How Hard Was It to Get Into Your First Property?

Ashley, your story is perhaps the most remembered story that I've heard on the Bigger Pockets podcast. And so I'm kind of curious, like, how hard was it to get into your first property knowing that something like this could be a big risk? Ashley: "To be honest, it was in a scary situation because where I came from, I had no you know, real estate investors"

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Ashley Hamilton is a landlord, multi-unit investor, reverse flipper, hard money lender, and everything else in between. You may recognize her name from episode 331, appropriately titled “10 Real Estate Deals on a $20K Waitress Salary,” which became one of the most popular BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast episodes. If you haven’t heard of Ashley, here’s a quick rundown: As a teen mom, Ashley was working hard daily to provide for her kids. With only a $20K/year salary, she began buying rental properties, often in cash, in the Detroit area. The last time we chatted, Ashley had ten units. But now, things are very different.

Ashley knew that ten units and $7,000/month in cash flow was life-changing, but wanted to go even bigger. Since then, she’s rapidly expanded her rental property empire, growing her portfolio by many multiples and expanding into other businesses like consulting and hard money lending. She’s even developed her own version of the BRRRR strategy called “reverse flipping,” which makes high interest rates a non-issue when trying to refinance out of your property.

She gives some killer tips on keeping tenant turnover low, why paying taxes isn’t such a bad thing, and how betting on cities like Detroit can make you much wealthier. One surprising thing about Ashley is that she built the foundation of her portfolio on cash deals while making a below-poverty salary. So if you think money is the one thing stopping you from investing, Ashley will probably change your mind!

In This Episode We Cover:

Buying properties in cash and why leverage isn’t always the best move to make

What to do once you’ve hit financial freedom and building generational wealth

Going slow to build a property portfolio fast and “portfolio architecture”

Reducing tenant turnover and how Ashley kept 80% of her tenants over ten years!

The “reverse flip” strategy and why you should be on the lookout for PILFs

Investing even on a low salary and where cash flow can still be found

And So Much More!

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