I Bought 15 Rental Units While Making $15/Hour Putting Up Fences

Summary

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BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

Episode: "I Bought 15 Rental Units While Making $15/Hour Putting Up Fences"

Host: Henry Washington (on behalf of Dave Meyer, Head of Real Estate at BiggerPockets)
Guest: Britton Eads, Kentucky investor
Date: June 22, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode features the remarkable journey of Britton Eads, a young investor from Kentucky who amassed 15 rental units and over $200,000 in equity—despite earning just $15 per hour working for a fencing company. Britton shares candid stories about rookie mistakes, financing strategies, leveraging mentorship, and his relentless focus on action and cash flow. The discussion offers practical lessons and inspiration for both new and seasoned real estate investors.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Britton’s Early Journey & Mindset

[00:00-02:36]

• Britton’s path after high school was uncertain: He dropped out of college and the electrician’s union, not sure what he wanted.

• A pivotal moment came when he read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, sparking his interest in real estate and financial freedom.

  “As soon as I read it, I was like, wow, is it really this easy to go and buy real estate or start a business and not have to work and become financially free through real estate investing?” – Britton Eads, [02:24]

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2. The First Duplex: Action, Mistakes, Lessons

[02:51-08:33]

• December 2022: Britton buys his first property, a $70K duplex, without seeing it or getting an inspection.

• The duplex was over 100 years old, but it was already rented for $1,000/month, initially netting $200 cash flow.

• Over several months, he invested $30K in renovations, raising total rents to $1,800/month. However, after appraisal, there wasn’t enough equity to pull cash out.

• Loan terms: local bank “commercial construction loan,” 5-year term, 20-year amortization, ~8.5% interest.

  “I didn’t even know how old it was…It ended up being over 100 years old. And I had no idea.” – Britton Eads, [03:54]

  “You took massive action…though I do not love the fact that you didn’t see [the property]. Nor did you get an inspection.” – Henry Washington, [03:32]

  Lesson: The importance of due diligence—visit properties, get inspections, and understand what you’re buying.

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3. Scaling Up: The Fourplex with FHA Financing

[08:33-12:27]

• A year and a half later, Britton buys a fourplex for $245K using an FHA loan (just 3.5% down, living in it for a year).

• Bought below market value from Zillow; many units in disrepair but with strong potential.

• Rehabs units for under $10K, increases rents substantially (3 units at $900, 1 at $850, total = $3,450/month).

• Property appraises at $322K, creating equity.

  “Every single property I have bought besides the first duplex…I bought…off Zillow.” – Britton Eads, [10:45]

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4. The Mentor Advantage

[16:26-18:34]

• After the first deal, Britton was stuck. Through his mother’s banking connections, he met Hank Ballinger, owner of 800+ apartments.

• Participated in a $500 mentorship/class, learning the 1% rule, market appreciation, and the value of networking and due diligence.

  “Start with who’s in your network and tell them what you’re doing and ask them to make connections.” – Henry Washington, [18:34]

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5. Compounding Deals: Triplexes, Houses, and Creative Financing

[19:59-30:38]

• April 2025: Britton finds a triplex and a small house for $185K on Zillow. Notices a similar building next door, negotiates to buy both triplexes and house (total 7 units) for $265K; initial rents over $3,000/month.

• Borrows 15% down payment ($46K) from a member of his investor community at 10% interest. Renovates with sweat equity and an additional $40K bank construction loan.

• Property reappraises at $545K after renovations.

• Uses cross-collateralization ("portfolio loan") to leverage equity from this and previous properties to buy additional deals—a duplex for $250K (appraised at $320K and rented for $3,000/month).

  “What isn’t luck is if you are consistently looking for deals…When deals like this come across, you’re able to find them.” – Henry Washington, [22:04]

  “I done what anybody would do…I got this property under contract. It should be worth about $450,000… I'll do 10% interest-only...and a 10% balloon payment when I refinance...” – Britton Eads, [24:50]

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6. Key Lessons Learned

[34:34-37:58]

• Cash Flow Over Everything: Britton’s main focus was buying properties with strong cash flow using as little of his own money as possible.

• Keep Adequate Reserves: Early on, Britton did not have adequate reserves; learned the hard way during a cash-out refinance when $15K in unexpected repairs hit at once.

• Leverage and Refinance: Used cash-out refi to pull $212K and still net $2,000/month.

  “Cash flow is your safety net…If you can get that property to pay for itself on day one, you are protecting yourself in the event where things go wrong.” – Henry Washington, [36:39]

  “That’s the biggest thing I’ve learned now…As soon as I got that money, I had $15,000 in repairs come up.” – Britton Eads, [36:13]

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7. From Fencing to Financial Freedom

[37:58-38:25]

• Britton’s income from fencing was never more than $3,000/month. Now, his rental portfolio brings in about $3,000/month (cash flow), $100K+ in cash from refis, with two new duplex constructions underway.

  “I was making $15 an hour…Now I’m making about $3,000 a month with the new fourplex that I just bought...I’ve got about, like I said, a hundred thousand in cash from doing all the cash out refinances.” – Britton Eads, [38:00]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Taking Action:
  “You took massive action…though I do not love the fact that you didn’t see [the property]. Nor did you get an inspection.”
  – Henry Washington, [03:32]

• On Networking:
  “Start with who’s in your network and tell them what you’re doing and ask them to make you make connections.”
  – Henry Washington, [18:34]

• On Cash Flow:
  “The most important thing is cash flow…The main thing was buying properties with as little money as possible that could cash flow me the most amount of money.”
  – Britton Eads, [35:25]

• On Risk and Reserves:
  “Cash reserves are going to save your butt…Buying real estate with little to no money is possible, but it is almost impossible to own real estate and not have money.”
  – Henry Washington, [38:25]

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Actionable Takeaways for Aspiring Investors

• Consistently Search for Off-Market/Undervalued Properties: Use platforms like Zillow, but look for “misclassified” or neglected listings.
• Leverage Creative Financing and Community Networks: Borrow down payments from other investors with clear terms if needed.
• Prioritize Cash Flow and Build Reserves: Ensure properties cash flow from day one; keep adequate reserves for emergencies.
• Seek Mentorship and Leverage Your Network: Look within your immediate and extended circles for mentors and opportunities.
• Take Action, But Don’t Skip Analysis: Balance decisive action with due diligence to avoid costly mistakes.

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Segment Timestamps

• [00:00] Introduction & Britton’s Background
• [02:51] First Duplex: How & Why He Bought Sight-Unseen
• [06:16] Loan Terms, Renovations, and Cash Flow
• [08:33] Fourplex Purchase & Rehabs via FHA
• [12:27] Property Appraisal and Equity
• [16:26] Meeting His Mentor & Lessons Learned
• [19:59] Triplexes + House Acquisition & Creative Financing
• [24:50] Portfolio and Cross Collateralization Explained
• [29:21] Duplex Deal, DSCR Loan, and Adding Value
• [34:34] Summary of Lessons: Cash Flow, Reserves, Risk Management
• [37:58] Income Comparison: Fencing Job vs. Rental Portfolio

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Final Thoughts

Britton Eads’ story is a testament to the power of relentless action, creative problem solving, and prioritizing cash flow. He made plenty of beginner mistakes but always found a way forward, leveraging community, mentors, and strategic financing. For anyone doubting their ability to get started in real estate, this episode offers a real-world blueprint for taking action, learning from failure, and building wealth from the ground up.

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Transcript

[A]

This has to be one of the wildest, funniest episodes I've ever recorded on this podcast. Britain Eads tried college and then he dropped out. He tried joining the electricians union, then he dropped out. Now he was working for a fencing company, getting paid just $15 an hour. And you know what he did with his paychecks? He spent every dollar he had on rental properties. He bought a duplex, then a fourplex, then seven more units while making just $3,000 a month. He made the classic beginner mistakes. He bought a house without ever going to look at it. He didn't get an inspection, had pipes burst just two weeks into owning his first rental. Oh, by the way, don't ever do half the stuff he mentions early on. But what he didn't do was give up. Now he's got over 15 rental units that have replaced his paycheck and built him over $200,000 in equity. He used that equity to buy more properties when he didn't have the money, got seller credits to fund his renovations, and did it even with 8% interest rates. Britton had every excuse not to be successful in real estate, and he made it work. This is how you can do it, too. What's going on, everybody? I'm Henry Washington, host of the BiggerPockets podcast, and we have an investor story for you today. We have investor Britton Eads out of Kentucky. Let's jump in. Britton Eads, welcome to the BiggerPockets podcast.

[B]

Oh, it's good to be here, man.

[A]

So good to have you. For our audience, why don't you give us a little bit of a peek into your background and how you first got into real estate.

[B]

So I graduated high school in 2021. I was 18 years old, and when I graduated, I didn't really know what I wanted to do. So I went to college for about six months and then I dropped out. So then I joined the electrician union. My dad wanted me to do that. So I went to electrician union for probably another six months. And then this, the school started. And I thought, well, I don't know if I really. I don't think I really want to go and do the school because they was wanting us to go and work all day and then go to school for like two or three hours at night after work. And I was like an hour away from my house where I was having to work at. So while I worked there, my wife, well, it was my girlfriend, but now my wife, her grandma gave me the book rich dad, Poor Dad. And I read it, and as soon as I read it, I was like, wow, is it. Is it really this easy to go and buy real estate or start a business and not have to work and become financially free through real estate investing?

[A]

All right.

[B]

So then I just. I was like, well, you know, I don't really want to go to school anymore. So then I quit doing that.

[A]

Yeah, we picked up on that. I noticed the theme of you not wanting to go to school amongst your story, which is fair. Fair enough. School isn't for everybody. I get it. I get it.

[B]

I got lucky probably to pass high school. Not really. I had A's and B's, but I hated every single second of it. So after that, I went back to work for my dad and I started looking for properties and listening to podcasts. That was 2022. And by the end of 2022, December, I bought my first property. It was a duplex for $70,000.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

But when I bought this duplex, I had never seen it. I didn't do an inspection. I didn't know how old it was. I didn't know anything about it.

[A]

You just knew how much it cost?

[B]

I just knew how much it costed. Honestly. The guy asked me, said, I want 80,000. I said, I'll give you 70. And he said, okay. He just wanted rid of it.

[A]

All right, okay, all right, all right. Hold on. First and foremost, what I like about what you told me about your story is it was action based. You took massive action. You started looking for properties. You found something to buy. I do not love the fact that you didn't see it. No. Nor did you get an inspection.

[B]

I didn't even know how old it was.

[A]

Wild.

[B]

It ended up. Ended up being over 100 years old. And I had no. I had no idea.

[A]

No, no, no, no. It did. It didn't end up being over 100 years old. That thing was over 100 years old well before you made an offer on it. You just didn't research enough to know that it was 100 years. But you took some action. You didn't go see it. So how. How far away from you was the property? Like, was it a. Was it a drive to go see it or was it close to you?

[B]

So it was about 30 minutes from where I lived at.

[A]

Okay, so you should have went to see it. Got it.

[B]

Yeah, I should have went to see it. I was working every day. And honestly, I just. I just knew I wanted to buy real estate. That was all I was really worried about. And I knew that so it was rented for about $1,000 a month. So when I bought it at first I was making about $200 a month off of it.

[A]

Some information that was great was you knew that it was rented. Yeah, for prior to you buying it, which means it's, it should at least be in somewhat of a livable condition.

[B]

Somewhat, yes, somewhat.

[A]

But let's talk about the actual property. Paid $70,000 for it. You didn't have to do any renovation at that point.

[B]

So the people that had lived there had lived there for four or five years. So technically I didn't have to do any renovations. But I had listened to Robert kiyosaki and Ken McElroy in Biggerpockets and I thought, well, let's see if I go and put some money into this property, if it'll praise for more and if I could get more rent on it. So it's about six months before I decided to go through with this. So I went back to the bank and I said, you know, I want to go and fix this property up and see what it'll be worth. I think I can get. I ended up getting eighteen hundred dollars a month in rents.

[A]

Oh wow.

[B]

So what I ended up doing, I put $30,000 into this property. I put a roof on it, I put mini splits in it, I put LVP flooring in it. One of the apartments had an old claw foot bathtub and we actually took it out and put a new shower in a bathtub shower combo. And we actually got the property fixed up pretty nice and we ended up re renting it for $1,800 a month. But the craziest thing about it is is I paid 70 for it when I bought it. It appraised for I think $85,000. I put $30,000 into it with the construction loan from the bank and it's still only appraised for $100,000. Oh wow.

[A]

So $70,000, that was a conventional loan that you use.

[B]

So here where we live at these local banks, they'll do, they call them commercial loans and they're on a five year term and they'll do 15, 20 or 25 years. That one was a five year term. 20 years. I think the interest rate was eight and a half when I first got it.

[A]

Okay, so you did a commercial construction loan 15% down. It's on a five year adjust. Typically that means you're on interest only payments while you're fixing it up as well. They gave you 30 grand to fix it. So you paid 70. You put 30 in it. You're all in for a hundred. Good news, it's renting for 1800, which is definitely positive cash flow. So that's excellent cash flow. But you didn't appraise for enough to pull your cash out. So were you able to refinance at all? Did you do like a rate and term?

[B]

Yeah. So whenever I got that loan, when I first got it, it was five years fixed, 20 years amortization, and then five year balloon. So when I refinanced it, we refinanced it. It was I think, eight and a half percent for just one year on the construction loan of it.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So I had a year to fix it and then I had to come back and refinance again after that. And I refinanced a 5, 5 year term on a 20 year amortization again. And I didn't pull, I couldn't pull anything out because I didn't have really any equity. But I think my payment was, my payment was $697 a month. My insurance was $100 a month. Taxes was about $100 a month. And then I was putting back about $300 a month for fixing things. So I was cash flowing 5 or $600 about every single month.

[A]

So my first question is, did you learn some lessons with that first one that you applied now to your second deal so that you didn't repeat the mistakes? Because I'm just going to be honest, some of the mistakes that you made on that first deal, if you were to repeat that now in the 2025, 2026 market, you would be in a world of hurt. Yeah, right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But a, you bought something that had a ton of cash flow in it, which was great. Did it appraise for what you wanted? No. But you're cash flowing, so you've got positive income coming in, which is great. But hopefully you learned some lessons that you applied to the second deal.

[B]

So after I bought that one, it took me about a year and a half to buy my next one, which was April 2024. And when I bought it, I bought a four plex and I actually bought that one on FHA. So I only had to put three and a half percent down on it. And, you know, you have to live in it for a year. But I was able to get a $245,000 fourplex with about $7,000 out of pocket. So I met my mentor, Hank, and I, you know, I asked him, like, what do you think something like this would rent for? It was three two bedrooms and one one bedroom unit. And when I bought it, the the old landlord had put in a roof on it, had new hvacs and it was only rented for $1,200 a month. The one bedroom was rented for 600 and the two bedroom was rented for 600. And two of them were empty and they were, they was in really bad shape. I don't know how it really passed the FHA inspection because they're really strict on it. So we went and fixed that unit up, we put LVP flooring in it, tore that wall out and we re rented that unit for $950 a month to a tenant on Section 8. And I paid the water bill which was it's about $50 every month. So we had that one rented for $900 a month. And after that happened I thought, well, if this one just rented for 900, I can easily rent the other ones for that.

[A]

I like that you waited, you didn't jump and rush right into the second one. And I also like that you did an FHA loan. So give us just a recap of the numbers on this one. Your purchase price for this property was how much?

[B]

It was 245,000.

[A]

Okay. And about how much money would you say you spent renovating the property as a whole?

[B]

Probably less than $10,000.

[A]

So you paid 245, you got 10k in it. You're all in for 255. And what are your total rents on that property?

[B]

Now I've got three of those units on section eight. So I've got three of the two bedrooms rented for $900 a piece and then the one bedroom's rent for 850. So right now we're getting about 34, 50 in rents on that 3450.

[A]

On a property you're all in at 250. And some change I would say is a good solid cash flow. Especially since you used an FHA and you only had to put seven and a half thousand dollars. How did you find it? Was this an on market deal or was this a pocket listing? How did you come across this deal?

[B]

So every single property I have bought besides the first duplex I bought has been off Zillow. So I was looking at where we live at in Richmond and most of the time fourplexes here where we live at, most of them sell for a little over the 1% rule. So they're between 350,000. Some of them is 400,000, which 400,000 is on the high end. But I knew that this was a really, really cheap fourplex because you can't. You couldn't find another fourplex for this price where we live at now. It was in really bad shape. The owner had taken care of the outside. It had a new roof. Some of the siding was new. The H Vacs were new. But he didn't touch the inside of these two units. They had old wood floors that he had just painted black.

[A]

Landlord special.

[B]

When people went and looked at it, he went and had a huge hole cut in the ceiling of one of the units because of the toilets. Had looked upstairs, and he was too lazy to come over and fix it. So people were going and looking at it, and they're looking at that, and they're looking at these other two units, and they're like, well, this guy hasn't done any work to this thing since he bought it. So I think a lot of people, they see properties like that, that are ugly and that need work, and they don't want to go and buy a property like that because it had been on Zillow for, I think, six months.

[A]

Okay, cool. Thank you for sharing. And look, I know I'm laughing and joking with you, but I 100% appreciate the honesty and transparency because there are lessons to be learned in wins. There are lessons to be learned in mistakes. And from what I know about your story, you're doing pretty darn well as a newer and especially a younger real estate investor. One last question I had about this particular deal is, so you're all in it for 250 and some change. Have you had it appraised? What would you say the value of that property is now?

[B]

I had an appraiser. He's, he's, he's, he's a really good friend of mine, actually. But he's, you know, set price 70 or 80 years old. I'm not too sure how old he is. And he's like, well, you know, this property ain't worth but 260 or 270. And there's no four plexes that sell for that where we live at. And I got a friend of mine that lives in a little bit of a bigger city and sees some higher prices sometimes. And he came back and reappraised it for closer to what I thought it would be worth, which was 322,000.

[A]

Well, that's awesome. If you got a $322,000 appraisal, you absolutely have some equity. So this sounds like a decent deal to me. Positive. Cash flow, great rents, and you've got some equity in the deal. One thing I want to discuss with you is you had mentioned that you found a mentor and that mentor helped you learn how to scale. And I want to dive into kind of how you met that mentor and how you've implemented some of his teachings. But we're going to do that right after the break.

[C]

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[B]

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[C]

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[B]

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[A]

right, we are back on the Bigger Pockets podcast with investor Britain Eads, who has told us all about his first two deals. First deal was a duplex that he paid only $70,000 for. He bought it sight unseen and turned out to be a decent deal. Positive cash flow, maybe didn't get the appraisal you wanted, but you are making money. You waited about a year and a half. You bought your second deal, a quadplex, which the numbers sound really amazing on. But as you were telling us that story, you had mentioned that you met a mentor with about 800 doors. I know a lot of new investors are looking for people who would mentor them. So can we just talk for a second about how you met this guy and, and how your relationship is and what kind of advice he was giving you on your real estate journey.

[B]

So after I bought my first duplex, I got stuck. I really, it took me a year and a half, but I would have rather have bought something the next day if I'd have had the money or if I even could have found it. And my mom is actually, I don't know, she's something. She's like a vice president, I think at one of these banks over here where I live at. And I just asked her like, mom's like, do you know anybody that owns a bunch of apartments? I mean you have to see these people all the time and stuff. She's like, yeah. And she gave me this guy's name. His name was Hank Ballinger and he owned then 800 and something apartments in the city where we live at. And whenever I met him, he was doing a class. So it was a one on one class. I think it was $500. And I went there and met him every single day for about six weeks. And he really just taught me about, you know, how to know if a property is a good deal, the 1% rule, and to make sure that every property that you buy, cash flows. And to not just buy cheap properties like I did at first with the duplex, but to buy in areas that will appreciate, but also cash flow at the same time so you can hold those for long periods of time and ride that appreciation up over longer periods of time. He taught me things like that. And he taught me a lot, just about, you know, to get inspections on properties when you go, to make sure you walk properties when you. When you do buy them.

[A]

He taught you a few little things like go see a house before you buy it, maybe have somebody check it out before you close on it. Look again. I tease, but I like this because you did what I think where I think everyone should start. You utilized the resources that you had first in order to try to help you make connections. So not everybody listening is going to have a mother that has a position at a bank where they can introduce you to somebody. But you probably have someone in your network somewhere who knows people in real estate. Everybody's got a friend or a cousin or somebody who's an agent, right? So start with who's in your network and tell them what you're doing and ask them to make you make connections. Those connections can lead you to other connections. And so if you're listening to this and you want a mentor, start with the people in your network, see who they know, go to lunch, go to coffee, and then ask them if there's somebody else in their network now that they know a little bit about, more about you and what you're looking for. Is there someone else in their network that they can connect you to so you can have your next meeting and you could be well on your way to meeting your next mentor. So, Mr. Britton, you now have done two deals, and they are positive cash flowing deals. One of them has a good amount of equity in it. But if I've learned anything about you in this conversation, the last thing you want to do is sit on your hands with this gunpowder and this mentor who's teaching you how to scale. So what the heck did you do with all this information? What was your next deal?

[B]

So after I bought the Fourplex In April of 2025, I found a triplex in a house that was on Zillow. Again, there's asking $185,000 for a triplex and a house.

[A]

So you found. You found a triplex and a house listed online for $185,000. Something's not right with that. That doesn't. That doesn't math to me based on the numbers you were telling me. So why 185? What was wrong with that?

[B]

So the house was just a little cottage behind it. When I say it's a house, it's only like a 500 square foot house. It wasn't really, technically wasn't really a house. And they were just on one lot. And the triplex was in pretty bad shape when I bought it.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

But the greatest thing about it was when I went to look at it and I noticed that there was another triplex next door that looked identical to the other one. And I noticed that there were seven mailboxes on that one porch. So we called the other realtor, and luckily they actually owned the other triplex, too. And I said, well, would he want to sell them all together? And he said, yes. So we went and looked at it, and two of these units were tore all the way down to the studs, and the one was rented, I think, for $600 a month. And they were all rented total for $3,200 a month. And when I looked at them, two of the units were tore all the way down to the studs on the other one. And he only wanted $80,000 for that one.

[A]

So 180 plus 80 would get you everything.

[B]

185 plus 80 got me everything. And we went, and I was like, oh, my God, like, this should be worth, you know, between 400, 450,000 if it's all fixed up. And I could get these re rented for about $6,000 a month. So I went ahead and I had about $1500 in the bank, and I wrote $1000 check to put. To put those under escrow. And I had about 45 days to close on these. So I'd done, you know, what anybody would do. And I went to the bank that done my other loan. I said, hey, I found these properties. They're this much. I'll have them rented for this much. You know, they're rented for 3200 right now. And he. And the first thing he asked me, he said, well, do you have the down payment? And I said, yes.

[A]

People are going to hear this story. And I think you got lucky. Right. And is there some element of luck in finding something like this? Sure, there's a small element of luck. What isn't luck? Is if you are consistently looking for deals. If it. If you make it your job to look for properties to buy. When deals like this come across, you're able to find them because you're consistently looking to. Dave Meyer and I talk about this all the time. There are tons of properties listed online, I like to call them misclassified listings, where sellers or agents for some reason have no idea how to market properties and things are not marketed correctly. It takes a little bit more of a keen eye. So you saw what looked like a deal. You went to the property, and you didn't just look at what was in front of you, but you looked at what was next door, and you noticed some things. You noticed that the property next door looked exactly like the property you were at. You noticed that the owner of the property, once you did a little research, owned that property too. And then you did what I think every real estate investor should do, which is ask, hey, do you have anything else you'd be willing to sell, or would you be willing to sell everything? So now you find yourself under contract for a property for $265,000, for seven units, two triplexes, and a single family home for 265,000. But the key, the thing that I think is important about this deal is the current rents. Current rents were above $3,000, which means as the property sat, the day you paid for it, it was cash flowing. Like that means you're buying yourself a good deal because everything else that you force in terms of cash flow down the road is additional on the cake. And this wasn't that long ago. This was 2025, correct?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, this was. So I seen it in April 2025. We closed May 2025.

[A]

Absolutely. So people say there are no good deals out there. There are deals out there. You have to. You. You got to have a different pair of eyeballs than everybody else to be able to see things that other people don't see. But I like the fundamentals of this one, because as the property sat, even though it was in bad shape, even though there were two units down to the stud, the property was making money. And that opens up options for you in terms of how you're able to finance that deal. So you've got this thing on the line for 265. The banker asked you, did you have the down payment? And you said, yes, I did the exact same thing on my first deal. I absolutely did not have the down payment. But the banker asked me, did I have it? And I said yes, because all that means to me is I got time to go find it, even if I don't have it in that moment. So talk to me about the financing of this one. How did you take this deal down?

[B]

So I was part of this other community and they had other people in there that were millionaires. And I just got on their post, I said, hey, I got this property under contract. It should be worth about $450,000. Whenever it's all finished, the wrench will be 6,000. I'll do 10% interest only a month for one year and a 10% balloon payment when I refinance the property. So within two weeks, I had somebody message me. They said, hey, we're interested in doing it. I talked to him on the phone twice. And a couple days after that, they sent me a wire for $46,025. The $25 was the wire fee. So a couple weeks after that I took that money and took it to the bank and we closed on that property. But that's where the money come from for that. And so I bought it, put the money down, and then they gave me a permanent loan on that, which is a five year, like earlier, five year term, 20 year amortization. And then they just added the construction loan on top of that, which was another, I think, thousand dollars.

[A]

So 265 purchase price, $40,000 renovation. You're telling me this entire property only needed $40,000 worth of work?

[B]

I done it all. Yeah.

[A]

Okay, so you. So some sweat equity. So you got a $40,000 line of credit. So again, what you're using and what you're explaining is, is the essence of, of community banking. They typically are going to finance you a commercial loan. So you had to put 15% down. You borrowed that 15% down from another real estate investor in the community you were at. So essentially 265, 15% down that you borrowed, you were paying 10% interest only on the down payment money. And then you had a commercial loan for the rest $40,000 of the renovation. How long did it take you to do that work? And did it truly end up being 40 grand or did you have to spend more?

[B]

It was close to 40,000. So I, the same guy that I got to appraise the fourplex, I got him to appraise those, and those actually came back. Like I said, I had 305 in them. Those came back at $545,000.

[A]

So with that appraisal, what were you able to do?

[B]

So what I done after I got that property all fixed up. I got it rented for $6,000 a month. It reappraised for 545. I found another duplex. And this was before. This was actually before I got the appraisal on that one. And I put it under contract. It was 250,000. It was rented for $1,400 a month as a three bedroom, two bathroom, 2,900 square foot duplex. They're selling for 320 to 340 every single day here where we live at. And again, just like the seven units, I was the very first person to see this property. There's two people behind me. We all three looked at it the same day. Those two people made offers. I made an offer for what they was asking because I knew that's what it would be worth fixed up and I bought that property again. And the way I bought it was I still only had probably $3,000 in the bank because I hadn't refinanced those other ones yet. I actually took the equity from one of those triplexes. I pulled it off of the loan with the other triplex in the house, and I combined it on the loan with this duplex. And they just added debt to that loan of $50,000 for the down payment of that duplex.

[A]

All right, for those listening, what you are explaining, Brit, is what banks like to call cross collateralization. So because you had a property with that bank that had equity and you had another deal under contract, which the bank saw as a good deal with potential equity, what they allowed you to do was to combine those loans or tap into the equity of one property, tie all those together. And so now you have a larger loan. But what the bank is concerned about in these situations is what's the loan to value. In other words, how much money are we allowing you to borrow in relation to what are the property values worth? And so what the bank was saying is that there is enough value here for us to be able to allow you to cross collateralize this portfolio. And, and what they call this is a portfolio loan. So now you've got a portfolio loan on multiple properties that allows you to be able to do multiple deals. So you bought that second deal. In the recap, It's a duplex, $250,000 purchase.

[B]

Yep. And when I bought it, it was only rented for 1400 total.

[A]

Not per side?

[B]

Yeah, total. Yeah, total. Now right now it's rented for $3,000 a month.

[A]

So you more than doubled the rents, did it? Did you have to put a heavy rehab in that one.

[B]

So what I done on this one basically was just on both sides they had carpet. I ripped out all the carpet, put LVP flooring in, stainless steel appliances, painted the cabinets, redone the countertops, painted the walls, and that was really about it. This property had two brand new H vacs, again, just like the 4 Plex did. And it took me about two months. I got the first one rented for 1500amonth. Then about a month after that, I got the next one done got it rented for $1,500 a month. And that one, I rented both those sides for fifteen hundred dollars a month, three thousand dollars a month total. But the worst part about this one was again, like I said a minute ago, I had about $3,000 in the bank when I bought it. Well, the bank I used this time was a bank is another local bank. But they wanted to do a DSCR loan. Well, on these DSCR loans like that, they've got six months of seasoning. So I could not get them to do a construction loan on it. But I got the owner to do $5,000 in closing costs. For whatever reason, I got lucky enough that the bank gave me the $5,000 back at closing and I used that money to rehab the property. So again, I rehabbed it. I think it costed me about $8,000 total. And this property just that duplex just reappraised for 320,000.

[A]

Britton mentioned using a DSCR loan on this property. So if you're considering a DSCR loan, BiggerPockets.com Pro members can actually get up to $2,000 a year off of your origination through a partnership with lending one. So if you go to biggerpockets.com pro and check that out, you may be able to save yourself a lot of cash when you're doing a DSCR loan. All right, Britton, where I want to wrap up is you talking to the aspiring real estate investors who are listening to this show. Because what I found is new investors fall into two camps. There are people who are analyzing, analyzing, analyzing, and they don't take action. And there are heavy action takers who maybe don't analyze enough. And I'm going to say that you fall into that latter category. But you've got several deals and doors under your belt now and you've learned a lot of lessons. So I want you to talk to those aspiring investors. Investors. We're going to do that right after the break.

[C]

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[A]

all right, we are back on the Bigger Pockets podcast with investor Britton Eads. Britton, first and foremost, congratulations on all the success you've had as a real estate agent investor. You took a lot of massive action, you took a lot of risks, and it sounds like a lot of those risks have paid off. But I will say that there are probably people listening who've taken similar risks that either didn't pay off as well or people listening who want to do what you've done. So you've done a ton of deals, you've had some success. Can you share with us maybe some of the most important lessons that you've learned as a real estate investor? And what I'd really like to hear is do you feel like there are lessons or things that you do differently now that you've had some success and you've got some deals under your belt? Because I know that there are people listening who are like ready to go and do what you've done.

[B]

You know, the most important thing is cash flow is making sure these properties cash flow. When I bought these properties, I kind of knew what they would be worth, but that wasn't really the main thing. The main thing was buying properties with as little money as possible that could cash flow me the most amount of money. So eventually I could become financially free because I was working with my dad and them and I hated working everyday fencing. The biggest thing is keeping reserves too, because when I first started investing, I didn't keep any reserves. And that changed when I took all of those properties I talked about just a minute ago and I combined them on to all into one jumbo loan. And this is the first cash out refinance I done. I pulled out $212,000 in one day on a cash out refinance. And I was still making about $2,000 a month off of all those properties, which, you know, $2,000 a month isn't a ton, but $200,000 to go out and buy more properties and to keep those reserves. And that's the biggest thing I've learned now is that as soon as I got that Money, I had $15,000 in repairs that came up. That just happened in one month. Emergency repairs, I had $5,000 in plumbing, I had two H vacs that one of the compressors went out. Luckily, those repairs never happened before because I would have lost everything.

[A]

Cash flow is your safety net. Cash flow is a measure that you've bought a deal that you can keep. Right. Because if the property is paying for itself, especially if you can get that property to pay for itself on day one, then you are protecting yourself in the event where things go wrong because you don't have to worry about coming out of your bank account to pay for that property. That property is paying for itself. And so cash flow is great. Yes. If you want to live off of it, you can do that. But what it really does is it protects you and allows you to keep your properties. Because if the market changes and you've got cash flow and cash flow on day one, then you're going to be able to hold on to that property. So I like that you were shopping for cash flow. I like that you're still shopping for cash flow on day one. And you're looking for ways to add value, to add to that appreciation. Because the true wealth is built through the appreciation. I appreciate the transparency in you sharing your story. And congratulations to you on building a portfolio that has allowed you to build up some income every month. And so before we get out of here, can you just briefly talk about what is it that you were making every month when you were, you know, digging holes and laying fences to where now you've got a rental portfolio?

[B]

I was making $15 an hour.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So I was making like two or three thousand dollars a month. I don't think I ever made any more than 3,000amonth. Now I'm making about $3,000 a month with the new fourplex that I just bought. And I've got about, like I said, I'm going to go about 100,000 in cash from doing all the cash out refinances. And I'm building two new duplexes that should be finished in about three months. And I'll be cash flowing about twelve hundred dollars off of those two.

[A]

That's awesome. Congratulations on that. And what you said about learning the lesson about cash reserves is huge. Cash reserves are going to save your butt. I personally know and I know people, you can 100% buy real estate with very little of your own money, but it is almost impossible to own real estate and not have money. Right. Because things break and you got to fix them. You can't have a tenant living in a house in the middle of winter with no heat. If the heat goes out up, you got to fix it. If you don't have the money, that means you Got to go find the money. You probably got to borrow it on a credit card or do something. So buying real estate with little to no money is possible, but you have to have cash reserves. Cash reserves are what allow you to keep your portfolio when things go wrong. Because if things go wrong, you don't have cash. You're right, you could lose it all because you gotta. You're forced to sell it or you're forced to give it back to the bank because you can't maintain your property appropriately. And so it sounds like you've learned from the mistakes that you have made. And luckily, you've been able to sustain any mistakes you've made because you bought good deals that cash flowed on day one. So please listen to the lessons here. Listen to what Britain has done. Learn from the things that he maybe didn't do appropriately at first, but what he always did was he looked for good deals to purchase so that the properties can maintain themselves. Look, man, I, you know, you laugh, but this is real life, man. There are tons of people who maybe made similar mistakes but did not buy good enough deals to protect themselves. And, and I love that you've been transparent with us, and I love that you've had some fundamentals of buying good deals. So if you're listening to this story, make sure you are shopping for good deals. You are. A, it sounds like you're always shopping, whether you're ready to buy or not. B, you're looking for opportunity to make cash flow on day one and opportunity to add value. Those are real estate 101 fundamentals. So I appreciate you sharing that. Thank you so much, Britton. All right, everybody, thank you so much for listening to the Biggerpockets podcast. I hope this was a valuable episode for you. Congratulations, Britton, on all your success. And again, thank you so much for sharing your story with our Bigger Pockets audience. And as always, we'll see everybody on the next episode of the Bigger Pockets podcast.

[C]

Thank you all for listening to the Biggerpockets 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 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 Calico, 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.biggerpockets.com. 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, past performance is not indicative of future results. BiggerPockets, LLC disclaims all liability for direct, indirect, consequential or other damages arising from a reliance on information presented in this podcast. Your next chapter in healthcare starts at Carrington College's School of Nursing in Portland.

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