goal, especially being from Hawaii and it being so expensive.
Starting point is 00:51:16 I knew that when I was going through high school, that I had to go to college. and in order to move home, I had to be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer to be able to afford to live here. And so with that in mind, I definitely want to build an affordable housing project or have an affordable housing subdivision here in some sort of capacity. But I know along the way, I still have to build wealth and make connections and have that in my, I guess, tool chest in order to do these bigger line items. do these bigger, I guess, envisions of projects. That's awesome. Yeah, that's, I mean, that's impact. Again, that comes down to purpose.
Starting point is 00:51:58 And I think, you know, a lot of people, I think if you just always focus on the financials and the money, like, that's fine. Obviously, you can have a successful career doing that. It doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be fulfilling, right? So it's really encouraging to hear that you're out there doing this. I'm curious. I know you probably work with a lot of potential sellers. Like, what's your process for working with different potential sellers?
Starting point is 00:52:20 out there. So anything found off market when I'm working direct with the homeowners, I ask them, you know, hey, a lot of times it's referrals. So people refer me to other people. And that is, I'm huge on reputation, especially being from a small community on a small island. How you do one thing is how you do everything. And so when I approached them, I asked them, hey, have you talked to a realtor yet? Have you thought about getting a personal loan if they're in some sort of financial situation. Have you talked to your family members? Can they help you? Do you need me to mediate that conversation? I have a network of lenders and of realtors and other people in this business that might be able to help you. And then if, you know, you want to work with me, I'm always the last option.
Starting point is 00:53:07 I want to know that you've explored everything and I am the reason why you need to sell to me, not just because, you know, you wanting the cash offer or I want to know that. not necessarily I'm the last resort, but you've checked all the boxes before you came to me. Well, that's cool. That's something you don't hear every day, genuinely. You want to, hey, I want to be the last resort, right? That's really cool that you're actually helping people through that process. Again, it's a human element. I mean, real estate, you're dealing with humans every day. You got to treat people like people. It's the only way that you're going to have a fulfilling successful career. I mean, again, I guess you could do it without doing all that and be successful,
Starting point is 00:53:48 but it's like do you want to make money or do you want to make money and be fulfilled? Why not do that? You can have both. You can have both in this industry and I think that's something that people always lose side of. When I feel like this is a lot of relationship based, whether it be working with other investors, whether it be working with sellers or other people, you know, the escrow company and a title company, it's all about relationship and trust. And so my biggest deal, for example, came from me partnering with a seller. I had no idea that that was even, a thing that you could do as far as being creative with it until I found out later on through mentorships. But the seller actually wanted to partner with me and say, hey, well, we get a little bit more money. If we, you know, hold the loan and then you do the renovations and then we sell it. And so that was an instance. That was my biggest deal, honestly, was they had brought this partnership aspect to me. And now it's called a lot of people refer to it as a novation where the sellers still own the property, they hold it, and then you bring renovation funds. So we had agreed on a price of about
Starting point is 00:54:54 450. I brought 200,000 in private lending funds. We fixed it up and it sold for about 975. And so I had let them know, hey, initially the ARV was 850. And now the market has just gone way high and now we're able to sell it for, you know, $975. Are you okay with the initial amount that we agreed on because if it went the other way and it went down, you know, you would still get that money and they were fine with it. They are definitely a different type of people. It all depends on the relationship you have with the owner, especially when you're getting creative like that and you don't, you're not, you don't own the home so you don't have that much control. However, if your relationship is good with the owner, then that's a different way to kind of make it work
Starting point is 00:55:41 in an expensive market and also partner with sellers. So in your, uh, method of making sure that you are giving back more than you ever take. You have three things you're focusing on. And that would be partnering, which is giving mentorship to people through deals. So you're sort of pouring into the individuals that are learning the game that we're playing here, investing with integrity, which is giving without expectations, and then providing affordable housing for people that are not aware of how the game works, but still need somewhere to live that's affordable, right? Definitely. I think that's wonderful. I want to build wealth and then make an impact too. So I think that's the underlying.
Starting point is 00:56:16 At the same time. Yes. And you don't have to be perfect. And that's what I'm saying, is that you can use your resources to go through things. I think there's been people throughout my life who have given me, you know, the insight or courage or confidence to be able. I had no idea about finances or loans or debt other than buying my own home.
Starting point is 00:56:37 But as far as investing and doing all these things, it was just people along the way, maybe lenders, the title company. I had no idea how to partner a seller until I went to. through the escrow company, I said, is this a real thing? And so they help get the legal paperwork together. They said, as long as you and the seller on that same page, then we can draft up whatever legal documentation you need. And I never really thought of that before. I always thought to traditional investors buy things with cash. They use hard or private money, and that's the only way. So again, it's just asking people along the way, being curious, right?
Starting point is 00:57:12 And so I think that's helped add a lot to my journey as well and help me scale because I'm not afraid to ask questions. This has been very good, Zasha, a ton of actual easily repeatable content that people could follow. I'm going to move us on to the next segment of our show. It is the world famous deal deep dive. In this segment of the show, Rob and I are going to fire questions directly at you one by one and learn about a particular deal that you've done. So question number one, what type of property is it? It's a single family. Awesome. Question number two, how did you find it? Driving for dollars with another accountability partner. Oh, this is starting to sound familiar.
Starting point is 00:57:59 Question number three, how much was it? $375,000. Question number four, how did you negotiate it? I had an acquisitions person negotiate the deal and they were actually had the house, owned it free and clear, had a few liens on it. but were able to walk them down because they had previously talked to a realtor who said they had to clean up a bunch of the items that were on the property. They didn't want to do that. So they were open to working with an investor, taking it as is. Awesome.
Starting point is 00:58:29 And how did you fund this deal? All private money. Would you end up doing with it? I ended up keeping it using the Burr strategy, getting all my money back out, paying back to private lender, and essentially just wanting to add another. building to the property. It's called in Ohana. So that is our goal right now. We ended up splitting the single family into a duplex. It was a two-story. So we split that and then now we're going to build another duplex on the same property. And an Ohana unit, if you haven't heard of it,
Starting point is 00:59:00 is what they call an ADU in Hawaii. It means family. So it would be like if you wanted your mom and your dad or your mother-in-law to live in your property, you'd build them in Ohio unit. My last question, what was the outcome on this deal? We have multiple exit strategies for the deal. And so right now we have two renters living in it. One renter actually is a church member of Brandon Turner, which his wife's best friend lives right next door. And then also on the bottom unit is a lady who is waiting for her Hawaiian homeland's home to be built up country. Awesome. And what were what what lessons did you learn from this deal? Be quick to act. So this deal was actually, when we were driving for dollars, we've seen it, we got the deal and decided that
Starting point is 00:59:53 we're going to mail them, we're going to leave our cards there, and then eventually coordinated the buying the property. After that, whenever I buy a property, this is a good tip for those who are just starting out or maybe sees an investor, something you never heard about. But I give my card to each and every neighbor that is around that area to let them know, hey, if you see something suspicious, please let me know. Or if my contractors are parked in your area or are making too much noise, you know, you can always call me.
Starting point is 01:00:26 I'm the new owner of the home. And I definitely am trying to add value to your area and also to your home. And so it was funny because the lady next door, I guess was Brandon Turner's wife's best friend. And she ended up calling Brandon and say, hey, do you know this girl's? Sasha Smith, she just bought this house. And so he messaged me and he said that he was actually looking at that house for a while. They drive past it almost every week. He had been meaning to knock on the door, been meaning to contact the owner, but just didn't
Starting point is 01:00:58 get around to it. So I end up getting the house and now have, you know, it's renting right now for around $6,000 a month. The mortgage on it is about $500,000 a month, $500,000. and we pay about $2,300 in months for the mortgage. And so it ended up being a really good deal and recently just appraised for a little over a million dollars. And so he was a little sour about that.
Starting point is 01:01:28 Yeah. So everybody listening, go at Message Brandon on Instagram and tell him to listen to this episode's deal deep dive and let him see to the Victor of the spoils. All right. I actually have one last question. I was wrong. Last question from me. In this deal, who was the hero on your team?
Starting point is 01:01:48 Definitely my acquisitions person. So it happened to be the she had been wanting to invest and start her investing career, had been in a mentorship but never took action. And so we became accountability partners because even as a seasoned investor, it's nice to get out there and be reminded of, you know, the different ways you can find deals, not only through cold calling or texting, especially if you haven't door knocked in a while
Starting point is 01:02:15 or you haven't driven around, you know, the neighborhood to go look for deals. And so she had coordinated, you know, contact with him, coordinated closing the deal. And I walked her through the steps of the title company, escrow and all of that. So Tereva Jacobson is definitely the hero of this deal. Thank you for that.
Starting point is 01:02:36 And be sure to check out the Bigger Pockets Marketplace where you can find your next. hero to help you on your next deal. All right, we're going to move on to the next segment of the show. Famous for. Question number one, what is your favorite real estate book? Of course, I'm going to say Burr Strategy by David Green. If I feel like, don't reinvent the real, right?
Starting point is 01:02:58 Like if it's working for other people, then just do the same thing. There you go. That's a way to bring a little bit of coal. Gotta say, I agree. I agree. Yeah, Rob agrees because that's the only real estate book he ever read, which I actually I'm not mad about because if he's only going to have read one, I'm happy that it's fine. That's right. It's also the best real estate book I've ever read. So very important.
Starting point is 01:03:19 Number two, what's your favorite business book? The also common rich dad, poor dad by Robert Kiyosaki. Awesome. Question number three, what are some of your hobbies when you're not building your real estate empire? Hanging out with my kids, definitely number one. But number two, I just started spearfishing. And so I oftentimes, like everybody else, get caught up in working, you know, building wealth, looking for the next best thing, investing in, you know, other deals. And you can't take me away from my laptop or my computer. So reminding myself to go to the beach, me and my husband started a new hobby of spearfishing together. And that has not only got me out of my own way as far as taking a break mentally from work, but then also built our relationship
Starting point is 01:04:05 closer. I've always thought that looked like a blast. It's really fun. Not for the fish. I guess the spear comes out as a blast. So there's probably a pun in there somewhere. All right. Question number four. It is a blast for them technically. Yeah. Right. What sets apart successful investors from those who give up, fail, or never get started? Surrounding themselves by like-minded people or people are ahead of them and also helping other people. And so this is what I try to put forth, especially through social media, educating other people and letting them know that just because people are ahead of you or doing all these great things doesn't mean that you can't. And so putting out little tips like that, connecting with people. And also, you know, I had mentioned
Starting point is 01:04:48 to you guys before this episode that you can instantly connect with people on social media. There is a power of providing value through there that people don't even realize. So I connected with David Green, with Brandon Turner. I message Robill a few times. I don't know if he's seen it. Might be in his hidden messages. It might be. That's right.
Starting point is 01:05:08 Hey, that's a callback. But it's definitely a way to connect with people that I never even realize had, you know, initial power to it. So I think if you're just starting out, of course, don't blast people. But find a way to add value. You can instantly connect on social media. And I know that we all post and add values. So really take in what people are giving out for free.
Starting point is 01:05:29 and what's working for them. Awesome. Well, first of all, let me just say that I followed you and I sent you a message and I haven't heard back from you. I did send that message like 30 minutes ago while we were on the podcast, but it is there. Can you tell us more where people can find you on the internet if they want to learn more about you, connect with you and all that kind of good stuff? On bigger pockets, definitely that's where I keep a profile of all my deals that I have
Starting point is 01:05:52 going on now at Zasha Smith is my handle name on there. And then also on Instagram at Invest with Sasha. where I have a big platform, always down to help. I have people helping me with my messages to get started and guide you on the biggest path. And I always speak about bigger pockets. So it is an honor to be here and be on this podcast and add value. Be uncomfortable, being comfortable, being uncomfortable. And just know that you guys are not alone in this journey.
Starting point is 01:06:24 It is very hard for me being a civil engineer for 10 years behind the desk to put myself out there and often connect, but I've found it to be the most valuable and most rewarding part of this journey and making an impact. That's so cool. Well, David, what about you, man? Where can people find out more with you, connect with you, all that kind of good stuff? Go follow me at David Green 24. Very easy screen name to remember. Also, very boring. But yeah, I'm pretty much everywhere. And then on YouTube, I'm at David Green real estate. Also very boring and very easy. but got a social media company that's been putting out posts and I tried to put new stuff. So like when I'm out here in Scottsdale, I'll try to post things showing what's going on behind the scenes and I'm doing more of what's happening in the personal world.
Starting point is 01:07:08 So Zasha, I think you do a really good job of that actually. I want to mention it. You don't just post, look at this house. Look at this deal. Look what I did. There's like a kind of a mix of this is who I am as a person and this is who I am as an investor, which probably isn't a coincidence because, as you said, you want to get back and you want to build wealth. and that kind of comes across with the way that you're posting. So make sure you go follow Invest with Zasha as well as me.
Starting point is 01:07:28 And then Rob, where can people find you? Oh, you can find me on the YouTube's at Rob Built. And then Instagram, Rob Built as well. And TikTok, you mean me to do funny dances? You want to see me do funny? I'll do it, all right? On the TikTok at Rob Bilto. I also do them on Instagram every so often.
Starting point is 01:07:46 You can't be dancing. They're not good, but I will dance. I'm not ashamed. Do you do The Robot? Is that where Rob Hilt comes from? I don't do the robot. No, I don't. But I just had a video pop off of me conducting a choir.
Starting point is 01:07:59 And that one was my best performing video ever. Fake choir. It's not a real choir. But go watch it. It's funny. I saw it. It was very intense. I've never seen that intense side of you until I saw that.
Starting point is 01:08:09 Well, hey, the beast exists within. You just got to let it go. Don't let that flower shirt fool you. There's a beast behind that cloth. Zasha, any last words before we let you get out of here? Definitely. I think the overarching theme is giving back, building wealth, but also making an impact. And if there's any way that you can make an impact on your community, definitely try to do that, whether it's your time
Starting point is 01:08:35 or money, just remembering where you came from or that other people don't have it as good as you and trying to help them elevate. Thank you for that very much. This has been a great podcast, and I hope everybody listening takes that to heart. You can actually win bigger and do best. when you help other people along the way. It is not us versus everybody else. It can be us with everybody else working together. So thank you for spreading that message. Josh, I completely second it. This is David Green for Rob the Beast Behind the Flower Shirt Abas Solo. Signing up. Thank you all for listening to the Bigger Pockets Real Estate podcast. Make sure you get all our new episodes by subscribing on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Our new episodes
Starting point is 01:09:38 come out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I'm the host and executive producer of the show, Dave Meyer. The show is produced by Ian K, copywriting is by Calicoe Content, and editing is by Exodus Media. If you'd like to learn more about real estate investing or to sign up for our free newsletter, please visit www.w.w.com.
Starting point is 01:09:56 The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only. All host and participant opinions are their own. Investment in any asset, real estate included, involves risk. So use your best judgment and consult with qualified advisors before investing. You should only risk capital you can afford to lose. And remember, indicative of future results. Bigger Pocket's LLC disclaims all liability for direct, indirect, consequential, or other damages arising from a reliance on information presented in this podcast.

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