Welcome to the first podcast of The Artful Investor.

I was going to just jump in and start talking about different types of real estate deals and how to get your first deal, but then I thought . . . You’re probably thinking “who is Nancy to be telling me about real estate investing?”
So, it’s probably a good idea for me to give you a little background about me and my real estate investing adventure. That way you can decide whether I might be able to provide you with valuable information as you embark on real estate investing.

Let’s start at the beginning, well, not really at the beginning, but certainly at the beginning of my real estate career.
When I was 26 years old, I had just graduated from law school, was deep in debt, and working in San Francisco.
One day when I was out to lunch with a coworker, somehow the topic of investing came up.
And I had a good laugh.
I was 26! Fresh out of law school! Deep in student debt! How could I possibly invest in anything?
But the more we talked about investing, the more determined we became.
Outside the restaurant was a kiosk filled with free real estate pamphlets. This was long before the widespread use of the internet for research.
We grabbed a pamphlet and started looking at the ads for properties for sale.
Here was our thought process: Real estate was a real asset. It was easy to understand. It was manageable without a lot of expertise. And the returns could be incredible.
That lunch break ended up being a lot longer than we had anticipated.
In one of those pamphlets was an ad for a 5-unit Victorian in San Francisco for sale with owner financing. Since neither of us could qualify for a loan, this seemed like a deal too good to ignore.
So we contacted the owner and 2 days later we were under contract to purchase the building.
We just had to come up with a $50,000 down payment.
FYI – when the owner said he wanted $50,000 down, we didn’t flinch. We just said “sure” and signed the contract. Neither of us knew how we were going to do that.

$50,000 to buy a building in San Francisco doesn’t seem like a lot, does it? Well, I’ll repeat myself: I was 26 years old. Fresh out of school. Deep in debt.
I didn’t have 50 cents or $50 dollars to rub together, let alone $50,000.
But we were in this thing come hell or high water and we were not going to turn back.
Over the next few weeks we found 3 partners who would put in $30,000, leaving the two of us to scrounge up $10,000 each.
Just $10,000.
Again! 26 years old. Fresh out of school. Deep in debt.
What could I do?
I was determined to turn over every stone until I’d found $10,000.
It turned out that my uncle had $10,000. And he was a very nice guy. But also a smart guy.
We made a business deal. He loaned me the $10,000 I needed, and I made monthly interest payments to him.
Those payments still weren’t easy for me, but let me tell you: They were worth it.

My friend and I managed the property for 4 years, including hiring contractors to make repairs, interviewing tenants, and paying the bills.

At the end of 4 years, we sold the building and ended up with a cool $50,000 net proceeds each. I paid my uncle back his $10,000, and I made $40,000. That was a lot of money back then.
With that $40,000 profit, I was hooked on real estate.
From that moment on, I knew there was no stopping me. You see, I learned that if you really want something you will find a way to get it. I had no money but somehow I found the money. I knew nothing about real estate, but somehow I learned as I went.

From those proceeds I purchased a single family home to hold for rental income. In fact, one of my partners joined me in a second single family home that we purchased with her proceeds. We held that property for over 10 years. I don’t think she ever saw the property. I managed it and sent her monthly income checks. I guess you could call it my first syndication.
In the years since, I have owned single family rentals, office buildings, warehouses, small and large multifamily apartments, vacant land, and mobile home parks. I’ve also flipped houses, and still do today.

Amid all of this real estate talk, you’ve probably forgotten that I was a lawyer. I practiced full time and did real estate on the side. My law practice focused primarily on real estate and construction. I wrote two books on construction law, spoke at numerous national and local conferences and was the legal columnist for a national trade magazine. In addition to being an attorney, I’m also a CPA and a real estate broker.

In 2013 I retired from practicing law. Since then, I have bought, rehabbed and sold over 35 homes in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’ve also invested in numerous mobile home parks and multifamily syndications. I got addicted to real estate when I purchased that first 5 unit building in San Francisco and I’ve never stopped investing.

So that’s my story. I’m a real estate addict. I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly and I’m still here. Through this podcast I’ll share some of my stories so you can learn from my successes and my failures. I’ll also give you general knowledge about real estate investing so you are well equipped to invest when you are ready.

My goal is to help you take your first steps toward investing in real estate and to grow your portfolio to create enough cash flow so that you can work because you want to, not because you have to.
Life shouldn’t be spent lying awake at night, wondering if you’re going to outlive your money or if you’ll ever be able to retire.
Your days should be spent the way you want to spend them, not the way you have to spend them just to survive.
If I can help you get there, great. I hope you tune in to future episodes as we explore the creativity of real estate investing.