RB is a realtor, investor, and property manager in New York. She
pursued her first multi-family real estate investment at 23 years
old but had a hard time locking one in, so she got creative and
purchased a single family home instead and converted it into a
multi-family property. She has a variety of multi-family
properties in Queens, Long Island, Upstate New York, and the
Bronx. RB has a heart for the inner-city communities of New York
and loves coaching others, showing them that real estate is
possible for everyone.
RB has been a seasoned landlord since 2003, with a track record of
successful long-term rentals. However, just before the pandemic
hit, she received a valuable tip from a realtor friend: consider
renting her properties to traveling medical professionals.
Intrigued, she decided to explore this option further and was
pleasantly surprised by the results.
According to her realtor friend, medical professionals are in
constant demand and tend to work long hours, leaving them little
time or energy for maintaining a home. As a result, they look for
a comfortable, peaceful, and quiet place to stay, which makes them
ideal tenants from a landlord's perspective. Her friend noted that
the demand for such rentals was high, and the gap between tenants
was minimal. Moreover, she would be able to command much higher
rents than before, making this a profitable and lucrative option
for her.
Having just heard about this blossoming niche in the real estate
market known as mid-term rentals, RB was excited to jump in. She
quickly converted one of her long-term units into a mid-term unit,
listed her property on FurnishedFinder.com, and has been pleased
with the results ever since.
Before RB ventured out into mid-term rentals, however, she got her
feet wet by purchasing single family homes and converting them
into multi-family properties. While that may sound simple enough,
RB was figuring out how to do all of this on the fly—learning on
the job, so to speak. She knew it was possible because the
single-family home she purchased had the exact same layout as the
multifamily home she had originally been interested in purchasing.
She sought the help of professionals, such as architects,
electricians, and plumbers, consulted with her local building
department to make sure she was getting the proper permits, and
started making progress.
Once her property's conversion was complete and occupied by
tenants, she realized the huge advantages of what she had done:
she immediately had huge equity in her property since she was now
collecting rent from two families but still only had a mortgage
payment for a single family home. The equity she was able to pull
out of her initial property was used to rinse and repeat this
process of obtaining single family homes and converting them into
multifamily properties.
The advantages of this conversion were immediately apparent to RB.
She was now collecting rent from two families but only had a
mortgage payment for a single-family home, thus building
significant equity in the property. This equity allowed her to
invest in more single-family homes, convert them into multi-family
properties, and repeat the process. Soon, RB had built a portfolio
of profitable multi-family properties that generated a stable
stream of passive income.
Pre Pandemic, RB was deeply immersed in community engagement,
helping others understand how real estate can help build
generational wealth. Her focus was on the importance of home
ownership, the benefits that come with it, and how to create a
business. She also tries to educate people about the resources
available to them, from how to obtain grants, down payment
assistance, closing cost assistance, and how people can get their
credit score repaired for free.
When she's working with a client that has a budget on the smaller
side, she advises them to focus on the locations that fit their
budget. The number of multifamily homes to choose from drastically
increases when one broadens the locations they're willing to
invest in. She also makes sure her clients understand how to
squeeze every last bit of profit from their property, often in
ways they may not have thought of. For example, in New York, space
is at a premium. Garage space and driveway space are all rentable.
While RB acknowledges that many people are able to profit from
real estate arbitrage, her goal for her clients is to purchase
property and leverage that investment in order to purchase
additional properties.
The Importance of Having Systems in Place
RB describes her personal real estate learning experience as
learning to fly a plane. Having discovered firsthand what
works and what doesn't, she now wholeheartedly emphasizes the
importance of documentation.
Communication is key to a successful relationship between
landlord and tenant. Setting a level of expectation between
the two is critical. The tenant gets a clear understanding of
the property and what they're responsible for, and the
landlord learns what is important to the tenant. RB has never
had to evict anyone since she started her real estate journey
in 2003, and keeping that open line of communication is
important.
A perfect example of great communication is anytime you have a
conversation with a tenant regarding any issues you may be having,
whether it be noise, damage, or something else from your lease
that may need to be enforced, mention to them that you know life
is hectic and busy so you'll send them a written copy of the
conversation for their convenience so there's no confusion. Doing
this makes you seem like a reasonable, responsible landlord to the
tenant, but you're also documenting any instances that may need to
be referenced later when their lease ends, such as reasons why
they're not receiving their full deposit back.
Help on Speed Dial
As a landlord, it's important to have a reliable network of
electricians, plumbers, contractors, and handymen available to
help with any issues that may arise. If an issue is not addressed
right away, tenants often feel like you're dragging your feet,
which starts to taint their experience at your property. Rental
properties require ongoing maintenance and repairs, and having a
team of professionals you can rely on can save you time, money,
and stress in the long run.
Electrical and plumbing issues can be particularly urgent as they
can pose safety risks and cause damage to the property. Having an
electrician or plumber you trust on speed dial can help you
address these issues quickly and effectively. Similarly, having a
contractor available for larger-scale repairs or renovations can
help keep your properties in top condition and attract quality
tenants.
A reliable team of handymen can also be invaluable for handling
smaller maintenance tasks, like painting or patching walls. By
having a network of professionals you can call on, you can avoid
the hassle of trying to find a qualified technician in a pinch and
ensure that your properties are well-maintained and in good
condition.
Property Management Software
Landlords have a lot to do, including managing tenants, responding
to maintenance requests, and monitoring rental revenue and
expenses. It can be difficult to keep up with everything,
especially if the landlord has several properties. Software for
property management, such as Guesty (opens in new tab)or Lodgify (opens in new tab), can be useful in
this situation. The use of these platforms simplifies procedures
and benefits landlords.
Landlords can automate a lot of their activities with property
management software, which is one of its key advantages. For
instance, programs such as Furnished Finder’s sister company, KeyCheck (opens in new tab), accept online rent payments and sends automated rent
reminders. Besides saving time, this streamlines the leasing
process for both landlords and tenants.
Landlords can automate a lot of their activities with property
management software, which is one of its key advantages. For
instance, programs such as Furnished Finder’s sister company,
KeyCheck, accept online rent payments and sends automated rent
reminders. Besides saving time, this streamlines the leasing
process for both landlords and tenants.
Another advantage of using property management software is that it
provides landlords with a central hub for managing all of their
properties. They can use the software to keep track of rental
income and expenses, manage maintenance requests, and communicate
with tenants. This allows landlords to stay organized and ensure
that nothing falls through the cracks. It also makes it easier for
them to scale their business as they acquire more properties.
Recession Advice
As we may be heading into a recession, RB suggests investors build
their cash reserves to be able to take advantage of property
purchases. Someone may find themselves in a bind and need to make
a quick sale of their property. If you're in a position to buy,
you not only help them out but are likely to pick up a property at
a price below market value.
Advice for her younger self
Never get comfortable. It's important to note that in the real
estate investing industry, change is constant. Whether it's shifts
in the market, changes in tenant needs and demands, or new
technologies emerging, it's essential to stay adaptable and
willing to pivot in order to remain successful.
Staying on top of industry trends and constantly educating oneself
is part of this. Attending conferences, networking with other
investors, or reading books and articles by industry experts could
all be part of this. It may also imply looking for new ways to
improve tenant experiences, such as incorporating smart home
technology or providing more personalized services.
In addition, it's important to remember that real estate investing
is not just about making money but also about creating positive
impact in communities. By focusing on providing safe and
comfortable living spaces for tenants, being responsive to their
needs, and supporting local businesses and organizations,
investors can create a sense of community and foster long-term
relationships with tenants.
Overall, the key takeaway for any real estate investor is to keep
an open mind, stay informed, and always be on the lookout for ways
to improve and add value to tenants and the community. By doing
so, investors can not only weather the market's ups and downs but
also thrive in the long run.
Episode 17 Transcript
Welcome to Landlord Diaries where we talk about midterm rentals and the opportunities behind them we'll share landlord stories talk about maximizing investment potential and discuss how to live the very best landlord life this podcast is proudly brought to you by furnished finder the place for everything midterm rentals remember to like And subscribe if you enjoy our content and we're back it's your Furnished Finder host team Kelly Bailey uh in the Austin Texas area midterm enthusiasts with properties exclusively on Furnished Finder at this point I'm gonna get you a t-shirt exclusively on produce trainer Ah that's a good one so I love it I want it and I want it in uh the right size perfect that I can do well today we get to talk to Arby who is an educator an investor um and she's very very creative so she started by taking single family homes in New York which we all know is a crazy challenging Market um and switching them into multi-family so instantly increasing the value and um she has mastered her way of doing that she started at the age of 23 and now she finds all sorts of ways to give back to the community to help other people get get into investing um and it was really great to hear her perspective especially from such a daunting market so I know everybody will find some great information in this episode and we're excited for you to hear it please don't forget that all of our podcast episodes are powered by Furnished Finder um you can find us at Furnished Finder.com you can list your property for just 99 a year and get unlimited tenant leads and unlimited bookings because you book direct so we stay out of the way enjoy guys [Music] thank you hi guys thanks for joining us today again uh if you're if you're new to our show uh please uh enjoy this episode and if you love it then subscribe but we have a really fun uh guest today from New York her name is RB the realtor she is an investor and property manager in New York RB pursued her first multi-family real estate investment at 23 years old and had a hard time locking one in so she got creative and purchased a single family instead and then converted it into a multi-family she has a variety of multi-families and Queens Long Island Upstate New York and the Bronx RB has a heart for the inner city communities of New York and loves coaching others that real estate is possible for everyone you can connect with her at RBtheRealtor hey how is everybody today good good good hey so happy to be here we are so thankful you came on the show and can't wait to share your story so let's jump into the first question which is um I think I've got a pretty good grasp on your portfolio you've got two family and three family uh uh Multiplex in Queens two single families in Long Island two single families in Upstate New York and two multi-families in the Bronx is that correct yes it is okay so I think you split those between long-term um and Midterm and um and Airbnb so why don't you give us a breakdown of how your management style flows with those three different uh Property Management uh options well let me just take it a few steps back um I am traditionally a um a long-term landlord right so I started out in 2003 um which is a long time ago I'm dating myself um and so when I did start out it was nothing but long-term tenants that was all I knew that is how I began and that's actually the the arena that I learned to navigate through um in the last few years the climate had changed just a touch and also I had some people that were really seeing a lot of successes with traveling medical professionals this is actually before the pandemic so um I had a friend a close friend who was a realtor broker um who owns multi-families in the Queens area not too far from JFK Airport that had back to back traveling medical professionals and never really had too much of a gap in time and the Returns on that were way better than what the rent was for a traditional um tenant and then also one of the advantages that she was so excited about is usually it's like a long-term relationship when you're with your tenant so it's kind of like marriage right you guys have your UPS your Downs your abs your flows like highs and lows and at the end of the day you're just happy that somebody is maintaining your property and also somebody is paying the rent on time but it's so different when you have when you host traveling medical professionals because one they just want a quiet safe space to be able to rest while they're off of work or to be able to just relax when they have some down time but for the most part they're working a lot of hours because they came here specifically for that function and um the the thing that she was highlighting is oh so you remember when you had that tenant and you weren't too excited about that situation that took place well how would you like it if you only had that tenant for a few months and then you got to get somebody new and so if you didn't like that situation then you have an opportunity to start on a new page of somebody else I'm like that doesn't sound too bad so to be honest that is basically how I got introduced to it so it wasn't as if I did it the whole time I started a few years back um I did find Furnished Finder and um that was one of the platforms that she was using obviously a lot of people also know about Airbnb and we just set the parameters to make sense for our Locale um but it's been working out well so well that I actually was able to turn one unit once my long-term tenant left into a short-term rental for midterms days so and I like it honestly it's good okay so we heard that you kind of made your own multi-family units tell us how you decided to do that and kind of what that process was like for you because that's quite the creative entrepreneurship if you will it's it's undertaking yes undertaking yes um so just to be honest it wasn't like I just woke up one day and said let me get a house and make it into a multi-family that was not my story um I'm in a market which has properties that are at a higher price point and so um I was looking 23 years old super eager um the only person in my age group and in my circle of friends that were even interested remotely in investing in real estate because most people you know post College are just kind of working figuring it out living life um so I decided I wanted to do owner occupy a multi-family purchase right and so um that was what I set out to do I put in offers offers did not get accepted I put in the offer it did get accepted and when it got accepted I was super excited and um put down my earnest money and everything like that and then for some reason when we were supposed to go to contract we never received the contract and so I'm like so now at 23 you know everything is a major deal um super emotional super invested in the process and um so when we didn't I'm calling my attorney this is the first time I'm even having to deal with a real estate attorney so that even within itself was a big deal and um they told me that there wasn't much that I could do because even though they did accept the offer until the contract is fully executed I don't actually have the property so at 23 of course the sky was falling and um I thought that that was the worst thing in the world but it turned out to be a great beginning to another strategy so I started to look in that area because a lot of those properties were formerly single families but converted so I was like let me try and find a property that's like that because I knew the area was zoned for two and three families and um most of the properties were colonial that were just converted so I'm like let me just try and look for something like that or something that might be lived in and split up just for convenience um and so I was able to in the same area finds a property that was a colonial style it was a single family and it had the same layout as the property that I wanted to purchase and so I was like I don't even know what they did yeah exactly I'm like I already know what they did and try and just do this so I didn't know what to do so I had to do my research it wasn't as much this is way back when before everyone was just Googling everything so I had to go to the library I did my research I had to find out who the key team members that I would need such as an architect an electrician a plumber what that process looked like I even made trips to the Department of buildings so I could find out what exactly was involved with that process so when I spoke to these people I would sound knowledgeable because I'm just a young girl you know and there's that Dynamic too being not only female but under 25 and a female email right it's male dominated Arena you know of real estate and and honestly also being a minority which there weren't too many in my area that were doing that so I got it as I possibly could and um had consultations I actually the way that I was able to find my track my Tradesmen is I looked through the different um affiliations you know how they have all of those groups or organizations so the National Association of Architects the National Association of this and that and I literally just combed through each and every one of them it took days and days and days and looked at their credentials and looked at their skill set looked at their local and then I had conversations on the phone and found out about price point because it had to obviously fit into my budget because I was working for the Department of Education so it wasn't like I had a whole lot of money but I had to touch to be able to get started and I found an amazing team full of people that not only had the experience of doing this type of um process but also we're in um in the in in the in the spirit of teaching so not only were they doing it as a service because they were a hired contractor they also were very keen on explaining every part of it so that I was able to learn from them and um it it wounds up being one of the greatest experiences I had there were some hiccups of course because anytime you have to get approval from local municipalities is typically things that you have to figure out revisit uh re-inspect and all of those different things um but we worked through it and I learned a lot during the process and once I was able to do that one time um and force appreciation in a property and um you know because remember I'm purchasing single families and now turn into multi-families but I still have single family mortgages attached to it um it automatically gave me a lot of equity to be able to tap into for the next project and then it was kind of like rinse and repeat and then I saw people that um were of my community women minorities that were like how did you do this as if I was some sort of anomaly and I'm like I'm not there's people that do this every day all the time I just tried to figure it out and I probably did it the hard way because I'm pretty sure somebody else knew this process and I could have shadowed them but I did figure it out nonetheless so I wanted to make myself available to people to help them through this process so that they could do it too so people that want to own a home but they also need some sort of residual income to be able to offset their mortgage and so that's how the whole realtor thing came into place because um you know by trade I'm in I'm an educator I'm a psychologist I'm in a community person so that's a big passion of mine but um the realtor piece came in just because now I have to be able to have some sort of certification or credential to help these people I can't just go up to people start talking to them right saying hey let me have something I also convert it so that's how that whole thing came into plan and at 23 at what age did you decide you wanted to be a realtor I'm 24. so you're saying you do things very slowly in life you know that that's more like to think about it for a few years you know it's amazing I don't want to misrepresent so I still had my full-time job but I did want to help sure so this was on the side because as most people know when you're in the Department of Education you have your your work hours are the school day hours and then you have Summers off typically so I was able to do more in the Summers and I did more and most people that are looking for properties are looking to do things do it after their work day which most people's work day ends at five o'clock so I end at three so I have a couple of hours to even prep or do things or to get places so it was on top of the fact that I was helping people's children in the community well I think that's important to mention and important for everyone to remember because I don't know if Kelly and I have talked to anyone who just got to do real estate full-time straight out of the gate right you know you have to you have to to build your way within it and find a way to make it work a lot of times like you said a long time a full-time job or something else right so I think that's I think that's really good that you mentioned that thank you well I have my next question I love that you know you're in I I'm sorry but I always think of the Newsies I don't know if people love watching the Newsies or not but it's my favorite movie I've been to the musical they just did uh it the play this summer in Austin and so when I hear of the Bronx and Queens and Long Island I always think of the Newsies which is is my favorite but it's like you're in some really staple areas of the country and I love that you have a heart for helping those inner city communities so why don't we jump into that part uh like how are you involved in helping your inner city communities so pre-pandemic and that's a great question so I love that you asked that because it's honestly where my heart lies um pre-pandemic I was heavily um immersed in community engagement involvement in understanding how they could create generational wealth through the acquisition of real estate um in the city that I have been born and raised um there are people that have been um half down Apartments so there's generations of renters because we have rented Apartments and um with that being said there are certain people that their grandmother gave their mother the apartment that was that they were paying five or six hundred dollars on and then they gave it to their child that they didn't wind up paying like 700 on and now it gets to them and it's like 800 and they have a two-bedroom apartment in the middle of Manhattan where normally a two-bedroom apartment would be thousands of dollars self right it's pretty unique because um a lot of people don't see the value in ownership because they have these programs that are meant to help and it does help but sometimes it creates a false sense of comfort in the situation which basically stagnates growth and so it wounds up becoming a thing of you have to educate people in the community on the benefits of home ownership the benefits of being stakeholders within your community from an owner's perspective um the understanding helping them to understand how to create a business even if they are living in a home with that property whether it's through midterm stays or whether it's through long-term tennis this could be something that could help offset not only their expenses for the property but their lifestyle when I got my first property um I rented out every floor and after I converted it and I did not have any expenses for my property so even though I was working for the Department of Education my check was my own I did not have to spend anything for living expenses that within itself is a gem for a lot of people and so right I I I felt like part of my purpose is to help people I have the helping spirit so I wanted to help people that didn't even think that it was a possibility or even didn't even think that there were advantages in in ownership and so when you lay out the tax advantages when you lay out the income the passive income that can come from it when you lay out the fact that you are going to have more in your pocket if you do decide to only do it part-time or do owner occupied real estate it's something that is untapped for a lot of these inner city communities so I connected with community-based organizations I connected with banks um and also people in the Real Estate Field that are real estate professionals and we begin to have like this like a a power team so to speak like the Avengers and we went into the community for real estate for all and um and that's how that happened free pandemic and you know what you put set on your website uh I believe which I really like is you have a heart for and I didn't know the back story of the generational rent that is so like that is a cool feature that they offer and it sounds like your way of of helping understand that is generational wealth is what you say on your website it's like you want to help um your clients uh set up generational wealth and that is so cool so in an area that is super trendy uh and has a lot of uh high-end investment properties probably how do you help navigate your clients through finding the right fit for them if they don't have a huge budget to work with um it's location location so they might start out thinking that I want to go into a certain area but maybe it doesn't fall within their budget or their price point and that's okay um then we have to look at where can you find property so maybe it's not going to be in Tribeca maybe it's not going to be in downtown Brooklyn then maybe you might need to go somewhere in the Bronx or maybe you might need to go somewhere in Queens or maybe right outside of the boroughs in Westchester um such as like Mount Vernon or either in Long Island on the NASA County side so what happens is right outside of the five boroughs there are multi-families available at lower price points so when most people think yeah they most people think of New York they're thinking million dollar properties which there are a lot of those um but there are ways to find properties that are um within the limits or right outside of the New York City five Borough limits and you can also be able to occupy those and get the rent and all of that good stuff I love how you use the creativity too because I think one thing I heard I heard someone say once is that there's always a number that makes a deal work and there's always a deal to fit your numbers if you look hard enough and sometimes looking hard enough I think reflects your sense of creativity right and maybe it's not just literally digging through listings and stuff but getting creative and thinking okay how can I use this property or how could I transition this property or what could I do to make this property more valuable um so I think that's that's really important for for listeners to remember especially I mean I I can't imagine a tougher Market than New York quite honestly because I I mean I don't know the first thing about that market but you're right all I think about is oh my gosh you're gonna pay a million dollars and you're gonna get five square feet and that's like California right but like words very similar and so one of the things that we do when we actually and I say we because I'm I'm a realtor but I also have a real estate team that works under me and um it's the golden key real estate team and um so one of the things that we do is we try our best to not just help people to find Properties or find homes that they can produce this income and do the short-term rentals or the long-term tenants but we also educate them on how to produce a profitable property that's one of the ways and I had to get Super Creative so I wrote down all of these different things over the years that worked and you know faces at a premium in New York parking is at a premium um and we show people how to get the most revenue generated out of their properties and not just the inside of their properties but the outside as well my first property on top of the tenants renting each floor um I also had people that had motorcycles renting my garage and I rented that recycle um I also had my heart my driveway because I was always able to park in the in the front of the house because we were in a residential neighborhood but there's certain people that need to park their cars up for a little while so I would rent each spot it fit up to four cars I would put three in there so I had so smart yeah additional income coming in and it wasn't even tied to like a tenant or released it was outside of my house so then I one of the things that we coach people on or that I coach people on is how to generate the most income how to produce a profitable property and there's so many ways to do that especially when you're in the ownership seat and I think that is what makes my my I guess strategy a little bit different because there are a lot of people that do short-term or midterm rentals but they do it from an Arbitrage perspective my whole thing is purchase and leverage that purchase to get the most out of that particular property and then move on and continue from next property to next property to the next and that is the way that I was able to go from nine to five to firing my nine to five because that system worked for me and other people as well I love that RB I feel like you're coaching me right now because in the back of my mind it's like oh she's talking to me right now because we've got in Belton our our property has an acre and a half and the the house is nice and further back uh and so there's this uh Highway front land it's not like a big highway but it's a highly trafficked uh Road I'm like I've been thinking for about a year now okay how can I get more uh you know passive income by using the front part of the land and my first thought was just putting up you know um some sort of sign uh for for lease that wouldn't look you know having having restrictions on it so that it wouldn't be an eyesore for the guests that are staying in the home but do you have any do you have any go-to's when you have open land on a on a busy road that is like yes that's your option that's your best option if you have open lands um it's so it's a busy road you're saying so there's a lot of busy yep one of the things that I would think of is maybe providing an experience so there are a lot of people that look for open land to do that glamping situation where they get Outdoors but they don't necessarily want to have like all of the you know the experience of just like the woods so that's right yeah exactly so maybe glamping um maybe allowing people that do have um those mobile homes to have a park space on that to be able to rest um you know there's always somebody that needs space for something so I would take inventory of um different people's needs Facebook Marketplace gives a lot of ways for you to be able to see what people are looking for in your Locale and then meet that need so in my mind okay a lot about your Locale so I would say looking like maybe um usually they have like little communities on on like Facebook other different platforms that people kind of exchange what they need what they want and all that stuff or what they have to offer if you go into one of those groups then you can put it out there I have this amount of land would you guys be interested in using it if so how create the conversation make a post see the response I love that yeah and then take it from there so a lot of things are just putting it out there in the world that you have this this commodity hey yeah you have something that people might want to use and I'm pretty sure they're going to flock to you and say oh I would love it for this or oh I have such and such and I need to just have it stationed somewhere and I don't even want to move it because like a lot of the times even when I started doing the driveway rental those people did not even want to move those vehicles but they just maybe they they were going out of town or maybe they were going to be switching over registration and had to take the plates off so they needed to park it somewhere there's so many differences for like land or space so I would probably say my best bet would be go into one of those groups for your Locale and post out there that you have Bacon Land is anybody interested in using it that is such a great idea and I and I get stuck in my own mindset a lot so I love that you said just put it out there because when we all work together like we are our ideas only get better not worse so that's really good advice Katie you're up what what question do you have next so I have a question I it's very clear that you are very service minded and you love helping others it's also super clear that you come from an education background just the way that you you know think and the way that you're sharing ideas um I'd love to hear more about how you work to educate other people who are interested in getting in the world of investing and how you structure that and kind of you know like you said it's all about sharing those ideas and and helping each other and I know you have something so um I do coaching um that is something that I did not because I again I wasn't looking for this so many people were asking me so then the real estate coaching is something that I do I teach people how to leverage their nine to five um and by investing in real estate So eventually they can scale to a point that they can fire they're nine to five such as I did um I also um in Partnership um because I do believe in giving back when you get a certain amount of success if you have a certain amount of knowledge you have to I feel like it's incumbent upon you to just be able to share it with people um so I have partnered with several Banks also with several several different um aspects of the government to be able to provide information for first-time investors and home buyers on how they can get into that space as well as how they can access grants down payment assistance closing cost assistance and all of that and for people that might not even have great credit how they can even get their credit repaired for free so there are so many different reasons to call myself like the real estate resource lady um so um I like to connect the dots for a lot of people so I do it through my coaching I do it through a string of master classes that I do have available one of which is producing a profitable property but then on the philanthropic side of things I also collaborate with a lot of community-based organizations Banks and also HUD which is a part of the government and we do virtual will end in person first time home buyer and investor seminars and actually for even people that are looking um real estate professionals included or either Real Estate Investors or Future Real Estate Investors um even in the upcoming month um I have a uh a a seminar master class which is not only myself because I believe in the power of collaboration it's myself on the panel of Bank um the president of the Harlem CDC which they own the Apollo um an investor that um also does wholesaling and does a lot of purchasing of property remotely all the way out in Milwaukee as well as in New York um I have a person that specializes in real estate Acquisitions in New York and New Jersey and of course myself will be on the panel and this is something that's actually for the community because and we're doing it because a lot of people in Harlem those are the those generational renters and we want to show them you too can be an investor you too can be a homeowner you too can build a business and you can do it and a lot of the times with help from all of these programs that give you a head start love it that's so great so thank you awesome so I'm going to transition us to uh what's called actually before I Transit transitionist reminder if you want to know what upcoming sessions RB will be coaching on then go to her website RBtheRealtor do you want to give any other places they should they should look you up for your sessions sure so I also encourage people to go to my Instagram which is NYS underscore realtor NYS like New York State underscore realtor I also encourage people to go to Facebook I have a page it is RB Real Estate Services um that is the page we do have a a real estate group free of charge to join that is real estate for the people yeah that's real estate for the people that's on Facebook and um I'm on clubhouse as well I'll be the Realtors my hands will on all social media platforms yeah and Clubhouse still a thing is that like still a thing it is Clubhouse it is right honestly like I heard about it like I mean when it was like coming out and then I felt like it like dissolved I'm glad to hear it's still a thing it is we don't you know what it is you're able to reach people both inside and outside of your Locale so it's really great to be okay information Nationwide and sometimes internationally so we do a lunch and learn and we do that um yeah and and I think aren't you you're on a lunch and learn aren't you on a lunch and learn with Jesse from The Big Break show and the guys from livelet Thrive uh I think Micah are you is that your lunch group I it's a lunch and learn for short-term rentals that we do on Thursdays yes and they are part of uh yeah and that's cool so yeah that and then they can also go to www.rb 10k.com because that's my digital business card love it and how does Clubhouse work if you if you want to uh join a group do is it all live is it pre-recorded things it's live it's live so like we have a session okay we want an attorney to speak about when you come by with someone and if it goes wrong what do you do what are your legal options and what can so it's a lot of education and it's just my way of giving back it doesn't take a lot of energy to have a conversation and to share that information with people and if I can help somebody do it as a lunch and learn so we can give people bite-sized portions of information so there's a little bit more empowered to get started or to thrive in that real estate space okay well it sounds like also it's it's one of the best ways that you can retain information and learn even more is by teaching yeah right so how wonderful that is I also I love how you are always continuing to grow and learn and you're not stagnant in your position because um Kelly and I talk about this all the time how there's always room in real estate to get better like there is no top so I think embracing that mindset and those habits is so great all right let's transition to landlord Logistics uh when on our intro call one thing you wanted to share with other Furnished Finder landlords uh that are watching the show or considering getting into furnished rentals is how to navigate landlording so I'm going to let you take take away on that topic okay so how do you navigate landlording one you need to have systems in place systems for communication you need to have systems for tracking your profits and losses you need to have a team so I learned like I was learning how to fly a plane while in the plane so to speak when I started I was living in a property I was landlording at the same time and I was learning it so a lot of the things I did was Word of Mouth one of the things that I did learn moving forward documentation is so important it is your best friend in this process um making sure that you know clear communication is very important managing expectations is very important so up front being able to communicate about what your expectations are in this relationship of landlord and tenant is important and then also being able to hear what they would like to have as an experience as your tenant that's important because meeting of the minds and mutual respect it makes the process a lot easier and I can say not on wood that since 2003 I haven't had to evict anybody I think that keeping a lot right in New York nonetheless um so you know keeping that open line of communication is important so I typically advise people that are starting one have conversations keep that door open um and then also when you do have a conversation about something that is a um that is a a I guess something that you want to enforce as a rule of Regulation or something that is within your lease as soon as you have that conversation let them know hey I just want to make sure that we have all this documented and you can even put it on yourself because sometimes I'm so busy that I might forget I'm going to send you a written communication about what we just spoke about just so that we can always have this or a way that is a little bit less um I would say you know less discouraging for a tenant is when you have your invoice I always have an area on my invoice for comments and what I list is different maintenances that happen during that month um different Communications that took place if there is some sort of reason why they broke one of the rules of your lease then I highlight that we had a discussion the date the time and I also attach a copy of that section of the lease where it highlights exactly what it is that is expected for that tenant while they are taking residence in your property so I would say communication documentation having a system and making sure you have a good team because things do come up and one of the things that you need is you always need a handyman a contractor a plumber electrician not just one maybe two or three because if you rely on just one have a backup to the backup because if something happens that's emergent you need to be able to address it right away because I find that a lot of the times tenants get upset if they feel like you're letting it linger too too long and then that's what you think issues about payment of rent or whatever the case is and you don't want to have those conversations if you don't have to so make sure you have a strong team strong systems possibly even a platform to help you manage that such as furnished Finder um are either you know other property management software that helps to make it easy and also please no matter what you do make sure you keep a good accounting of your profit and losses because that is going to be something so important to have handy for your accountant once tax season rolls around hmm so those are everything it's all really good advice um I think my last question for this section is with the loom of recession and you having a portfolio of properties all in different Realms long-term short-term and Midterm uh what coaching advice would you give to other investors as we are potentially entering a recession um just to make sure and and be ready for any changes that might come get your pocket looks ready because it's about to be a storm of opportunity coming your way um you know you don't want to profit off of anybody's um downfall however in real life you always you might be the solution for somebody that finds themselves in a bind and that being able to help them while at the same time being able to add another property to your portfolio might be a win for everybody so um in these times when things like this happen everybody that I know that has been doing this for years and way older than me they're like this is the season for opportunity for everyone and also just so you know you know we're entering into like the fall and winter season the best time for people that know targeted areas that they're interested in to try and um find as many properties as possible a lot of sellers are getting seller's fatigue if they had it listed in the summertime and nobody um brought it or maybe they might have had it listed in a couple of deals it fell through so now they're more open to negotiate they're more open also to be able to um be a little bit more flexible on terms you know um so and you know and even financing options so as we approach a particularly but potentially Troublesome period one of the things that you can do is get ready to to be able to purchase more property one and help some people that might just be in a bind that need someone to help them by purchasing their property you are you are such a good coach I agree and I think you know it it's true I Kelly and I both have properties and I correct me if I'm wrong Kelly but I think you and I both would like to grow our portfolios um and it seems like there's two approaches to you know kind of the economic season that's coming it's fear or it's okay here's the opportunity like you said get your pocketbooks ready and um I think the wisest kind of those who are older than us and those who have kind of been through the cycle more times have proven that you know it is cyclical and there's no reason to be afraid but there is a reason to um you know pay attention when there's opportunity this is also reminding me of a conversation I had with a really good friend of mine yesterday we both have properties that were hit by Hurricane Ian and hers was hit really badly um and it's it's tough but we started talking about okay how can we get the property to the condition where you can help someone with it or how can we make it so that this actually turns into an opportunity for you not in a greedy way or anything like that but in a way to make it work and to serve other people and help other people while still you know paying the bills and and paying the mortgage that needs to be paid but it's like okay how soon can you get the property just back to being livable because then it could be a home for someone who's maybe whole house needs to be rebuilt so there's always those Solutions if you're in the right mindset and it's so easy for us to escape that mindset right but once you put on your business pants and you know get in that mode it's like okay how do I make this work so I think that's I think that's really wise advice that all of us need to remember so um I think all of this starts out with the mindset there's no way at 23 that I would have gotten started if I didn't have a mindset entrepreneurial mindset a wealth mindset um there's no way that you can actually stain this long in in the industry unless you have an abundance mindset and you want to work with right collaborate and see and and create wins for not just yourself but for other people as well um so mindset is important and when I do coach people that's one of the things that we start off with the mindset because that's going to be the thing that's going to continue to help you see when it's your Baseline right and I think it's it's like even staying in that mindset is a big deal like right when you're about to sign the closing papers and you're like oh my gosh this is how much money right this is like you know in those seasons of panic you know we have to kind of you have to build that mindset Baseline so that yeah you feel like you're falling over a little bit you can you can have that to rely on so this actually leads perfectly into my final question for you which is if you were talking to 23 year old RB what advice would you give her what would you want her to hear because it seems like she was already pretty great but what would you want to make sure that that she knows that anything is possible and don't limit yourself at what you know be open to learning with others no and expanding your horizons because I I think that once I got comfortable with the conversion that was like a one-trick pony and once I got comfortable with long-term tenants I was a one-trick pony with that too um and then when I heard about short-term rentals midterm rentals um that that did something amazing and honestly was the best decision I could have ever made especially during the pandemic when people were having issues with their tenants it saved me and I'm not saying even just in the financial Financial sense I'm saying even in an emotional sense because there's a lot of stress that comes with having to manage non-payment and you know um so I would say to myself um get good at your craft but be open to learning other areas sooner because I learned it but way later just because I got good and I got comfortable never get comfortable always keep growing always look for New Opportunities and it is okay to not necessarily go forward with every opportunity but at least understand because a lot of the times you can take different strategies from other areas and other ways of doing business and incorporate it into your business to make for Better Business for you and for others so move forward I would tell myself and and go out there and don't put a ceiling on what you can do because everything is possible foreign that's all the questions I have any any more for you from you Katie no this was so great it was so nice to meet you and hear your story I think so many listeners are gonna find it valuable and inspirational and we cannot thank you enough for being here with us thank you so much for having me I really appreciate it this has been amazing you guys are amazing it's such a great energy yeah well thank you and we're we're just you know so glad that you found value and Furnished Finder and everything you're doing is it's so great and we just love to hear the stories of not only your personal growth but giving back to the community and helping others it's something that we hope everyone can have the chance to participate in at some point my wheels are spinning on fun titles for this one I already think I already think I nailed it in so thank you so much for being with us uh please uh like or subscribe if you're enjoying our show and comments are only available on YouTube really I haven't found any other uh podcast platform that really allows for comments so if you have a question for RB or you want uh to hear about some other topic that we haven't talked about yet then please go ahead and add it on one of the episodes on YouTube alright have a good day everybody thank you [Music] you know who made it