Today we’ve got another great new BiggerPockets Podcast interview to bring to you, packed full of actionable tidbits and great conversation. Each week, we will be bringing you incredible real estate investing tips, training, and interviews with actual investors who are in the field, and who are making it happen. You can listen to the show online (below), download it later, listen on your smartphone, or via iTunes — all for free.
On today’s show we talked with Karen Rittenhouse from KarensPerspective.com – an active real estate investor, author, trainer, and all-around great gal. Karen’s started investing in 2005 and has acquired well over 150 properties during her investing career. On this podcast, she shares with us exactly how she did it, and how you can use the same strategies to begin (or improve) your investing career.
Listen to the show below – or if you have iTunes, please click this link to listen on iTunes (NOTE: iTunes listens help BiggerPockets move up in the iTunes charts, allowing us to reach more people!)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
In This Week’s Podcast, We’ll Explore
- Why rentals are just like little oil wells – and how to get started owning them.
- How Karen bought over 150 properties, most without ever getting a mortgage.
- Dealing with sexism in the real estate field.
- Using the “subject-to” strategy to invest with no (or low) money down.
- How Karen made $9200 when purchasing her first project – with no money down.
- The two most important steps to avoid making mistakes.
- Karen’s technique to find motivated sellers and how to get deals from non-motivated sellers.
- Why Karen is changing her strategy to adapt for the future… should you?
- The most important first step for new investors.
- Karen’s fear when beginning – and the phone call that made her think she was going to jail.
Links from the Show:
- Karen’s Profile on BiggerPockets
- www.KarensPerspective.com
- Karen’s Favorite Direct Mail Company: PostcardMania
Books Mentioned in the Podcast
- “Essential Handbook for Buying a Home” by Karen
- “Essential Handbook for Selling a Home” by Karen
- “Essential Handbook for Landlords” by Karen
- “The E-Myth” by Michael E. Gerber
- “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” by T. Harv Eker
Tweetable Topics:
“I don’t mind there’s a 1% in this country – I just want to get there” Click to Tweet!
“Real estate investing works no matter where we are or what we’re doing. The checks still come in.” Click to Tweet
“Rental properties are like “little oil wells” – no matter where I am – they keep pumping.” Click to Tweet
“When talking with motivated sellers – don’t go in to close a deal. Go in to solve problems.” Click to Tweet
“Without a good plan – it’s easy to quickly jump to the next shiny object.” Click to Tweet
“You’re not going to get rich quick. It takes time – but the rewards you’ll reap long term are huge.” Click to Tweet
“You never forget your first… (real estate deal!)” Click to Tweet
“When it comes to marketing – everything works – just do something.” Click to Tweet
“You’ve got to think bigger than a 40 hour work employee” Click to Tweet
“We’re in the business of helping people – and we get paid for it. It doesn’t get better than that.” Click to Tweet
“There’s never been a better time to be in real estate” Click to Tweet
Karen Rittenhouse, along with her husband Jim have 11 employees, a real estate investing business, a full service real estate agency, a property management company, a coaching and training business, a lending company, and Karen has written 3 books on real estate.
Connect on Twitter: @KSPerspective
KarensPerspective.com
Karen’s Profile on BiggerPockets
If you missed the link above, listen to the show here:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }
Kudos to both Karen and the Bigger Pockets team! As a new investor, I recently started following this site and I can’t tell you how surprised I was today to see a podcast featuring one of my coaches, Karen Rittenhouse! Karen and Jim are great, well-respected coaches in our area and I am thankful that talented folks like her contribute to sites like this so we can all learn! Great site, Bigger Pockets, and well done, Karen!
Hey Tina and thanks for the comment! Karen is definitely one savvy business-woman and sets a great example for other ladies to follow. I want to welcome you to our little place on the web and hope you’ll join us over on the social networking side of our site at BiggerPockets.com.
Otherwise, keep listening to the show (our first episode with Marty Boardman was just as good), and if you can, do leave us some feedback on iTunes so other potential listeners can learn about this new source for great real estate investing info!
Thank you, Tina, for listening and for leaving a comment!
Yes, BiggerPockets is an amazing site for real estate investors.
To your success!
YAY Karen, you ROCK (on a guitar :>) !
What a great podcast!! Thank you Josh & Brandon for this gift.
It sounded so much like my heart and dream—though you are much further along your plan than me. I love what you say about the helping people and the mothering mindset. It just comes naturally. Some of my male investor friends call me the Pollyanna or the “investor with a heart “(poor, poor silly woman). lol
I believe that it is more fun to work from the perspective of helping others. I love what I do so much that sleep is an annoyance. Karen, your story is inspiring.
I am wondering though, Karen, why would you sell off some of those props now when the market is still lagging. Why not wait til things pick up in a while when you could get more for them? Your success is hugely evident, I’m not questioning like I know better; just wondering.
This podcast made my day! Thanks so much!
Hey Melodee –
Thanks for jumping in, and of course, thanks for listening! I’ll let Karen jump in and answer your questions (hopefully she is following).
Take care and keep on moving forward!
Melodee:
Thank you for the wonderful feedback! I’m thrilled that you got so much from the podcast. Mothering, when done right, is the best thing in the world!
No, I must have said something confusing. We’re not planning to sell anything we own. We’re just not planning to buy more properties this year to hold. As I mentioned, we bought 68 houses last year and I’m sure the influx will continue! This year, our plan is to flip or wholesale most of what we come across rather than holding (which has been our pattern in the past). We will use the money from selling the new leads to pay off the properties we’re currently holding.
I agree with you, this is still not a good time to be selling for retail.
Thank you for leaving your comment!
That is a brilliant plan Karen; makes perfect sense and sounds fun.
Wishing you all the success you desire. Thanks for sharing with us all here.
Hello everyone,
Josh, Brandon, great Interview! There is WAY too much hype in the real estate investing niche. If there’s one thing I can live without, it’s another expert pitching how to ‘get rich in real estate.’ Your no hype approach is a breath of fresh air. I’m looking forward to more from you guys.
Karen, it was very interesting to hear how you grew your Real Estate Empire from such humble beginnings. Too many times, the focus is on the present state of the expert’s business. While very exciting and profitable, it can overwhelm many beginners. Your story reinforces the old proverb of, ‘a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.’ It also highlights the importance of baby steps, and how opportunity starts to gravitate towards a person the more action he or she takes.
Thanks, and best wishes in health, wealth and happiness,
Ray Toulany
PS: Love the ‘Oil Well’ analogy.
Thanks for the feedback, Raymond. I’m glad you’re a fan of the podcast and our approach. Be sure to check out the rest of the shows when you can and hopefully you’ll join us on our main site as well.
Raymond –
I love to share because I absolutely know that anyone can do this business. I started out sitting at that desk with NO experience, just a dream and a desire. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Real estate investing is an elephant that no one can possibly understand in the beginning. Just start and keep biting!
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and here’s to your tremendous success!
Bigger pockets is simply the best there is. It’s informative, enjoyable and they make understanding real estate so easily
Thx for all you guys do
Bill from Boston
Thanks so much for that, Bill! That’s awesome to hear.
Congratulations, Bill from Boston, for finding BiggerPockets!
This has to be the greatest online source for real estate investors. I look forward to hearing about your investment progress.
To your success!
Thank you, Karen! I laughed, I took notes, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing what you had to say. It was so good to hear the female perspective; I’m studying RE investing and on the verge of jumping in, and I am exactly that same scared person in my little home office. It’s so encouraging to know you were there, you didn’t end up in prison, and everything worked out so well for you.
Thanks again, and best wishes to you!
Sheree from Atlanta
Sheree:
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed listening and I, too, am glad I didn’t end up in prison!
Thanks for listening and thanks for the comment.
Here’s wishing you tremendous real estate investing success!
Hello, Karen great podcast. I’m in Fayetteville, NC which is not too far from you. Do you ever finance out of the subject 2 houses? If so, how many years do you hold them?
Hi Shanequa:
Not sure what you mean by “finance out.” But, yes, we sell anytime we have a qualified buyer and get our asking price! We have had lease-to-own tenants eventually get their own financing and cash out – we have had retail buyers come along when the properties were put out on the rental market – and we have flipped some of the subjec-2.
Hope this answers your question! Thanks for asking.
Hi Karen,
Very motivating podcast. I am always inspired by successful women investors. I love that you show that you can be kind and helpful, while still making a great life for yourself.
I do have a question, I may have misunderstood. Was the first condo you bought a subject to and she gave you a check for the remainder that you said you didn’t want to pay for? Or did you get your own mortgage on it?
Thanks and take care,
Carolina
Hi Carolina:
Yes, the first condo I bought was subject-to and she did write me a check for the difference between what she owed and what I was willing to pay.
Thank you for listening and thanks for leaving a comment!
I am in the very early stages of real estate investing. Currently its all about research and educating myself. I was happy to find biggerpockets.com was inspired by the podcast that Karen took part in. She has a great success story, and is willing to share the information and knowledge she has gained since she started. If you haven’t listened to it yet, do so!
Dave
Long Island, NY
Thanks for the comment, Dave! I’m also a Long Island guy — nice to meet you! Do jump in and join us on the main part of our site at http://www.biggerpockets.com where you can connect and engage our almost 110,000 other members.
I’m glad you enjoyed the show and hope you’ll check out the first one and the others we’ve got planned. If you get a sec, please do leave us some feedback on iTunes — every review and new rating helps us out!
See you around!
Thank you, Dave, for the thumbs up!
I’m so glad you found BiggerPockets. There’s tons of information here and a great forum where you can ask your questions going forward.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
To your success!
Karen -
I finally got a chance to listen to your podcast. Thanks for sharing your story. Someone once asked me if I felt being a woman had any affect on my real estate investing career. My response was:
“Everyone was always willing to share information and mentor me along the way. However, I always felt like the door to the “good old boys club” wasn’t quite open all the way. I couldn’t quite get all the way in the room”.
I think that this has changed over the years since I began investing in 1998. Women have finally made their mark in this business. I would certainly hope that is true for women today.
Sharon
Thanks for leaving a comment Sharon.
Yes, we would hope times are better.
Well done Karen, Brandon and Josh! This is the first BP Podcast I’ve heard and I’m blown away. The back and forth between everyone is so great. I laughed, got inspired, and got some valuable nuggets. Congratulations on your success and all those oil wells!
Best,
John Fedro
Thanks John, we appreciate the great review! Be sure to check out the other ones, as well, and if you have a sec, leave us a review in iTunes
Thanks for listening, John, and for taking the time to leave a comment.
Here’s wishing you tremendous real estate investing success!
Mr. Fedro – Welcome to the show! Thanks for listening and for the feedback . . . make sure to check out the other 3 shows that we’ve got recorded already on the Podcast page, and of course, please subscribe via iTunes to make sure you’re in the loop with future shows. Finally, I hope you’ll leave us a rating on iTunes — all the feedback we can get is absolutely helpful.
I know that we’ve talked about doing an episode on Mobile Homes; hopefully we’ll be able to get you on board in the near future.
Hi Karen,
Of the 68 houses you bought last year, how many came from direct mail?
Great podcast!
Hi Tara:
Hard to say for sure because we don’t track as closely as we did in the beginning, but over 50%, for sure. Even things we think came from referrals or other leads often end up being from a mailing piece someone received along the way.
Thanks for asking and I’m glad you enjoyed the podcast!
Karen Thank you so much,
Thank you so much Karen and you wish you the best.
Not only hearing a woman’s perspective but hearing honest and sincere information together with a soothing voice is so refreshing !
Sorry guys but sometimes I am really tired of stereo type males in this industry. I think “woman’s touch” will make this industry better
I have to admit, I listened your podcast several times.As a single mother, I can relate everything you say, as a woman I can relate every hesitation you had.
Although I have been in this business for awhile, after I listened your podcast, I started to interested in Subject to properties. I also listened a speaker at my Investment club meeting and I take these coincidences as a sign and planning to learn more
Josh and Brandon, Thank you so much to you too, you provide endless sources of information through your website and podcasts. You are very grounded, humble and you make so much sense, which we all know this is very hard to find in this industry !
Figen M.
P.s. I will subscribe itunes and leave you a rating
Figen:
So glad that you found the podcast and that you enjoyed it! This business can be so overwhelming, especially in the beginning, but the rewards over time are amazing.
Let me know how I can be of help to you going forward.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
To your tremendous success!
Nice interview!
You mentioned about a form you used to break down numbers to talk to sellers.
Can you please shared the form with everyone?
Thanks
Hi Deo:
Sorry, I can’t share that form. It’s one that’s available to our students and forms are some of the benefits they receive for being students. Wouldn’t be fair to the ones who pay.
I may do a post explaining what we do, since you’ve asked, because I never like to say “no”!
Thank you for listening to my podcast.
I understand! Thank You.
“I don’t care that there’s a 1%, I just want to be part of it.” Awesome.
One of the best quotes I’ve heard. My thoughts exactly.
Another awesome podcast. Great stuff Karen.
Terry