MB 069: Why Women Need a Real Estate Portfolio – With Whitney Nicely

The vast majority of women perform a number of unpaid jobs every day, from childcare to housekeeping to food preparation. There is simply no time to pick up another job! But today’s guest argues that there is a way for women to generate substantial income that doesn’t require a lot of time and energy – apartment building investing.

Whitney Nicely believes that every woman should control her own destiny by investing in real estate as soon and as much as possible. Born into a family of entrepreneurs, Whitney was inspired to invest in real estate as a creative outlet that would allow her the freedom to be her own boss. She flipped her first house in 2009, and has since grown her portfolio to include 17 residential houses, 19 apartment units and seven chunks of vacant land across east Tennessee.  

Whitney’s philosophy is to take action first and figure it out as she goes. Her bold, ‘throw spaghetti at the wall’ strategy has proven successful, and now she teaches women how to invest in real estate with no money, no credit and no bank necessary. Listen in as she shares why she prefers apartments to single family homes, how she landed and financed her multi-family properties, and her advice around building a reputation as a local real estate authority. Learn why women need to start building a portfolio – today!

Key Takeaways

[2:27] How Whitney got her start in real estate

• Mom is real estate investor (mailbox money)
• Went in with no plan
• Bought land for $1,500
• Rents driveway and land for $750/month

[5:38] Whitney’s experience with single family homes

• Bought two houses to rent
• Realized would take 115 years to get money back
• Discovered lease option (no money, no credit)

[6:38] Why Whitney quit the family business to do real estate

• ‘Too much family, not enough fun’
• Family of entrepreneurs
• Sought creative outlet of her own

[7:29] The advantages of apartments (vs. single family homes)

• More money with less time
• Property manager to deal with problems
• One roof, one tax bill
• If one set of renters can’t pay, mortgage still covered

[12:30] How Whitney landed her three multi-family units

• Property in country near industrial park
• Previous owner lost through foreclosure
• Local bank owned, managed by local realtor
• Listed in small, local MLS (big players unaware)
• Whitney in contact with agent, lead when price dropped
• Used HELOC from house paid off to make offer ($25K for 5-unit, $35K for 11-unit)

[15:58] The cashflow on Whitney’s current multi-family properties

• 19 units total
• Triplex units bring in $550/month for each, mortgage $60 ($900 profit)
• Five-units rent for $500/month, mortgage $800
• 11-unit brings in $4,000/month, mortgage $1,100

[16:52] The other expenses associated with owning apartments

• Real estate taxes, insurance
• ‘Bug guy’
• Property manager
• Yard maintenance

[17:51] What’s next for Whitney

• Mobile home park
• Old building to rent as think tank/co-op office space

[19:04] Whitney’s early real estate misstep

• Purchased house she hadn’t seen for $15,000
• Fleas, squishy floors, dubious neighbors
• Could not rent
• Sold at auction for $11,000

[21:50] Whitney’s philosophy around taking action

• Once you buy, three options (sell, rent, do something creative)
• Play ‘what if’ too long, someone else will take your deal
• Not bothered by not knowing what’s next

[24:27] How Whitney chooses people to do deals with

• Lease option not for everyone
• Focus on people tired of being landlord or making payment on empty house
• Adopt take-it-or-leave-it attitude

[25:45] What sets Whitney apart from other investors

• Talks to five to ten sellers per day
• No fear, just put it out there
• Finds off-market deals via personal Facebook page
• Provides HGTV-style edutainment on social media
• Local authority (crooked ‘I buy houses’ button)

[28:14] Why Whitney believes all women need a real estate portfolio

• Allows to control own destiny
• Statistically live longer, may have tendency to spend more money
• Already do unpaid work at home, no time to pick up extra job
• Extra $10,000 provided by real estate can make or break marriage, retirement

[30:03] How Whitney’s family reacted to her real estate investments

• Husband, family not always on board
• Thought she was wasting time, money
• Started to take seriously after first $60,000

[32:34] Whitney’s advice for aspiring apartment building investors

• Take action, figure out as you go
• Don’t sign your name on $100,000 loan if not comfortable
• Start small (land, dinky house, ‘lipstick-on-a-pig flip’)
• Real estate is not complicated

Connect with Whitney

 whitneynicely.com

Whitney Buys Houses on Facebook

 7-Day Lead Challenge

 Resources

Free eBook: The Secret to Raising Money to Buy Your First Apartment Building