Real Estate Rookie Podcast – “How to Buy Your First Rental Property (7 Steps)”

Hosts: Ashley Kehr and Tony J Robinson
Date: December 31, 2025
Podcast: BiggerPockets – Real Estate Rookie
Episode Theme: A step-by-step guide for beginners on buying their first rental property, including market context, practical action steps, and key rookie advice for long-term investing.

Episode Overview

This episode serves as a complete roadmap for listeners ready to buy their first (or next) rental property in 2025. The hosts, Ashley Kehr and Tony J Robinson, demystify the process, focus on achievable goals (not get-rich-quick promises), and break down the journey into seven practical steps. The episode is filled with actionable tips, real-life examples, and direct guidance to empower new investors.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Invest in Real Estate Now?

Timestamps: 00:36–04:13

• Market Overview: Despite fluctuations, long-term trends show property values rising, mainly due to a persistent supply/demand imbalance.

• Economic/Political Context: Potential legislative tailwinds, such as possible restoration of 100% bonus depreciation under a real estate-savvy administration.

• Long-Term Focus: Now is the right time for those with wealth-building, not “get rich quick” mentalities. Current cash flow margins may be tighter, but appreciation and long-term gains remain attractive.

  “There just isn’t enough housing to absorb all the demand… [this] is going to put you in a really good position, especially if you look out over a longer time horizon of five years, ten years, twenty years.”
  – Tony J Robinson (01:10)

• Buyer Leverage in 2025: With fewer buyers and cautious sellers (many locked into low-interest loans), it’s easier to negotiate on listed properties.

  “If a property’s on the market and it’s been sitting for 30, 60, 90 days, you’ve got the ability…to start negotiating on things like price, credits, whatever other terms are important to you.”
  – Tony J Robinson (03:21)

2. Step 1: Setting Your Personal and Financial Foundation

Timestamps: 04:13–06:00

• Personal Finances: Evaluate your readiness—get your financial situation in order first (check out their referenced YouTube video for a deeper dive).

• Define Your ‘Why’: Be clear about your why and your priorities (e.g., cash flow, appreciation, tax benefits, lifestyle/vacation perks).

  “You probably won’t get a property that’s going to give you amazing cash flow, amazing appreciation and amazing tax benefits… More often than not you’ll have to choose which one is most important.”
  – Tony J Robinson (05:17)

3. Step 2: Understanding Purchasing Power & Financing

Timestamps: 06:00–09:14, 11:25–13:28

• Financing Options: Know if you’re using cash, bank loans, or other methods (like a line of credit).

• Get Pre-Approved: Don’t waste time looking at properties before knowing what you can actually afford.

  “If you don’t know how much you are able to spend…you are going to be wasting so much time analyzing all these deals…”
  – Ashley Kehr (06:10)

• Talk to Multiple Lenders: Rates, flexibility, and terms vary between lenders. Especially consider small, local/regional banks for their flexibility.

  “As you start to build your real estate portfolio, the small local banks are the ones that are going to have the most flexibility.”
  – Tony J Robinson (12:33)

4. Step 3: Strategy, Asset Class, and Market Selection

Timestamps: 07:42–16:39

• Strategy vs. Asset Class: Clarify the difference and select both—e.g., short-term rental (strategy) vs. single-family home (asset class).

• Market Selection:

  • Use online forums, social media groups, and BiggerPockets’ resources.
  • Use keyword tracking (for example, in BiggerPockets forums) to follow specific markets.
  • Match your purchasing power and strategy to markets (e.g., don’t look at San Francisco if your budget is $200,000).

  “Your strategy and your purchasing power can help you narrow down what market you actually want to invest in.”
  – Ashley Kehr (15:30)

• Refer to Past Episodes: For deep dives, see episode #452 on market research.

5. Step 4: Building Your Team

Timestamps: 16:39–20:42

• ‘Core Four’ Team Members:

  • Lender
  • Real estate agent
  • Insurance broker
  • Property manager (or self-manage)
  • Handy-person/contractor

• Leverage Referrals: Start with one trusted contact; use their network for additional team members.

• Importance of Local Expertise: Boots-on-the-ground knowledge can make or break your deal.

  “My lender introduced me to my agent, and then they both introduced me to my contractor, to my property manager. A good agent who’s well connected…typically has a lot of people in their Rolodex.”
  – Tony J Robinson (18:31)

• Real-Life Example: Ashley recounts relying on her agent’s network to resolve a delayed closing.

6. Step 5: Define Your ‘Buy Box’ and Deal Analysis

Timestamps: 20:42–26:59

• What Is a Buy Box?: Your specific criteria for property type, size, price, features, and market.

• Narrow Your Search: The more detailed your buy box, the less time wasted on unsuitable properties.

  “The better you get it defined on your buy box, the easier it becomes [to] really scale up the property identification and the property analysis.”
  – Tony J Robinson (22:29)

• Tools & Templates: Use Ashley’s buy box worksheet, available for free at biggerpockets.com/rookie resource.

• Avoid Analysis Paralysis: Analyze enough deals to learn, but don’t get stuck on the sidelines.

• Acknowledge Risk: There’s no guaranteed return—balance confidence-building with action-taking.

7. Step 6: Making Offers & Negotiating

Timestamps: 30:04–35:48

• Listed Price Is a Suggestion: Don’t assume you must pay asking price; sellers may (often do) accept less.

  “The asking price…is simply a suggestion, and we have no idea what is going on in the mind of the seller.”
  – Tony J Robinson (30:53)

• Use Multiple Offers: Give sellers choices (e.g., different financing methods, seller credits), which increases your negotiating leverage.

  “When people get to make a decision, they feel happy…You give them two, you give them three offers, let them select.”
  – Ashley Kehr (32:21)

• Negotiation Levers: Not just purchase price, but contingencies, credits, move-out timing, etc.

• Deep Dive Resource: See episode #525 with J Scott for full negotiation tactics.

8. Step 7: Under Contract, Due Diligence & Closing Logistics

Timestamps: 35:48–39:58

• Inspections Are Critical: Even for “turnkey” properties, never skip the inspection—find a thorough, detail-oriented inspector.

• Set Up Insurance and Utilities: Get insurance in place; schedule utilities switchover for closing.

• Rental Setup: Prepare property management systems (rent collection, bookings, furnishings).

• Think Like a Business Owner: Treat your properties as business assets from the start; systems will enable you to scale smoothly.

  “We have to approach even our first real estate investment as a business…entrepreneurs and business owners who just happen to be in the business of real estate.”
  – Tony J Robinson (38:04)

• Leverage Your First Deal: Use compound growth from reinvesting cash flow and savings to build your portfolio.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You’re not in most cases going to see amazing cash flow… So you have that cash flow buffer that maybe you got a couple years ago, that’s definitely going to be harder to find now. But… now is still a great time.”
  – Ashley Kehr (02:11)
• “If you don’t know how much you are able to spend…you are going to be wasting so much time analyzing all these deals…”
  – Ashley Kehr (06:10)
• “There’s always risk in real estate investing… The goal isn’t to eliminate the risk, the goal is to build your confidence as high as you can.”
  – Tony J Robinson (26:54)

Resource Links and Actions from the Episode

• Find a lender: biggerpockets.com/lenderfinder
• Find investor-friendly agents: biggerpockets.com/agentfinder
• Buy Box Worksheet: biggerpockets.com/rookie resource
• Join forums for market research: BiggerPockets forums and Real Estate Rookie Facebook group

Timestamps of Important Segments

• [00:36] – Why invest now? Market outlook
• [04:13] – Establishing your financial foundation
• [06:00] – Knowing your purchasing power & financing
• [13:28] – Market and strategy selection
• [16:39] – Building your real estate team
• [20:42] – Defining your buy box & deal analysis
• [30:04] – Making offers and negotiating tactics
• [35:48] – Due diligence, closing, and operation as a business

Tone & Style

Direct, encouraging, and filled with personal anecdotes. The hosts are transparent about common mistakes and focused on helping “rookies” take the right steps, keep expectations realistic, and avoid overwhelm.

Episode Summary for First-time Listeners

In this episode, Ashley and Tony break down the entire process of buying your first rental property into a step-by-step, achievable path. They clearly explain current market conditions, how to set yourself up financially, build your support team, hone in on the right property, and close your first deal. With actionable tips, free resources, and honest advice, this episode is the definitive starting point for anyone ready to begin (or continue) their real estate investing journey in 2025.