BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

857: The House That Almost “Broke” Me: Losing $350K on ONE Property w/Mindy Jensen

Dec 14, 2023

Mindy Jensen, an experienced real estate investor, shares her story of losing over $350K on a single property. Topics covered include dealing with crooked contractors, a devastating flood, theft, and the importance of emergency reserves. Listeners can learn from Mindy's mistakes and ensure they avoid similar pitfalls in real estate investing.

20:23

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Episode guests

Mindy Jensen

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Quick takeaways

Thoroughly vet contractors and prioritize reliability, work quality, and accountability to avoid costly mistakes.

Maintain financial stability and have reserves to handle unexpected costs and protect investments from turning into major setbacks.

Deep dives

Deals Gone Wrong, Part 1

In this podcast episode, Mindy Jensen shares her experience of a real estate deal that went wrong. She highlights the importance of learning from mistakes, even for seasoned investors like herself. Mindy discusses the challenges she faced with contractors, including issues with reliability, work quality, and accountability. She emphasizes the need to thoroughly vet contractors before hiring them, referencing her own preference for doing most of the work herself to maintain control and avoid potential pitfalls. Mindy also shares the importance of having reserves and financial stability in real estate investing to handle unexpected costs and to prevent deals from turning into financial disasters.

Introduction

3min

Losing Money on a Property: The Challenges and Unexpected Circumstances

5min

Surviving the 500 Year Flood: A Stressful Experience

1min

Dealing with Property Challenges

10min

The Importance of a Strong Financial Foundation in Real Estate Investing

2min

Real estate investing can make you rich or ruin you financially…if you’re not taking the proper precautions. Today, you’ll see just how easy it is to lose money on a bad real estate deal and how even the top investors, those with decades of experience, still can end up in a rough situation through no fault of their own. And while both the investors featured in this two-part series have made millions in real estate, they’ve also had a couple of deals gone wrong that have cost them hundreds of thousands.

In this episode, we’re talking to Mindy Jensen, host of the BiggerPockets Money podcast, about, as she calls it, “the house that almost broke me.” This property alone lost Mindy over a quarter of a million dollars, as she had to deal with crooked contractors, a once-in-a-lifetime flood, theft, and more. If you want to ensure you NEVER repeat the same mistakes as Mindy, listen to this ENTIRE episode before buying your next house.

And next time, we’ll be on with James Dainard, expert flipper and co-host of On the Market, to talk about his house flip that makes Mindy’s look like a walk in the park!

In This Episode We Cover:

How Mindy lost over $300,000 on ONE real estate investment

The one “waiver” you MUST get signed before you hire a contractor

DIY vs. hiring it out on home renovations and why Mindy does almost all her own work

The “five-hundred-year flood” and the WRONG time to replace a roof

Why you must have emergency reserves before you invest in ANY property

And So Much More!

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