From Chemistry to Real Estate Entrepreneur

In Order to Succeed You Must Put People First Heather Anagnos is an independent business owner with HomeVestors® of America, Inc. in the Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina, market. She started her HomeVestors business, Green Mountain Property Group, in Boston, Massachusetts, before relocating to North Carolina in 2022. Life Before HomeVestors Heather graduated from The College of the Holy Cross with a BA in Chemistry and worked as a chemist before switching to a career in medical device sales which she did from 2000–2014. During that time, she read Rich Dad Poor Dad which changed her perspectives on life, and she set her sights on starting a business and getting involved in real estate. Heather joined a local real estate association and started investing part-time in 2009 focusing on building a buy-and-hold portfolio. She took her investing career full-time in 2014. While her new career was getting off the ground, her source of leads “dried up.” As Heather explained, “During this time, everywhere I went I saw a HomeVestors billboard, so I decided to give them a call.” She immediately bought a franchise because of their lead sourcing, support, and proven operating systems. Green Mountain Property Group “When I started with HomeVestors, I needed to unlearn the traditional way of doing real estate and begin following the HomeVestors systems,” Heather noted. “My profits started going up and I was hooked. And I had two great Development Agents to help me along, Stephen Bowen and Michael Falotico. “In my first year, I continued to build my buy-and-hold portfolio while also doing fix-and-flips through HomeVestors,” Heather explained. “It is very expensive to buy houses in Boston, but you also make more money on the backend. In fact, there were years when I bought fewer houses and made the most money.” Initially, her company only consisted of herself and her subcontractors, but she relied heavily on the HomeVestors Ad Council, which according to Heather, is where all the “valuable ideas and sharing happens.” During this time, her husband was still working in Finance for a data marketing company in the wireless carrier industry. Present Day Heather lost both of her parents in 2020 and decided it was a suitable time to relocate for some new scenery. She found her new scenery in North Carolina in 2022. In contrast to the Boston real estate market, Heather now needed to buy more houses to maintain the same level of profit. With a new team in place consisting of one admin staff, a project manager, and rehab crews, Heather’s goal is buying 20 homes per year. “The other great thing is that I am now “hands-off” with contractors — I have a guy that does that.” “What works great for me is having a good rhythm,” Heather explained. “I always like to have two properties on the market for sale, two properties in rehab, and two properties in my acquisition pipeline.” Heather further elaborated, “I love being a problem solver, first and foremost. I get tremendous joy in meeting with homeowners and helping them solve their difficult situations.” Heather proudly says, “HomeVestors is a lifestyle. Investing is the new normal in our family. My daughters, Brooklynn, age 9, and Taylor, age 11, are enthralled with real estate and give me money they earn to invest in our real estate acquisitions. That truly makes us a family business.” “My advice for anyone getting stated in real estate investing is rather simple.” •          Have liquid cash. •          Put people first. •          Find yourself a proven system — like HomeVestors. HomeVestors What exactly does it mean to be a HomeVestors® business owner? Owning a real estate business is life changing and naturally comes with risks! When you become a HomeVestors business owner, you get immediate access to motivated seller leads, financing resources for qualifying purchases and repairs, one-on-one coaching with your local Development Agent, proprietary software for analyzing properties and deals, and access to a nationwide network of coaches and peers. Your house-buying business is yours and you run it as your own venture with a focus toward your individual business goals. If you are interested in a franchise, call 866-249-6932, email Sales@homevestorsfranchise.com or visit www.homevestorsfranchise.com. Each franchise office is independently owned and operated.

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Navigating Affordability Issues in the Real Estate Market 

Mike Tedesco is the CEO of Appraisal Nation with decades of experience in lending, banking, credit, title, closing, appraisals, and real estate investing. He has been around through different economic cycles and he is with us today to help us understand what’s going on behind the scenes in the real estate space. Listen now to learn more about the truth behind today’s real estate market and how you can remain profitable through these challenging market conditions! Quotables “The biggest thing that’s being overlooked right now is what’s happening in the affordability sector. As homes continue to rise, the median income is not catching up.” “More and more people want to be in a home and if they can’t afford to buy that home, then investors are gonna buy that home and they’re gonna rent those homes, and it’s limiting the market.” “Buying real estate today is always better than buying real estate tomorrow and there are so many programs out there for everybody.” Links Website: RCN Capital https://www.rcncapital.com/podcast Website: REI INK https://rei-ink.com/

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Digitizing Data to Put in the Property Owner’s Back Pocket

Chuck Hattemer is the co-founder and CMO of Poplar Homes, a nationwide property management company based in California. Chuck and his team are focused on helping mom-and-pop investors across the country better manage their properties by giving them access to institutional power. He is with us today to talk about the importance of effective property management systems and how Poplar Homes is helping solve issues in property management today! Listen now to learn more about Poplar Homes, what’s going on in property management, and how you can better manage your rentals as a real estate investor today! Quotables “We kind of approached it from the consumer, the renter perspective first and it was a problem that all of our peers were talking about.” “That was all about this philosophy of don’t over-optimize and don’t build before you know exactly what the customer wants and what the pain points are.” “So many opportunities that come up in my experience, in our business, have come up because we’ve knocked on that extra door. We’ve asked the tough question when the time has run out to a mentor or to someone we want to make a deal with.” Links Website: Poplar Homes https://www.poplarhomes.com/ Website: RCN Capital https://www.rcncapital.com/podcast Website: REI INK https://rei-ink.com/

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Safeguarding Pet Owners and Unleashing FIDO Scores

Victoria Cowart is the Director of Education and Outreach at PetScreening, a company that aids in helping residential and commercial spaces become more pet-friendly. Aside from that, Victoria also has decades of experience in property management and she is with us on the show to talk about property management and how investors can make their properties more pet-friendly while mitigating as many risks as possible. Listen now to learn more about the current rental market conditions, how the tenant bill of rights may affect landlords, and how you can make your rentals more pet-friendly with PetScreening! Quotables “It just seems our industry is unreasonably attacked as being predatory and it’s not. We are providing affordable housing.” “What we’re doing for the industry is we’re building a fence around the liability and the risk management of pets and animals like you would want around a swimming pool.” “Pet rent should always be required, you just have a range. $45-$65 to start off, you just create a $20 window for our 5 paws.” Links Email: Victoria Cowart Victoria@petscreening.com Website: PetScreening https://www.petscreening.com/ Email: PetScreening marketing@petscreening.com

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Resisting the Influencer Temptation

Tarry Summers is a seasoned real estate investor, developer, and entrepreneur, with hundreds of doors in his portfolio. He has been in business through different market cycles and he has learned from some of the most successful people in the industry. Tarry is with us today to share all the things that he learned along the way. Listen now to learn the best tips, tricks, and strategies that will keep you profitable in the real estate space from a seasoned real estate entrepreneur! Quotables “The worst thing you can possibly do in real estate is wait. You need to get in, you need to get involved.” “Rich people do not get rich by making an income, they get rich off of buying assets and then borrowing off their assets.” “When someone is older and wiser than you, shut up and just listen because they’ve been there.” Links Podcast: The Scalers Only Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VgWK… Instagram: Tarry Summers https://www.instagram.com/tarrysumms Facebook: Tarry Summers https://www.facebook.com/tarrysummers/ Website: RCN Capital https://www.rcncapital.com/podcast Website: REI INK https://rei-ink.com/

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Homes in Upstate New York Sell in Roughly a Week While in Austin It Takes Nearly Two Months

Albany, Rochester and Buffalo are among the nation’s fastest housing markets. Austin, once known for its speed, is one of the slowest. In Albany, NY, the typical home that sold in September went under contract in just eight days, making it the fastest market in the country, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Next came Rochester, NY (9), Grand Rapids, MI (9) Buffalo, NY (11), San Jose, CA (12) and Seattle (12). Aside from Seattle and San Jose, all of the six fastest markets have median home sale prices well below the national level of $412,081—one reason homes in these metros are getting snatched up so quickly. The typical home that sold in Rochester last month went for $235,000, making it the 4th most affordable metro in the nation. Buffalo ranked 8th, with a median sale price of $255,000, and Albany and Grand Rapids ranked 21st and 24th, with median sale prices of $310,000 and $320,000, respectively. That’s based on a list of U.S. metropolitan areas with populations of at least 750,000. Homes in affordable places have become more competitive as housing affordability has dwindled due to rising mortgage rates and still-high home prices. The average 30-year-fixed mortgage rate hit 8% last week for the first time in 23 years, sending the typical homebuyer’s monthly payment up significantly from a year ago. “You might not think of Rochester as a hotspot, but people are still flocking into our area and supply remains very low,” said Kimberly Hogue, a local Redfin real estate agent. “Especially for someone coming with a big-city budget, paying $400,000 for a beautiful single-family home in a desirable neighborhood is a no brainer, and there just aren’t enough to go around. Even with mortgage rates near 8%, homes here are still affordable.” The situation is a bit different in nearby Buffalo, according to local Redfin agent James Strzalkowski, who has observed signs that the market is beginning to slow. “Buffalo was promoted for years as an affordable city with so much to offer, including cheaper labor, but our local economy is changing. Home prices and the general cost of living are catching up to other parts of the country,” he said. “We have a housing shortage in part because people can’t afford to move, but homes that are listed are starting to sit for longer and see price drops as mortgage rates rise and inflation impacts our city.” In Austin, Homes Used to Fly Off the Shelves. Now It’s the Second Slowest Housing Market in the Country. In New Orleans, the typical home that sold in September went under contract in 70 days, making it the slowest market in the country. Next came Honolulu (62), Austin, TX (59), West Palm Beach, FL (58), McAllen, TX (53) and Charleston, SC (53). Homes in most of the aforementioned markets have historically taken longer to sell than the typical U.S. home. The outlier is Austin, where homes have historically sold faster. Austin exploded in popularity during the pandemic as scores of remote workers moved in from expensive coastal cities to take advantage of the area’s relatively affordable housing. In turn, home prices skyrocketed, and many homebuyers were priced out. Austin’s housing market has lost its edge in large part because it has become more expensive. The typical home that sold in September went for $450,000, or 9.2% more than the typical U.S. home. That gap has narrowed since home prices peaked last spring, when homes in Austin were selling for nearly 30% more than the typical U.S. home. To view the full report, including charts and metro-level data, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/fastest-slowest-housing-markets-september-2023/

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