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SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 383: FROM REALTOR TO REAL ESTATE INVESTOR TO AIRBNB MAVIN
From a renter struggling to pay her rent and living on food stamps, to owning several BNB homes and running a six figure short term rental property management company, Rachel Prince is all about optimizing your assets! In today’s podcast, Rachel will share some of her insider secrets of how you can quickly ramp up your own AirBNB business for instant cashflow and the development of long-term assets.
What You Will Learn
- How to get started in your own AirBNB business on a shoestring budget
- Why it makes more sense to buy your own AirBNB properties instead of renting other people’s properties
- Why Indianapolis is a top market for short-term rentals
- How Realtors can pick-up extra income as an AirBNB property manager
- Why your mindset is so critical to your AirBNB success
- How automation can both help and hinder your operations
- Why she believes its never too late to start your own AirBNB business
About Our Guest
Rachel Prince
Rachel Prince is a Real Estate Broker and “Rentalpreneur.” Featured in INC. magazine, the Indy Star and on the Ron LeGrand Mentor podcast, Rachel Prince has been called the “Maven” of Airbnb Short-term Renting. Author of Airbnb Mentality and Airbnb Side Hustle, Rachel is also and creator of BUYBNB, the online Airbnb Real Estate Investing course. From a renter struggling to pay her rent, to owning several BNB homes and running a six figure short term rental property management company, Rachel is ALL ABOUT OPTIMIZING ASSETS! As the podcast host of Airbnb Entrepreneur Podcast, Rachel regularly interviews Airbnb hosts and influencers. In 2017, Rachel relocated her Airbnb real estate business to the Indianapolis market with FC Tucker real estate firm carving her niche in the midwest BNB world. Rachel graduated from Bowdoin College with a B.A. double major in International Relations and Spanish.
More About Rachel
- Was an entrepreneur at age 23 and lost a lot of money
- Years later, she was renting a place in Colorado
- living on food stamps
- Was trying to get back on her feet after difficult issues with her health
- She was looking for ways to make quick money and she knew it would be either Uber or AirBNB
- Since she was driving a Honda Element where the back doors didn’t open properly, that excluded Uber
- Without her landlord’s permission, she decided to list a room in her two bedroom duplex apartment out on AirBNB (she was desperate)
- It ended up being the easiest money she ever made
- She developed a passion for the AirBNB, short-term rental, hospitality world
- She was, at the same time, trying to figure out what she was going to do with her life
- She was now 40 years old, had no assets, didn’t have a home, no 401K, no career
- She was motivated to turn things around
- With the extra money she was earning, she got her real estate license, took classes and started consulting on the short-term rental process
- She became an ambassador for AirBNB
- Sending out her link for referrals, where she got money from AirBNB
- She also knew she wanted to acquire her own properties
- But she didn’t have any money
- She went to a Fortune Builders workshop and got very motivated to acquire real estate
- She started by figuring our what mortgage lenders needed and required of people with very little income
- Unfortunately, both AirBNB and real estate prices in Denver were not conducive to what Rachel wanted to achieve
- She knew what she wanted to do but it wasn’t going to happen in Colorado
- She moved to Indianapolis
Getting Into Real Estate
- In Indianapolis, real estate was affordable and she knew she could ramp up fast there
- She immediately rented a place to live in and put on AirBNB
- She got her real estate license
- Learned the “inside tricks” on how the buying process really worked
- She also started a property management company
- She looked for ways to expand her AirBNB business
- She wanted to acquire real estate or share in someone else’s real estate to get more AirBNB properties
- Her business took off!
Becoming an AirBNB Mavin
- She began to share with others how they could launch their own AirBNB business
- She learned, through experience, a repeatable formula that she could teach others and she created BUYBNB, a comprehensive step-by-step program on how to buy properties and start your own AirBNB
- Within this program, she taught people how they could:
- Restore their credit
- Create a down payment to buy property
- Learn what they need to do to buy a property
- Use legal loopholes to propel you faster into acquiring a property and then converting it into a successful AirBNB business
- Uses Click2Flip app and a AirBNB Income Calculator to calculate if a property would be a profitable AirBNB property
The Importance of Mindset
- Rachel referenced how, when Bill started with his AirBNB, how he established 30-day minimum stays
- And that staying focused, and devotion to that niche attracted people and that’s how he was able to attract longer-term guests – the “Field of Dreams” approach – It you build it, they will come.”
- Intention is half the battle
- She emphasized that no matter what your niche or strategy, your mindset is key
- With mindset, you’re setting the foundation for your whole journey
- Think like the wealthy – with the intention of hitting your goals
- That’s how she got to where she is now
- It wasn’t easy but she stayed on her key end goal – to own her first real estate property!
- Today, she owns two!
Multiple Income Sources
- Rachel is a realtor, real estate investor, property manager, AirBNB entrepreneur and educator
- She sells homes to out-of-state, out-of-country clients
- Many have never even seen their homes
- She sets them up for AirBNB and manages it for them
- Some of her clients have taken her course and manage it themselves
- She runs 30 short-term rental properties for clients
- Some from Indy, some out-of-state
- She recently maxed out at 30 and is now looking for options to expand and how she can do that
How She’s Able to Handle so Many Accounts at Once, Plus Her Other Jobs
- She attributes her success to being rather bossy, direct and controlling
- She has to have things done a certain way to achieve a certain level of compliance from her team
- At the same time, with her team, she tries to create a loving environment where they feel safe
- She supports her team but also supports her client, therefore needs to maintain a balance
- She says she has to have “thick skin”
- Another reason how she is able to handle so much is that she is very tech savvy – she uses technology to streamline what she is doing
- Automation is key. She has
- 24-hour answering service
- Google docs
- She just did an AirBNB boot camp in Indianapolis
Owning vs. Arbitrage
- She had some clients that were subletting with their AirBNB
- You lack control as a business owner when you’re subletting someone else’s property
- It doesn’t look like a good long-term solution
- Rents could change (thereby cutting into your profit)
- Your needs may change where you’ll be stuck in a lease
- You don’t benefit from the equity the property accumulates
- If you own the property, you own an asset with long-term value
Biggest Mistake(s)
- Automation can be a big benefit but it can also be a hindrance
- When you need this but the automation can only do that
- It can’t meet all your needs
- Software changes and the entrance code isn’t and people can’t get in
- Screening to prevent “parties” or other events that can be harmful
- Auto message typo – Put the wrong street name and guest can’t find the property
- Girl called and was hysterical
- the 24-hour phone service didn’t know how to respond to a hysterical person
- Staff Training – When certain staff has not been trained in a new process or system
- Water Shut Off – Water was accidentally shut off on an AirBNB unit and Rachel didn’t know about it. For two days, the guest was without water and AirBNB has a rule that says if that happens, the guest can get a 50% refund. Unfortunately, even though Rachel got it back on on the third day, the guest was booked for one month and Rachel lost half of the booking fee for one month.
- Keeping up with AirBNB rule changes
- Got hit with a lawsuit from former client who said that she was receiving income from him, even though she hadn’t worked with him for the last 3 years
- Make sure you document well and have legal contracts that protect you
Biggest Successes
- Reaching nearly one million in income
- Her net worth exploded
Property Acquisition Strategy
- Saves enough money to buy a new house every two years
- The home she lives in is called her primary
- Every two years, she moves into another house and has AirBNB in the past “primary” house and opens a new AirBNB in the new primary house
- She shows how to do this formula in her BUYBNB course
- She’d like to get properties in an area where she can escape the Indy winters like Arizona
Advice for Old Dawgs looking at Real Estate Investing/AirBNB to help in their retirement years
- It’s never too late to get started in AirBNB
- Creative real estate investing
- Create a retirement fund with the equity
- Connect with good professionals who can help you out
- BNB realtors
- A good lender
- Financial Planner
- Listen to investing podcasts
- Do your due diligence
- Get the right mindset
- Understand that there are risks
- You can hire experienced BNB property managers
Current and Future Business
- She wants to do more consulting 10-20 units
- Create automation
- Build teams
- Run a BNB park in the desert
- Working on partnerships (Rolio and others)
- Boot camps on how to do it all yourself
- A boot camp in LA
Rap-It-Up
- Favorite real estate book: Any book by Robert Kiyosaki
- Favorite business book: The Relationship Economy by John R. Dijulius
- Most valuable web site for success (other than your own): AirBNB.com
- Favorite app: EasyInspection
- Favorite quote: “Be the change.” – Mahatma Ghandi
- If you had to start all over, knowing what you know, and you only had $1,000, what would you do to launch your real estate investing business? I would do my 60-10-10-10-10 rule. Tithe some of it. Save some of it. Spend some of it. Invest some of it. Live on the rest.
How to Reach Rachel
- Her website: Rentalpreneur.com
- Her online course: BUYBNB
- YouTube Channel: Rentalpreneur
Rachel’s Upcoming Live Boot Camps
- Upcoming Events: http://buybnb.eventbrite.com/
DISCLAIMER: Many of the above strategies take knowledge and have a higher degree of risk. You need to do your research and/or work with someone who is experienced to reduce your risk.
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Additional Episode Sponsor: Meno Studio – menostudio777@gmail.com
