The “Dirt Floor to $80K/Month” Investor is BACK (and She’s Gone BIGGER!)

Summary

BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast: "Dirt Floor to $80K/Month" Investor is BACK (and She’s Gone BIGGER!)

Release Date: December 2, 2024

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Introduction

In this inspiring episode of the BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast, host Dave Meyer welcomes back Yamu Kamara, a standout real estate investor whose journey from humble beginnings in Gambia to managing a substantial property portfolio in the United States is nothing short of remarkable. Originally featured in episode 761 back in May 2023, Yamu has significantly expanded her investments over the past 18 months, and this episode delves deep into her continued success, the challenges she's overcome, and her future aspirations.

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Yamu Kamara’s Journey: From Adversity to Real Estate Success

Background and Early Struggles

Yamu Kamara’s story is one of resilience and determination. Growing up in The Gambia, West Africa, Yamu faced immense hardships from a young age. With the loss of both parents—her mother when she was just two and her father at eleven—Yamu endured severe abuse while living with her sister’s extended family. These traumatic experiences shaped her early life, instilling in her a drive to seek a better future.

Notable Quote:

"I grew up sleeping on a dirt floor in Gambia and overcame some incredibly difficult circumstances to move to the US and start investing in real estate."
— Brandon Turner [00:00]

Transition to the United States and Education

Yamu's breakthrough came when she was selected as a Mandela Washington Fellow, a prestigious program initiated by President Obama to empower young African leaders. This opportunity brought her to the United States, where she attended Northwestern University and met President Obama. Leveraging her academic and leadership experiences, Yamu founded a nonprofit organization teaching girls how to code, further demonstrating her commitment to empowering others.

Notable Quote:

"When I go to school, I'm that smart girl, but when I go home, I'm that abused girl."
— Yamu Kamara [02:05]

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Real Estate Investment: Explosive Growth and Strategic Moves

Initial Investments and Rapid Expansion

Upon entering the U.S., Yamu quickly immersed herself in real estate investing. Starting in 2020 with an initial investment of $8,000, she rapidly expanded her portfolio. By the time of her first podcast appearance, Yamu had acquired over 30 rental properties across Illinois, Ohio, and Georgia. As of this episode, her portfolio has grown to an impressive 156 units, including both residential and commercial properties.

Notable Quote:

"I started investing in 2020 and right now I'm at 156 actually."
— Yamu Kamara [05:23]

Balancing Full-Time Work and Investing

Despite her extensive real estate ventures, Yamu continues to work full-time at the CDC in data science. She emphasizes the importance of maintaining a stable income while scaling her investments, advising others not to quit their jobs prematurely. Her dual approach has enabled her to reinvest earnings systematically, fueling her growth without sacrificing financial security.

Notable Quote:

"Why would I leave, you know, a 250 something thousand job? Like that's why I tell people like you don't have to leave."
— Yamu Kamara [06:06]

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Navigating Challenges: The 12-Unit Commercial Deal

Acquiring a Distressed Property

One of the pivotal moments in Yamu’s recent investing journey was acquiring a 12-unit distressed commercial property. She discovered the deal through a Facebook Landlord group, showcasing her savvy use of social media platforms to find opportunities.

Notable Quote:

"A lot of people underrate the Facebook market. I found it in the Landlord group."
— Yamu Kamara [13:28]

Facing Inspection Hurdles

The acquisition was just the beginning, as Yamu encountered numerous inspection challenges, including plumbing, electrical, and fire safety violations. These issues threatened to derail the project, pushing her to the brink of frustration.

Notable Quote:

"I never knew the fire marshal would do any inspection on a property if there was no fire."
— Yamu Kamara [16:37]

Strategic Problem-Solving and Relationships

Leveraging her strong relationships with the city officials and contractors, Yamu navigated the bureaucratic hurdles. Her ability to negotiate and find creative financing solutions, such as deferred payments with contractors, ensured the project’s completion. Ultimately, her persistence paid off, securing a certificate of occupancy and maintaining her lucrative contract with a solar company.

Notable Quote:

"Your property, you turn it around. You listen to me, you listen to everyone else. That's how I got that property out."
— Yamu Kamara [17:00]

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Transition to Self-Storage: Expanding into Commercial Real Estate

Why Self-Storage?

In 2024, Yamu diversified her portfolio by venturing into self-storage facilities. Seeking a lower-maintenance investment, she found self-storage appealing due to reduced tenant-related issues and minimal upkeep compared to multifamily residential properties.

Notable Quote:

"Because I don't have to deal with toilets. I don't have to do a lot of maintenance."
— Yamu Kamara [28:52]

Implementing Security Solutions

Upon acquiring a self-storage facility, Yamu encountered significant security challenges, including frequent break-ins. Addressing these issues, she installed advanced camera systems connected to her phone, allowing real-time monitoring and swift police intervention. Her proactive measures led to multiple arrests, enhancing the property’s safety and profitability.

Notable Quote:

"Every time I see suspicious anything at any time, I call the police."
— Yamu Kamara [31:38]

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Supporting Family and Personal Growth

Balancing Success with Family Obligations

Yamu’s success has enabled her to support her immediate family—her siblings and brother—while establishing boundaries to protect herself from past abusers. Therapy has played a crucial role in helping her navigate these complex relationships, ensuring she can provide assistance without compromising her well-being.

Notable Quote:

"I'm only supporting my immediate family, like my sisters, my brother."
— Yamu Kamara [35:27]

Overcoming Psychological Challenges

Yamu continues to work through her PTSD with the help of therapy, striving to create a positive reality for herself without revisiting traumatic memories. Her ability to rise above her past and focus on healing underscores her remarkable resilience.

Notable Quote:

"Now I feel better. I don't cry much about other things, but I still have PTSD."
— Yamu Kamara [35:27]

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Future Aspirations: Teaching, Writing, and Representation

Philanthropy and Education

Yamu is committed to giving back through her nonprofit organization, which now supports 17 offerings in regions like Palestine, Congo, and Sudan. She organizes charity events, teaching real estate and providing internships to empower others.

Notable Quote:

"I've done a charity event, two charity events, actually, for offerings in Palestine, Congo, Sudan."
— Yamu Kamara [37:44]

Authoring a Book and TV Show Vision

Inspired by the positive impact of her story, Yamu plans to write a book that combines inspiration with practical real estate advice. Additionally, she envisions a TV show aimed at educating ordinary individuals on how to invest in real estate effectively, emphasizing realistic strategies over entertainment-driven narratives.

Notable Quote:

"I want to write a book that's going to be more of inspiration and also real estate, but actually how to do it."
— Yamu Kamara [41:12]

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Conclusion

Yamu Kamara’s story is a testament to the power of resilience, strategic thinking, and relationship-building in real estate investing. From overcoming a tumultuous childhood in The Gambia to managing a diverse and expanding property portfolio in the U.S., Yamu exemplifies what it means to turn adversity into opportunity. Her ongoing commitment to supporting her family, empowering others through education, and continuously seeking growth in her investments make her an inspiring figure for both seasoned and aspiring real estate investors.

Final Notable Quote:

"You've played them very well and you've made the absolute most of it."
— Dave Meyer [40:09]

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Key Takeaways

1. Resilience is Crucial: Yamu’s ability to overcome her traumatic past fueled her determination to succeed in real estate.
2. Strategic Diversification: Transitioning from residential to commercial properties, including self-storage, showcases the importance of diversifying investment portfolios.
3. Maintaining Stability: Balancing a full-time job with real estate investing provides financial security and enables consistent growth.
4. Problem-Solving: Addressing and overcoming property-related challenges through strategic relationships and creative solutions is essential for sustained success.
5. Giving Back: Utilizing success to support family and empower others through education reinforces the broader impact of real estate investing.

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For those seeking inspiration and practical insights into real estate investing, Yamu Kamara’s journey offers invaluable lessons on navigating challenges, building a robust portfolio, and maintaining personal integrity amidst success.

Transcript

[Brandon Turner]

Yamu Kamara grew up sleeping on a dirt floor in Gambia and overcame some incredibly difficult circumstances to move to the US and start investing in real estate. When she first appeared on the BiggerPockets podcast back in May of 2023, she had already acquired more than 30 rental properties across Illinois, Ohio and Georgia. And today, Yamu is back to share more of her incredible story.

[Dave Meyer]

Hey everyone, it's Dave.

[Brandon Turner]

Yamu's first episode, if you haven't heard it already, is number 761, back from May of 2023, and is one of the most popular podcasts in this show's entire history. So we wanted to bring her back to catch up on the last 18 months of her investing. And I'll give you a spoiler, she's still crushing it.

[Dave Meyer]

I really think she has one of.

[Brandon Turner]

The most inspirational stories that we've ever heard on this podcast. And honestly on any podcast that I've.

[Dave Meyer]

Listened to, and the things that she's.

[Brandon Turner]

Endured and overco to build her portfolio.

[Dave Meyer]

Add some much needed perspective to the entire real estate industry.

[Brandon Turner]

Just a heads up before we jump.

[Dave Meyer]

In, Yamu does describe some of the.

[Brandon Turner]

Abuse she suffered before she came to.

[Dave Meyer]

The US So please take care when listening.

[Brandon Turner]

All right, without further ado, here's my conversation with investor Yamu Kamara. Yamu, welcome Back to the BiggerPockets podcast.

[Dave Meyer]

Thanks for being here.

[Yamu Kamara]

Thank you so much, Dave. Thank you for having me. It's an honor.

[Brandon Turner]

Well, it's an honor to have you back.

[Dave Meyer]

Your first appearance on the BiggerPockets podcast was one of the most popular episodes we've ever done. And just on a personal note, I found it to be one of the most inspiring and interesting stories we've ever had on this podcast. So I'm super excited to have you back.

[Brandon Turner]

For those of you who didn't hear.

[Dave Meyer]

Yamu's first episode, she first told her.

[Brandon Turner]

Story back on episode 761.

[Dave Meyer]

That was in May of 2023. But Yamu, maybe for anyone who hasn't listened to that episode yet, you could just give us a quick background on.

[Brandon Turner]

Your story, how you grew up and.

[Dave Meyer]

How you came to the US in the first place.

[Yamu Kamara]

Of course. So my name is Yamundao. Thank you guys for having me. It's an honor to be here. To be back here. I grew up in West Africa, a small country called the Gambia. I have seven siblings. I'm the last. My parents died when I was really young, my mom when I was 2, and my dad when I was 11. So in my culture it's totally different from American culture. We usually live in extended families. So my sister wants to get married and she had to take me and my brother with her. So I have to go live with her husbands, extended family. So there was a lot of abuse. Sexual, mental, physical. A lot of physical abuse. But yeah, we're not going to talk about.

[Dave Meyer]

I'm so sorry to hear that.

[Yamu Kamara]

I don't want to make anybody cry anymore.

[Dave Meyer]

No, it's awful. Well, it's important to know where you came from and I'm just sorry to hear that you had to experience that.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah. So growing up there, it wasn't easy. So for those of, you know, kids that are abused, they usually have a lot of issues about anxiety. So I used to pee a lot in bed. They wouldn't let me sleep on the bed. I would get cut boxes and sleep on the boxes. Mosquitoes. You know, when I say floor, I mean like third floor. Not like, you know, carpet here or anything. But yeah, that's how I grew up. One thing about me, God has always blessed me. I love school. That was my safe haven. So when I go to school, I'm that smart girl, but when I go home, I'm that abused girl. Beatings. Sometimes I go to school with marks and blood stains on my body. Fast forward. I made it all the way to juniors high, high school, to college. And in college, I started a nonprofit organization that teaches girls how to code. And that kind of took off. And I applied for this fellowship called Mandela Washington Fellow for Young African Leaders. That was something that President Obama started and named it after Nelson Mandela. I got selected out of 40,000 applicants to come to the U.S. so that's how I came to the United States. I was placed at Northwestern University, and then I was flown to D.C. to meet President Obama. And then I was like, I can't go back to this. So, yeah, I'm saying this so people don't feel sad for me and I'm just sparing you guys the sad stuff, like, you know, the abuse in detail and stuff. But yeah, that was my life until I came to the US it is.

[Dave Meyer]

It's an amazing story, Yamu. It's a sad story. But your story of resilience and perseverance is honestly incredible. I really recommend everyone go listen to the first episode. We go into a lot more detail. And honestly, you know, real estate feels inconsequential compared to this incredible life story that you've lived. But we are here to talk about you as a very, very successful real estate investor. You know this. Yamu shared with us the beginning of her life. But as of 18 months ago when you were on the podcast for the first time, you had already gone from someone just gotten a fellowship to come to the United States. And relatively rapidly you acquired 32 rental units. Right. Like how long did it take you to get those first 32 units?

[Yamu Kamara]

So I would say the first few years, maybe like two years into the investing real estate. So I started investing in 2020 and right now I'm at 156 actually.

[Brandon Turner]

Oh my God. What?

[Dave Meyer]

156?

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah, so 59 rentals, 59 residential, and then I bought a self storage facility recently. So mostly now I have crossover to commercial deals. So about 12 units, 10 units, 20 units apartment. And yeah, I bought a self story facility, 95 units, probably like the beginning of the year.

[Dave Meyer]

Well, I want to get into that, but let's just, I want to get everyone else up, back up to speed because you got those first 32 units. But. And this was mostly just through hustling. Right? Like I know, like me, we share a data science background. So I know you were working for the CDC in data science. Are you still doing that or are you full time in real estate now?

[Yamu Kamara]

Yes, I'm full time in both.

[Dave Meyer]

So that's a good way to put it.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah, yeah. Like this is the thing, why would I leave, you know, a 250 something thousand job? Like that's why I tell people like you don't have to leave. I mean at the beginning wasn't that amount like now I'm a senior level. But before it wasn't that like you guys know I started with only $8,000 when I started investing. That's all I had then. But as I go, I progress. I'm taking all the money I'm getting from my CDC job. It wasn't much, but I'm buying more properties as I grow. So I went from 30,000, 40,000 property, 50,000 property to 200,000, 300,000, have a million now, a million dollar buying properties in that price range. But this is what I tell people, do not leave your job like one rental property or two rental properties. Not going to have you go on vacation and all these lovely vacations you see on social media say, oh, I bought a rental property, now I'm financially free.

[Dave Meyer]

No, no, we'll pay for one night of your hotel room basically.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah, because when the maintenance hit like you could be cash flowing for six months straight and then you have a maintenance that's like going to wipe out all the cash flow that you had. So I don't, I don't like people telling people, oh, I'm going teach you how to invest in real estate so you can leave your 9 to 5. Like if the 9 to 5 is not a hustle, keep it. If it's not a problem, keep it. If it's, if it's stopping you from scaling and that's a problem, that's different. But for me, for you, you already know how data science work, like computer programming work, especially in a workspace. It's not like you're sitting nine to five to do a work. For me, working for CDC is most like, oh, I will work on a project. But they want me to work on a project that when I build it is gonna, they're gonna use it for the next six months. So I'm really just doing maintenance work after the framework is done. So for me, why should I leave my job if I can do it in my sleep and still make money? So a lot of people ask me, why are you still working for CDC or why still have your 9 to 5? Like why not?

[Dave Meyer]

Yeah, I'm totally with you. I think that it's one of the most underrated and misrepresented part of this industry is that working a full time job makes investing just so much easier. Obviously you have a very high paying job and I assume you benefits from that too, which is great. But even if you have an average paying job, it just allows you to take more risk, it is easier to get loans and I'm completely with you. I've been investing for 15 years, I still work full time and I invest in real estate at the side.

[Brandon Turner]

Okay, it is time for a break. But first a quick heads up that Biggerpocket's Black Friday sale is happening from November 29 to December 2. There are not going to be any extensions, there's no presale. There's just four good days of good deals.

[Dave Meyer]

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[Brandon Turner]

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[D]

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[Brandon Turner]

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[Brandon Turner]

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[Dave Meyer]

Yamu, I'm so impressed by your story, but I want to know what's happened since the BiggerPockets podcast because it was super popular. Like, did things happen after you were on the show? Did people start reaching out to you or what happened?

[Yamu Kamara]

A lot of people reach out to me. A lot of people say you made me cry. You did this.

[Dave Meyer]

I think you made a lot of people cry. Yeah, a lot of people cry in a good way. It's an amazing story. It's inspiring.

[Yamu Kamara]

But to answer your question, a lot of things change. People reach out to me. A lot of people tell me, you, I was inspired. You changed my life. I went ahead and went back to investing. Now I'm not scared. A lot of people tell me I've been investing for so long and I stopped. But after watching your watch your story, like, why stop? Like, why not go? So they. So I get a lot of positive comments. A lot of people reach out to me, especially people that connect or understand my story or has been through what I went through or something similar. They did reach out, but.

[Dave Meyer]

Yeah, that's so exciting. Well, you deserve it. That's. That's great.

[Yamu Kamara]

It was exciting. Yeah. But when it comes to real estate, I continue buying and never stopped. I'm still buying.

[Dave Meyer]

No, it sounds like it. You went from. In just the last year and a half, you went from 32 units to 156, you said so.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yes.

[Dave Meyer]

Let's just start back in May of 2023. What deal did you do right after, you know, you had 32 units, you're on the podcast. What happened next in terms of your portfolio?

[Yamu Kamara]

So what happened is I found this deal. So you guys already know I do a short term Midtown rentals and section 8. I found this deal that was like 12 unit. I don't know what it is with me and 12 units, but I always find them incredible.

[Dave Meyer]

Your magic number.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah. So I found this 12 unit apartment and I'm working on it. The way I found it actually was a distressed property. Right. A lot of people underrate the Facebook market. I found it in the Landlord group. So the person that listed it like put it that day that he has multiple properties that he's selling. But when I saw it. I had seen everybody messaging and say, I'm interested, here's my number. I'm interested, here's my number. I did the same, right. But the person's not responding. And I was like, this person is probably an investor who's busy doing other things. Probably did not even come back to the Facebook. So what I did, I was like, okay, I'm a data scientist. I know how to find people. What can I do? So I went and found out, research his name, found out that he has a property management company as well that's attached to his name. I called the property managed company. I was like, hey, I'm looking for this person. Because the name was already on Facebook. So I gave them the person my number, and I got a call from the owner. I was like, how did you find me? And I was like, well, you posted on Facebook, you never said anything, so.

[Dave Meyer]

Yeah, didn't you want me to find you? Yeah, I tried to sell a deal.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah, so what? And let me tell you, I went under contract, did. Got my scope of work for my contractor. He listed it for like five something. I got it for 480. It appraised for like 660 at as is. Now it's like 725. Yeah, but listen, it came with a lot of problems, right? It was. It needed a lot of work. But I got it under contract, bought the property. And I still go back on the Facebook page and there's still messages, new messages of people say, I'm interested. Hey, I'm still waiting. That's. That's to show you, like, if you. If you really want this, like, you have to look at. Look at it as a business and don't underrate Facebook market because you can find deals there. But that's how I found that deal. So everything was going smoothly, I thought. It turned out the property had some violations. Right? So I already know this, right? I'm doing a gut rehab, so I know the violations. I could take care of them because it's smaller. Smaller things that the tenant had reported in some of the units, but the owner never fixed those. So when the city was like, okay, do those things, the units that were reported that had issues, fix them and they will come and do inspection. So the building and zoning came for the deck, the plumbing inspector, electrical, all the inspectors came, and it was more like men bumping head, basically. Like, I'm never gonna. I'm not gonna let anybody move into this unit to this house looking like this. And I'm like, it's Been like this and people lived in there. I'm actually gonna be renovating everything. When they came, they were not focusing on the things that were in hand. They were like, first of all, the plumbing inspector was like, remove all the water heaters from the stairs. The other one was like, have an engineer come and redraw the whole building. Everything needs to be put apart. We need fire rated doors. Fire rated doors are like expensive, like super expensive. 800. Yeah. There's like 24 fire rated. We don't this. So we started. I started. I was like, okay, fine, I'll do those. I did them. They came for reinspection, they went ahead and added more stuff. And now they came with the fire marshal.

[Dave Meyer]

Oh my God.

[Yamu Kamara]

I never knew the fire marshal would do any inspection on a property if there was no fire. The fire marshal came, put exit signs, put this. The elect. Oh my God. It was so. I used to cry, but because I'm used to just buy the property, fix it up, rent it out. Slow motion, like slow smooth ride. But this wasn't.

[Dave Meyer]

Is it just because it was a commercial deal and there's like different regulation for commercial over residential.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yes, it was a commercial. So I never, I never experienced that before. My other commercial deals needed minor repairs inside interior wasn't involved with the city this time that I. I'm under the city's radar. Listen, I used to cry at night just thinking about this. But the inspiring part was I have already signed a contract with a solar company that I'm gonna host 12 of their guys. So the properties already was gonna cash flow when it was ready because guess what? Each of the unit I was gonna rent for 1800. 1800amonth. So that was a lot of money. That's gonna. I was like, you know what? Let me do all of this because I'm already in it. I came back out, right? So I fixed all of that. I didn't want to lose the contract. But every time they come for inspection, they find something else. The fire marshal was dragging me afterwards. The city was actually helping me. Like I made friends with the city and when they did the final inspection, the building and zoning guy was like, over here. They're gonna come, they're gonna say something about it. But what we don't see, we don't know. So don't pull permits on this until we're done. We give you the certificate occupants because you did amazing. Some of the landlords will never do this. Like your property, you turn it around. You listen to me, you listen to everyone else. That's how I got that property out. So afterwards I got my certificate of occupancy and I almost lost that contract actually. But yeah, it turned out great. Yeah.

[Dave Meyer]

So can I ask you a few questions? Because, I mean I'm glad it turned out, but that sounds like a pretty rough situation.

[Yamu Kamara]

It was rough, yeah. Yeah.

[Dave Meyer]

How did you finance this deal in the first place? Like what was your plan for the purchase and financing it and how are you paying for the renovations?

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah, so the bank was financing everything. Right? So I. Not everything. I mean I have to put a percentage there. I think I put like 15% or something like that for purchase price and renovation as well.

[Dave Meyer]

But when the inspection happened and I assume your re. Renovation budget just snowballed, you know, just got bigger and bigger. Did you have to go back to the bank to get more money or did you have enough planned that you were able to cover these new expenses?

[Yamu Kamara]

One of the expenses was the electrical, the plumbing. I knew I was going to buy plumbing already. It was already in my. Yeah, but they, they wanted me to redraw the building so I had to fight them to say I can't redraw the building. If I redraw, where do we put the water heaters? Because this is designed that way so I have to go back and forth with them. So if I have to redraw it, I would have paid thousands and thousand to redraw the building and reinstall the water heater somewhere else. So the water heater heaters are still under the stairs. The amount of money that I had to spend was the electrical, the exit signs and all of that. And I strike a deal with the electrical to pay, to pay. I paid him, I think he charged me like 15,000. I paid the first half and the other half when it's already rented. So I said can I pay the rest when the rent come? Cuz he was like, I've never seen the. He's walking with the city, but he's never seen the city do this to anyone. Like all the extra stuff. Like some. He said I work with other landlords here, I've been working with the city, but I've never seen them go this much. The thing like I was, I was getting so like crazy.

[Dave Meyer]

I'm so sorry, that's terrible that happened.

[Yamu Kamara]

And, and there's a reason why. Cuz one of my contractors had one of the inspectors say do you know how much money she's going to make on this? They're not enough. 12 units around this area. And then My contractor was like, from then on, I knew it was going.

[Dave Meyer]

To be bad because they were just mad that you were going to make so much money off it.

[Yamu Kamara]

They were counting my pocket.

[Dave Meyer]

Yeah, they like were seeing how much profit they could eat into, I guess.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah. I don't know.

[Dave Meyer]

Oh, that's too bad. Well, I'm glad it worked out for you. And that's impressive. Like the way it's. It shows how much you get from relationships. One, that you were able to sort of win over the city in the long run and that helped you ultimately stabilize this deal. And two, being able to work with the contractors and having strong relationships with them allowed you to be a little bit more creative with some of the financing options. Rather than having to come out of pocket or seek more financing. You were able to, you know, strike up something that worked for both parties. Contractors obviously getting more work not because they wanted it, but because of this unfortunate situation and were fortunately willing to take some payment a little bit later.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah.

[Dave Meyer]

Okay, so that deal, when did you buy that? At the beginning of this year.

[Yamu Kamara]

So that was last year.

[Dave Meyer]

Okay, so that was in 2023. What about in 2024? Have you done any deals this year?

[Yamu Kamara]

No. So during 2020, I bought another 12 figure right after, while I was renovating this. Another deal. Yeah, right. Another deal. Like, I'm not letting my money sit in the bank. Like every deal teaches me something new. So I'm not lifting my money sitting there while I wait for this renovation to be done. I knew that. Okay. Now that I've taken care of everything, I went ahead and bought another 12 unit apartment. This one is a brick or complete. Both of them are brick building. But I'm obsessed with brick building. But this is a 12 unit and needed it to stabilize. I needed something that would, like, just bring cash flow. And what does that is section 8. So the property doesn't need a lot of work. It's amazing. Beautiful. Property is already rented. So when I found this one, this one, I've already been wanting it a year prior. So I made an offer. But somebody made a better offer and got it. They got it under a seller financing deal. The person that I bought it from. So what happened was they had a seller finding, but he didn't make a balloon payment or whatever payment. He didn't meet the payment. So he lost it. No, but then I was. He was trying to sell it so he can make make a profit, pay off the seller and go away. So they were going through court process. I don't know if the owner was going to sell. My agent called me back and said, guess what, I'm at the hospital because his, her mother, her grandmother was at the hospital. So she was there, she got up, she saw a missed call, called the person back. Is the owner of the property, say, hey, in court, I saw that your client wanted to buy this property. He said, with the same terms exactly she had offered before, I'll take it for that. And I bought the, I was like, look at God. It came 360 back to me.

[Dave Meyer]

Yeah, right. Patience.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah. Rented Section 8. I closed within weeks because I was already, I had already told the bank and I told her, yeah, we lost the deal. You know, they already give me approval letter and everything, let her have intent. But then when I came back and I told the bank, guess what, the property's back. And this time I think it's to stay. They were like, oh, that's awesome.

[Dave Meyer]

So it was already underwritten. Like the bank had already done all the paperwork so you could just, oh, that's, that's, that's a little silver lining to the story. Or like getting the run around, around is the second time. It was a little easier.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah. The seller had all the documents already and we were like, yeah, we were removed. The same amount of money that I offered with the guy. That's how I got it in section 8. 1200 for the two bedroom, 900 for the one bedrooms. My goal is to do midterm rentals after later on. But it's cash flowing nicely, like, oh great. Yeah. So my mortgage on it is like 4300 and something. So imagine that. Over 7000 cash flow.

[Dave Meyer]

Yeah. Wow. Good for you. That's super cool. Another great deal.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah.

[Brandon Turner]

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[Brandon Turner]

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[Dave Meyer]

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[Dave Meyer]

BigGERPOCKETS.

[Brandon Turner]

Let'S jump back into this week's investor story on the BiggerPockets podcast podcast.

[Dave Meyer]

Earlier you said that, you know, you've gone from, I think you said like 58 or 59 residential units, but you just bought a self storage unit. If you're doing so well in residential and 12, you just like you could have just stuck with only buying 12 units. It's your lucky number here. Why'd you move to self storage?

[Yamu Kamara]

So I always wanted commercial. I eventually wanted to get into commercial. Like why not? But that doesn't stop me from buying single family homes and small multifamily. I'm still buying a I just bought two and I'm renovating them. But what happened was I have been reading about self story for the last two, three years. Like since 2022. I've been reading, researching, I wanted it so bad.

[Dave Meyer]

Can I just ask why? Like why self storage? What? What about it was so interesting?

[Yamu Kamara]

Because I don't have to deal with toilets. I don't have to do a lot of maintenance. I don't have to deal with, you know, tenants in that capacity. I don't have to deal with check ins and checkouts or my team doesn't have to deal with it. But I wanted something that would, that would be like low maintenance. And also it's a cash cow.

[Dave Meyer]

Yeah. Okay.

[Yamu Kamara]

So either, either way it wins. Like it's all part of real estate. But I wanted to scale. I just don't want to do the same thing. So I, I've been reading about it. Every time I make an offer, somebody will make a better offer and get it and sometimes sell a financing deal. And then it wouldn't go through because of underwriting. But I found a sales story facility in the same town that I have some of my properties in. I already have a team. I have broken my. Yeah, it came in the market. The person was doing a 1031 exchange. Probably bought it like 7 months prior before I bought it. But they wanted to buy like a 20 unit apartment or something. So I was doing a 1031 exchange and I got it. It have like half acre of land that comes with it. Already have two tenants that. One of them had a boat on the, on the piece of land. And one of them have a. Was it that thing called a little.

[Dave Meyer]

Like a trailer that you put?

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah, yeah. So I have a little trailer. Yeah, so I have. I was like, okay, so this could give me an opportunity to not just the 95 unit sales story facility, but also the piece of land. I could redevelop it and I can just put gravel. I can rent it all out. And that's what I've been doing. Systems in place, hands off. But that too goes to the problem. Right after I bought it, I realized that the owner was dealing with break ins, a lot of break ins. And the cameras were not working. So what I did is I added 16 newcomers that pick up animals. Even like a, like a small cat, the cameras will pick them up. So. So it's more like problem solving. But a lot of people like, well, why didn't you have your team do it? No, I want to master the art of doing it myself before I hand it over. So I wanted the in and out of the business. Now the theory part. I've read all this book. I've done all of this. But yeah, when I get excited about real estate, I talk too fast. So hopefully everybody's understanding me.

[Dave Meyer]

No, no, this is great. I just have A lot of questions you're already filled. Filling us in on a lot. But I have more questions. So it sounds like, you know, you got rid of the toilet part, but you inherited more problems now that you've stabilized. It is self storage actually less property management and less work for you overall.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yes, yes.

[Dave Meyer]

So you got what you want. It just took a while.

[Yamu Kamara]

I got. I got what I wanted. It took a while. I still have. So I still with the cameras. Instead of having my team follow up and stuff, the cameras attach to my phone and my property manager. So when I see a ding ding, I could check. And if it's a human being and it's suspicious, I call the police.

[Dave Meyer]

Oh my God.

[Yamu Kamara]

So we did that for a couple of times. Yeah.

[Dave Meyer]

How many times have you had to do it?

[Yamu Kamara]

Maybe like four times that the police were caught somebody. But you know, with criminals.

[Dave Meyer]

So this is a really big problem.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah, it's a big problem in the area. And I called other story facilities. There's nothing we can do because they will rent out this unit and go get in their unit and break into the other unit next door and steal and they'll keep going. So they would just, just, you know, do whatever. They will come with their tools and stuff. So what I did was every time I see suspicious anything at any time, I call the police. Because with these people, criminals, they usually have contact and the world will go around that. Hey, they call the police. Yeah, yeah. These owners don't play.

[Dave Meyer]

So yeah, you gotta make them afraid of you essentially.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah. Yeah. The police arrested them in action like three, three times now. And it's all different people. So now it has eased down. Thanks God. It hopefully doesn't happen again. But this is just to tell you everything is going to come with. A problem as a real estate investor is to fix problems as an entrepreneur, period is fix problems.

[Dave Meyer]

All right, well, it sounds like you're mastering this. Congratulations on another problem solved. That seems to be something you're quite good at. I do want to ask you a little bit, Yamu, about the future and what you're planning. But before we do, I was re listening. It was the second time I've listened to your previous episode and you said something about how one of your main motivations once you came over to the US you decided to stay here, to not go back. And one of your motivations for getting into real estate was to help support your family back home. Have you been able to do that and what has that support looked like for you and for your family?

[Yamu Kamara]

Okay, so let's define family here. I'm only supporting my immediate family, like my sisters, my brother, Right. So I get. Ugh, I'm gonna cry. So, all right, for those of you who haven't. And I probably haven't said this at the. The first interview, but in the extended family, like I said, it was a lot of abuse, but in the extended family, like, everybody could have hit me. Like, anybody could hit me. And I don't. I don't want people to use this as, like, pity or something. I just want you to see where it all started. So I still get messages from people that had done stuff to me, like, oh, we're suffering. We're not having this. We haven't eaten for this so long. At the beginning, if you know, like, somebody who's abused or only grew up in that environment, you always go back to the abuser. So at the beginning, even when I came to the U.S. i still, like, send money and do stuff. But now with a therapist has helped me how to navigate, get what's help and what's still abuse, like, mentally, because that's how I grew up. So that's all I know. So I would still get messages from, oh, we want. I'm like, we want. Oh, help us. We don't have this. We haven't had, oh, my kid hasn't gone to school because school fees. And I remember, I'm like, you, the same guy who used to beat me until you leave Max on my face. Did you forget, like, all those stuff? Or you're the same person that did this or cut my hair or. Or beat me because of no reason or did this to me or. And I'm like, you forgot all of that and you're asking me to send it. Before, I would send, like, I would send the money, but now I only send to my family, like, my sister, my brothers, and my other family members, not the family where I experienced that abuse. But, yeah, I'm trying not to cry.

[Dave Meyer]

I mean, it's a. It's, I'm sure, an incredibly painful memory and. And challenging, because I would imagine that now that you're in this much better financial position that I'm sure all sorts of people start asking you for things and they didn't treat you right, and you seem like a very good person, and I'm sure it's difficult to, like, establish those boundaries and be able to help the people who have been important and supportive of you and not, you know, just trying to manipulate you now that you've found success. Well, I'm excited for you that you've been able to help your brother. Brothers and sisters. That must be a really good feeling.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah, it's. It's a good feeling to help out. Even. Even with them. I still wanted to help, but I wanted to make sure it's not like, oh, you still have a hole on me, or like, I'll help out when I have to, but when it's entitled, like, you need to understand that these are the same people that will tell me, don't come home if you can't do this, or, I'm sitting down, I'm the breadwinner, and that they will send somebody to turn off the light. Lights. Because I didn't buy the cash, power or, you know. So, yeah, it's. It's. I'm still doing therapy and all that. Now I feel better. I don't cry much about other things, but I still have ptsd. And a lot of people ask me, well, when are you going back to Africa for? My experience for me is like, when I go, I have to create my own reality. Like, I don't want to revisit that. I want to have create my own experience of going back to Africa.

[Dave Meyer]

Good for you. Well, I'm sure it would be very difficult and take quite a lot of time to process everything that you've been through, but it's incredible what you've achieved given the very difficult circumstances that you've came from and still have to deal with, even being in the U.S. sounds like there's still a lot of challenges that you're overcoming. All right, let's turn to the future. I'm sorry to bring it up. I know it's a very emotional topic, but it seems like an important part of you and your story. But let's talk about the future. You've done so well for yourself over the last couple of years. What are your goals? Like, you've done so much. You have hundreds of units. Are you still motivated? And what are the things that you're looking forward to in the coming years?

[Yamu Kamara]

So I've been doing a lot of charity work. My nonprofit organization now I fully registered and everything. I went from sponsoring five offerings to 17 now. So that's something that's like a passionate project. And I've done a charity event, two charity events, actually, for offerings in Palestine, Congo, Sudan, where I teach real estate and people intern. So I find a nonprofit organization that is working in ground with these people offerings, and I just. I don't even contact them. I just research, take their website and put it on my page. So people go donate and then you send us a receipt and we add you to the webinar. So those are things I'm doing now. But when it comes to buying real estate, I just purchased two single family homes for 50,000 each of them because I have this amazing contract that I just won with a windmill company. Oh yeah, the windmill company is actually in Europe and they're sending their guys to work here.

[Dave Meyer]

It's probably where I am in the Netherlands. We got a lot of your. We got a lot of windmills here. Sort of invented them.

[Yamu Kamara]

Listen, they are paying me the money, so I was like, I need more in that area. Yeah, wait.

[Dave Meyer]

Because they want to house. They want to house people who are working on windows, wind. Wind projects, basically. Okay.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah. It's called Robotics something Windmill the company. So they literally would house three people, four people at a time. But. But pay me like 60, 000 in advance.

[Dave Meyer]

Wow. How do you find these people? Like, how do you find these companies?

[Yamu Kamara]

So all the companies that I have, because I'm a people person, so I, I know how to have great conversation and also tap into opportunities. So the first one started is the solar company that I told you guys about. That one started because the manager booked one of my units as the Airbnb and then liked it and was like, hey, I like this a lot. Do you have other units that you rent? I was like, well, actually I'm renovating a 12 unit or I'm renovating whatever unit I was. It was like, well, I. I manage these guys and they're coming over here for a couple of months and at a time and with possible extension. Can I see those places if they're done? So one of the places, that 12th unit that I was renovating, trading, and that's how I got into that. And yeah, they, they signed 24 months contract, 1800 a unit. And then they connected me to the windmill guys. The windmill guys also connect me to a company that does installation for them. So I just get collecting this. It's God. I don't think it's me per se. I think it's God.

[Dave Meyer]

No, I understand what you mean, but you've obviously, you've done a lot and made the most absolute most of the circumstances. Like, you know, like people say you don't get to pick what cards you get dealt, but you've played them very well and you've made the absolute most of it. And it just shows your personality and your willingness and ability to build strong relationships just keeps coming back and benefiting you in so many different ways throughout real estate. I think that's a story and a skill that everyone listening to this can really try and emulate because it's hard to put your fingers on. But it's amazing when you develop that skill, how many opportunities start to come forward to you. So, sorry, I interrupted you. You were talking about your goals. I was just curious how you found this awesome thing. But. So tell. Tell us what you're. What you're going to do next.

[Yamu Kamara]

So a lot of people reach out to me after my podcast. You should write a book. Your story is so inspired. And I'm like, I haven't even told quarter of my story. If I have to tell all my story, then, yeah, I need a book to write.

[Dave Meyer]

It's going to be a long book. Yeah, yeah, it's not a long book.

[Yamu Kamara]

So I. I'm looking toward, well, I want to write a book that's going to be more of inspiration and also real estate, but actually how to do it. So that is something I want. And I'm going to manifest this. I want a TV show.

[Dave Meyer]

Cool.

[Yamu Kamara]

Not a TV show. Like, yes, I'm going to manifest it here. So millions of people are going to hear and pray for me because I really do want representation. So, for example, like the HTB show, not to bash the HDB shows we have now, but it's mostly like, oh, a dog walker and a primary school teacher or a kindergarten teacher approve a $1 million home. I don't like that. How is that realistic?

[Dave Meyer]

And that's just entertainment. It's not education.

[Yamu Kamara]

Yeah, I want to teach through education. So I want to show, like a normal couple that earn 60,000 a year or 70,000 a year how to buy a rental property for 40,000. Not in your state. If it's in your state, possible, yes. But if not, just know that it's out there, that you can do it in another state. So, like, I want to show that will show that. And also, I'm a numbers person. I want to show you how to calculate, lady. How to find the property, how to build a team, how to calculate, how to check the arv, how to check the cash flow, if it's going to rent or not, all that kind of stuff. So that's what TV show I want.

[Dave Meyer]

Well, you already had me sold saying you wanted to help normal people buy rental properties, because I love that. But you throw some data and numbers in there, you know, I'm watching that TV show.

[Yamu Kamara]

All right, well, let's do it. Somebody help me. If there's a producer here, please help me.

[Dave Meyer]

I don't know anyone, but maybe someone listening. We'll, we'll do that. Well, Yamu, thank you so much for joining us. This was a lot of fun. It's great to hear how how successful you've been and how much your portfolio has accelerated in the year and a half you were on the first show and hopefully we'll have you back for a third episode sometime in the near future. I can't wait to hear what you do next.

[Yamu Kamara]

Thank you.

[Dave Meyer]

Thank you again and everyone listening. If you haven't listened to Yamu's first episode, highly recommend now that we're wrapping up that you go check it out again. It's episode 761 for May of 2023. Thanks again Yamu, and thank you all so much for listening to this episode of the BiggerPockets podcast. We'll see you next time.

[Brandon Turner]

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 lear more about real estate investing or to sign up for our free newsletter, please visit ww 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.