045 How a Administrative Assistant Bought Multiple Houses in Multiple States with Michelle Yarber

Most of the guests I have on the InvestFourMore Real Estate Podcast, are very successful investors, who have their own website or podcast. On today’s show, my guest has no podcast, no website and nothing to sell you. Michelle Yarber is a real estate investor I have known for a few years, who I met through my blog. Michelle lives in Wyoming, but owns properties in multiple states, and Justin on my team actually sold her a couple of properties in Colorado.

Michelle, has done very well investing on a part-time basis, while having administrative assistant jobs. Michelle even loans private money to other investors and is thinking about buying rentals in other areas of the country, besides Colorado and Wyoming, because prices are so high in those areas. Michelle, has never been on a podcast or done anything like this, and she did an awesome job! Make sure you listen to the show to see what her take is on the current real estate market and how her investing progressed.

How did Michelle get interested in real estate investing?

Michelle grew up in Southern California and it was pure chance that got her interested in real estate investing. She bought a house in California, held it for a few years, and thanks to an appreciating market, made a nice profit when she sold it. I don’t think holding houses for appreciation is the best way to invest in real estate, but it got Michelle interested in buying more houses. She ended up moving to Wyoming to be closer to her family and learned more about real estate investing. She did not have an online resource or mentor, but learned a lot on her own and from a local agent and investor.

How did Michelle become an accidental landlord?

Michelle wanted to invest in real estate for a while, before she actually bought a rental property. While living in Wyoming, she bought a personal house for herself. After a few years she decided to move into something different, but the market was not where she hoped it would be to sell her home. Instead of selling, she decided to rent it out and became an accidental landlord. Many people get into trouble when they rent a home, because they could not sell it. Michelle had a great experience with a good tenant and knew she wanted more properties.

How did Michelle buy her first true rental?

After having a good experience with her personal house, that was turned into a rental, Michelle decided to buy a true rental property. She found a great real estate agent, who was also an investor. That agent helped her decide what would be a good rental and after 6 months of looking at homes she bought a rental property. Michelle admits, the first rental she bought did not have the greatest numbers. She paid over $190,000 for it and hoped it would rent for $1,200 a month. The home needed almost no work and thanks to a hot rental market in Cheyenne, she rented it for $1,700 a month!

Why did Michelle stop buying houses in Cheyenne?

After buying her first rental, Michelle found online resources like my blog and other real estate investing sites. She realized, the rent to value ratios on her rental in Cheyenne were not ideal. Prices in Cheyenne also continued to rise and it was tough to find a good deal in the area. She started to look at new markets and contacted me about buying rentals in my town, Greeley Colorado. I don’t work with investors myself, because I have too much going on to provide good service. Justin on my team is an awesome agent, and was able to help Michelle buy two houses in Greeley, that had much better rental numbers.

Why did Michelle stop buying rentals in Greeley Colorado?

Michelle was in the process of buying more rentals and was going to get her real estate license as well, to help her save money and find deals. Prices in Colorado have skyrocketed the last couple of years, and she could no longer find good rentals in the area (I have had the same problem). Michelle decided not to get her license, not invest in Colorado and has found other ways to make money in real estate. Instead of buying rentals, she has started lending money to private investors across the country and even partnered on a few long-distance flips.