10. When you stop, you lose: No-nonsense approach to private money, scoring deals in SOCAL, and why you are better off starting broke | with Mark McMahon

If you are a newer investor starting out, or in a high cost of living market, THIS episode is for you.  Mark shares it all, and isn't afraid to dive through several losses over his career.  Despite million-dollar losses, losing it all in 2008, investing in a high cost of living markets -- Mark and his wife have over a 3 million dollar net worth, and much more is to come.  I LOVE Mark's advice on using private money as an alternative to the BRRRR strategy, aka a leverage strategy.  Mark and his wife, who also is a successful real estate investor in her own right, have navigated the changing markets to grow their empire all while raising 3 boys.  He shares how his deal-finding career evolved from buying mobile homes to finding all their early deals on the MSL to driving for dollars, cold calls, and automated texting.  We talk about how, finding "non-typical" multiunits also works in his market-- as he walks me through how accessory dwelling units, or ACUs, can make some properties in high cost of living markets cashflow.   Mark really epitomizes the idea of work ON your business, not IN your business.  He shares how he has built up a team to run all parts of their real estate empire.  He has some great philosophies on getting started, as well as on never giving up.  He thinks the best kind of real estate investor starts out broke, or at 0.  And that, this position in life may just be the best place to be-- even if it doesn't feel like it at the time.   I also thoroughly enjoy the care he takes to manage his properties, and help his tenants.  He reviews steps he, and Rick Jarmin from Real Estate Old School, took to be proactive with their tenants as COVID-19 developed.  They even offered to assist tenants with obtaining unemployment benefits.  You will also hear Mark's predictions as to what the fallout from COVID will look like, when it comes to the "frothy" real estate market today.  By the end of this episode, I felt like old friends with Mark, and I hope you will too.  For sure a guy I would love to share a beer with, as he drops one inspiring story after another.   --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdsguidetofi/support