Podcasts about brie schmidt

Want to grow your real estate investing business and portfolio?  You're in the right place. Welcome to the Property Profits Real Estate Podcast

In today's episode of the Cashflow for Life podcast, Andrew chats with Brie Schmidt, a real estate agent, mother of two and an investor known for her contributions to BiggerPockets, a real estate investing education resource. Brie shares her journey in real estate investment, starting with a house hack in Chicago in 2011 and expanding into the Milwaukee market in 2014. She discusses the impact of personal life events, including her father's death and her own divorce, on her investment strategy. Brie also talks about her shift towards optimizing her portfolio for efficiency, leading to selling off some properties while retaining others in Chicago.Andrew and Brie discuss her approach to investment, emphasizing lifestyle and freedom over scaling up for the sake of growth. She details her experiences with different property classes, noting the higher management demands of C-class properties compared to B and A-class. Her investment strategy includes a mix of personal properties and participation in syndication deals.They also touch on the Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit, which Brie co-organizes. The event focuses on education and networking, featuring various speakers discussing topics like syndication, raising capital, and local Airbnb policies. She highlights the importance of understanding economic trends and their impact on real estate, a lesson she learned from a personal session with an economist.Enjoy!What You Will Learn In This Show:How significant personal events, such as the loss of her father and a divorce, influenced Brie's approach to real estate investment.The significance of aligning investments with personal values and lifestyle goals, rather than pursuing growth for its own sake.The challenges and demands of C-class properties compared to B and A-class properties.The importance of continued education and networking in real estate.The importance of understanding broader economic trends and their influence on the real estate market.And much more...Resources:BiggerPocketsThe Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit

Welcome back to the Balanced Growth Show! Today we are excited to be joined by Brie Schmidt. Brie is the managing broker of Second City Real Estate, a full-service brokerage working with investors in the Chicago market. She is also the owner of BBS Apartments and the co-founder of the MidWest Real Estate Networking Summit, a weekend education summit for real estate investors. In this episode, Brie talks us through the journey that led her to find more flexibility in her career through time and energy management. She discusses outsourcing, learning to optimize your time, setting healthy boundaries in your industry, and much more. Don't miss out on this impactful conversation packed with practical advice, as Brie empowers your to take control of your future!   Join us today as we discuss these things: 1:29 – What led Brie to real estate investing 6:46 –  Brie's struggle with balance and her decision to make changes 8:50 – How Brie learned how to outsource and optimize her time 12:58 – The importance of energy management 18:57 – The impact of the word “no” + finding your ideal client 24:37 – Brie's advice for other entrepreneurs     RESOURCES Learn more about our Brie:  http://www.secondcity-re.com/agent/brie/ Email: travis@travisparry.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC46ekvB-U-CJDdsd7aqJMuA  Get Travis' newest book!  

Want to earn more and work less? You up for the challenge? Sign up for the 20x Profit Challenge hosted by Neil Timmins at www.20xProfitChallenge.com To access a FREE collection of resources, go to www.RealGritVault.com   Are you looking for ways to scale your investment portfolio faster? We got one of the experts today, Brie Schmidt. In this episode, she'll share best practices in managing and diversifying real estate businesses, twists and turns of growing properties, and navigating various forms of investments. Keep tuning in for more!   Key Takeaways From This Episode The value of designating the right property manager or company Why having a brokerage firm is valuable in selling properties Is it a good idea to buy multiple properties at the same time? Ideal team structure for distinct types of business investments Potential benefits of joining networking events for investors What qualities investors must have to achieve personal development   References/Links Mentioned BiggerPockets MidWest Real Estate Networking Summit May 2023 https://www.midwestresummit.com/   About Brie Schmidt Brie acquired her first investment property in 2011 and left the corporate world in 2014 when she become a full-time real estate investor. Her portfolio includes 2-4 unit properties in the Chicago and Milwaukee markets, with just under 100 units. She is the Managing Broker of Second City Real Estate, a full-service brokerage working with investors in the Chicago market. Her team sold over $60 million in 2021 and is one of the largest boutique brokerage firms that specialize in investment properties.  Brie is a Co-Founder of The Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit, a weekend educational summit for real estate investors. The event provides new to experienced investors with the tools and connections necessary to build a real estate business. Her other passion is travel and in the past few years, she has been to Albania, Costa Rica, Croatia, Colombia, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Macedonia, Morocco, Portugal, Scotland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Thailand.   Connect with Brie  Facebook: Brie Schmidt LinkedIn: Brie Schmidt Instagram: @chicagobrie BiggerPockets Profile: Brie Schmidt   Neil J. Timmins is on a mission to make a deep personal impact in the lives of his team members and business partners through his work as a real estate investor and mentor. He started as a traditional real estate agent where his team was recognized by the Wall Street Journal as a Top 100 team. Eventually, he made the transition from Realtor to full time investor.  Over the course of his career, Neil has been involved in over $300,000,000 in real estate transactions. Neil's portfolio depth includes assets ranging from houses to industrial properties. Recently, Neil and his team launched the Legacy Impact Partner Program where they partner with fix and flip investors from around the country. Neil's team brings capital to fund and fix rehabs, operational expertise, and years of experience catapulting their partner's business to new heights. Want to partner? You can learn more and book a call with Neil at www.LegacyImpactPartners.com.   Connect with Neil Website: Real Grit LinkedIn: Neil J. Timmins Facebook: Neil Timmins

Wondering if it's time to jump into the Chicago Real Estate Market? Brie Schmidt provides a recap of the 2021 market and dives into the current trends and expectations for 2022.  Brie explains how low inventory has impacted the market and how buyers have had to readjust their expectations. She also discusses lending challenges on properties in her area of expertise, Chicago's North Side. Brie drops street-level knowledge on neighborhoods and how buyers in different life stages are choosing where to invest. If you enjoy today's episode, please leave us a review and share with someone who may also find value in this content! Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Brie Schmidt of Second City Real Estate Link: Getting Things Done (Book Recommendation) Sponsors: Kiser Group and Pentwater Cabinetry. ----------------- Guest Questions 00:58 Negotiation tips to facilitate your transactions. 04:17 House Provider Tip: Choose a discreet location for your lockboxes to avoid break-ins! 06:50 What was the most surprising part of 2021? 09:30 How have buyers been reacting to the lack of inventory and how is inventory today? 12:20 How is Brie handling buyers and helping them purchase investment properties during a hot seller's market? 18:28 What is the common dilemma buyers wrestle with in this seller's market and what's an alternative perspective they can take? 21:00 How is the conversation on a purchase different when comparing house hackers to straight up investors? 23:10 How have lending and rates changed during this hot market and the pandemic? What have been some of the challenges? 27:17 What neighborhoods saw the largest growth in 2021? 30:30 How have some fringe neighborhoods changed over recent years? How do buyers reset their tenant expectations in these areas? 34:38 Considerations investors should have when analyzing buildings with deferred CapEx and maintenance.  36:26 What are Brie's thoughts on the City's issues with taxes, pensions, and crime? 43:42 Other perspective changes buyers can/should make in today's market? 46:51 What neighborhoods are over-inflated? Wrap Up Questions 48:57 What is Brie's competitive advantage?  49:34 One piece of advice for new investors. 50:27 What do you do for fun? 51:58 Good book, podcast, or self development activity that you would recommend?  52:20 Local Network Recommendation? 53:48 How can the listeners learn more about you and provide value to you? That's our show! Thanks for listening! ----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2021.

Brie Schmidt acquired her First Investment Property in 2011 and left the Corporate World in 2014 when she became a Full Time Real Estate Investor. Brie is the Managing Broker of Second City Real Estate, a Full Service Brokerage Working with new Investors and Seasoned Investors Looking to Expand their Knowledge of the Industry and their Portfolio. In this episode we talked about: Brie's First Steps in Real Estate Switching to Real Estate on a full-time basis 2021 Portfolio Review Capital Deployment The Difference Between Chicago and Milwaukee Property The Active Investment Strategy  Property Management 1031 Exchanges Regulatory Environment from the Landlord-Tenant Prospective Mentorship, Resources and Lessons Learned Useful links: http://www.secondcity-re.com/agent/brie/ Transcriptions: Jesse (0s): Welcome to the working capital real estate podcast. My name is Jesper galley. And on this show, we discuss all things real estate with investors and experts in a variety of industries that impact real estate. Whether you're looking at your first investment or raising your first fund, join me and let's build that portfolio one square foot at a time. Hey, my name is Jesper galley and you're listening to working capital the real estate podcast. We have a special guest today that is Brie Schmidt. Brie acquired her first investment property in 2011 and left the corporate world in 2014.   When she became a full-time real estate investor is the managing broker of second city real estate, a full service brokerage working with new investors and seasoned investors, looking to expand their knowledge of the industry and their portfolio. I had the special pleasure of being on a panel with Bree in new Orleans at the bigger pockets conference. Bree, how are you doing I'm   Brie (54s): Dan. Great. Thanks. How are you?   Jesse (56s): I'm doing fantastic. Well, I appreciate you coming on the show. I thought just, you know, we were talking before the show. I think it would be really interesting to have you on because we talked a lot, but you know, across that panel and I think it would be a treat for listeners to talk not just about multiple larger units when it comes to multi residential, but to talk about the mid and lower size units or smaller size units and kind of approach it from the perspective of the kind of unique markets that you're in. So maybe to kick us off, why don't you give us a little bit of a, of a background for yourself, for listeners, how you got into real estate?   Brie (1m 35s): So I always say I used to be a normal person. I used to have like a normal job and normal, you know, grind go to the grind kind of goals in life. So I used to work in advertising sales. I used to work in business development and advertising sales never really saw myself doing anything different. You know, it was really had aspirations of being a female CEO one day. So I live in the Chicago market, which we were talking about before show is a somewhat unique market, as far as housing stock.   There's very few cities in this country that have a large portion of two to four unit multi-units. So depending on the neighborhood in Chicago, it can be between 50 and 70% of our housing stock is two to four unit properties. And they're generally about a hundred thousand dollars, less than a single family home. So at the time I was think I was just getting engaged and my fiance and I were talking about, and you're like, what are our life plans? They're like, well, we want to, we want to buy a single family house, but like, we don't need, we don't need that sort of space right now.   So that was our plan was we bought a three unit property. We did a quote-unquote house hack, you know, standard FHA loan. And our plan was, you know, at some point we would need more space. We could, you know, take out a wall, move a staircase. Now we took up two of the three floors. And then at some other point we'll need the other space. We'll just, you know, get and take out a wall and move a staircase. And we'll eventually just take this house and convert it to a single family home. So that was our hundred, like end all be all goal with real estate investing. About three months after we bought the property, my father was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer and he passed away a few months later.   And the thing is the day before he was supposed to retire is when he passed away and we already planned his retirement party and it now became his wake. And it really resonated with me as, because I would just think back of all the things my dad would say, like, when I retire, I'm going to go do this. When I retire, we're going to go to Thailand. You know, I'll retire after you get married or I'll retire when your brother had finished his PhD. And like, he always had all these dreams and goals that he never got to see because he never took action on it.   So here I am, 28 years old, you know, working 60 hours a week, traveling all over the country for somewhere else. And I'm like, this sucks. You know, like this is a terrible life. I've got, you know, 30 plus years till retirement. And I'm going to be in the same position as my dad. You know, I've always wanted to go to Italy. I've always wanted to go do these things and I've done nothing with them because I was too focused on work. So it really changed my perspective on life and decided to reorientate things.   And that's how I got into real estate investing. So you'll, you'll figure out, you know, I just go, I'm a bull in a China shop kind of person. So within the, we bought our first property in 2011, we bought another property in 2012. We did it again in 2013, that 2013 property was a renovation property. We bought like a 1960s house and completely renovated it, you know, pulled cash out. And that is when I found a website called BiggerPockets, which I'm sure you know about.   And it completely changed everything that I was doing. I had never talked with another investor. I had never read a book about investing. I was just kinda, you know, winging it. And it opened up this whole new world of possibilities. So we were sitting on a decent chunk of cash and now I had all these possibilities in front of me and opportunities to learn. So we went full forward ahead. So we looked at other markets to invest in while I love, love, love Chicago.   It's not really a cashflow based market. It's more of a balanced, you know, similar, not as expensive as California, but you know, similar sort of market, New York as well. You're just not going to be retiring off cashflow here. So I, I took some time. I looked at Milwaukee, Kansas city, Indianapolis spent some time in those markets, learning those markets and we decided to invest in Milwaukee. So for you guys that don't know it's about an hour and a half drive, so it's a, you know, easily commutable distance.   So in, let's see, 2015, we bought 10 properties and then 2016, I bought another eight. And then I had partners. I worked with that. I bought another 10 in 2016. So we went quite all in and fast growth trajectory on our acquisitions in those markets. So that's kind of my, and then I started a brokerage firm here in Chicago that was started in 2014. We are the largest boutique brokerage firm working with investors in the Chicago and market. And then I also do the Midwest real estate networking conference where the largest conference in the Midwest for real estate investors.   So everything, when I say I used to be a normal person with normal hobbies, that's what I mean. Like I used to be able to small talk and chit chat about sports or shopping. And now my whole life has become real estate, which is fantastic, but it's all I want to talk about. Cause it's all that meal. It's fun for me. So it was taken over my life in a very, very good way.   Jesse (6m 56s): Yeah. Well the, the energy didn't go out and I noticed when we were, we were at the conference and it's, that's great to hear it. When, when you made that transition, I'm always curious because it's not a dissimilar story where we have guests on that had a quote unquote, normal life or normal job, normal, whatever. And then they move into real estate investing. What, at what point in that kind of, you know, 20 11, 20 12 was the point where you said, okay, let's go in full time and, you know, get, you know, not, not continue to pursue the, the day job.   Brie (7m 26s): So it wasn't like a, it wasn't a pre-planned conscious decision. To be honest, the plan always was I was making great, you know, I had a great salary. I actually loved what I did. I had spent nine years building up my career. I did, it was not something that I wanted to walk away from. So the plan was never for me to leave my job and do real estate full time. Real estate was always going to be a hobby on the side. So it was when we were looking at doing our first set of properties in Milwaukee, that I started to realize like one day it was like, well, I always wanted to make sure that my real estate investing never got in the way of my day job.   And then one day woke up and realized that my day job was getting in the way of my real estate investing show. But I'll tell you this story. I used to travel a lot for work. And we were at the airport, it was a 6:00 AM flight to Atlanta. So it was like five 15 in the morning. I'm staying at the airport with my boss who just had a baby. She was like, I don't know, baby was like four months old. So we were flying down to Atlanta and then we had to get a car and rent a car to go to Columbus, Georgia, which was like a two hour drive for a two hour meeting.   And then drive back to Atlanta to take an airport plane ride home because she had to get home. She had a newborn and I remember sitting in the airport with her at like five 15 in the morning. It's like the butt crack of Dawn. And I get a travel alert on my phone. Like, so when it comes to travel, like Istanbul has been like my number one bucket list place. And there was a flight alert. It was like 400 bucks to go to Istanbul and I'm staring at us and I'm like, oh my God, I'm going to go to Istanbul. And she's like, what one? I'm like, I don't know, there's 400 bucks. Like I'm going to go whatever. And she started going through, like, this was April.   She starts going through my calendar while you can't go this month. Cause you've got this and then you've got this. And then like at the end, she's like by October, like, yeah, you can take a long weekend. And I was like, screw this. Like, this is not the life that I want. Like if I want to go to Istanbul, I want to go to Istanbul. So between it was around the same time that we were mid acquisition with our properties. Like I said, we were buying five properties. I remember calling my commercial lender and being like, Hey, if I quit my job, is that going to affect my ability to acquire more properties?   And as soon as you said, no, I was like, great. I'm giving my notice. And that was it. So it was like a two week, like, Hey, is this gonna, are we going to completely blow ourselves up by doing this? Or no? And the answer was no. So we just did it. I just did it.   Jesse (9m 51s): Yeah. I feel like the, there is this point where people, especially like yourself that have a job that has a good income. There's a beginning stage when you're investing where it is an asset. Obviously the W2 income, T4 in Canada, where, you know, lenders are looking at that. But you do get to a certain point where the assets are become more important than you as the individual. Did you experience?   Brie (10m 14s): Yeah, exactly. But if it wasn't, we were already past the point of doing residential loans. We were already well into like the commercial loan process and that was pretty much what we would be doing moving forward. So as if you don't know, as a us and Canada might be different, you know, those are two very different processes. So it was important for me to know that the commercial under that we were working with, I said, I've done, you know, 23 loans with him. You know, they, they were very strong as far as like backing me personally and financially, as long as he was okay with it, I was ready to go.   So I said like, this was probably mid April. I left my job at, and by the end of June, I was, I quit and done diminish doing real estate full-time ever since.   Jesse (10m 60s): Right on. So what take us up to 2021? What, what does the portfolio look like?   Brie (11m 5s): It's less so, yeah, I've actually sold, I didn't sell anything in 2020, but 20 18, 20 19. I sold some properties about half of my portfolio. So this is also a very interesting story. I was at a conference, very similar, like the bigger pockets conference we were at new Orleans. And I remember the first session, the first morning was an economist. I was actually in Philly with Dave Vanhorn's conference. So this economist is on stage. And he's saying a lot of big words. I don't know, you know, yield curves.   And I don't know, I'm writing things down. Like I should Google that later. So at the end of the conference, the, there was a charity event and the economist had had was the auction off three hours of his time. As for this charity fundraiser. I'm like, this is a perfect opportunity for me to learn, right. What he's talking about. Because while I understand like real estate economics, and while I understand the market economics that I'm in personally, I don't understand on a national or global level, right? How all these other things that are going on are going to affect my market.   That's why I wanted to learn. So I bought his time as part of the auction. And one of the things he did was he wanted to go through my entire portfolio with me five years back, right. Looking at my cashflow, my projections, something that I hadn't done. Like every year I would view my portfolio, right? Like we all do, but I never really like went back and looked at it from a high-level five-year perspective. And he put on all these different calculations and I don't even, I still don't even understand half of them that he did for me. But one of the things that we looked at is what was my three-year average cashflow and my five-year average cashflow, what would I get if I sold the property less than the fees and how does that, that profit relate to annual cashflow?   And I realized quite quickly there was some properties that like, there was just always something, right. There was always something going on with these properties. At the end of the day, if I sold the property, I will be getting like 15 years cashflow up front. I'm like, well, that makes stupid for me to keep these properties. So that has become for the last three years when I'm part of my process is every year I not only review my pre like in my, or what we did and what our numbers were this year.   I also look at my three-year, my five-year. And then since acquisition numbers and reevaluate my portfolio every year, I hire a local realtor in Milwaukee, even though I'm licensed there, I don't, I'm not super active there to do a CMA on my properties. And I rebalance things and I re reallocate things and see, Hey, is this the right? Is it keeping this property, the right thing to do? Or at what point does it make sense for me to sell? So that's, that was a learning experience I took from a med economist. Yeah.   Jesse (13m 54s): Yeah. And it's sometimes it's like, you get that second opinion or you just to get something that, not that you weren't accountable, but kind of high level taking a look at your portfolio. I found a very similar thing happened with me earlier in my career, where there was very similar to you just cap X that would happen. So, so technically your P and L looks good. It looks okay. But really at the end of the day, your cashflow statement is getting hit with these large expenses. And, you know, 1960 would have been a newer pro property. Like one of the first properties we bought was in the early 19 hundreds.   So, you know, stone foundation, knob and tube. And what I was finding was that there were particular properties that were just these cash, like just pits, because you'd just be dumping in. And, you know, even if you average out capital expenditures, if you pick properties that have, you know, a lot of maintenance, you really gotta be careful about how you're smoothing that out over the, the time that you hold. And, you know, sometimes there's an inflection point, whether that's five years in seven years in it's, like you said, it just makes so much more sense to sell it and redeploy somewhere else.   Brie (14m 56s): Absolutely. Yeah. It was a very interesting exercise for me because I always just looked at things. I said, like, I looked at things on an annual basis. I never went back and looked at things from the beginning or the last couple of years and was like, wow, you know, this property is not produce thing. Right. And since I bought it, the values have gone up, like I would make, I had one property. I was going to make like 33 years cashflow I'm like done sell it now. So it's become an interesting exercise.   Jesse (15m 27s): So I want to ask the, the question that so many investors are asking today is w we see it from sellers, but just in general, that number one, you know, where do you, if you do sell a property, where do you even deploy capital? Because the market is so competitive right now, I'm curious, was Chicago, Milwaukee, was this something where you did sell properties in Chicago and then Milwaukee kind of looked like a, a place where you deployed or were you guys doing it at the same time? How did that, how did those two locations come about?   Brie (15m 57s): Yeah. So everything in Chicago, we acquired from 2011 to 2013, and we have not sold any of those properties. Everything in Milwaukee was pretty much 2014 to 2016, and we've sold about half of those properties. And so like, our portfolio was about 31 properties before we started selling anything off. And our newest property was built in 1910. So when you talk about old, like that's just the market, you know, like these, these were older 1890s, 19 hundreds, 19 times are when the properties were generally built.   Jesse (16m 34s): So sorry, the, the property, like the, the move to actually continue investing. When you deploy that capital, wha what are their active investments that you wanted to put them in? Was it, was it the strategy to put it into the properties that you currently have? How did you deal with that once you had that windfall?   Brie (16m 51s): I'll let you know when I figure that out, it's been terrible.   Jesse (16m 56s): Well, we were just talking about this before the show. They're just talking about the inventory issue in all of north America.   Brie (17m 3s): Yeah. I think I'm like, I, this, you know, this may or may not be the right decision, but I really I've gotten this far in my investing career by trusting my gut and nothing. Nothing has been interesting to me since, you know, I've, I've looked at some like multi-family investments, but very few actually piqued my interest, mobile home as well. It's like, I'm dabbling into that stuff, but nothing that's been like, Hey, this, like the doors have opened, I see the light.   This is the path forward. So really put, put the cash in the market and let it sit until I decide what to do with it.   Jesse (17m 43s): Yeah. Fair enough. So, can we talk a little bit, like I said, at the outset, I think investors would get a lot from this, you know, two to five unit world that you live in, especially in these areas. Can you talk a little bit about why an investor would go into say a three, a triplex or a five unit as opposed to 25 30, even if they have the capital to do both   Brie (18m 4s): Same things like for us? Like, so when we, when we went into the Milwaukee market, we bought 18 properties in nine months, 67 units. It was, so we obviously had the capital to buy one big building if we wanted, but chose to do smaller buildings and said for a lot of different reasons, a, like we just talked about, you know, if some of the properties are underperforming, I could sell the ones that are underperforming and keep the ones that are performing without having to sell the entire property as a whole.   So that was part of the reason. And like I said, all of our properties are within like about a mile and a half radius. So it's not completely spread out. Like everything is within less than a 10 minute drive from each other. But one of the main reasons was the properties are like, obviously residential properties are valued differently right. Than commercial. So when I was looking at the, the cap rates and the returns that I could get, they were much higher on two to four unit properties. And they were on these multis. So again, the markets, Chicago and Milwaukee, you know, got the neighborhoods can be between 50 and 70% housing stock, at least two to four unit properties.   They're everywhere you drive down the street. Right? And like half the block is a small apartment buildings. So there's a lot of different options of different inventory. But the thing was when it comes to the small Maltese, at least in my markets, they learned pay is water. Everything else is separate to the tenants, right? So there's no common meters for anything. When you look at insurance, right? I'm getting homeowners insurance that, or my business, you're getting commercial policies. Your insurance rates are much higher than mine.   You generally pay corporate water. I pay residential water. You know, there's, there's like my taxes right. Are different than your taxes. So when I was looking at, you know, up to about, I would say about 20 units that evens out, because when you think about it, if you've got a 15 unit right next to my three unit, and at the same size, same condition, you know, two bedroom apartment, we're getting the same rent, right? Your 15 unit does not offer the amenities like the pool, the, you know, the doorman to increase runs, right? So we're getting the same sort of rent, but your expense ratios are much higher than mine.   So it came out, like I said, once you got to about 20 units, then your expenses ended up being closer to what my expenses were. And then the cap rates even doubt, but like anything on you, it's like Tanya properties. And we see this all the time in Chicago. Cause we get a lot of investors that come to us and say, Hey, you know, we want to get into like these, you know, small midsize. Multi-families like, great, I'll start running some numbers for you, but taking a consideration. I want to show you something else. And I'll show them side by side. Like here's, you know, here's 10 properties that, that are like between 10 and 30 units.   And here's, you know, 10 properties that are two to four unit properties. The cap rate is always higher. So the risk though, is that if the market, the real estate market changes, right, you're subject to comps, not at a Y in the residential world, but financing is also easier as well. We don't have, you know, you can get 30 year fixed on a two to four unit property. You're not getting a five or seven year arm.   Jesse (21m 14s): And in terms of the investors that you typically work with, or even yourself is for the most part, the strategy buy and hold with, with the size   Brie (21m 22s): Of units.   Jesse (21m 25s): And one of the things, you know, you'll hear people say, even at the 20 unit size, in terms of property management, you know, whether, you know, there, you have the economies of scale, how do you handle that?   Brie (21m 36s): It's a great question. So I think it depends on your market, right, Chicago, where at least where I work is more of an AB type market. So even, you know, even clients that I've had that live out of state, a lot of them can self-manage or we have a company here locally. I think they've expanded to, if you go to the markets now called nest egg. So it's not that I got rent, they do all the cart, property management. So like I've been using them since my maintenance, since I was pregnant with my first kid. But like, I don't use them for, I do my own run collection.   I do my own lease ups, but I have that option if I want to, but there's no monthly fee. So, you know, I just had an issue this morning, a tenant reported an issue, you know, it goes through their system, they diagnose it, they take pictures, whatever it is. And then they send me emails saying like, Hey, we think this is going to cost this amount of dollars and this many hours, who do you want to schedule the repair, the tenant, you know, then they call my tenant and they work it out. It's like, I have not been in my properties for repairs and years. And if no one makes a repair requests, I don't get charged anything.   There's no monthly fees. So that sort of product works really well in the Chicago market where, you know, it's not, it's not very high touch, right. Milwaukee on the other hand is more of a C class market is absolutely high-touch. You definitely need full-time property management services, but that's what it was. We grew so quickly said when we came to our, so by the, as after two years, we were at just under a hundred units, that's enough to be important to a property manager.   And in the beginning I had my own in-house team. I tried doing it myself. And it was terrible because you can't have one person. Right. It's what I learned. One of the learning lessons I had, you know, while the, the property manager that I chose was fantastic with my tenants. Right. He lived in the community, he actually owned some of the properties that I bought. My first properties were bought from him, you know, great relationship with the tenants, with service, with service workers, repairs, right. All that was handled, knew nothing about accounting, you know?   And like he would go to him and he'd go deposit like 10 grand in my bank account. And I'd be like, what's the spore? He's like, oh, you know, I've got the receipts in my pocket. I'm like, that's not. So I, like, I still had to do a large portion of the business. So one of the things, you know, property management is a terrible job. I would being a teacher or a property manager, like the two things I would never want to do in life.   But it takes to have a well-rounded property management team requires multiple skills, right. One person can not do it and do it well. So by outsourcing it, you're getting multiple people's positions and skillsets. So that was a life lesson that I learned. I thought I was smart by having my own in-house team. I could control things more. It was 20 times the work. It was terrible.   Jesse (24m 44s): Yeah. I find with property management, the, the companies that have been successful doing it, they, you really have to look at it as a full time full service business, and you need the personalities for that. And I think it was M zero Brian Berger, J Scott, we had on another bigger pockets contributors that I think w their, their point was 70, 75 unit pluses, where, you know, you can, you can afford to have your own super in the building. So like that, you know, even with the property management company, but also having that super in the building, you know, it is at that point where you can scale and you have a point of contact that's in addition to your property management company.   But I'm always curious, because I think, I think in the two to fives, it really is dependent on the market. Like when I got into real estate, I was in student residents. So a lot of them were like these boarding houses that had five tenants, or, you know, five students or eight students where those markets, yeah. You got some people shake the mouse a little, but you also have, what was nice is you actually have this little cottage industry of property management companies, at least back when I was in school that were local, that would manage, you know, houses.   And you had that ability to scale. And like you said, I think you've made a good point there, which I think oftentimes gets overlooked. It's that you're, you're still going to a property management company and still say, Hey, this is 80 units, or this is 40 units. It's just, they're spread out.   Brie (26m 11s): Yeah. It's one of the things I was at, like one of my biggest pieces of advice, when someone tells me, like, I want to invest in Milwaukee, Oregon, or cashflow market. Right. If your plan is to buy a small multi, and then like every year acquire another couple of units, you're going to sink, you know, it's, you're, you're not going to go well for you. So when I was buying our properties in Milwaukee, one of the things I did is after we sold the property, after we bought the property, I call the seller and ask them like, Hey, you know, deals done. Like what, any lessons you can teach me or things I can learn.   The best majority of them were like out of state investors who that was their problem. They only had one or two properties. I remember this one property we bought, we bought it December 1st. The guy told me, he's like, you know, the top unit has been vacant for like three months. We've dropped rent. Like I just can't do it anymore. I'm like, really? Because we bought it, we bought it on a Wednesday. And my property manager posted that night. We had like five showings this week on it. We got it rented out. It's like the property manager can make or break. Absolutely you return. And if you're only, if you've got like three properties or, you know, 10 units with one property manager, you aren't a priority.   The end of the day, I have a hundred units and you have ton. And we both have a vacancy. Gus, who's the priority. It's me. You know, and I don't do it very often, but whenever I have to, if I call my property manager and say, Hey, I need you to stop what you're doing right now and handle this. You better believe they're going to do it. Right. So that's where scale becomes incredibly important.   Jesse (27m 42s): Yeah. And it's nice that there are kind of companies like you mentioned, or even, even locally here where the technology is getting better, where you can actually have, you know, one off properties here and there. I know, not true for Chicago. I know Toronto, we have a huge condo market. Like it basically is our purpose built market. Rental markets are extended, but you know, it's challenging when you only have a few one-offs. Where are you? What do you, what did you think, would you say is the biggest difference between the Chicago and Milwaukee market   Brie (28m 14s): Price point? Number one, you know, Chicago is much more expensive, but again, like each market, whether it be Chicago, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Kansas city, they all have different, you know, ABC markets. So it just so happens that I got my start in investing in Chicago, which was more of a lead type market. I, my cashflow play is Milwaukee, which is the, I invest in a C class area. You know, I've looked at investing in a, Milwaukee's a B class areas.   And they're very similar returns where I get in Chicago for my air AB class areas here. So it just depends on what your strategy is, you know, at the end of the day. So part of that economist evaluation was also taking into effect or taking into account what my property values were. Right. And what if I were to sell everything, what I would would be at again, like my, my cashflow in Milwaukee per dollar spent is like almost triple what it is in Chicago.   So the end of the day, like, I always assumed like my, my money came from Milwaukee, right? Like it pays my bills at the end of the day. It did it. When you, when you throw in the appreciation I got from Chicago, like that's where I made my money. So I was looking at it again. There's two different strategies. At least I have two different strategies. Chicago is my wealth building. Right. My, my tenants call me once a year. You know, like they're generally very easy. They stay for a few years. It's not a high touch market.   You know, my property is just, I sit and maintain. Right. And then I'll get my money when I sell Milwaukee. On the other hand is the cashflow based market. That's where I bring in my, my monthly paycheck. We'll call it, you know, two totally different strategies. I like having the balance personally, but there's no right or wrong answer. There's no, you know, this is the best option I like having both.   Jesse (30m 12s): Yeah. Yeah. It makes sense. I'm curious. The something that is unavailable to us connects is the 10 31 exchange in the states, the differing of taxes into a likened kind asset for, for any of the listeners that haven't heard us banter about it before, is it, is it applicable to investment properties that are purely residential? Can you use it for you can use it for both. Okay.   Brie (30m 37s): We do again, we do, we do a few times a year, 10 31 exchanges within our brokerage side of the business, but it sucks. I just had one, the, oh, this is terrible situation, terrible. Like, whoa. It was me. The guy sold the million dollar properties, but he was selling, he was selling a property in California, wanted to parlay that funds into Chicago. This was just in like October where our market started to get really slow. Inventory was terrible. He was from the time he was selling, he was then, you know, you've got 45 days and two weeks he was leaving for Germany for a month.   So he's like, listen, you know, we gotta find this property in two weeks. And then we're in Germany. You know, we've got things to do. And it just so happened. Like the day after closing, he called me, like, we actually need to leave for Germany tomorrow. So they were in Germany the whole time. And I was trying to find them a property. But like when we were looking, you know, between like one and 1.5 million, which for a two to four unit property is completely adequate budget for Chicago. We couldn't find anything for him. And he ended up taking the cap, gain tech, but at the end of the day, that's better than buying a bad investment.   Right. So, but it was a, it was a very stressful experience because I'd never met him in person. He was never going to be able to fly to Chicago and see the property. And I had 45 days to put something on a contract for him and try to guess what he wanted and what he would like, you know, like, so it was all like videos and it was just, it's just, it is what it is, but   Jesse (32m 10s): You know, it's our world,   Brie (32m 12s): But is her world   Jesse (32m 14s): Sabrina. I want to talk, but just one more thing before we get to some of the questions we ask every guest, I am just mindful of the time here. We could probably do a, another 45 minutes on just the second half of this story. But before we get there, I'm curious to know the regulatory environment from the landlord tenant board perspective. I have a, you know, we talked a little bit about this before. I have a suspicion that it's very similar to our market, very tenant friendly. How does that compare to Milwaukee?   You know, what's your experience been?   Brie (32m 48s): You could, I don't think you can find two different while California. You can't really find two different markets. And again, they're only an hour and a half drive from each other. So both offers similar returns. I would say, as far as the investment market, but yeah, Chicago has one of the strictest landlord-tenant ordinances in the country. I still invest here. You know, we've got plenty of clients that still invest here. It's really, to me, the landlord tenant ordinance is not, it's not super strict, but you have to know the rules, right. And that's where people get in trouble.   If they don't know the rules, everything is quite reasonable. Right. If you, you know, a general repair, you have 14 days to correct it. That's not an unreasonable request when it comes to like heat, hot water, electricity, like, you know, those sorts of things, you have 48 hours to correct. You know, got not in a reasonable request. It, but our eviction process is beyond terrible. I just had to summer my first eviction ever in Chicago, where, you know, I gave a ton of in 50 days and always I was not renewing his lease.   He started, he understood it. I rented out his unit. Like he let me do showings. And then like the week before it was like, I've got nowhere to go. I'm not leaving. Like, well, that's not really an option. Like I have someone moving in in like five days. So it was what we would consider a hold over tonight, which is still allowed to evict, even though we had the memorandum here, but it took, you know, two months before we even got him served through our court process. Milwaukee on the other hand is very landlord friendly.   I can get, let's see, when I give someone a five day notice the next day I can go and file in court. Typically I get a court date within seven to 10 days. And you go, when you show up to court, they pretty much ask you one question, which is, can you prove the rent you owe to this landlord is not what they say. And they'll start, you know, well, they were a shit landlord and all that. I don't care. She says, you owe this, do you have proof otherwise? And they're like, no, and they'll start ranting. And they're like, okay.   So what do you want to do? They'll go to me like that is, that is the only piece of information that they want to know. Right? They don't, they don't care about the other things. One of the other great things about Milwaukee's market as far as evictions is which we use. It's a tool we use quite often is they have a payment plan process within the court system. So again, a lot of times, you know, they fall behind, right? And they're, they're communicating. It's not like we want to evict them so we can work out a payment plan.   It's a court ordered payment plan. And as soon as they miss one payment, I just go straight to the court, show them document, signed an affidavit, boom. Sheriff comes. So it just there's no, I don't have to go back to court and we don't have to go back to, you know, like starting all of the process over again. It just picks up where we left off. If I were to do a normal eviction. So also a really win-win situation. Right? If they say that they can make these payments and they can get caught up, right. And they do that, then they don't get evicted. But if they fall behind, we have the option of just picking things up and not starting over again.   Milwaukee also has some really great rental assistance programs for tenants that do fall behind as well versus like Chicago. We, you know, we had a ton of apply for rental assistance back in June. I just got it now in December, you know? And luckily if I wasn't so accommodating, right. You know, it was five months of background. Like that's a lot of rent to, to go back, but Milwaukee just moves faster and they are a lot more, there's a lot more options within that market.   Port options or rental assistance options.   Jesse (36m 36s): Does Chicago have rent control?   Brie (36m 38s): No. Okay. Hey.   Jesse (36m 41s): Yeah. The gas. Yeah. W I would have been 50 50 on that. I know it's tenant friendly, but I don't, I didn't know if they went that far.   Brie (36m 52s): So luckily for us, it is part of our state constitution. And once you get out of the state or city of Chicago, it is a very, very red state. So to, to have rent control in Chicago, you have to have this state constitution amended and there's way too many conservatives to allow that to happen. So every year it happened, like every year someone brings it up, right. And every year it goes to the process and every year everyone freaks out about it. And every year it gets stopped quite quickly.   But if it wasn't, if it was up to the actual like cities or counties, we would absolutely have rent control here. But luckily it's on a state level.   Jesse (37m 35s): Yeah. I think if I think Jersey, what is a Jersey, California, New York Mahershala, Washington. I think, I think we're the opposite. If you can find a, like a pretty sure across country, we have some form of rent stabilization. But the big thing for us is that is when we have new tenants, we mark the mark to market the rents. So you kind of reset at market levels, but it's a bit of a different animal. That's great. I, I want to talk or let listeners know where they can go and kind of reach out to you. But before we get there, we've got four questions.   We ask every guest. So if you're ready, I'll, I'll send them over to ya. I agree with something, at least one thing that you know, now in your career, you wish you knew when you first started out,   Brie (38m 17s): Oh gosh, just one thing I can do a whole podcast and all the things, You know, again, I, I'm a big believer in trusting your intuition, right. And figuring out what works for you, what works for me doesn't necessarily work for you. So that takes time. That takes your own learning lessons. But as long as, like you said, I've made obvious mistakes. As long as I was confident in my decision, right. I have no one to blame, but myself and that makes me sleep at night, knowing that like, Hey, this is, this is just a bump in the path and it's going to be a learning lesson down the road.   So my advice would be, you know, really focusing on what you're doing, what your goals are, what your needs are, right. Where, where you can grow personally and then create your own path.   Jesse (39m 10s): Gotcha. Okay. In terms of, if one thing or a few things you could say to new investors, people getting into our industry regarding mentorship, what would that be?   Brie (39m 24s): I'm not a fan of a mentorship thing. You know, I don't think it's a gun. Your mentorship to me is you're, you're learning from someone, but you're trying to replicate what they're doing. Right. And that's not always, right. So I'd like, I get all the time, like, Hey, what, what neighborhoods do you buy in? Cause I want to buy there. I'm like, well, I have haven't I have a Nissan Pathfinder. Do you want to buy my car? Because I have that car. Like, you know, that doesn't mean like what I have my needs and goals are. So it was back to the first thing of, you know, mentorship, you know, isn't, shouldn't be a immediate goal for someone, I think, you know, utilizing sites like bigger pockets, bigger pockets, right?   Learning about your market, listening to podcasts, right? Take a little bit of information from everything that you're hearing and learning and figuring out what works best for you. That's what you need. And then once you're ready, right. Finding a good team, a good agent, right. A good brokerage, good, you know, lenders, lawyers, whatever that will help support you and what your goals are. But you should be the one dictating what your path is. Not someone else telling you what to do.   Jesse (40m 32s): Fair enough. What's a resource or book that you find yourself constantly recommending.   Brie (40m 37s): Oh, getting things done. I love that book. It has completely changed. Like you guys, like not only do I not want a landlord, but I own a brokerage firm. I also plan an event for real estate investors. I'm nine months pregnant and I've got a two year old right there. You know, there's, there's a lot of different things that come at me at different times through the day with so many different moving parts. Right. So having like an organizational prioritizing to do list right.   To, to be effective has really important. So I read the book, maybe I was actually too busy to read the book. So I bought the cliff notes to be perfectly honest, about five years ago. And I went from working, you know, 60 hours a week in my business to probably working 30. I, you know, cut out all the nonsense and really transformed my work-life balance because of that book. Yeah.   Jesse (41m 36s): And I think they've updated. We've had a guest before recommend this and I think they've updated some of the, the concepts. Cause I, I it's, it's like the book for, for like task management and organization. So I think it w I can't remember what the release date, but a lot has changed technologically, but I still love the, how they systematize everything in that book.   Brie (41m 57s): I am so full though. I have to write everything down. Like   Jesse (42m 1s): I remember like the bin you'd have to move things from the bin. Yeah.   Brie (42m 5s): I have to like physically write things down and like physically cross things off of my paper. I can't do like a word, you know, or technology just doesn't work for me. I'm too old.   Jesse (42m 14s): So speaking of Pathfinders, our last question, first car making.   Brie (42m 19s): Oh, Ford Thunderbird. Terrible bomb. Yeah. I was at, it was my dad's car that I bought off him. Right. I'm a terrible driver. Do you understand this? No, I think it was a V6 or a V8, whatever. I crashed it so many times. I'm just a terrible driver. I still am a terrible driver. My husband drives pretty much. He will not, my husband will not let me drive a car if he's in it.   Jesse (42m 48s): I will say this though. It is, it was an upgrade back then from the four tourists, which, which I spent my childhood,   Brie (42m 55s): It was a beast of a car though. You know, I said, I ran over curbs and ran into walls with that card and like never scrape on me, you know, but yeah. Thank you so much for having me on the show.   Jesse (43m 9s): I really appreciate it. If anybody's, you know, in your local area or would like to just reach out to you where, where would be the best place to, to go   Brie (43m 17s): I'm on BiggerPockets almost every single day. Some messaging me on bigger pockets, Brie Schmidt, or you can check out my website. It's a second city spelled out dash R e.com.   Jesse (43m 30s): Okay. We'll send them there. My guest today has been breached brief. Thank you for being part of working   Brie (43m 36s): Capital. Thank you so much.   Jesse (43m 45s): Thank you so much for listening to working capital the real estate podcast. I'm your host, Jesse, for galley. If you liked the episode, head on to iTunes and leave us a five-star review and share on social media, it really helps us out. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me on Instagram, Jesse for galley, F R a G a L E, have a good one. Take care.

Episode 190 - In her corporate job, Brie Schmidt worked 70-hour weeks and was constantly on the road. But everything changed when her dad died just 1 day before his scheduled retirement. Rather than waiting until later in life, Brie decided to leave her job, invest in real estate, and experience life more fully while still young. This interview shares Brie's personal and professional journey to build a portfolio of 100-units in Chicago and Milwaukee and eventually to create a lifestyle that she had dreamed of. COMPANION ARTICLE/SHOW NOTES: https://coachcarson.com/brieschmidt __________

Brie acquired her first investment property in 2011 and left the corporate world in 2014 when she become a full time real estate investor. Brie is the Managing Broker of Second City Real Estate, a full service brokerage working with new investors and seasoned investors looking to expand their knowledge of the industry and their portfolio. Brie utilizes her extensive knowledge of building and managing a portfolio to teach clients about all aspects of buy and hold investing. Brie teaches you how to analyze potential properties, how to calculate your ROI, best practices when marketing and leasing your rental property and how to be a landlord and build a portfolio. Brie's job does not end when you close on a property; she is always available to help you throughout the process and scale your business. Brie is a Co-Founder at The Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit, an educational summit for real estate investors. This three day annual event provides new to experienced investors with the tools and connections necessary to build a real estate business. Brie's other passion is travel and in the past few years she has been to Albania, Costa Rica, Croatia, Colombia, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Macedonia, Morocco, Portugal, Scotland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Thailand. Brie has been featured various podcasts about real estate investing: http://www.secondcity-re.com/podcasts/

If you've had a question you've always wanted to ask a relationship expert, here's your chance! Take a quick 2 minute survey, and in that survey submit your question to be answered personally (and privately via email) by Relationship Reminders host Brie Schmidt. New episodes of the podcast will be back in May - see you then! TAKE THE SURVEY: brieschmidt.com/survey ACCESS FREEBIES: brieschmidt.com/signup EMAIL contact@brieschmidt.com INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/brie_schmidt

You may have noticed that Bad Girlfriend Radio has transformed into Relationship Reminders, but don't panic! This podcast has the same no shame, no sugarcoat, no BS advice that Bad Girlfriend Radio offered, and I'm still your host, Brie Schmidt! In this episode, we're talking about discussing mental health in your relationship. When should you, and how? This episode will break it all down in 10 minutes. GET RELATIONSHIP COACHING: brieschmidt.com/work-with-me ACCESS FREEBIES: brieschmidt.com/signup EMAIL contact@brieschmidt.com INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/brie_schmidt FACEBOOK: facebook.com/brieschmidtrelationshipcoach

This episode of #FeministFridays is seriously badass. Why? Because Tokyo-based Brie Schmidt, is all about crushing societal expectations that pressure people to be 'perfect', both through her work as a fellow feminist Podcaster who hosts Bad Girlfriend Radio, and her work as a Relationship Counsellor. In this fun conversation, Brie and Sarah not only discuss the importance of practicing self love in order to have genuine and authentic relationships with others, but also their mutual appreciation for the Spice Girls and pop culture!

This episode is packed with valuable pieces of information. We talk about how Multi-Family House Hack up to 100+ Units with Brie Schmidt. Make sure to watch this the full episode and find surprising answers to HOT SEAT QUESTIONS and you'll learn some strategies that they only REVEAL here! Brie acquired her first investment property in 2011 and left the corporate world in 2014 when she became a full-time real estate investor. Brie is the Managing Broker of Second City Real Estate, a full-service brokerage working with new investors and seasoned investors looking to expand their knowledge of the industry and their portfolio. Brie utilizes her extensive knowledge of building and managing a portfolio to teach clients about all aspects of buy and hold investing. Brie teaches you how to analyze potential properties, how to calculate your ROI, best practices when marketing and leasing your rental property, and how to be a landlord and build a portfolio. Brie’s job does not end when you close on a property; she is always available to help you throughout the process and scale your business. Brie is a Co-Founder at The Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit, a non-profit educational summit for real estate investors. This three-day annual event provides new to experienced investors with the tools and connections necessary to build a real estate business. Show Notes: • 4:33 Smart Decision & Best Buy • 6:00 When the phrase “When I Retire” changed my life • 11:52 Found 1st tenant through Craigslist • 13:00 Google contracts and leasing docs • 14:23 Self Management disaster • 16:15 Learning land-lording the hard way • 17:35 Multi-State Investing • 18:00 Did she say arson to her property while in Europe • 19:10 Monitoring property insurance coverage • 20:35 3 Day trip across the Midwest with 500k to burn • 22:20 Commercial lending struggles • 23:25 Aggressive growth plan 18 units in 19 months • 24:43 How Brie found financing through LinkedIn • 26:26 Know how your lender underwrites • 29:00 Knowing your real estate math • 30:35 This one question added 18 units to her portfolio • 37:00 Communicate with transparency • 38:30 Learn to give up control • 41:50 The start of Second City Real Estate begins with education • 47:00 What to look for as an investor agent • 48:30 How to vet an investor agent before hiring them • 54:25 Midwest Real Estate Investor Summit Connect with Brie Schmidt: https://www.facebook.com/chicagobrie https://www.facebook.com/MidWestRESummit +++++ Thanks for Listening! We would really love to hear from you. Please leave a note in the comments section below. And, if you enjoyed this episode, please share it on social media using the social share buttons below. We also have a strategy session that will award you the opportunity to take the guesswork out of real estate wholesaling and investing at "We Love Equity Real Estate Show" JOIN US - http://weloveequityrealestateshow.libsyn.com Grab my FREEBIES Resources here: GET YOUR 15 Minutes Free Consultation: https://www.marcusemaloney.com/free-consultation Purchase Contract: https://www.marcusemaloney.com/wholesale-purchase-contract Assignment Agreement Link: https://www.marcusemaloney.com/assignment-agreement 15 Questions to validate your seller: https://www.marcusemaloney.com/15-questions-to-validate-your-seller JOIN OUR CONVERSATIONS: Facebook: https://bit.ly/33QPmkQ Facebook group: https://bit.ly/32Y5C2s Twitter: https://bit.ly/2qXaRlD Instagram: https://bit.ly/2pmwdZ2 Linkedin: https://bit.ly/2rKRJre Website: https://marcusemaloney.com Also, find the show on Feedspot Enjoy the Real Estate Journey!

Episode Summary It was the tragic passing of Brie's dad that served as a catalyst for her to leave her 10 year long corporate job. Brie realized she needed to listen to her heart and carve a career path that would give her financial freedom and a lifestyle that she truly wanted. This yearning spurted the growth of her career in real estate. Brie, who is a passionate educator takes the opportunity in this episode to inspire us with her story of her path to financial freedom while also sharing helpful industry knowledge. What you'll learn from this episode What is house hacking? The average time to find a property is five to six months It takes time to find something that works. How Brie went from her first few flats to 96 units The difference between commercial financing and residential financing If you're investing in a cash flow market it would be a C or D type asset class Types of asset classes Brie invests in. Pros and cons of asset classes. Why Brie invests out-state Thoughts on "more money, more problems" Resources from this episode Summit: Midwestresummit.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/briannaschmidt BiggerPockets: biggerpockets.com/users/chicagobrie Connect With Us!  To connect with Jason, please email or call him at: Phone: (303) 949-8662 Email: crep@ecospace.com Wesbite: Ecospace We look forward to hearing from you! Sponsor Please go to iTunes to leave us a rating and write a review. Each review helps us reach a larger audience with your episode 

Episode Summary It was the tragic passing of Brie's dad that served as a catalyst for her to leave her 10 year long corporate job. Brie realized she needed to listen to her heart and carve a career path that would give her financial freedom and a lifestyle that she truly wanted. This yearning spurted the growth of her career in real estate. Brie, who is a passionate educator takes the opportunity in this episode to inspire us with her story of her path to financial freedom while also sharing helpful industry knowledge. What you'll learn from this episode What is house hacking? The average time to find a property is five to six months It takes time to find something that works. How Brie went from her first few flats to 96 units The difference between commercial financing and residential financing If you're investing in a cash flow market it would be a C or D type asset class Types of asset classes Brie invests in. Pros and cons of asset classes. Why Brie invests out-state Thoughts on "more money, more problems" Resources from this episode Summit: Midwestresummit.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/briannaschmidt BiggerPockets: biggerpockets.com/users/chicagobrie Connect With Us!  To connect with Jason, please email or call him at: Phone: (303) 949-8662 Email: crep@ecospace.com Wesbite: Ecospace We look forward to hearing from you! Sponsor Please go to iTunes to leave us a rating and write a review. Each review helps us reach a larger audience with your episode 

Conferences are one of the best ways to meet other investors and grow your network. However, COVID-19 has forced most events to cancel or move to a virtual experience. In the case of the Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit, we made the decision to go virtual for 2020.    Brie Schmidt is my partner in running the Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit and we spent a lot of time researching how to bring networking to life in a virtual setting so the event is more than a collection of speaker presentations. Brie is our guest on today’s show talking about the virtual Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit and what attendees can expect.    In this episode, we highlight key aspects of the virtual event, how networking is being prioritized, the speaker lineup, and how to get the most out of the event. Ultimately, this episode should inform you with enough info to determine if you should join us and attend the 2020 Virtual Midwest Summit.   Key Takeaways:  Creating the Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit to bring investors value with NO sales pitch How the MWRENS is incorporating investor networking opportunities to participants even though it's virtual (in some cases it’s better than a live event!)  How you can be matched with attendees based on interest and network directly with them You can stay connected with speakers, exhibitors and attendees and not miss any of the action (no matter your timeline)  Utilizing Virtual Meetups before the Midwest  Summit to get the most out of the networking and content aspects of the event  Speakers: BiggerPockets authors David Greene, Matt Faircloth, and Brain Burke. Other top speakers include Jake & Gino, Eddie Wilson of Think Realty, Robert Heyder and more!  MWRENS speakers will be tackling best practices for the next 6 months of real estate investing in a COVID-19 world (so much to discuss!)  What MWRENS will cover in real estate investing (what to do now to win!) Learn who this event is for (beginning and seasoned investors!) Understand how the Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit is an ongoing experience and continues to add value after the event The event will have national insights, not limited to the Midwest   Click here to register for the Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit use promo code “MW2020” to save $20.

John Casmon is a successful Chicago househacker turned syndicator and the founder of Casmon Capital Group. In addition, John hosts the Target Market Insights Podcast, heads up the Chicago Multifamily Club Meetup, and is the co-creator of the Midwest RE Networking Summit (coming up on 7/25-7/26). In this episode, John provides a wealth of knowledge, including his experience investing in Chicago, tangible steps on how to analyze market rents, and the benefits of passive and active investing. If you found today's episode useful, share it with a friend and leave us a rating and review! Don't forget, the Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit is right around the corner so don't miss your chance to sign up. ----------------- Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: John Casmon from the Casmon Capital Meetup: Chicago Multifamily Club (Chicago, IL) Target Market Insights: Target Market Insights Podcast | Multifamily Tips | Marketing Tips Atomic Habits: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones Mindset: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success: Dweck, Carol S.: 9780345472328 Brie Schmidt: http://www.secondcity-re.com/agent/brie/ Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit: http://www.midwestresummit.com/ ----------------- Landlord Tip 4:45 Guest Questions Can you give me a 101 of apartment syndication? 8:30 Can you go straight into syndication without starting smaller? 10:00 How did you get started? 13:10 What strategies outside of house hacking is Chicago great for? 15:10 What’s your opinion on flipping on the northside of Chicago? 22:30 How long has the Chicago Multifamily Meetup been going on? 25:30 Is there a common hurdle you see amongst new investors? 29:35 How did you overcome some of the issues with self management? 33:30 Wrap up questions What is your competitive advantage? 43:25 What is one piece of advice you’d give a new investor? 44:10 What do you do for fun? 45:15 What is a good self development product you’ve been using? 46:05 Who can you recommend in your local network as a resource? 48:40   That's our show! Thanks so much for listening! ----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2020.

If you've gone on the Bigger Pockets forums, you've probably seen the wealth of knowledge she shares with everyone, but today Brie Schmidt of Second City Real Estate is getting down to the Chicago specific details for you. Ever wonder why north center has had such a strong population decline while prices have skyrocketed? Or how you can house hack a property yourself? Brie tells it all for you without selling sunshine and rainbows, but her expertise keeps her clients coming back year after year. Not only that, Brie gives some insight into how she optimized her schedule from working 60+ hours a week to 20-30 max giving her more time to focus on her own life. You're not going to want to miss this. ----------------- Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Brie Schmidt of Second City Real Estate Bigger Pockets: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/chicagobrie Book rec: https://www.amazon.com/Super-Human-Bulletproof-Backward-Forever/dp/0062882821 Midwest Real Estate Summit: http://www.midwestresummit.com Book rec: https://whttps://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-Free-Productivity/dp/0142000280ww.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501144316 GC Realty Section 8 Blog: https://www.gcrealtyinc.com/blog/what-will-section-8-pay-for-rent-in-cook-county 2018 Payment Standards: https://thehacc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018-Payment-Standard-7-01-2018-approved.pdf ----------------- Mark's tip on section 8 housing 1:27   Guest Bio 3:04   Guest Questions What are some assumptions, either correct or incorrect, about the Chicago Market? 3:39 What neighborhoods are you in and how have they changed over time? 8:30 Is there anything happening in Irving Park and Avondale? 10:17 What are some of the expectations you set with clients looking to househack? 13:45 When does a househack not make sense for a client? 19:50 How do you show properties with illegal garden units? 23:50 What should clients expect when working with you? 28:52 What caused you to start investing in Milwaukee? 33:55   Wrap up questions What is your personal advantage? 44:50 What is one piece of advice you'd give a novice? 45:40 What do you do for fun? 46:00 What is a good self development product you've used recently? 46:30 Local network recommendation? 47:40 Thanks for listening! If you found this episode useful, leave us a comment and hit that like button, it helps us out tremendously! ----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2020.

Brie Schmidt was aggressive in scaling her residential real estate portfolio and discusses her lessons learned as well as how she focused on delegating and understanding her strengths to becoming a leader in the Chicagoland area for buying and brokering investment properties.

Joining us today is Brie Schmidt, a Chicago based real estate investor. She began her career in corporate sales while always holding her real estate license current. In 2011, she decided to leave the corporate world to become a full-time real estate investor. Since then, she has bought several properties in the Windy City and Milwaukee. In 2014, she started a brokerage company and in 2017 she started a conference business. Brie makes use of her extensive knowledge of constructing and managing a portfolio to teach clients about all aspects of buying and holding investments. In this episode, she talks about her career as an investor, how she started and how she got to where she is today. Brie discusses how and why she decided to focus on the Chicago & Milwaukee markets, criteria she looks for when deciding on a property and her plans for the future.  Episode Highlights: Brie’s Start as a Real Estate Investor Cap Rate Criteria for Properties Work-Life Balance Her Future Plans Connect with Brie: Website: Second City Real Estate  Social Media: BiggerPockets or LinkedIn Join Brie @ the Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - TRANSCRIPTION    Intro: Hey guys, today Don with interview Brie Schmidt. Brie is the first female investor on our show, so we are very excited to have her here. We really hope this episode will inspire other female investors to jump right in the arena of real estate investing. After listening to the interview, I have learned from Brie that this type of profession actually enables a future mom to enjoy both worlds have a very successful career and the ability to take as much time needed for recovery and raising your newly born child. Don and Brie will also discuss the best strategy of choosing a market which is going there and seeing it firsthand. I hope you guys will enjoy this show.   Lady: Welcome to the commercial real estate investing podcast with Don and Eden where we cover all aspects of real estate investing with special attention to off-market strategies.   Don: Hey Brie, welcome to the show.   Brie: Thank you for having me.   Don: Yes, of course. I'm very excited to have you as you know, you are the first female investor on the show. I've been trying to get a female investor for quite a while. And I know we've wanted to do this interview for a long time.   Brie: Yeah, I just had a baby. So, scheduling has been a little bit difficult for me.   Don: I could only imagine how difficult it would be to be a real estate investor and also being pregnant and taking care of babies. That must be requiring a lot of toll from you, right?   Brie: You learn to prioritize your time, right, and what's important and it's been something that I've been considering a personal mission of mine for a few years. When I started this business, I quit my corporate job back in 2014. So, I started real estate investing in 2011. I bought another property in 2012. I bought another property in 2013. And then I decided to quit my job and do this full time. 2014, I bought another 10 properties, and then in 2015, I bought another 12 and then bought a couple more in 2016. So, at the time when I quit my job, I used to work in corporate advertising sales. I'm like this is going to be great like I'm going from 50 hours a week and traveling all over the country. Now I'm going to be chill and I work from home and I'm self-employed. And for the first few years, I was working more hours than I was when I had a W2 job.    It wasn't until about 2017 that I was really like, wow, like I have started a couple of other businesses, I'm the Managing Broker of Second City real estate, which is an investment, boutique investment firm for agents. I also started a website business and it was like, well, what was the point of me leaving my solid W2 jobs to get 'financial freedom' if I'm working from the moment I get up to the moment I go to bed and weekends. So, when I knew that we were going to start planning for a family I made it a really big objective of mine to kind of reevaluate my position in the business and reevaluate what I was doing and spending my time on and work to shift it. So, I'm very happy to report that even before we got pregnant, I was down to about 30 hours a week, and I'm able to take a nine-month maternity leave, where I'm pretty much only working 10 to 15 hours a week currently.   Don: Nice, yeah. So, you get a lot of flexibility. And that's the advantage of being self-employed. And especially in the type of business that we are in, which during the years generates passive income for us. So, it enables us to really take a break when we need to take a break with anything that we go through in life. So yeah, I'm sure that that's been terrific for you and your family. And speaking of which, I want to ask you about the dynamics. So, you're doing your own thing as a real estate investor and your husband, what does he do? Does he spend more time with the kids or does he have a W2? Or how does it look like?   Brie: Luckily, we're both off work still. So, we did not get an easy child. She turned four months yesterday. I'm back to work maybe 10-15 hours a week, and I don't plan on going back for another probably four or five months. He's self-employed as well. So, he's taking off work as well. And I don't see him going back in the near future. When people tell you that raising a child is hard like I don't think I fully grasp that concept. But I mean, it takes both of us all day long, tag-teaming things to have your own sanity. Because we both need our own personal time. So that's how we work at currently. But we'll see when she gets older, hopefully, fingers out of this fussy phase.   Don: Yeah. Beautiful. So that's very exciting to hear that you guys are doing it right. So, tell us about your first deal. You said 2011. So how did you basically come up with the idea of quitting your job and start investing in real estate? And also, what were the difficulties back in a day for you when you were just trying to get into that market?   Brie: Well, in the beginning, I really had no intention of being a real estate investor. So, I've been licensed as a real estate agent for 15 years. I spent the first six months in the business absolutely hated it, quit and went into the corporate world. So, I always maintained my license, though, as a backup. That was kind of my plan. I always had a passion for real estate, but I started when I was 21, was really difficult to get people to trust your opinion and rely on you for advice when you're a 21 year old. Like, why would they listen to you when buying a house. So, it wasn't until let's see, I was 28 when I bought my first property.    We bought a three-flat in Chicago. And really the intentions weren't to be real estate investors, it was mainly purely out of convenience that the Chicago market is quite unique to understand that. So, Chicago is what we, I would consider to be a dense urban environment. There's almost 300,000 2-4 unit properties and just the city of Chicago. So, in a lot of the Northside neighborhoods where I was living, and where I've worked, some of them are between 30% and 60% of the housing stock is two to four units. So, it's very common, if you look at any block of neighborhoods, over half the house is pretty much our two to four-unit properties. But at the time, we had a really low housing stock of single-family houses. So, while my husband and I wanted to buy a single-family house because the housing stock was so low, they only represent about at the time, 15% to 20% of the housing stock.    The prices were very high, and it was very, very competitive. So, we thought to ourselves, yes, we would want a single-family house. They're about 3000 square feet here, but we're not even married yet, we don't have planning kids for a few years, we don't need a 3000 square foot house. So, let's buy this three-unit and then eventually, when we need more space, we can just deconvert the staircase and then make two units and the one and then keep renting out the other unit. And then eventually when we need more space, we can just deconvert the staircase again and now we've got a single-family house that we've grown into as time needed. So that was the original plan. There was really no plan to keep buying any more units either.    So, we did, because we were owner-occupied, we did our three and a half percent down FHA property. I had no idea what I was doing. Like I just looked at it as okay, my mortgage is 2200 and it rents for 2250. like boom, I'm profitable, right? Like, that was all I really how looked at it. I didn't know anything about vacancy repairs, cap-like nothing. We bought it vacant, we got it rented out right away and things were fine and dandy. And this was like great, we live for free now we can start saving for we were planning our wedding so, we were saving for this grand wedding. A few months after we bought the property, my father got sick. He was 60 years old, he was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer, which is a very aggressive form of cancer and went through 10 rounds of radiation, 13 rounds of chemo and in nine months and passed away.    Don: I'm sorry to hear that.   Brie: It was lightning quick, right? And that was with treatment. But the real kicker was he died one day before he was both to retire. So, he died before his 61st birthday. That one part really stuck with me. Like, I've watched my dad worked his ass off to provide for his family and he had been offered early retirement before and he always like, oh, well, after your brother graduates college or after you get married or after this, then I'll then I'm going to go do all these things, I'm going to go here and I'm going to go do that. And for him to get so sick so quickly, and I'll happen so fast. So, it really messed with me. It took me a while, maybe like six months of really thinking about it. But I sat down with my husband at the time it was like okay, we need to figure it out something out because I'm not doing 30 more years of the corporate, 50 hours/week stuff to just die and not be able to do anything with my life. So, we looked at a couple of different options.    We looked at real estate investing, obviously, because we've owned the property for about a year at that point, it was pretty easy. Like this could be something that we can do. We looked at learning to code so we could code from across the world and decided that real estate was the avenue we're going to take. So about three months later, I bought a second property. And then two months later, I bought a third. And then I really started getting into like reading books and listening to podcasts. I got involved with the bigger pockets community, and that's when I started researching other markets, and we ended up in the Milwaukee market.   Don: Yeah, so how many units do you own currently and how much time did it take to get to that portfolio?   Brie: So, we've got 97 units, 31 properties. The Chicago market is more of an expensive market. The average unit is about to let's say $150,000. So, while I love Chicago and think it's a great investment opportunity, you can't scale very quickly when it's $150,000 a unit like I'm not made of that kind of money versus the Milwaukee market when I was buying there was more like $30,000 a unit. So, to get there when I decided that we wanted to look at other markets, I looked at Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Milwaukee, only because those three markets are within driving distance. So, I'm a total control freak. If something went down, I wanted to be able to be there within a day.    So that's why I kind of chose those markets. And I, researched agents, I didn't know anything about any of these markets. And I found three 'investor agents' at each market and called them up and said, "Hey, I'm looking to invest half a million dollars. I'm coming into town, and I would go out with one agent Friday, one agent Saturday, one agent Sunday." And said, "I want to spend the day looking at properties. I'm not going to give you any criteria. I just want to see like if you were to spend $500,000, where would you spend it and why." So, it was a very interesting experience. I did that in every market to see where they were taking me, what neighborhoods what property conditions, and I sell them the Milwaukee market, really because of that market housing stock wise very similar to Chicago. It's a very dense urban environment. So, I understood that aspect of things versus Kansas City and Indianapolis for more like suburban, sprawling, single-family markets.    Once I got focused on Milwaukee, that was probably I started going up there every other weekend to get to learn the neighborhoods, because a lot of the areas where they took me, because that's where the investors go, I didn't like. They were what I would consider the D class. I wasn't comfortable walking into the apartments, I wouldn't have been comfortable going there by myself at night. So, I didn't want to choose that market. So I started exploring other neighborhoods myself. I probably looked until I found a neighborhood that I really liked. It was on the outskirts of some really cool hip areas, those only have maybe half a mile from like the cool scene. That numbers worked well, while they weren't as high as the 'investor areas,' they were still good returns, and I just felt comfortable. I saw a lot of promising things going on in the neighborhoods, a lot of gentrification, a lot of development that was going on, I felt comfortable walking around at night. So, once we focused on that area, that was probably May, we bought our first set of properties in July, we bought five properties. Then I bought another five properties in December of 2014. Then I bought another five properties in February of 2015. And I bought another three properties in May of 2015.    Don: So, when you're buying these properties, you're buying them with mortgages, or you're using other people's money?   Brie: Mortgages. So, we were doing just a standard commercial loan, but because the price points were so low at $30,000 a unit, if I'm going to a commercial bank or buying a duplex like what's he going to do with 60 grand, that's not worth their time. So, when I had met my commercial lender, one of the things he had told me was, if you could bundle them together, and then buy every couple of months, that makes it a lot easier for us from an underwriting perspective. You're planning on doing a property a month and they're all two-three units. We're really not going to be very excited about doing that.    So that's why I worked to bulk them up, I would find one or two anchor properties, and set the closing 60 days out. Once I got my one or two anchor properties, then I was able to look around for like, secondary properties. So, if only I bought the one or two, I was cool with that, because I really liked those ones and that's what I did. So, then it gave me another 30 days to find more properties to buy. I did direct mail campaigns, a lot of the properties I actually bought from the same sellers. So, every time I bought a property, I would send a letter to the seller, saying, "Hey, I'm glad we closed this. This is what I'm looking to do. Do you know of anyone or do you have other properties that you're willing to sell?" So, of the 18 properties I bought myself, I think four where maybe on the MLS, the rest I all got through networking, direct mail or buying from one guy bought like five properties from them.   Don: That's nice. So yeah, I mean, what I like is the fact that you actually did so much work in pursuit of a new market and that's something that not a lot of people do because a lot of people ask me, "How do I find the right market? How do I know where to invest?" And nobody's going to tell you that because markets change constantly. And you can hear that Orlando is a great market, but you hear it in a podcast, and that's two years old. So maybe now things have changed. So, the best way to pick a market is doing the legwork, which is exactly what you did. You just went there and you grind it. You just met people and you saw properties and you saw yourself and that's the best way to do things. And I think that's what led you to that success, isn't it?   Brie: Yeah, I agree. 100% People always ask me, "Where do you invest, because I want to invest there." And my response is always, "Are you going to buy the same car that I have? That's just stupid? Are you just going to follow what I'm doing?" Because that's what you think about how you get this...   Don: A lot of people don't understand that when you're a real estate investor, then you are the investor. So, it's basically your decision to make the decision.    Brie: Everyone's got different goals. One deal might, I might think it's awful, you might think it's great for completely different reasons. Neither of us is right or wrong. So really, it comes down to I always tell people, you got to sleep at night. That's how I judge pretty much everything I've done in my life is, if it keeps me up at night worried about it, then I know it's not the right decision. So, I would have been fine investing in Kansas City or Indianapolis as well. But for some reason, Milwaukee clicked with me and that wasn't based on anyone else's information. And I know a lot of investors to look at the stats, right? You look at population growth, you look at economic growth.    Chicago, which is an obviously major city, Milwaukee is a secondary city, but it's still 170,000 residents. If you look at a stat like oh, population growth is x, that's not true for the whole market. And so you can't just take these stats about income job and employment, whatever economic growth, and then assume that the whole city is like that, because I can tell you at least with both Chicago and Milwaukee, there are some areas that have 20% declining population and there are some areas that have 40% year over year increasing population. Some areas where the average income is $20,000 a year, some areas of the average income is $500,000 a year. So, it's so much more involved than just looking at a stat and each city and saying, "Oh, well, that applies the whole city, I can invest there.'' It doesn't work like that.   Don: Sometimes he does. Like, I'll give you an example. I was looking at this county, this property in Florida. And then it was very interesting. So, the population of the county was increasing, which is Florida. I mean, everything's increasing a property that I was looking at, in this specific city, that city was declining in population, and that's very unusual for Florida like you wouldn't see it. So, I started to research the county. And then I noticed that all the cities are declining in population besides this one city. And what I noticed was that the villages so that city, this entire area, back in the 2000 census, there were 8000 people there. And 2010 there were 54,000 people there and that's an enormous growth, right, and then 2018 there's 80,000 people in this city. So, what I figured out was that small cities in the county everybody was leaving for that big city that just emerged, right? So, every case is different, you can't really look at stats and think that, well, if the population is not growing, then I'm not investing. That's too easy, right? I mean, you can just go to Best Basis or City Data, and you can find that data over there and you would know what's going on with the city. But every market has submarkets...   Brie: And giving your scenario, if you were just to take that information and say, "Okay, I'm investing this county, right, because it's got an increasing population," but you invested outside of the villages, which has a rapidly declining population.   Don: Then I will be investing in a declining market. Yeah. Exactly.   Brie: Yeah. Well, you're not paying attention and actually getting down to the nitty-gritty of it and looking at the 'why', then you just made a bad investment.    Don: Exactly. And the best way to get to the nitty-gritty is just going there physically, which is what you did and I admire that because you spent three, four months in research, and people don't understand that, that when you're investing in real estate is when preparation meets opportunity. That's not me, that's Tony Robbins right there. And that's really true. Because you have to do your research, you have to do your homework and then investing becomes really easy because the opportunity just pops up. And I believe that's what happened to you with the Milwaukee market. Another thing that I wanted to ask you about these deals, so, you said you had an aggressive growth strategy which I always like to hear about that. So, what I want to know, is basically, when you started investing in these properties, what were the cap rates that you were looking for? Were you just buying off at market value, or you were trying to get a discount?   Brie: So, I was buying off of cap rate, but I wanted a minimum of 11% cap rate. I would rather pay retail and get a property that has stabilized with long term tenant versus doing what people call the BRR strategy, the buy-rent-rehab-resell or rent out strategy. I don't like doing rehabs. And I'll tell you this is a story. So, there was a duplex I was looking at. It was super cheap. It was like $35,000 and the rents were $1300. So, if you think about it, my God, I started $1,000 duplex that runs for $1300 and it was fully rented at the time and I passed on it. And it sounds crazy, those numbers are astronomical, but the basement foundation had been caving in.    So, it needed about $20,000 of basement foundation work. So even at $55,000 at $1300 dollars rent, but the way I look at it is that it is $20,000 of capital that if I deployed as a downpayment only, I could buy $100,000 of house. I could buy two duplexes essentially for the same price I deploy that capital differently. So, instead of putting 20% down on the 35 and then putting 20k into it, I said turned around and bought two duplexes for $50,000 each that were already rent ready. And instead of getting $1300 a month in rent, I got $2500 a month in rent. So, I use my capital, to me like the repairs on like doing major repairs on properties, A) it's time-consuming, B) it completely stresses me out, that keeps me up at night worried, like is this going to come in on budget, whatever. I've done a few times, every single time it stresses me out and I just almost doubled my investment by doing it the easy way. That's how I see it. So, I don't care if market value was $50,000 those duplexes or not, I still at the end of the day got a better return.   Don: Yeah, but I also think you were a little bit lucky when it came to the timing. You are investing in 2014 you said right? You started like buying these duplexes and you started really investing seriously, I would say in 2013, right? That's what you said.   Brie: Yeah, my Chicago properties, I bought 2011 - 2013 and then Milwaukee was like 2014 to early 2016.   Don: Yeah. So, if you look at Milwaukee and your investments there, I think it's safe to say that you invested at the best timing for multi-family because there were just picking up.   Brie: Absolutely.    Don: And that's why for you, you didn't even have to buy it at a discount because you had a natural appreciation. Of course, we never buy for appreciation, but it just happens to be the case in these specific investments. And so sometimes, it's just best to buy. People always ask when to buy, is this a good time? It's always a good time to buy. You should just buy because it's going to be fine. Whatever it is you're going to do, you're going to have a natural appreciation, you're going to have cash flow, and you're going to make money in equity. So, I think you realize that and you had the nerves and the guts to do it, to just go ahead and pull the trigger. And that's the difference between people that make it in real estate and people that don't, because, at the end of the day, there's just so much you can learn on theory. You got to learn by taking action and that's what you did. And I love that I think the way that you do things with just going there yourself and seeing it yourself and talking to people yourself and pulling the trigger is really the best way that you can get ahead in life. So yeah, I absolutely love that.   Brie: Well, I touch on a few points there. So first, I mean yeah, obviously taking action, right. So, the good part of it is, on my story at least, I spent about six months before I bought my first property. We started looking at Milwaukee in January and closing my first property right around the Fourth of July. So, I spent a lot of time up there. I probably saw 100 properties while I was up there and then continue to go up there from we did July was our first buy round, our second buy round, we closed early December. So as soon as we closed, I started going up there, again, looking at more properties. So, by about October, it was at the point where I could walk into a property and in five minutes tell you what I paid for it. But it was getting like that intuition was really important, right? So, you don't want to just go, like, "Hey, I'm going to buy 20 properties this year" and just go do that. You definitely want to get to a point where you're trusting your intuition, you're able to, estimate runs off the top of your head, you're able to go into a property and say, "Hey, if I, do new cabinets and new countertops and change out the flooring, it's going to cost me x and it's going to increase my rents to x." You won't be able to do all that off the top of your head so that you're sure that you're making an investment decision now.    On the flip side of that, my first year in Milwaukee, I probably lost $20,000 in just mistakes because I went so fast. So, I was really cocky, which I'm just a cocky, arrogant person. Like the first properties that we bought five properties on one of the properties that we bought, they were actually all owned by a family. So, the one guy owned one property, and then his mother in law owns the other four. And he'd been helping manage the whole portfolio they had like 20 properties total as a family. So, I brought him on as a property manager, because he was familiar with the properties had been for years knew all the tenants. So that was a really easy transition. So, I just went right ahead and started buying more. And then I went ahead and started buying more.    Well, what I didn't do and what I should have done was I wasn't really paying attention to his performance, right. And he was great at certain things. He was phenomenal with tenants, knew all their names, their kids, soccer games, whatever. But it got to the point like he had no experience with any sort of accounting, the business side of things. So, it wasn't until about a year later, after I'd already bought all my properties that I heard a horror story from another investor friend of mine with their property manager, and I decided to go in and do an audit because I was going up there once a month. He’d go deposit like 10 grand in my checking account, I'm like, well, who's this for? He's like, I've got the receipts in my pocket.    So, I'd go up there like once a month, and he'd hand me handfuls of crumpled up receipts of who paid rent. I'd go to my hotel room with a wine bottle and sit through them all and be like, Okay, well, so and so wasn't paying rent for two months, and he's like, Oh, really? No, there was no one tracking this stuff. Secondly, we had like 20 people that weren't even unleashed it. No, he was like, Well, like I know them from school or they know them from my church, they're fine. I'm like we have to have leases, something has to be in writing. So, I end up having to fire him after a little over a year because of these things. Because again, he was really great at half the business but not great the other half and I needed someone that was great at all of it. So got through the stakes, vacancies again, tenants that didn't pay for like two months and no one was paying attention. So, we probably lost 20 grand our first year and just those sorts of mistakes because I went so fast.   Don: Yeah, but you've learned that a bad manager is probably one of the things that would drown your property. Basically, I mean, I would say a bad manager and utilities would be the things to really affect your NOI at the end of the day. But these are things that you learn by taking action and sometimes it's okay to lose some money to learn these lessons. What would be your plans for the future now that you're already a serious investor and you have a very decent sized portfolio? So, what would be the plans for the future now?   Brie: By the way, if I would say, I have not bought a property since 2016. Just because again, I was really working 60 hours a week, I knew that we were going to be starting a family. I also mentioned I started a couple of other businesses. So, I started a brokerage company in 2014 in the Chicago land market. We're a boutique brokerage company that works with investors. And then I also started a conference business in 2017. It's a two-day conference in the Chicago market. Because I found good management A that I can trust with my properties, I'm really not involved with the day to day management of them anymore. I get looped in on the big stuff, strategy stuff. But that really took off 20 hours a week from my plate once I hired out reputable management, and let me focus on my other businesses. So that's really been my focus is doing that and that now that I'm taking nine-month maternity leave, making it easy for the next few years, essentially.   Don: That's great. So, what would be the best ways to connect with you in case anybody wants to get in touch or maybe get some tips from you on a real estate career?   Brie: Absolutely. I'm always on BiggerPockets. And you can probably find me on LinkedIn. And then if you're interested in attending our event in spring, it's MidwestRESummit.com.   Don: Nice. Okay, that's great. So, thank you very much, Brie, for coming on the show today. As I mentioned, I'm really excited to have a female investor on the show. And as I thought your story is just phenomenal. So, I want to wish you good luck in the future as well.   Brie: Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.   Don: Okay, you have a great day.   Brie: You too.   Lady: Thanks for listening to the real estate investing podcast with Don and Eden. Stay tuned for more episodes. Till next time.  

Welcome to the October episode of Investor Insights With Brie Schmidt! Brie Schmidt is one of the most well-respected buy-and-hold investors in Chicago. Each month we discuss an investment topic brokers should master. In this episode Brie talks about one of the biggest challenges when starting to work with investors – making sure you have […]

Welcome to the August episode of Investor Insights With Brie Schmidt! Brie Schmidt is one of the most well-respected buy-and-hold investors in Chicago. Each month we’ll be discussing an investment topic brokers should master. In this episode Brie discusses different lending options available for investors. First she talks about hard money lending, what investors can […]

Today we cover how to be an adaptable investor, implementing processes, persistence and the power of focus. Brie Schmidt also discusses quitting her job and living a lifestyle that has allowed her to travel and enjoy life. Brie acquired her first investment property in 2011 and left the corporate world in 2014 when she become a full time real estate investor. Brie is the Managing Broker of Second City Real Estate. Brie utilizes her extensive knowledge of building and managing a portfolio to teach clients about all aspects of buy and hold investing. Brie teaches you how to analyze potential properties, how to calculate your ROI, best practices when marketing and leasing your rental property and how to be a landlord and build a portfolio. Brie’s job does not end when you close on a property; she is always available to help you throughout the process and scale your business. Brie is a Co-Founder at The Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit, a non-profit educational summit for real estate investors. This three day annual event provides new to experienced investors with the tools and connections necessary to build a real estate business. 3 Pillars 1. Focus 2. Adaptability 3. Persistance Book recommendation: Getting Things Done by David Allen Connect with Brie at: Linkedin.com and biggerpockets.com also check out www.midwestresummit.com Mark your calendar for the Northstar Real Estate Conference, September 20-21, 2019. Enter discount code "EARLYBIRD" to get $100 off your ticket: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/northstar-real-estate- conference-tickets-60289848560?aff=Todd1 Connect with Pillars Of Wealth Creation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PillarsofWealthCreation/ Subscribe to our email list at www.pillarsofwealthcreation.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkg8HggkdPAuBaAQySJSEQQ/featured

Welcome to the April episode of Investor Insights With Brie Schmidt! Use coupon code REAL for a discount on Midwest Real Estate Summit on June 1-2 in Chicago. Click here for details! Brie Schmidt is one of the most well-respected buy-and-hold investors in Chicago. Each month we’ll be discussing an investment topic brokers should master. […]

This week's guest is Brie Schmidt, who is a real estate investing QUEEN! Brie acquired her first investment property in 2011 and left the corporate world in 2014 when she become a full time real estate investor. She is the Managing Broker of Second City Real Estate, a full service brokerage working with new investors and seasoned investors looking to expand their knowledge of the industry and their portfolio. Brie utilizes her extensive knowledge of building and managing a portfolio to teach clients about all aspects of buy and hold investing. Brie teaches you how to analyze potential properties, how to calculate your ROI, best practices when marketing and leasing your rental property and how to be a landlord and build a portfolio. Brie’s job does not end when you close on a property; she is always available to help you throughout the process and scale your business. Brie is a Co-Founder at The Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit, a non-profit educational summit for real estate investors. This three day annual event provides new to experienced investors with the tools and connections necessary to build a real estate business. Which is coming up this June 2-3, 2019! Brie’s other passion is travel and in the past few years she has been to Albania, Costa Rica, Croatia, Colombia, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Macedonia, Morocco, Portugal, Scotland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Thailand. Brie has been featured various podcasts about real estate investing: http://www.secondcity-re.com/podcasts/ And she can be reached at: http://www.secondcity-re.com/contact-us/ Let us know how you like it. Rate us. Leave a comment. Email us at info@abundantculture.co. Do something!

Brie acquired her first investment property in 2011 and left the corporate world in 2014 when she became a full time real estate investor. Brie is the Managing Broker of Second City Real Estate, a full service brokerage working with new investors and seasoned investors looking to expand their knowledge of the industry and their portfolio. Brie utilizes her extensive knowledge of building and managing a portfolio to teach clients about all aspects of buy and hold investing. Brie is a Co-Founder at The Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit, a non-profit educational summit for real estate investors. This three day annual event provides new to experienced investors with the tools and connections necessary to build a real estate business. Brie is also the President of TurnKey-Reviews.com; the one-stop shop for passive investing in real estate across the United States. With over 100 providers in 25 cash flowing markets it is the most comprehensive site on buying turnkey properties. Brie's other passion is travel and in the past few years she has been to Albania, Costa Rica, Croatia, Colombia, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Macedonia, Morocco, Portugal, Scotland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Thailand. On today's episode, we discuss a ton with Brie, including: The importance of becoming bankable How to understand the finance side of this business The #1 tip to get financing in place How boundaries allow you to get more done How saying “no” allows more peace in your life Reach out to Brie: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/chicagobrie Books/Resources: Getting Things Done by David Allen   com – Online app to manage your finances   Midwest Real Estate Investing Summit – June 1st and June 2nd!   The Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit delivers unique content and actionable steps for attendees to prosper through their real estate investments. Whether an attendee is a complete newbie or an experienced syndicator, they want to provide the tips, strategies and networking opportunities to help attendees grow their portfolio. Speakers will be sharing knowledge on finding deals, creative financing, raising capital, flipping homes, property management, syndication and much more. Early bird tickets are available now for the Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit! We encourage you to get your tickets today, before prices jump. You can Use Promo Code: MATT and receive 10% off your ticket! REGISTER HERE: http://www.midwestresummit.com/tickets/ InvestHER Community Join us on our mission to support and empower as many women as we can to live a financially free and balanced life. We invite you to join the InvestHER Community Facebook group along with other new and experienced women real estate investors! https://www.facebook.com/groups/Investhercommunity And learn about all the InvestHER Meetups across the country: https://www.meetup.com/pro/the-real-estate-investher Follow us on: Facebook: @therealestateinvesther Instagram: @therealestateinvesther Please leave a comment below! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brie acquired her first investment property in 2011 and left the corporate world in 2014 when she became a full time real estate investor. Brie is the Managing Broker of Second City Real Estate, a full service brokerage working with new investors and seasoned investors looking to expand their knowledge of the industry and their portfolio. Brie utilizes her extensive knowledge of building and managing a portfolio to teach clients about all aspects of buy and hold investing. Brie is a Co-Founder at The Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit, a non-profit educational summit for real estate investors. This three day annual event provides new to experienced investors with the tools and connections necessary to build a real estate business. Brie is also the President of TurnKey-Reviews.com; the one-stop shop for passive investing in real estate across the United States. With over 100 providers in 25 cash flowing markets it is the most comprehensive site on buying turnkey properties. Brie's other passion is travel and in the past few years she has been to Albania, Costa Rica, Croatia, Colombia, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Macedonia, Morocco, Portugal, Scotland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Thailand. On today's episode, we discuss a ton with Brie, including: The importance of becoming bankable How to understand the finance side of this business The #1 tip to get financing in place How boundaries allow you to get more done How saying “no” allows more peace in your life Reach out to Brie: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/chicagobrie Books/Resources: Getting Things Done by David Allen   com – Online app to manage your finances   Midwest Real Estate Investing Summit – June 1st and June 2nd!   The Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit delivers unique content and actionable steps for attendees to prosper through their real estate investments. Whether an attendee is a complete newbie or an experienced syndicator, they want to provide the tips, strategies and networking opportunities to help attendees grow their portfolio. Speakers will be sharing knowledge on finding deals, creative financing, raising capital, flipping homes, property management, syndication and much more. Early bird tickets are available now for the Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit! We encourage you to get your tickets today, before prices jump. You can Use Promo Code: MATT and receive 10% off your ticket! REGISTER HERE: http://www.midwestresummit.com/tickets/ InvestHER Community Join us on our mission to support and empower as many women as we can to live a financially free and balanced life. We invite you to join the InvestHER Community Facebook group along with other new and experienced women real estate investors! https://www.facebook.com/groups/Investhercommunity And learn about all the InvestHER Meetups across the country: https://www.meetup.com/pro/the-real-estate-investher Follow us on: Facebook: @therealestateinvesther Instagram: @therealestateinvesther Please leave a comment below!

How many properties can you buy in 9 months? In this interview, Brie Schmidt shares how she purchased 18 investment properties in only 9 months! She also explains why having specific investment criteria is crucial to building a successful real estate portfolio. Connect with Brie Schmidt: http://www.SecondCity-RE.com Connect with Seth Ferguson: http://www.SethFerguson.org http://www.ALBACapitalGroup.com

Welcome to the March episode of Investor Insights With Brie Schmidt! Use coupon code REAL for a discount on Midwest Real Estate Summit on June 1-2 in Chicago. Click here for details! Brie Schmidt is one of the most well-respected buy-and-hold investors in Chicago. Each month we’ll be discussing an investment topic brokers should master. […]

My guest today is Chicago investor Brie Schmidt, and we are going to talk about making it big with small apartments. Brie is a buy and hold investor, a speaker and the managing broker of Second City Real Estate.   Show Notes Here's just a sample of what we covered in this show: The interesting way she got started What made her finally quit her "day job" Why she chose buy and hold apartments as her investing strategy Why she chose Milwaukee as her second place to invest The challenges of investing out of state Scaling her business and how she's helping other do the same How she manages 90+ properties as just one part of what she does Advice for anyone just starting out   .  

“It became obsessive to find the deal. It’s like crack to some people. To me, it’s my crack. I like the hunt, the negotiating...it’s where I find my joy in real estate.”   Brie Schmidt felt bogged down in her corporate job... so she made the bold decision to pursue something she really loved: real estate!   It was her DREAM to travel and spend time with her husband while successfully building her businesses.   Soon, it became clear that Brie had lost sight of that VISION because her AMBITION had gotten in the way.  Real estate became her ADDICTION.   When she was awake, all she could do was think about real estate. And at night, she could not sleep because she was still thinking about it.   Finally, enough was enough. Brie realized she HAD to overcome this addiction.  Listen to Brie share how real estate took over her life, and how she managed to overcome this addiction and maintain a successful business and personal life.   This is an inspiring story about finding what you love to do and loving life.   Throughout this story, Brie will cover:   Quitting a corporate job to go full-time into real estate investing.   Starting your own companies and building a business.  Losing sight of your vision because of blind ambition.   Focusing on what you are good at and what you enjoy doing.   Creating boundaries in your job and managing a personal and social life.   Forming partnerships.   Ways to balance life and work.   Brie Schmidt acquired her first investment property in 2011 and left the corporate world in 2014 to become a full-time real estate investor.  She is the Managing Broker of Second City Real Estate, a full-service brokerage working with new investors and seasoned investors looking to expand their knowledge of the industry and their portfolio. Brie utilizes her extensive knowledge of building and managing a portfolio to teach clients about all aspects of buy and hold investing. Brie is also a Co-Founder of The Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit, a non-profit educational summit for real estate investors.  Links Mentioned   https://www.linkedin.com/in/briannaschmidt   https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/chicagobrie   http://www.secondcity-re.com/  http://www.midwestresummit.com/   If you enjoy listening to my show, don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! 

Visit ToughDecisions.net for complete show notes of each podcast episode. In this episode, we welcome Brie Schmidt, a real estate entrepreneur. Brie has been in real estate for 7 years and has several different businesses in this industry. With a portfolio of rental properties, a brokerage business, and involvement in spreading real estate education, Brie […]

Visit ToughDecisions.net for complete show notes of each podcast episode. In this episode, we welcome Brie Schmidt, a real estate entrepreneur. Brie has been in real estate for 7 years and has several different businesses in this industry. With a portfolio of rental properties, a brokerage business, and involvement in spreading real estate education, Brie shares with us her current tough decision — deciding what to do next.

  Building a Real Estate Business with Brie Schmidt     Brie started in corporate sales in 2005, she acquired her first investment property in 2011. She left the steady paycheck world in 2014. In this podcast, Gino and Josh ask Brie about that transition, how she built her investment portfolio, her business and her plans for the future.   Brie is the Co-Founder at The Midwest Real Estate Networking Summit, a non-profit educational summit for real estate investors. She is also the President at TurnKey Reviews, a one-stop shop for passive investing in real estate across the United States. She shares her thoughts on education with us as well as her habits for success.   Second City Real Estate: http://www.secondcity-re.com/   TurnKey-Reviews: TurnKey-Reviews.com     Top 10: Finding opportunities Multifaceted approach Deciding moments Education Bigger pockets Next Steps Hiring quality Self awareness Hire slow Fire fast And much more!   Register on the investor portal and fill out the investor portal form:Create an Account – Rand Partners   We want to see you at the October 6-7th   Multifamily Mastery Live Event in Nashville, TN! Email Gino at gino@jakeandgino.com for a coupon code to save a little $ on your ticket price!   Reserve your seat for Jake and Gino Live Event 2018   Apply For Us to Help You Make Your Multifamily Dreams a Reality!  

This week I am chatting with Brie Schmidt about how your market choice can dictate the investment strategy you pursue. I love Brie and her no BS approach to telling how it is. We discuss all the in's and out's of choosing the right market to invest in, from turnkey rentals, to large commercial syndications. So what are you waiting for? Get educated, take action and go make a dent in the universe. If you want to see what my guests look like head over to my YOUTUBE channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UCuFEo0AY…iew_as=subscriber Head to my NEW website www.reedgoossens.com/podcast-investing-in-the-u-s/ to find links from today's show. Hit me up at info@reedgoossens.com if you want my FREE EBOOK! Take action, back yourself and go out and make an impact in the world! Follow me on: Facebook: www.facebook.com/reed.goossens Instagram: www.instagram.com/reedgoossens/ twitter: twitter.com/reedgoossens

Here's some of what you will learn:  Brie started investing in Real Estate in August 2011 by buying a live in triplex.  By 2014 she had built a multi-million dollar privately held portfolio and became a full time real estate investor. The importance of identifying your motivation for being in the business. The importance of setting clear goals to make sure your choices help you get there. The benefits of using FHA loans to get started in investing. The benefits of living in an owned plex at a reduced rate or free to springboard your investment career. The importance of proper budgeting and reducing expenses to have more money for investing. The importance of knowing your markets and investing according to your investment goals. Tips on studying markets and how to get started in a different market. The importance of keeping your tenants happy to avoid turnover. The importance of asking questions and developing relationships. The benefits of having a small broker as a property manager to manage small properties. The benefits of getting referrals from brokers and property managers. The importance of networking and relationship-building to get access to the best in the business. The options available for financing your deals. The possible challenges that come from buying property out of state. The importance of getting to know your partners before a long term “buy and hold” investment. The importance of good communication and setting proper expectations with your partners. The potential setbacks you may have in a cash-flow market. The importance of always doing the right thing in the business and following your intuition. The importance of immersing yourself fully in the business and gaining experience to move forward. The importance of having a solid team to help you be successful in the business. About our Guest: Brie Schmidt can be reached at: http://www.chicagobrie.com/  Information on Brie's Real Estate Summit can be found at: www.MidwestRESummit.com Want to build Lifetime Cash Flow from Multifamily Properties? If you’re committed to creating the life you deserve, we've created the best multifamily training and coaching program on the market. I personally coach you on your path to create the life of your dreams. I will help you CRUSH it in this business!  - if you'd like to receive information about our program, text CRUSH to 41411 now. Recommended Resource Looking to invest in a multi-family real estate project? Want to partner with me personally on a deal? To schedule a time for us to talk click on this link: http://www.meetme.so/RodKhleif2 Review and Subscribe acquisitions, Brie Schmidt, apartment investing, apartments, appreciation, Assisted Living, broker, brokers, business, cash flow, cashflow, commercial, commercial real estate, CRE, CRE investing, Defaulted paper, Donald Trump, entrepreneur, equity, Eviction, expert, experts, Foreclosure, funding, Hedge fund, investing, investing in real estate, investments, Rod Khleif, Rod Khleif Florida, Rod Khleif Real Estate, Riyad Khleif , manager, mergers, millionaire, multi-family, multifamily, Office, passive income, podcast, private lending, private money, property management, raw land investing, real estate, real estate broker, real estate cashflow, real estate coaching, real estate investing, real estate investor. Investing, REIT, Retail, Robert Kiyosaki, sales, Sales Coach, sales expert, Sales Training, Self Storage, Selling, Senior Living, Shopping Center, Short Sale, Suburban Office, syndication, training, value add, Repositioning assets, multi-family expert, multifamily expert, multi family investing, multifamily training

Odds are if you are a real estate investor or have clients that invest, you’ve heard of Brie Schmidt. In addition to running her own firm, Second City Real Estate, Brie is a featured speaker at many real estate conferences. On BiggerPockets (the largest real estate forum in the country) she is recognized as one […]

When evaluating deals some investors are data driven analysts, while others are instinctual entrepreneurs….or so it may seem. After starting on the north side of Chicago with a couple small apartments, Brie Schmidt expanded to Milwaukee and quickly grew her portfolio to 90+ units. She also helps other investors through her brokerage firm and her website Turnkey-Reviews.com. Brie may tell you the growth was driven by gut instincts, but the reality is her instincts are refined by constantly studying the market. Listen as she shares the daily habit that allows her to seize opportunities, take decisive action and master her market on this episode of Target Market Insights. Key Market Insights Purchased initial properties in 2011 on the north side of Chicago What attracted her to the initial property: projected development pre-2008 crash; close to public transportation stops; close to hospitals, 2 universities, and large park; area's infrastructure set up to be a high quality neighborhood Know your market to make a decision that allows you to sleep at night Advice to Clients: 1) Set up alerts on Redfin, Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia, 2) What properties move off the market quickly, 3) Which properties move more slowly?, 4) What are the rents in the area? 5) What units are renting out and in what condition? #1 Tip for new investors: Do the above research every day for 20 minutes. You'll start to internalize the data. Her baseline for choosing properties in Milwaukee: Wanted to develop a cash flow portfolio for her out-of-state investments, Wanted high ROIs, Safe neighborhood, Area had her preferred tenant class Brie’s Milwaukee portfolio: initially Purchased 18 buildings (total of 50-units) within a 10-month period; Now has partners -- including 30 buildings within a 5-mile radius Key reasons people sell in her Milwaukee market: trading up, live out-of-state, mid-level investor looking to divest themselves of properties and exit the market More about turnkey: bad experience led to launch of a turnkey reviews company with a partner Tips to inspect out of market property: use a site like BiggerPockets.com to pay another investor to go sit in on an inspection for, consider using a 3rd-party disinterested party to at least see the property for you How to stay on top of market changes: set up alerts for Aldermen/Councilmen, look through MLS listings daily, set up Google Alerts on the neighborhood Tips to help investors win in their target market: know your market, be quick, be confident in your decisions, have the right expectations of the process   Tweet This: "Historical data doesn't help you look at future trends." -- @ChicagoBrie Resources Mentioned: TurnKey Reviews www.turnkey-reviews.com Bigger Pockets www.biggerpockets.com Places to grab a bite in Chicago: Lou Malnati’s for Pizza https://www.loumalnatis.com/ Portillo's for Italian Beef (dipped) and Chicago Hot Dogs http://www.portillos.com/our-story/  Connect with Brie: Website: http://www.chicagobrie.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briannaschmidt   Leave us a review and rating on iTunes or Stitcher for a chance to win a copy of Get Paid for Your Pad by Jasper Ribbers or Best Ever Real Estate Investing Advice Ever by Joe Fairless. Be sure to check out more info at TargetMarketInsights.com

Today our guest is Brie Schmidt who is based out of Chicago and is a full time investor and realtor. Prior to real estate, Brie was in corporate sales and began investing by house hacking a triplex in Chicago. She now owns over 30 properties in the Chicago and Milwaukie area and tells her story of how real estate has given her the freedom to travel the world. She shares some great tips on transitioning into full time investing and some things to watch out for. Press play and listen up!

The longer you’re in the game the more opportunities you’ll be exposed to. Listen to Today’s Best Ever Guest as she shares how sticking to her criteria has helped her build a multimillion dollar portfolio in three short years. Brie Schmidt’s real estate background: –        Owns and operates 27 units in Chicago and Milwaukee –        Started investing in 2011 and has built a multimillion dollar portfolio in less than three years –        Real estate broker for 10 years –        Founder of BBS Apartments ()

Need to make a change in the business due to underperforming partners? It may be better to do it now and do it quickly. Our Best Ever guest shares with us her property management underachievers and how letting one go was the best decision.Best Ever Tweet: Rip off the Band-Aid!Brie Schmidt real estate background: Broker for 10 years and current real estate investor Founder of BBS Apartments Owns and operates 27 units in Chicago and Milwaukee Say hi to her at Based in Chicago, Illinois Started investing in 2011 and Built a multimillion dollar portfolio in less than 3 years Her advice is at:  in iTunes.  Listen to all episodes and get a FREE crash course on real estate investing at: Are you committed to transforming your life through Real Estate this year? If so, then go to  and claim your FREE Coaching Session.  Trevor is my personal real estate coach and I’ve been working with him for years. Spots are limited, so be sure to do it now before all the spots are gone. Subscribe to Joe’s YouTube Channel here to learn multifamily and raising money tips: Subscribe in   and    so you don’t miss an episode!

Learn Real Estate Karate with Brie Schmidt Jack Butala:                   Welcome, Brie Schmidt. Brie is a real estate broker, investor, and landlord, and founding partner of Turnkey-Reviews.com. Brie started purchasing investment properties in 2011 and currently owns and manages a rental units in Chicago and Milwaukee. She opened her own brokerage company and now works with investors to start or build their own portfolio. In 2015, she launched Turnkey-Reviews.com which is a one stop shop for turnkey buyers. The site features reviews of turnkey providers, articles, properties for sale and a podcast interviewing buyers about their experiences. Welcome, Brie. Brie Schmidt:                     Thank you for having me. Jack Butala:                   Hey, share with us please your business model. Jill and I are super intrigued. Brie Schmidt:                     Well, depends on what part. I technically think I have three different businesses. I've got the buy and hold properties which I self-manage our Chicago portfolio. Then I hire out property manager to manage our Milwaukee portfolio. Then I have my brokerage business in both states. Then I have the TurnKey Reviews site. Those are the three kind of area that I involve myself in. Jack Butala:                   Which one is your favorite? Brie Schmidt:                     That's a hard one. I like them all. They're all interesting. The good thing about each of them is they're somewhat tied to each other, so there's a cohesiveness involved. Then they're all kind of different. Whether I'm representing clients here in Chicago, or dealing with my properties in Milwaukee, or hosting my own podcast and managing the website, I'm pretty much spending 90 percent of my life talking to real estate investors. That's fun. I get ideas from everyone else and different ... Being able to talk with investors all day long, you get to kind of take nuggets from what they say, and then apply them in your business, which I find very interesting. Jack Butala:                   What's the biggest question you get from a potential investor? Brie Schmidt:                     Mainly it's about the market. What's the market like? What kind of returns can I see? What are the pros and cons of investing in this type of area? Because I do Chicago and Milwaukee, those are both two very different markets, so they each have their pros and cons. I like both markets, and I wouldn't trade one for the other. It's really understanding what are your goals and what are you looking to accomplish, and then what market is going to really best fit those needs for you. Jack Butala:                   As I understand your model, you guys either buy or control, let's say, a house, clean it up or maybe not clean it up. Do you get it rented out and then offer the whole package kind of as a turnkey investment to somebody who just doesn't want to get involved in all the details? Brie Schmidt:                     I don't sell turnkey properties. With the TurnKey website, we are a disinterested third party that allows people to review their turnkey providers on the site, but we have no involvement whatsoever with actually marketing, selling or doing anything with turnkey properties. We took that position specifically because ... It all kind of started with my partner who has funded a bunch of turnkey providers. He has been involved with the turnkey industry for a couple of decades, I believe. He and I both had people reached out to us constantly for advice on either our local market or other market just based on our experience level. The reality is 90 percent of turnkey providers are fantastic, and people have great experiences with them. The other 10 percent, you hear these horror stories of people having their money taken, or they buy a house and they lied about the renovations, or they bought in a bad area and now they've got six, seven, eight months of vacancy.

Learn Real Estate Karate with Brie Schmidt Jack Butala:                   Welcome, Brie Schmidt. Brie is a real estate broker, investor, and landlord, and founding partner of Turnkey-Reviews.com. Brie started purchasing investment properties in 2011 and currently owns and manages a rental units in Chicago and Milwaukee. She opened her own brokerage company and now works with investors to start or build their own portfolio. In 2015, she launched Turnkey-Reviews.com which is a one stop shop for turnkey buyers. The site features reviews of turnkey providers, articles, properties for sale and a podcast interviewing buyers about their experiences. Welcome, Brie. Brie Schmidt:                     Thank you for having me. Jack Butala:                   Hey, share with us please your business model. Jill and I are super intrigued. Brie Schmidt:                     Well, depends on what part. I technically think I have three different businesses. I've got the buy and hold properties which I self-manage our Chicago portfolio. Then I hire out property manager to manage our Milwaukee portfolio. Then I have my brokerage business in both states. Then I have the TurnKey Reviews site. Those are the three kind of area that I involve myself in. Jack Butala:                   Which one is your favorite? Brie Schmidt:                     That's a hard one. I like them all. They're all interesting. The good thing about each of them is they're somewhat tied to each other, so there's a cohesiveness involved. Then they're all kind of different. Whether I'm representing clients here in Chicago, or dealing with my properties in Milwaukee, or hosting my own podcast and managing the website, I'm pretty much spending 90 percent of my life talking to real estate investors. That's fun. I get ideas from everyone else and different ... Being able to talk with investors all day long, you get to kind of take nuggets from what they say, and then apply them in your business, which I find very interesting. Jack Butala:                   What's the biggest question you get from a potential investor? Brie Schmidt:                     Mainly it's about the market. What's the market like? What kind of returns can I see? What are the pros and cons of investing in this type of area? Because I do Chicago and Milwaukee, those are both two very different markets, so they each have their pros and cons. I like both markets, and I wouldn't trade one for the other. It's really understanding what are your goals and what are you looking to accomplish, and then what market is going to really best fit those needs for you. Jack Butala:                   As I understand your model, you guys either buy or control, let's say, a house, clean it up or maybe not clean it up. Do you get it rented out and then offer the whole package kind of as a turnkey investment to somebody who just doesn't want to get involved in all the details? Brie Schmidt:                     I don't sell turnkey properties. With the TurnKey website, we are a disinterested third party that allows people to review their turnkey providers on the site, but we have no involvement whatsoever with actually marketing, selling or doing anything with turnkey properties. We took that position specifically because ... It all kind of started with my partner who has funded a bunch of turnkey providers. He has been involved with the turnkey industry for a couple of decades, I believe. He and I both had people reached out to us constantly for advice on either our local market or other market just based on our experience level. The reality is 90 percent of turnkey providers are fantastic, and people have great experiences with them. The other 10 percent, you hear these horror stories of people having their money taken, or they buy a house and they lied about the renovations, or they bought in a bad area and now they've got six, seven, eight months of vacancy.

Working a full time job, Brie Schmidt has figured out how to invest in real estate on the side.  Brie and her husband have been investing in real estate for just a few short years and they have already acquired 80 Rental Units that can help them to Retire Rich with Real Estate! Don’t let […]

Today on the BiggerPockets Podcast, we are excited to bring back Brie Schmidt, a real estate investor from the Chicago market who has absolutely DOMINATED her goals over the past twelve months. Last time we talked with Brie, she had just quit her job to pursue real estate full-time. Today you’ll learn about the impact that decision made on her life and how she’s been able to reach her financial goal in just twelve months, buying more than fifty new rental property units in that time! Be prepared to be blown away and inspired to do the same!In This Episode We Cover:Who Brie is and how she quit her job and went full time since the last showThe 3 catalysts that drove her to become a full time investorHow to incentivize in-house property managementTips for making tenants happyThe story behind 50 units in one yearWhat kind of tenants she is looking forHow Brie handled her first evictionWhat kind of properties she is investing inHer average cost per doorThe details of buying multiple units at a time and concerns you face with itThe mindset behind buying 50 units in a yearAnd SO much more!Links from the ShowBiggerPockets Keyword AlertsQuitting Your Job, Buy & Hold Investing, and Succeeding With High-End Rentals with Brie SchmidtBiggerPockets WebinarInvesting in Foreclosures, Quitting Your Job, and Getting More Than 10 Loans with Anca RaderHow I Found, Analyzed, and Bought an Ugly Purple Rental PropertyBiggerPockets MarketplaceBiggerPockets ForumsPayNearMeBiggerPockets PodcastBecoming a Millionaire Real Estate Investor Using The One Thing with Jay PapasanTwitterBooks Mentioned in this ShowThe Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary KellerThe ONE Thing by Gary KellerThe 10X Rule by Grant CardoneTweetable Topics:“You bring up the level of the property to attract the kind of tenant that you want.” (Tweet This!)“Property management could make or break your business.” (Tweet This!)Connect with BrieBrie’s BiggerPockets ProfileBrie’s Company Website

Brie shares how she built a portfolio that earns her $35,000 a month in rental income.

The longer you’re in the game the more opportunities you’ll be exposed to. Listen to Today’s Best Ever Guest as she shares how sticking to her criteria has helped her build a multimillion dollar portfolio in three short years. Tweetable quote: Know your floor and stick to it. Brie Schmidt’s real estate background: -        Owns and operates 27 units in Chicago and Milwaukee -        Started investing in 2011 and has built a multimillion dollar portfolio in less than three years   -        Real estate broker for 10 years -        Founder of BBS Apartments () Subscribe in  and  so you don't miss an episode! Sponsored by: Door Devil - visit and enter "bestever" to get an exclusive 20% discount on your purchase.     

Today on the BiggerPockets Podcast we are excited to sit down with a real estate investor who just said “you’re fired!” to her day job and became a full-time real estate investor!We are talking with Brie Schmidt, who invests in a wide range of rental properties in the Midwest and shares some incredible insight into how she finds them, finances them, and manages them. In our conversation we dive into some really important topics regarding personal finances, getting your first deal, working with your spouse, tenant-friendly laws, when to quit your job, and a lot more! You are going to LOVE this episode!In This Show We Cover…Why Brie chose a triplex for her first primary residenceChoosing appreciation vs. cash flow in a buy and hold investmentWhy Brie decided to diversify her investments into long-distance investing.What makes an area “landlord–friendly” vs. “tenant friendly“Dealing with maintenance request issues.. even while on vacation.Why Brie calls herself a “YouTube Landlord“Real Estate as a hobby vs. a businessWhy Brie encourages Pets.. even a 120lb dog!When should you quit your job?Investing with your spouse: how to make it workHouse Hacking and using your personal finances to fund your investmentsUsing online software to help you control your spending and invest in real estateThe one question that Brie asked that led to a ton of deals, financing, and partnerships.Should you allow smokers in your rental unit?And a TON more!Links from the ShowBiggerPockets WebinarsPayNearMe.com/biggerpocketsHandyman MattersIncome Property TV ShowHow to Hack Your Housing and Get Paid to Live For Free Blog Post by Brandon TurnerMint.comThe Book on Estimating Rehab Costs book by J Scott, Published by BiggerPockets Publishing.Tenant Screening: The Ultimate GuidePostlets.comIfThisThenThat: IfTTT.comBooks Mentioned in the Show:The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary KellerThe One Thing by Gary KellerTweetable Topics:“They should force lawmakers to own rental properties before writing the laws.” (Tweet This!)“BiggerPockets: Pissing Off Employers Since 2004” (Tweet This!)“What’s more important? Getting rich or staying married?” (Tweet This!)“The beginning of budgeting is understanding where you are.” (Tweet This!)“I’ve learned more on the BiggerPockets forums than any book I’ve ever read.” (Tweet This!)Connect with Brie:Brie’s BiggerPocket ProfileBrie’s Twitter: @ChicagoBrieBrie’s Website: ChicagoBrie.com