Failure is no stranger in the real estate industry which is why we are excited to bring Nathan Brooks to The BiggerPockets Podcast today, an investor who knows firsthand that real estate can be tough!
Nathan is an investor (both flips and rentals) from Kansas who went through a very difficult period during the real estate crash, losing all his properties and filing bankruptcy due to a shady partner and jumping in too quickly. Nathan has since emerged as a much stronger real estate investor and carries an incredible story with numerous lessons to share. Get ready to learn how failure can transform your life!
Read the Transcript
Click here to read the transcript.
Listen to The Show on iTunes
Click here to listen on iTunes.
Listen to the Podcast Here
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS
Sponsor
Special thanks to today’s sponsors Pensco. Be sure to check them out at: Learn.Pensco.Com
Links from the Show:
- Nathan’s post, “The Art of Saying No (Or How to Avoid Buying a House That Could Literally Kill Somebody)“
- Nathan’s Blog Posts here on BiggerPockets
- The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Real Estate Investing from BiggerPockets
- BP Podcast 077: Negotiating Your Way to 1000 Wholetail Real Estate Deals with Michael Quarles
In This Show We Cover:
- How Nathan found his first business partner at lunch
- Why Nathan bought two houses as a newbie – and lived to regret it
- How to find partners through BiggerPockets
- The opposite of paralysis by analysis
- How Nathan ended up filing bankruptcy
- Nathan’s current (more conservative) investing strategy
- Dealing with tenants in a $20k property
- How to make a unit stand out among the competition
- Dealing with “Cat Ladies” and “Hoarder Houses“
- How Nathan finds deals
- Finding mentors and lenders on Craigslist?
- How to find a real estate-minded attorney
- And so much more!
Books Mentioned in the Show
- The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller
- The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Spencer Strauss and Martin Stone
- The Four Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
- Unlimited Power : The New Science Of Personal Achievement by Anthony Robbins
Tweetable Topics
Don’t go into business with someone you don’t know. It’s just stupid. (Tweet This!)
The lessons I’ve learned have made me a better investor today. (Tweet This!)
There’s a deal for everyone, but this deal might not be for you. (Tweet This!)
The job of a Real Estate Investor is to solve problems. (Tweet This!)
Know the answers before asking the questions. (Tweet This!)
Connect with Nathan
Free eBook from BiggerPockets!
Join BiggerPockets and get The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Real Estate Investing for FREE - read by more than 100,000 people - AND get exclusive real estate investing tips, tricks, and techniques delivered straight to your inbox twice weekly!
- Actionable Advice for Getting Started,
- Discover the 10 Most Lucrative Real Estate Niches,
- Learn how to get started with or without money,
- Explore Real-Life Strategies for Building Wealth,
- And a LOT more
Sign up below to download the eBook for FREE today!
We hate spam just as much as you
17 Comments
Hi Nathan, Josh and Brandon,
I really enjoyed the ” good, bad, ugly” aspect of this podcast. Nathan , I was wondering if you could describe in more detail the way you structured the deal with the woman that
you ended up rehabbing and then selling. It sounds like she was still owner while the rehab was taking place.. am I correct on this? I ask because I actually came across this and had considered a simuliar solution but really didn’t know how to put it together. Which leads me to my next question, when you are doing something entirely new ( as in structuring a deal in a way that has never been done) do you first consult other investors or have a lawyer that you run things by before offering it to the seller?
And do you REALLY have a 4 hour work week? 🙂
Hi Elizabeth,
Thanks for taking time to reply here! You are correct, the homeowner did fund everything on the rehab for their house. We used a contract that we wrote up together, but I wouldn’t necessarily suggest always doing that. I have a lawyer that I used for contracts very often who is reasonable … and NO, I am not doing a 4 hour work week 🙂 Good luck!
Hi Nathan,
If you don’t mind,could you outline a few specifics on the way that deal was structured?
For example, how did she fund the rehab? I thought you said she was owing more than it was worth and that she didn’t need to bring anything out of pocket? Did you have private money fund the rehab and then how did you recoup this is the house was underwater already? What was your exit on this one… a lease option?
Thanks again…
Killer podcast!
All it takes is one bigger pockets podcast to get me out of any slump I face being an investor, sometimes this can be a very lonely business. Having these to help us remember we aren’t alone, and that others face some problems way bigger than our own (sorry Nathan Brooks!).
Great content, great motivation and pretty funny.
Thanks Tim,
Glad you enjoyed it and got something out of it… that was my hope in doing it!
Great episode Nathan! Thanks for sharing your story. Now I don’t feel so bad about the minUte problems (in comparison) that I’m having with one of my first deals 🙂 Hope things keep going well for you now that you’re in Harmony!
Mehran …
Brotha! We always have some kind of problems right!? Well thanks for listening and responding … yep, we keep after it every day. To Harmony indeed!
Great show guys! I’m so glad Nathan went on and talked about the bad and the ugly, because while I love hearing all the great things about real estate investing, it’s maybe even more informative to hear about times when it goes badly.
Nathan, I’m curious regarding the bankruptcy: was it personal or through your company? And you mentioned using a private money lender afterwards; is that how you got back on your feet in spite of bad credit?
Love your comeback story, man.
When Nathan explain what was in his blog, about the house that could kill you, and he recommended that the owner leave the structure immediately, that was great.
However, is there a higher duty for the investor to tell the police, and/or tell code enforcement or the fire department or something that the house needs to be checked out because it is a major accident waiting to happen… with electrical in the SHOWER?
I’m just curious what Nathan, and any other BP people think of reporting this dangerous house to some kind of authority to possibly help save their lives.
Can you comment?
Woo hoo! Finally a Kansas City investor on the podcast. Loved it, great warning for the new investor.
The electrical panel story reminds me of a shower I used in Panama. The instant hot water heater was in the shower with wires dangling, just caps on them. I was young and dumb enough to shower in it daily for a month.
Enjoyed the podcast!
Where’s that Top 22 Real Estate Books that Brandon mentioned?
Yeah. Where is that?
And the self directed IRA site? I think it was pensco.com
Very awesome show really enjoyed the information that was communicated . Living in Kansas it’s hard to imagine being about to start in real estate in certain areas in our state but I’m learning it’s not a macro but micro thing.
Required listening. Excellent episode. Thanks for sharing Nathan.
FYI For Newbs: When you contract our dry wall installation, make sure your monkey is approved by angies list. And whatever you do don’t criticize their work or pay them with mushy bananas.
Nathan – Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. Its great to hear the good and bad experiences of real estate investing because we know that there will be ups and downs but not everyone is comfortable enough sharing their experiences with the public.
Nathan-
Thank you for sharing. Going into business with others can definitely be a great way to do more deals and gain leverage in REI. But as you said, not going into business with people you don’t know is a great piece of advice. You’re resilient! Congrats on bouncing back and persevering! Sharing our downfalls is never easy and I give you props. Thanks again!