“Tiny” investments with BIG upsides? Today’s guest turned a $12,000 down payment (all the money he had) into four rental properties and a unique real estate investing business. After an injury from his time in the Army left Manny Reyna with altered life plans, he had to decide what to do next. He didn’t have much money but wanted to provide for his wife and young son. The best option: use his VA loan to buy a house.

With every dollar he had, he bought a home, knowing it could one day be a rental, but little did he know that it would kickstart a very different real estate investing journey. Fast forward a few years later, and Manny has a glamping/tiny house business that he started with just $20,000. This tiny home brings in some respectable cash flow but wasn’t without its struggles.

In this episode, we’re going through the big ups (and big downs) of Manny’s journey, from having to literally move a house to bad guests ruining his first short-term rental, installing utilities on completely raw land, and managing his properties from very far away (he’s in Japan right now!).

In This Episode We Cover:

Why every veteran or active duty military member should use THIS loan to buy a house

How to start investing without much money by buying “tiny” investment properties

Whether you should hire property management or self-manage your first property

Why lowering your rent price is worth it to avoid prolonged vacancies (don’t make Manny’s mistake!)

How much it cost Manny to install utilities (electrical, septic, etc.) on a raw land for his glamping properties

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Ashley's BiggerPockets Profile

Tony's BiggerPokckets Profile

Join BiggerPockets for FREE

Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group

Real Estate Rookie YouTube

Follow Real Estate Rookie on Instagram

Get Casita on Instagram

Sign Up for BiggerPockets Momentum 2025 to Supercharge Your Investing This Year

Grab the Book, “Short-Term Rental, Long-Term Wealth”

Property Manager Finder

$11,000/Month with One VERY Unique Rental Property w/Garrett Brown

Connect with Manny

(00:00) Intro

(02:10) First House for $12K Down!

(06:00) Hiring Property Management

(09:34) I Can't Get Tenants!

(10:37) $50K Tiny Homes and Land Investing

(16:15) Setting Up Utilities on New Land

(21:21) Tiny House Amenities

(24:11) Cash Flow and Current Rent

(26:37) Tenants Trashed My Property!

(29:58) Buying MORE Tiny Homes

(33:44) Managing Properties from Abroad

(35:09) Connect with Manny!

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-518

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