“I can’t invest in real estate — everything is too expensive” is a common statement used by newbie real estate investors across the world. But is it true? Today on the BiggerPockets Podcast, we’re excited to dig in on the topic with Russell Brazil, an investor from the DC area who has a unique perspective on the wealth-building power of appreciation (AND cash flow!).
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In This Episode We Cover:
- How Russell got started in real estate
- Where he invest (and the prices in that location)
- Why you should fix your personal finances first
- Where to cut expenses
- The snowball effect that happens when you’re not living on the cashflow
- How the numbers look on his first properties
- What CapEx is (and other expenses you should be aware of)
- How many rental properties he has today
- How he broke even with some of his properties
- A discussion about appreciation
- Thoughts on investing in condo units
- Why he’s planning to invest in residential complexes
- Why he doesn’t do much flipping anymore
- How to find investors and partners
- Advice for new investors
- Tips for taking advantage of low interest rates
- And SO much more!
Links from the Show
- BiggerPockets Youtube Channel
- BiggerPockets Webinar
- BiggerPockets Bookstore
- The Simple Action No One Does That Will Make You A Millionaire (blog)
- BP Podcast 014 : Cash Flow, Creative Finance, and Life with Ben Leybovich
- BiggerPockets Forums
Books Mentioned in this Show
- The Book on Investing with No or Low Money Down by Brandon Turner
- The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
- The Big Short by Michael Lewis
- One Up On Wall Street by Peter Lynch
Tweetable Topics:
- “If you want it bad enough, you’ll figure out how to save money.” (Tweet This!)
- “Cash flow is how I pay my bills, while appreciation is how I build wealth.” (Tweet This!)
- “Debt is good. I love debt.” (Tweet This!)
- “The best way we can mitigate risk and make money is by having market knowledge.” (Tweet This!)
- “Real estate is a ‘relationships’ business.” (Tweet This!)
Connect with Russell
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9 Comments
Great episode. Thanks Russell!
It was fun to hear your podcast after seeing you in the forums! Thanks for being a moderator and podcast guest.
Thanks. Glad you guys enjoyed it.
I downloaded this episode and listened during my commute to/from work yesterday. Your reply of “buy three $100k properties” to the question about what to do with $60k got me to rethinking some things.
Thanks for sharing ,
Vic
I enjoyed your podcast and reading your posts. Nice to hear a member discuss both cash flow and appreciation instead of the polarizing, one-size-fits-all, approach we often read about in the forums.
Good podcast with some really good advice. Especially agree with the idea of not trying to time the market. And totally agree with you on One Up On Wall Street. One of the best business/investment books of all times. Thank you. And continued success.
Great show. I feel like i’m on a similar journey going from 9 down to 5 properties in the next 12 months.
I also live in a high priced area – San Francisco and went the route of out of state investing but now more interested in local investing when timing is right and I find the right property.
Thanks for an insightful show. Not everyone is working towards pure cash flow but wealth building requires appreciation and equity building.
I love your point about utilizing debt especially at historic low rates. Dave Ramsey eat your heart out.
This was awesome to finally witness someone I interacted with featured on a podcast! Well done @Russell Brazil, enjoyed you and the content you provided. You definitely gave reason to think about the methods used when investing and heightened the standard for real estate agents everywhere (especially in your back yard – i.e. me, lol) to get interactive on BP and to show themselves in social scenes and with investors. Great points pointed out by all, and as usual Brandon and Josh, great job! I think I may finally leave a note on Youtube/Itunes, about how awesome this podcast is!
Great podcast! I like your style and your advice for investing. I also live in an expensive area and like to buy nice rental homes. I don’t want the headache tenants either. I don’t know what the market is going to do, but I’ll buy one property this year, then another next year, and so on. I’m happy with my W2 job, with rentals that barely cash flow, and the idea that in 15 years I’ll be able to retire on the easy, cash flowing, paid off house! Thanks tenants for paying down my loan! Are most of your loans 30 or 15 years?