REL Freedom Podcast:
We're excited to share all of our Freedom Stories with you. These are people sharing their journey toward time and financial freedom through various opportunities in Real Estate. Listen. Learn. Find a story that resonates with you and go pursue your passion and your goals! Scroll down for current episodes or jump to the links for older episodes!
Episode 136: Margaret "Mo" Smith
Bringing Soul Back Into Your Business
If you want to feel inspired and motivated to take the next steps in your business, spend some time with Margaret "Mo" Smith! Prior to her time in the real estate industry, Mo worked at the Seattle Art Museum and was an Assistant Volleyball Coach for Northwest University and obtained her Masters in Social Work Degree. She then became the Director of Operations for Pickett Street Properties in Bothell, WA before launching her own company called I Love It When, which does coaching, retreats, workshops, and so much more. In addition, she utilized the FHA 203k loan to help purchase and renovate 2 duplexes, making over 95k on her first property. Mo shares her journey of discovery in launching her own business and inspiring and empowering leaders to be exactly who you are!


Episode 135: Jake Dixon
Helping Real Estate Agents Succeed
Jake Dixon is unapologetically passionate about helping real estate agents that currently close fewer than 24 homes per year, which according to the National Association of Realtors makes up 90% of the population. He is the founder and CEO of The Locker Room Real Estate Coaching & Training organization that partners with broker owners and their agents to increase growth, retention, productivity and profitability, which has been around since 2016. Jake was selected as one of the Top 50 Real Estate Coaches in 2021 by Agent Fire and was named a Top Real Estate Coach for 2022 by Coach Foundation. Prior to founding The Locker Room, Jake graduated from the University of North Florida and played college and professional baseball. Jake discussed how agents can be successful in this market and how he started and grew his coaching and training organization to be one that is well respected in the industry.
Episode 134: Ralph DiBugnara
The Real Estate Disruptor
Growing up and struggling financially, Ralph DiBugnara knew that he wanted more for himself. Today he is president of Home Qualified, a digital resource for buyers and sellers and Vice President of Cardinal Financial. In total, Ralph has helped fund over $40 Billion of real estate loans and manages a real estate portfolio of over $20 Million. He started a series called The Real Estate Disruptors. His program focuses on creating an elite network of industry leaders to help brokers succeed in the social media driven economy. He also launched a mentoring program for inner city young adults called "The Generation Disruptor Scholarship Program" to educate students on how to get into the real estate industry, break generational curses, and cultivate leaders in their communities.

Episode 133: Jarod Alexander
1100 Units Through Syndication
Jarod Alexander is the founder of Optimal Equity Group, where he brings vetted opportunities to investors to invest in. In total, Jarod has participated in 5 syndications totaling over 1,100 units throughout Arizona and Texas. In addition to this role, Jarod works in sales in the flooring industry, where he has won numerous awards for his salesmanship and dedication to customer satisfaction. Jarod shares his real estate investment journey beginning with single-family homes and what led him to look towards larger properties as a way to scale and accomplish his investing goals more quickly. His mission is to help people reach their full potential and live life to the fullest. Jarod is a family man who is happily married with 2 amazing kids and currently living in Phoenix, AZ.
Episode 132: Lorraine Beato
Flipping The Switch From Agent To Investor
Lorraine Beato started trading mortgage-backed securities on Wall Street and doing appraisals in one of New York's most affluent counties. Eventually, she got her real estate license and now works in the Atlanta area of Georgia. In addition to being an agent, she's an experienced real estate investor. Encouraging agents to invest in the thing you sell every day, she has a passion for helping agents build their wealth through investing, which inspired her to write the book "Flip The Switch: From Real Estate Agent to Real Estate Investor." She shares her story of growing her investment portfolio, tips for how agents can become investors, and for how she provided unparalleled customer service to her clients by genuinely listening to them and solving their problems.
Episode 131: Jon Holsten
From TV Reporter To Law Enforcement To 47 Units His First Year In Real Estate
When you get into real estate, you have many great transferable skills from other industries you've been in. For Jon, he was a TV news reporter and in law enforcement before jumping into real estate. He had built many great relationships with people that allowed him to close 47 deals and make over $250,000 in gross commission his first year in real estate. Since then he has launched the Holsten Team based out of Northern Colorado and continues to grow his business. In addition, he wants to help people, similar to him, who came from other industries find success in real estate, which led him to launch TopNotch Agents. He's also featured in Larry Kendall's book "Ninja Selling".
Episode 130: Mike Swenson & Mike Gengler
How To Set Up A Real Estate Syndication
Oftentimes real estate agents focus on purchasing single-family flips and dip their toes into smaller multi-family properties ranging from 2-4 units. What would it look like to set up a purchase of a 30+ unit property? This week we discuss setting up a real estate syndication to be able to leverage an agents' ability to find great properties and execute on increasing the value of an asset while having passive investors place their money in these syndications. We discuss why a passive investor would be excited to invest in these types of opportunities, building good strong relationships with your investors, finding great properties, setting up a syndication and the process for raising capital, and more. If real estate syndications are something you're interested in, this provides a great overview of the basics for you to get started!
Episode 129: Robin Binkley
Stewarding Other People's Money In Real Estate
The idea of using OPM - other people's money - to invest in real estate seems exciting on the surface. Yet there comes a ton of responsibility to have other people entrust their money with you to help them get the returns they desire. Robin Binkley is the Co-Founder of Real Equity Investment Partners, along with her husband Brett Binkley. After spending a quarter of a century as a nursing home administrator, it's obvious that Robin cares about people and serving their needs. Today she is a real estate investor in a 200 door syndication in Atlanta, GA as well as a Bitcoin mining fund. She is the co-author of the book Next Level Your Life and desires for women and others to gain financial independence and freedom through real estate investing.

Episode 128: Jim Lee
How To Acquire 600 Units In 2 Deals
How can you own 600 units in just 2 deals? This is the power of real estate syndication! In this situation you don't own them 100%, but it's a fractional stake in the properties. However, there is a lot of power in the economies of scale and the way the syndication is set-up and run. Meet Jim Lee, who was born and raised in Taiwan and came to the United States at the age of 11. He graduated with a degree in Economics from UCLA in 2010 and began working as a sales rep with LoopNet & Costar, which exposed him to commercial properties. During the COVID lockdown is when he began to explore ways to scale his real estate investment business more quickly and discovered syndications. He formed Formosa Investing and acquired 600 units in Florida, along with other general partners on the deal. Jim shares why syndications are such a powerful asset to investing in and how you can get started in your journey today.
Episode 127: Yoni Rios
From Immigrant To Ex-Felon To Earning 7 Figures
Your past doesn't not determine what happens in your future and Yoni Rios wants to inspire others to build great habits and focus on personal development. At the age of 20, Yoni found himself in deep debt as a result of a felony hit-and-run, and being a new dad. He didn't let his circumstance dictate his future and took responsibility for his actions. He successfully started a trucking business which grew to $7-12M/yr in revenue and used that to launch his real estate career. He now owns 20+ properties, 10+ short-term rentals, and has flipped and wholesaled hundreds of properties in the Los Angeles area. He wants to inspire others to know that they can achieve anything with the right mindset, discipline, and dreaming big. Be inspired by Yoni's amazing story to help you craft your own story to build your future in real estate.


Episode 126. Matt Jones
Investing In Multi-Family & Senior Assisted Living Facilities
Matt Jones is a real estate investor residing in St Paul, MN, who owns 40 units of multifamily and 244 beds of senior assisted living. He is the CEO of Hawkwing Capital, which helps people become passive investors in real estate syndications. He has a master of science in mental health counseling which comes in handy with building positive relationships in real estate. Matt co-hosts two podcasts: The Passive Real Estate Podcast and Pillars of Wealth Creation. He wrote the book, Book About Real Estate that summarizes and reviews top real estate books covering the full spectrum of real estate investing. As an avid reader, he loves talking with others about the powerful books he has read. When not doing real estate, you will find him cooking unique meals, traveling the world, and going hiking with his amazing wife.
Episode 125: Mike Swenson, Mike Gengler, Justin Rademacher
Getting Started With Short-Term Rentals
Short-Term Rentals on AirBnb and VRBO have been all the rage in recent years. You might be wondering if the market is too saturated or if it's too late to get started investing in your own short-term rental. What are the first steps you can take to get your own short-term rental? We discuss how to pick a market that is a great fit for you, how to pick specific areas within your market, what types of properties to focus on and what types of amenities to have in your short-term rental. We also talk about why a short-term rentals might be a better fit for you than a long term rental and why you might love being in the hospitality industry providing a great experience for your guests vs. working with tenants. This is a great opportunity to learn the basics about short-term rentals and decide if it's a good fit for you in your investment portfolio.


Episode 124: Zach Pittman
Building 6 Figure Rental Income In 3 States In 2 Years
Born and raised in North Carolina, Zach Pittman has overcome the odds. Soon after getting his college degree and MBA, he found his passion in real estate. In just 2 years he was able to build a 6 figure rental income by investing in properties in 3 states mixing a rent by the room model, rental arbitrage, and an apartment complex. Zach has also founded GHP Capital and is also a loan officer. He has a goal to impact 8 million people around the world by teaching simple real estate strategies through his HomeBuyer League, which is an educational platform simplifying real estate with step-by-step formulas people can follow to learn things such as wholesaling, rehabbing properties, room to room renting, subleasing, Section 8, raising private money, commercial deals, and others.
Episode 123: Dr. Roderick Capelo
Orthopedic Surgeon Finding Wealth In Multi-Family Real Estate
Dr. Roderick Capelo founded his own practice, Pediatric Sports and Spine Associates in 2006. As medicine evolved it became clear that the ever-changing landscape of medicine was beyond his control. He studied different ways to create income streams outside of medicine and landed on multi-family assets thanks to being introduced to several seasoned real estate investors. In the past 4 years he's helped acquire 2,400 units in 5 states. He is also the author of 2 best-selling books, "Purpose, Passion, & Profits" as well as "Persistence, Pivots and Game Changers: Turning Challenges Into Opportunities. In addition to still running his practice, he's also helping his colleagues, family, and friends achieve true financial freedom through real estate.


Episode 122: David Kafka
Benefits of Investing Internationally
David Kafka, founder of Caribbean Capital Group, has had a great journey leading up to helping people place investments internationally. Originally an entrepreneur founding a landscaping company in South Carolina, David also served as a Firefighter/Engineer for his local fire department. He looked up and wanted to find some opportunities to live, work, and invest in other countries. His research led him to Belize. Currently he is a broker/owner of a real estate franchise in Belize and works with investors. Because of its' proximity to the United States, is an English speaking company, has favorable tax rates, has a solid economy, and does not have restrictions on foreign land ownership, David shares with us why people would want to consider looking abroad to diversify their real estate investment portfolio.
Episode 121: Molly Rose Speed
Business Growth By Staying In Your Zone of Genius
When running a business, you're pulled in many different directions. Your time can be spent in many different ways. Your business grows more quickly when you stay in your zone of genius and allow others to support you in the other areas you need it. Molly Rose Speed is the founder of the Virtual Assistant Academy, which provides trusted virtual assistant solutions and tech execution serving busy entrepreneurs and business owners. From being a corporate accountant cubicle dweller, this military spouse launched her VA business to focus on what she loved, and to provide her location freedom while moving all over the country. Molly Rose is the go-to professional for some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the speaker/author and content creator industry. With so many in the real estate space looking to gain exposure as authors, speakers, and creators, hear from Molly Rose how you can grow your business by leveraging the support of others while staying in your zone of genius.

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