How Going All In on One Real Estate Market Built Big Wealth (And Community)

0:00The progression was I needed some help. So I started googling online, found Bigger Pockets, jumped onto the forums, realized that I wasn't alone in this journey. That was a epiphany for me because I didn't come from a family on either side of us that appreciated or even really purchased much real estate. And so it was like you can go someplace and find out other people were doing the same thing. And it was so encouraging. So it looked like me diving in to getting all the questions answered that I could while taking action.

0:33And we started looking quickly at properties because it was that time there were just you could you could you know shake shake a tree and find 10 cash flowing properties during that time. And then I got analysis paralysis because there was so much cash flow and so many opportunities and I was trying to get just the right perfect ones you know and of course now there's probably 15 of them. I look back and I just roll my eyes that I didn't go for because it didn't have, you know, 2% rule on them or something.

1:04And we just started looking at it and at by that time I was actually teaching school for a little bit and I would get up before school started and I would look at MLS, all the latest listings. I was not licensed at that time. So I was working with a realtor and then I missed I missed out on some properties because they were going so fast, especially foreclosures. I would I would get out of school, go see the properties, and they would be pending. And so I made the decision after a quick stint in teaching to get my real estate licensed and to take more control over our real estate assets and and build a career in something that I'd really stumbled upon that I loved.

1:43Got it. Yeah. So, so how many properties were you purchasing? Like what was your Thanks. I didn't finish that question. We were purchasing a couple a year during that time. So we was pretty pretty slow and steady. I would say consistent. In fact, back in 2014, I was like a very early on guest at Bigger Pockets. And I remember Josh Dorin, who was the, you know, founder at that time, he interviewed me. And at the beginning of the podcast, I was so proud of it, you know, it was exciting, right?

2:15And yeah, the beginning of it, he said, "John's story is boring." So, you know what? It worked for us. We did traditional we lived on half our income. We saved our down payments. We got traditional bank financing and put that put that money into down payments that we made instead of fancy cars and upgrading our house. That's the long and short of it. And it's amazing though. You underestimate the time the amount of you know impact you can make on your life in a year but you you you really underestimate what can be done in a decade.

2:51And so a couple years ago, I looked back after a decade and I was just so grateful for those decisions and the delayed gratification that we had during that time. It's made a big difference. Absolutely. And and boring works like that that you know the flashy stuff, the get-rich quick stuff, it it all fizzles out like you just see it over and over again. You know, it works in certain markets and then all of a sudden it doesn't work. And so if you're consistent though and you follow sound principles, then you're going to you're going to be wealthy.

3:24Like it's just it it's been proven over and over again, right? So you you chose to self-manage these properties, though. What what was we did? Can you believe it? I I look at it and I was laughing with my husband yesterday actually because I just did a lease approval. I just sent out a lease for signature this morning before I came here and we're still doing it. And as long as we enjoy it and have good great local renters, you know, we buy quality properties, there's an aspect to it that we enjoy in a kind of way.

3:56And a tiein with it too is I am a realtor. And so it's been a blessing to be able to also help a lot of our tenants along the way when it comes time to purchase properties and we've got that relationship developed. So, it's probably a little nuance that someone that is in a typical W2 job, you know, doesn't have as a benefit for self-managing, but my husband really enjoys it, too. And the key if you're going to do that, of course, is systems and screening. And then just having a great team of subs and people that can come that are you're loyal to and that are loyal to you.

4:30I mean, I couldn't do it without those relationships. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And a lot of people say, "Oh, you got to get a a professional property manager." But, it's not the case. Like, you can absolutely do it yourself. And I think you're right. The key is those good tenants. Well, quality properties and then good tenants. And that makes all the difference in the world. So, yeah. You know, that first townhouse I told you about, our tenant has been there since 2008. Wow. So, we like we like to have long-term relationships.

5:01Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. And if people find a great place, they're they're not going to want to leave. So, right. So you mentioned Boise was the foreclosure capital during the the downturn and since then, I mean, Boise has just blown up. It's it was I was looking I think it was a couple years ago, but it was it was like the number one appreciating market in the whole US, which if you would have told me Idaho would be the number one appreciating market several years ago, I' I'd say you're crazy.

5:34It's going to be a coastal area or some like, you know, higherend area or something like that. But it is just appreciated and gone crazy. So I guess what what do you think the impetus is for that and then what's your outlook on it going forward? I'm really bullish on Boise. I think the real cause of the inflow of course most of our most of our people are inflowing from California, Washington, Oregon and that's where I know on the East Coast you all have people coming down to Florida and the Carolas here.

6:10They come up to Idaho along with other states of course, but it's been a huge influx. It's, you know, political reasons, it's cost of living. We've had we had a huge surge of people that came up here that were able to work remotely after during COVID and also wanted greater ability to have freedom walking around and all that good stuff. And so that was just huge. And I don't know, we were our infrastructure is settling into that right now still. I mean it was such a huge influx that was really even for those of us in the industry it was kind of startling how fast the people flowed in and it's led to a strong market.

6:52We had a huge runup during COVID but it things are staying stable and we've got big technology coming into the area and huge growth like Micron Technology is here and they're doing a huge expansion right now. We've got Amazon and a bunch of smaller companies that are coming in right now. And the quality of living is a huge attraction. We've got our four seasons, but we don't have like subzero Chicago weather. We're high desert. We don't really don't get much snow. And we're just we're just a friendly folk, Kirby.

7:25We're friendly people. And most people, I think I've helped one person that's moved to Idaho in the last 12 years move back out of state. The rest have just absolutely loved it and stayed. Wow. Interesting. So, so during that runup then of you know appreciation, did you sell off some of your rentals or have you held strong? One commercial property. Okay. One commercial property. We we did get a little bit into commercial in the last decade and so it was actually a restaurant space and so that was a really good thing to sell off I think it was really challenging after co to have a restaurant space but other than that we did not there there's a couple that I've kind of wondered if I should but I know I'm in it for the long haul and

8:14As we get a little bit more mature in our investing game we may sell off some rentals and move it into something a little bit more passive as we go along as the inventory gets older, you know, because when you have more deferred maintenance, of course, I know if I heard you talk about it, Kirby, like one one big thing can kill your cash flow for a year, whereas if you've got something, invest passively, you don't have that to worry about. Yeah, absolutely. And and that I but I think that speaks volumes to you being bullish about Boise because I'm sure it is tempting you sitting on the equity that you're sitting on to to sell off and cash in but it you know obviously you still think there's there's a long-term being down in San Diego recently where you you mentioned that I mentioned that I saw my childhood home for $4.5 million s sold

9:04And meeting the people just being down there on my own and listening to people and seeing what their homes are selling for. Again, it's all perspective. So, I just see a lot more room for people moving to Idaho for quality of life and being fine with the pricing where they are where it is or or upwards, you know. So, again, but it's got to be a long-term play because you can't panic if it softens a little in six months. Yeah. Yeah. So, what what is your guys's exit plan?

9:34I'm always curious cuz you know it's I think it's smart to think with the end in mind. I've heard people talk about how you know people who don't plan it out, they spend half their life accumulating assets and then the other half trying to sell off their assets because they didn't really have a plan for what they were going to do with all of them. So what what what do you I mean what's the end goal for you guys? Well, we've been talking a lot about that actually because one, it's important, but two, there gets to a point like like you know when we're sitting on that appreciation, you know, and not quite as much cash flow as you want.

10:15So, I definitely know we will be redistributing some assets at some point to create higher cash flow possibilities. We do have some of our rentals paid off and we also have some on 15 terms. And I know a lot of people disagree, you know, with that mindset, but that's something that we get excited about having more active cash flow coming from our rentals. And yes, I do think we will eventually have a property manager. Whether that's inhouse, which I've done that. I've had assistants in house that help us with property management, or whether we go out of house, that's to be determined.

10:50But we have more and more travel on our docket. So that's really important to us. But leaving a legacy. You know, everyone says that, but our kids are young adults and we want to continue to model for them and have have things that keep growing in perpetuity in some respect. Yeah. Yeah. Got it. That makes sense. Yeah. And I think that's that's the the lens that a lot of people look at it through. But it's just staying consistent with it to get to that point. Which obviously you've done over time.

11:23So, when was it for you, I'm curious, that you started the Boise Real Estate Investors Network? And what is that, I guess, what's the impact that that that's had on your investing? Oh, it's been so good. I actually started doing meetups here in the Boisee area back in 2014 and just again needing to meet other people that were doing what I was doing and learning alongside them. And then I started a Facebook group. It's called Idaho Real Estate Investors. Of 2017. So, it's been an iteration.

11:55And then in 2023, decided to go ahead and create it as a full-blown membership network and really marry those experienced investors with those new investors that really need the mentorship and the handholding and to learn more about, you know, what to do to create some passive income for themselves, which I know you're all about, too. So, it's so awesome. Yeah. And and we have experienced I guess I should say for me personally what I've experienced the most not only just new relationships and friendships but also myself being exposed to so many other different ways to obtain rentals and to have success in today's market that I wasn't even thinking about like if I would have known some of the creative financing options that are you know around

12:44Today and different ways of going about and partnering with other people. I probably have 10 times the properties today. Yeah. So, it's just been a big mind expansion for me, which I didn't even intend, you know, I was in I created this to serve other people, but I've learned so much personally. It's been awesome. Yeah. Yeah. That that makes so much sense. And for people who who haven't been a part of RIA, because I I've gone to a lot of RIA meetings over the years. I actually had a a couple partners early on who started a a RIA meeting in Chicago back in 2011 or so.

13:19Yeah. So, we we kind of helped run that for for several years and same thing. I got so much out of it personally. But for for people who are listening to this who haven't been a part of RIA, like what how do you recommend people leverage local real estate meetups to, you know, be successful? Because I know there's different ways of doing it or different ways of showing up and some people probably don't get the same impact that others do. So, what are your like sort of tips for people? It's really simple.

13:52I would say just show up and be curious and focus on those that you're talking to and learn from them. I've had a lot of experience with people that come once to something, you know, especially if they're plugging a business or a deal and they show up once and they they like, "I'm not going to join. I didn't get any business from it." And they come one to to one meeting, right? It's a relationship. It's all about creating no- like and trust with other people in your immediate area and gaining market knowledge. So, I know sometimes there's a lot of nerves when someone walks into the room for the first time and they don't know, you know, who they are or they're intimidated because they assume everyone in the room has a hundred rentals.

14:31Yeah. Right. And they just I just encourage them to just show up, be themselves, and just ask questions of other people. Be curious. Other investors love to talk about themselves and they love to they love to share. I mean, I cannot tell you the amount of generosity in our rooms with people that are very experienced that are just right there open book and willing to share what they know. And something that may be unique about our Boyisey Real Estate Investor Network is our meetings are mainly led by local investors, some of the best investors in the state of Idaho that are just giving of their time and sharing specifically.

15:13And so it's not typically someone coming in you know, selling a seminar. It's it's very organic and it's investor to investor, neighbor to neighbor learning from one one another. It's pretty fun. That's awesome. Yeah, that makes a big difference. And do people who are not local, can can they join, too? I mean, is is it virtual? Are the meetings virtual? Yes. And we're adding more virtual components. For actually going from going to be changing morphing from the Boisee real estate investor network to the Idaho real estate investor network because I've been making so many connections with others from other cities in the state and that's been really really fun.

15:51But yeah, we have some virtual components and it's all about deal sharing and mind sharing and knowledge sharing and we actually have a lot of people that join in especially on that Facebook page from all different states and even countries that join in. We've got one investor that has rentals in Boise, but he lives in Japan and he's involved. So there's definitely opportunity for those that are just looking at the market too and want to know more about what why Idaho. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. And and is it still possible to buy rental properties?

16:26I mean, cash flowing rental properties or It is. You know, there's cash flowing, that's another situation, right? It really depends. We have a lot of people that have been super creative with seller financing and we're taking advantage of some assumable loans and capturing some low interest rates. There's also doing people doing some really creative things like huge buy downs so that they get down to that interest rate you know interest rates in the fours let's say and are able to create something where it's livable and a lot of us are very conservative if if it's paying the mortgage you know we're good if we're buying and and I would say for anyone that's not licensed utilize whether it's my team or somebody else utilize realtors

17:15That truly have your best interest at heart and are leading you to areas that are growing and are highly highly desirable for rentals. Because with our runup, we've had a lot of institutional investors and there's a lot of rentals on the market right now transparently. And so it's really important to get that rental that really shines.