When you're looking to build your investment portfolio, too many times we see people try to do it all themselves. They often tend to get overwhelmed by all that they don't know, and end up not taking any action. It's important to remember that you have very powerful people that can help you get closer to your goals much faster than doing it by yourself.

So just like a three legged stool, there are three key legs to your real estate investor team, and this applies whether you live in that city or not.

#1) An Investor-Focused Real Estate Agent

There are a lot of fantastic real estate agents out there in the residential space, and some of them have investors they work with on the side, yet if you're looking for top notch knowledge and experience to give you the best opportunity for success, it's a great idea to find somebody that works primarily with investment real estate.

In many cases (not all), the buyers agent commission gets paid out of the commission the...

Oftentimes when people think about real estate investing, they are immediately concerned because they think that it means they'll have to respond to tenants phone calls at 2am staying that their toilet isn't working or they no longer have heat in their home, and you have to instantly drop everything and go help them out.

That's what I thought about too, until I got into it and realized that, depending on your personal preferences, there are many different layers that can insulate you from feeling like you're taking on a 2nd job managing the property or building your portfolio.

So it's helpful for you to ask the question "how active do I want to be in managing my real estate investments?" Some people like getting their hands into things and being involved in the day to day operations and the decision making. Some don't. The good news is you get to choose, and there are opportunities out there that fit the entire spectrum! Plus, it's not just in the management of the property, but...

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If you live in their franchised territory, inevitably you have seen billboards and commercials for "We Buy Ugly Houses" also known as HomeVestors of America, Inc. They are the leading home buyer in the country, helping more than 10,000 people sell their homes every year. What does it look like to run one of their franchises? Jeff Hotz is a top franchisee of the company, is based out of Columbus, Ohio, and has ran his franchise with HomeVestors since 2013.

Prior to being in real estate, Jeff served in the Marines and US Navy. Today he discusses how linking up with a proven franchise has helped him grow his investing business and his real estate portfolio, and how he's had to adapt and shift as the market has changed over the years. We also discuss their in-house lending and private money arm that has allowed him to acquire properties and execute on the 5 exit strategies for each property he runs across: Assign, Wholesale, Wholetail, Retail, and...

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Scott Carson, affectionately known as "The Note Guy" has been in the mortgage, finance, and banking industry since 2001 and an active real estate investor since 2002. In his career, he has acquired over $1 Billion in distressed debt, having purchased hundreds of notes in 20-30 states across the US. As CEO and Founder of the Austin, Texas based We Close Notes, Scott is the host of The Note Closers Show and Note Night in America. In addition, he is a featured speaker, educator, trainer, and coach at real estate investing workshops and conferences across the country. He's very active on social media to help grow his business, having almost 30,000 followers on LinkedIn, over 7,000 subscribers on Youtube and has posted over 1,700 videos on his channel.

In this episode hosted by Mike Swenson, we discussed:

• How Scott kept going after being shut down with his first investments as a landlord and became a full-time real estate investor and started...

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Mike Kaeding has a big mission "to solve America's housing shortage by transforming the way apartments are built and managed. And in doing so, I will improve the way we all live." Having taken over the family business after his dad unexpectedly passed away, Mike didn't know how things "were supposed to be done." He used his ignorance as an asset. He asked questions. He looked at things from a fresh perspective. In doing so, he's been able to build Norhart into a company that does things differently than most.

Norhart is able to build apartment building for 20-30% less than other developers. They are extremely passionate about hiring the best people they can, which led them to hire 14 recruiters to go out and find the best! How about flying in construction employees from across the US to work on their development projects? How about offering them unlimited time off? They are building an attractive culture unique to the construction industry...

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Benjamin Franklin famously said back in 1789 "Nothing is certain but death and taxes." Jodi Nielsen would quickly chime in "I can help defer one of them." Jodi is a Sr. Account Executive for Cost Segregation Services Inc (CSSI) which has performed over 40,000 Cost Segregation studies. The goal of having a cost segregation study on your investment property is to help accelerate up to 40% of a building's depreciation so that you can use your money now to help make more money. For every 500k on a building, they find that they are able to provide a tax savings benefit in the range of 40-80k (note: this is an estimate only. Your situation may be different).

After getting her degree in Nuclear Medicine and working as a Administrator of a Medical Clinic, co-owning a shipping and packing company, and serving as a consultant, Jodi found her home working for CSSI. She is extremely passionate about helping real estate investors free up capital that they can...

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For many, fixing and flipping is the way into real estate investing which is the same for Jeremy Dyer. After becoming rookie of the year working with ADP and having a lot of success in his sales job, Jeremy was looking for a way to take advantage of all of the amazing benefits being a real estate investor can bring. He did fix and flips for 3 years and became exhausted over all of the work and stress of having, what felt like, a second job. He then found the benefits of becoming a passive investor into larger deals through syndication and was hooked. He could experience the rewards of investing in real estate without all of the day to day work. This has allowed him to be a passive investor in 24 deals with over 4,000 doors and over $400 Million in assets. This consists of investing in 8 states in 4 different asset classes with 6 sponsors.

Today, Jeremy has taken that experience as a passive investor and great relationships with many highly...

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What does a Designated Managing Broker (DMB) do and what does a day look like for them? Meet Holly Brink, the Designate Managing Broker for eXp Realty in the state of Iowa. When she took on the role back in 2019, she oversaw 69 agents. Fast forward to today, and they now have 330 agents, almost 5X growth in 4 years. Born and raised in Arizona, Holly has been in real estate for over 15 years, focusing on residential sales since 2011. After starting in Arizona, Holly moved to Iowa in 2016 and quickly became a successful agent in the state prior to taking the DMB role in 2019. When she's not doing real estate, Holly is busy creating content for her social media accounts or spending quality time with her two children.

In this episode hosted by Mike Swenson, we discussed:

• How Holly took the interim opportunity to be the Designated Managing Broker in Iowa, and turned it into her full-time role 
• As DMB, knowing how to take care of all the...

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If you want to feel inspired and motivated to take the next steps in your business, spend some time with Margaret "Mo" Smith! Prior to her time in the real estate industry, Mo worked at the Seattle Art Museum and was an Assistant Volleyball Coach for Northwest University and obtained her Masters in Social Work Degree. She then became the Director of Operations for Pickett Street Properties in Bothell, WA before launching her own company called I Love It When, which does coaching, retreats, workshops, and so much more. In addition, she utilized the FHA 203k loan to help purchase and renovate 2 duplexes, making over 95k on her first property. Mo shares her journey of discovery in launching her own business and inspiring and empowering leaders to be exactly who you are!

In this episode hosted by Mike Swenson, we discussed:

• How Mo learned to the lesson to listen internally to make changes in her life before it get to a point of frustration
• How...