590: From Struggling Renter to Cash Flowing Landlord Using $0 Down Loans w/Andre Haynes

This is the biggerpockets podcast show.

5 90. The moment that I took action over the way that I was thinking and the way that I was Speaking, probably in 24 to 48 hours, man, I noticed just an immediate change. And just like the way that I felt like I just didn't feel like there was like a black negative cloud hanging over me walking around every day anymore, you know what I mean?

And it's.

And it's all me. Like it's nothing anybody else is doing around you. Most times it's you and the way that you're thinking, your surroundings, all of that. And if you're able to like change those things and identify those things, man, you can really, like expedite your process to get to the next level.

What's going on, everyone? Is David Green, your host of the Bigger Pockets Real estate podcast, the show where we teach you how to build wealth through real estate. If you're looking to have a better life, if you want more freedom, if you want more financial flexibility, if you don't want to worry about money, if you want to feel like you're actually making progress, then you are in the right place. BiggerPockets is a community of over 2 million members that are all on that same journey for themselves, trying to improve their lives and their finances through real estate and doing it together. We bring lots of ways to help you accomplish that. The website has a forum where you can read about tons of questions that were asked and ask your own questions. Amazing blog articles. We have an agent finder system to put you in touch with agents in your area that are familiar with real estate investing. And we have the best freaking podcast in the world when it comes to real estate. Today we are going to be talking with a very special speaker, Andre Haynes, as well as an amazing asset to your real estate investing journey, my co host of the show, Henry Washington. Henry, welcome to the show.

Hey man, thank you for having me again. Glad to be back. You know, I always love chit chatting it up with you, Mr. David.

Yeah. And you brought some help with you today. One of your friends is who we're going to be interviewing. He has an amazing story. Can you tell us a little bit about Andrew?

Yeah, man. Andre has a super inspiring story, man. It's really a story of, you know, it's a genuine rags to riches story. Right. He talks a lot about coming from nothing and had every excuse in the world to not be successful. Right. And even when he pursued one path and didn't find success, didn't let that stop him from finally achieving financial freedom. And so I just, I'm excited for you guys to hear how this young man literally took everything that was formed against him and used it to prosper.

That is a great summary of what this is like. This is one of those shows where you're probably not going to be able to multitask. You're not going to be doing other things while this is playing in the background. You're going to be sucked into Andre's story, the adversity that he faced, the way that he handled it. He's very transparent in sharing how he used to think versus what he went through and how it changed the way he thought and now what he's doing with some of this momentum and synergy to build an empire for him. So it was an awesome time. And especially if you are a first time investor, someone trying to get your first property, or someone who just feels like you're sucked into the undertow of this current market and you're under the ocean doing circles trying to get your feet underneath you and you can't figure out which way is up. This is a show for you.

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And for today's quick tip, check out biggerpockets.com podcasts. It's being revamped. So now if you like a show, you can go there and you can find other shows of the same topic listed on that site, as well as more thorough show notes. So if you hear a and you think, man, I'd love to hear more inspirational stories, you can go there and you can have a list of other podcasts that were similar to that one. We are really ramping things up, so we'd love for you guys to check it out and tell us what you think. All right, that's all I got. Henry, anything you want to add before we bring in Andre?

Yeah, man, absolutely. I just really encourage people to. To engage with this show, man. It is one of the realest, most raw, kind of uncut conversations we had. And, you know, life isn't always pretty, David. And we are all faced with choices at some point, and we can let life circumstances knock us off our path and take us out, or we can take literally those life lemons and make lemonades and choose success no matter your circumstances. Andre's a real guy. He had some real situations and he turned it into real wealth. And so I encourage people to just take a listen and try to put yourself in his shoes. And if you're really just getting started, just like David said, man, what an inspirational story to hear. Because truly, if. If this guy can. Can go from nothing and then turn it into wealth in an expensive market, right, even in these expensive times in real estate, then trust me, y', all, you can do it, too.

Very well said, Henry. Look at you becoming quite the wordsmith yourself.

I appreciate that, Mr. David. I. I've learned from the best.

All right, let's get to it, andre.

All right, Mr. Andre Haynes, welcome to the show, man.

Hey, man, thank you guys for having me. I appreciate it.

Hey, man, no worries. Thank you for being here. So you kind of got your start in real estate through kind of some counseling that somebody kind of pointed you in the right direction. But kind of before we get there, why don't you tell everybody, like, a little bit about your background, like how you came up and like, how that story shaped who you are and where you are right now.

Again, my name is Andre Haynes. I am from the south side, Chicago, the Ida B. Wells projects. I come from a non financially literate background. You know, everything pretty much was like government assistant, you know, when I was a child, my family was hit hard by the drug epidemic in the late 80s and early 90s. So my mom and dad were affected by that. I ended up being adopted, blessed enough to be into my own family. My aunt raised me in church, and, you know, that kind of like, molded, like, my character and kind of, like built me, you know what I mean? Like, gave me my foundation of just like spirituality and everything that I have now. Yeah, man. Just coming from that to be where I am now is like, like night and day compared to, you know what I mean, some of the people that I grew up with or grew up around or just, you know, I mean, some of my family members. And I'm extremely blessed, man.

That's cool, man. Because, you know, a lot of people didn't grow up with a silver spoon in their mouth and had to. To fight just to get where they are. But what I like about your story is you didn't let any of that stop you from becoming financially free or even pursuing your goals, right? In your previous life, right, you had. You went into even looking at, like, a music career way to try to gain some traction. And so, like, how did what you learned when you started doing music guide you toward, like, starting to understand that you need to be doing something to build wealth?

I learned a lot of stuff in the music industry just about, like, ownership, you know what I mean? I looked up to a lot of guys like Damon Dash, Master P, Jay Z, you know, I mean, Sean P, Diddy Combs. And they were all, like, had their own labels and they all, like, had, like, clothing brands. They would start, like, liquor companies, like, all of these different things that stemmed outside of just them having a rap career. And I always wanted to, like, model, like, just my business after that. Like, I just didn't Want to be, like, just in a single lane. I always wanted to be multifaceted, and I always just felt like growing up because, like I said, there was no financial literacy. Sports and entertainment were my only options for me to really attain, like, wealth and just have success, because that's all I would see, and that's all I really, you know, I mean, was around and just being able to really, like, just maneuver the way that I have maneuvered and just really, like, get to a point where I have just starting in the music industry. That experience really taught me, like I say, how to just, like, operate, like, in an ownership space, knowing that it won't be easy, knowing that I'm not, like, operating with a big major label behind me.

You know what I mean?

I was selling, like, CDs out of my backpack and out of my trunk, like, all of those different things. Like, it just really taught me a grind and a hustle. I never lost that spirit and that energy when it came to real estate and business and entrepreneurship.

So if I hear you right, Andre, what I'm hearing you say is you had a mindset before. This is really, like, the mindset part of your story that was, I'm not financially literate. I see two roads to success, entertainment or sports. And if I can't make it happen, well, then there's no point of trying. I'm probably oversimplifying, but more or less, that's sort of the perspective. And then when you started your music career and you were not signed to a big label, if you're signed to a big label, you're kind of more of a W2 employee. You do what they tell you. Hey, you go do this and we will take care of the details, Right?

Yeah.

When you do it yourself, you are an entrepreneur, which means you're a business owner. Even if the business is selling CDs out of a trunk, you still have to make this stuff, market the stuff, manufacture the stuff, price the stuff, keep your own books to know what your profit margin is. And that is what opened your mind up to, whoa. There's actually a lot more possibilities and routes than just the two that I was seeing before.

Absolutely. And I wasn't necessarily successful in that field as far as, like, on a famous or like, multi platinum level or anything. Everything like that. But as far as, like you say, the mindset that it taught me and the hustle and the grind that it taught me, and it also, like, it kept me humble because I wasn't successful. You know what I mean? Like, you know Rappers tend to have like these big egos and like these images, like, but they're like this like, famous person and they're like, got all of this money and like, really, in all actuality, like you said, they're really an employee. They owe money to the label, they owe money to the car company, they owe money to the mortgage company, they owe money to the jeweler, they owe money to the clothing company. They just like, they're in a bunch of debt. And I was kind of like shaping up my life to be in the same way. I had to kind of like realize that it wasn't working for me after a while because I spent maybe like 10, 11 years chasing this dream. And sometimes you don't necessarily have to give up or quit, but you have to like, pivot, you know what I mean? And I didn't give up on my dream of being wealthy because that's what I was using music for. Because that's all I knew. Because again, you find out you're not going to make it in sports pretty young, like, you know what I mean?

Once you get to high school, once you get to high school, school kind of realized, like, it's a rap. Like, once you like, not starting on the varsity team and then like, no colleges coming to see you, like, you know, that kind of stuff, it kind of like, it gets to you early, like. Yeah, so this may not be my path now that I'm kind of seeing what's going on here. And yeah, I figured that out kind of early. So I just started to, like, learn how to hustle, man. Because I just didn't have a mindset of like, stock market, real estate, all of that kind of stuff. So I would do little stuff like, man, sell sneakers, go and get a job here and there. Just like little stuff like, to make money. And after a while, like, like I said, I. I had children, fell behind on my rent for so long, mean eviction notices, just, I mean, you name it. Just like all the problems that a person could possibly have and just like, it was time for me to just like, really get my together, man.

Well, that's why I wanted to ask you that question, because. So it's funny that you mentioned sports. That was really where my journey started off as well. I just wanted to be a basketball player. I didn't, wasn't at the time wanting to be wealthy or famous, but I just loved basketball and I hit a ceiling. That was my athletic ability, right? I was more athletic than most people, but I was not more athletic than div college athletes, much less professional athlete. Like you said, it becomes very obvious very quickly. It doesn't matter what you do. You're not getting past this point with these limitations. But in the world of real estate or maybe entrepreneurship in general, what I tell people is that your athletic ability is your mindset. And what's amazing is that there are no natural limitations on it. It's only what you put on yourself. Right. So I just kind of wanted to draw that of your story and make the connection for our listeners that, that you had to have your mind opened and that came through a what you would call a failed endeavor. But what you gained in that failure is what opened up the door. So we're going to talk about now, so I'm gonna throw it back to Henry and let you guys keep going into your story. Thank you for that.

It's kind of a perfect transition because you talked about getting your together. You talked about like evaluating your situation and then using that to guide your next steps. So I mean, you essentially have documented this process that you've used to go from where you were to financial freedom now. So kind of talk a little bit about what that is and like, you know how this kind of ties into that. Step one.

Yeah.

And like you said, step one is the self evaluation process, which is typically for most people and for me as well, it's the hardest part because that's when your pride and your ego, like, gets the biggest blow because you got to take that look in the mirror and say, you know, like, I ain't going to the NBA, like, I'm not going to be a multi platinum rapper, like, or even just like, like even the level of responsibility just to say, like, you know what, I'm just not where I'm supposed to be in my life or where I want to be in my life right now. A lot of people, just like I said, in certain lifestyles, they get caught up with Internet lifestyle and just what's going on with other entrepreneurs. What's going on, like I said, with rappers and ball players and they want to act like they're living this lifestyle the entire time. You're not taking care of your children, you're behind on your bills. Like I said, you're behind on your car note. Every dollar that you have is essentially on your body with the clothes that you're wearing, just like, you know what I mean?

It's bad, man.

You know what I mean?

I never thought about it like that. That's funny though.

Yeah. Like, and when you're able to have this conversation with yourself and be like, yo, I'm out here bad as hell right now. Like, I'm really, like, down bad. Like, I really need to just like sit down, reevaluate my situation and just kind of like replan. And a lot of it comes with just like unlearning a lot of stuff that we're taught, like, and you know what I mean? And just like school, church and stuff like that. Just like real traditional stuff that we're taught a lot of times. And if we can shake that mindse and just like open up our minds and like, think outside the box just a little bit. Because nothing is wrong with the stuff that we're taught in school and church. Just a lot of times it's like, very limiting, you know what I mean? Especially the older stuff. Like, because I was raised by, like I said, an older church woman, you know what I mean, who was just like, very traditional. Like, a lot of times she would choose like church over sports and like that. It was like, lady, I have the opportunity to go to college. Like, this could be like my full ride scholarship here. And she's like, nah, we're going to Bible study today. Like, are you serious? Like, I would have coaches coming by the house, knocking on the doors and everything. She's like, nope, we're going to church.

So, like, you know what I mean? So certain stuff, man, like I said, we just, like, really don't get and understand. But for me, that was the first step, like, in just like understanding myself and knowing that I had to make a change. And it was taking that look in the mirror and being like, yo, you're not the person who you say you are. You're not the person who you think you are. You're not the person who you're like, you front out here acting like you are, like, dude, like, get it together. And the first step in doing that is like, having that conversation with yourself. And that's a step that most people don't want to take because it's tough to say I'm just not that guy or I'm just not that woman right now, you know?

Absolutely, man. And just so people know, like, when I say you documented this process, you wrote a book, right? What did you call that book? Specifically because of this.

Renaissance's five step guide on getting your together.

Right? And so first step, self evaluation. Step two, what was next for you?

Understanding the power of your mind and your words. Because typically that first step is kind of brutal. You're kind of beating yourself down A little bit. You know what I mean? You're kind of like, identifying all your weak points. But after you do that, you have to tell yourself, you know what? But that doesn't have to be who I am for the rest of my life. Now it's time to make a change. I'm a confident person. I'm a talented person. I can go out here and do whatever I want. I'm able to build wealth. Wealth. I deserve to build wealth. I deserve to change my life. And the more that you start speaking like this and thinking like this and just like, you know what I mean? Having these just, like, positive affirmations and speaking them into the universe, the more you'll get that stuff in return, because the more you put it out there, the more you'll get it back. And that's just like the law of attraction at its best. And that's how it works. Because the moment that I took action over the way that I was thinking and the way that I was Speaking, probably in 24 to 48 hours, man, I noticed just an immediate change. And just like, the way that I felt, like, I just didn't feel like there was, like a black negative cloud hanging over me, walking around every day anymore. You know what I mean? And it's all me. Like, it's nothing anybody else is doing around you. Most times, it's you and the way that you're thinking, your surroundings, all of that. And if you're able to, like, change those things and identify those things, man, you can really, like, expedite your process to get to the next level.

I like that. And I think that a lot of people kind of gloss over mindset steps like this when they're trying to think about their business or their real estate career. And I like to try to put some practicality behind it for people so that they can understand that this stuff truly does work. I know it sounds like, you know, okay, just think about it and it'll be. But it's. It's not that. It's like, our minds are powerful and the things that we tell ourselves. That's why vision boards are powerful for people, right? Like, if you put something in front of your face every single day, you'll start to realize that the actions that you're taking are going to be moving you towards those goals in small ways. It's almost like our subconscious takes over and we start moving ourselves in that direction. Now, I'm not saying it's magic. You write it down and you make it happen. But what I am Saying is that when you surround yourself with your goals, either visually or taking the action to write them down, your actions follow suit. And sometimes that's intentional actions, and sometimes it's even subconscious actions. But so I challenge anybody. Like, if you have a goal of getting started with real estate investing and you're not quite sure exactly how you're going to get it done, take the first step of just writing down every day, I will be a successful real estate investor. I will be a successful real estate investor. Write it down five times every morning. If you do that consistently, what happens is, and we've talked about this on other episodes, David, it's like the red truck theory, right? You buy a red truck, and then now all you see is red trucks. Well, that's because your mind is open to those seeing those red trucks. If you tell yourself, I am going to be a successful real estate investor every single day and you're writing that down, you'll start to see opportunities that you weren't focused, your brain wasn't focused on before, you weren't open to before. And then you'll start to act on those. And that's how mindset really starts to practically take hold in your life.

I agree with that wholeheartedly, because I'm a prime example of just what you said. Like you say, just writing it down. Because even before I was a real estate investor, before I got my first property, before I really knew about real estate investing, I knew that I wanted to be a real estate investor. I just didn't have the right information to do it. And getting into the field, I was in the cubicle. When I first got my job, I had to step away from the music industry. And like, once I, like, started kind of like getting my stuff together, and we'll get into that, but I just wanted to, like, I piggyback off of what you just said. I wrote down into my cubicle that I would attain over a million dollars worth of real estate assets by January 25th of 2029, which was. Which was my birthday. But I eclipsed that number probably 10 years earlier just by writing it down and having it, like, in my face every sing. And just believing and knowing that.

Let's put some parameters around that for people. And so you left music because you said, this isn't going to get me where I want to be. And even the people that are where I want to be, when you really look at it on paper, they're not there. Right. And so you then said, I got to go back to work. And you Went and you got a job. What kind of job did you get?

Oh, man, dude, I was working at a telemarketing company and I was like calling people, putting them in like, schools like that just like, weren't accredited. Like, schools like, you hear about them in the news. Like, yeah, they just got shut down for education scams. Like, oh.

Maybe I shouldn't be working here.

You were doing telemarketing. How much were you making?

Minimum wage plus, like, bonus sales.

Bonuses.

You know, whenever you get sales, you get like an extra little bonus or whatever the case may be. But the thing is, dude, I was like killing them, bro. I was like signing people up for these schools. Like, I look back at it, dude, I probably have probably like a thousand people who are just like, you know, uncredited degrees.

So you got a job at a call center. You were making minimum wage, living in what city? In Chicago, in an expensive city. And you wrote down you were gonna.

Do what, attain a million dollars worth of real estate assets, Right?

Like, that's powerful. Like, people need to see that. Like, you had every reason to believe that you couldn't do that. And you went and you got a job. And as you're working at this job, you were trying to do the best you can at the job and you were doing well, and you decided you were going to buy a million dollars in real estate assets. When you're in. Most people who are in that situation that would be so far out of their mindset. But you spent the first time in those two steps in trying to figure out how you were going to get to your goals, right? You had to self evaluate, and then you had to look at the power of your words. And then that leads you to learning about real estate. And so tell us a little bit about how that came to pass. So how do you go from a call center to buying real estate assets.

That will lead into step three? Once I knew what I wanted to do and once I started reading about it, I knew I needed some damn money. Like, you know.

All right, so. All right, so real estate, I can't do this broke. Like, you know, so I started reading a little bit more. I started saving, man, like every dime that I had. Because at the time I was reading like, rich dad, poor dad, money, Master the Game by Tony Robbins. This is maybe like 2010, 2011, and I'm just like picking up everything, just like digesting information. Like, it's food, man. Like, I'm just like, I'm hungry for it. So I'm just taking in everything and Those two books were what, like, sparked the most interest in me and, like, really taught me the most and, like, really lit the fire under my ass. And reading that book by Tony Robinson just, like, really just, like, had me, like, turned up. So I started, like I said, sa every single dollar from work. Like, I started eating noodles for, like, a year straight. Just, like.

Which, for the record, is step three, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what I'm saying. It was going into step three, and that was me understanding my money. And step three is, are you frugal or are you fraud? Because again, a lot of times, as we spoke about, in my particular, like, culture and just, like, background, we tend to want to look like we have money more than we actually have money, and it's a problem. And I was one of those guys. So I had to, like, really, like, evaluate, okay, am I frug, am I saving money, or am I actually doing what I'm supposed to do, or am I here just, like, really being a fraud and looking like I am and acting like I'm financially responsible and just, like, tricking people? And I was. I was being a fraud. You know what I mean? And I had to, like, really evaluate that. So, like I said, I started saving money, making sacrifices, not buying Jordans every weekend. You know, all of that kind of stuff that was just, like, really, like, taking big chunks of money out of my pocket. And over time, man, maybe after about a year, year and a half, I had saved about. About 10, $12,000. And I just knew, like, okay, I'm on something with this, and I need to do something with all this money because I never had this much money in my life just sitting there for reference.

Like, what were you making yearly?

Oh, maybe after taxes, about $26,000 or something like that. Like, like, barely over the poverty line.

Right? And so I say that because I don't want people to. To not get the value of what you just said. You saved $10,000 while only making just under 30. That's, you know, that's almost half your salary. Yeah, right. Just through self realization and then putting yourself in, checking on a budget. Like, that's amazing.

It was hard. Oh, it was real hard, man. Like, just, like, sitting in the house for, I mean, really, like a year and a half straight. Really only doing, like. Yeah, like, really just, like, not doing nothing. I mean, like, the whole summer long. Like, you know, when Kanye was like, man, imagine being locked in your room for three summers. Like, that's a different world. Like, bro, like. Like, you outside the Window. You seen everybody having fun like you on Instagram. Everybody just said at the concert, the Drake concert came to Chicago, like, oh, it was lit, like.

But you know, you have goals and, you know, I mean, you understand, like short term sacrifice for long term, you know, I mean, greatness. And that's really what. What I was on. And it worked out for me because after I did all of that stuff, man, and after I, like, made those sacrifices, my life just like, like took off. Just when I say, like on a rocket ship, like, it just. And I never looked back. So it was just more so anything, man. Just understanding that those sacrifices weren't going to be forever, you know what I mean? It was just like somebody told me, like, man, sometimes you just got to turn down steak on an empty stomach, you know what I mean? At first it didn't make sense to me, but then it made sense to me when I was able to have surf and turf buffet for the rest of my life, you know what I mean? So it just was like the financial part of everything and just like me understanding my money and understanding what was smart to do with my money and what not to do with my money was just like a major step for me.

That's very similar to my story. I did not do fun stuff when everybody my age was doing fun stuff.

And I.

This comes up a lot. So I've got a young guy on my loan team. He's like 23 years old. He's my first hire. He's crushing right now. He probably has 60 loans in submission right now. 23 years old, old. And he will say the same thing. Like, sometimes I feel like I'm missing out, not hanging out with my friends. I relate to it because I was in the same boat. But I'll tell you, I don't have any regret about not going out to a fancy restaurant or not going to a concert. Now, where I am in life, knowing that that would have stole, like a house from me. Right. If I had to pick, like, would you rather go back in time and go on a vacation with. With friends that you don't even have anymore? Because nobody stays friends with these people for 20 years. Right?

Right.

Or have a house that's going to pay for the rest of your life. It's pretty easy decision. So I just want to encourage the other people that are in the situation, like you were Andre, that you're not doing this for nothing. It's worth it. And then the other part I really like is that you mentioned is now you eat a seafood Buffet every night. See, when you spend your money on a car or on Jordans or something, you get the shoes, they get worn out. You don't get to wear them anymore. You got to buy new shoes. When you get the house, it buys you a new pair of Jordans every month for the rest of your life.

Life.

And it doesn't matter, right? And you keep the house. Like, that's the difference. When you get the asset first, it buys the car, it buys the dinners, it buys the shoes. All the things you want are taken care of because you sacrifice early to get it. And it doesn't stay where you're just depriving yourself all the time. And the last point I'll make is, many things in life work this way. So if you think about, like, if you're out of shape and you first want to go, start running. Like, you can't run very far. You get maybe like a quarter mile, and you're done. So you don't really burn that many calories. You don't see a result.

Were you watching me work out this morning? Running?

You seem like you'd be probably in the gym. Henry, I don't really see you doing a whole lot of running. I see you pushing some weight, but that's the same thing. When you first go to lift weights, you're not very strong. You don't work out very long before you get tired, and you don't burn many calories. You're not building muscle. You are conditioning yourself to eventually run four miles where you're going to burn a lot of calories. And so what I'm saying is it does not suck the whole time like it does when you're starting. When you first start running, every single step is agony, and it's terrible. You do it for a long enough time, and, like, this isn't that bad. It might actually become fun because you've conditioned yourself. So I just want to throw that in there, that while this may sound not appealing, when someone's like, man, I don't want to be sitting in my room watching everyone else have fun, it changes, right? Like, now, Andre, I'm sure you're going to tell us about some of the ways you're finding deals, some of the empowered way that you feel where you're like, I'm walking around. I don't have to pretend like, I'm wealthy. I am wealthy. And the confidence that comes from that where now you kind of recognize all the things that at one point were temptations for you were because you wanted to Look a certain way, way. And now that you don't need to because you are that person, the temptation just goes away. And that's kind of nice.

And the crazy thing is just to like take it back a little bit. It was extra hard for me because like I said, I had just come from a lifestyle again. Like I was rapping like I was sitting next to Jay Z and Beyonce at basketball games, doing shows with Fat Joe. And mind you, like two of my closest friends play NBA basketball. So I was like playing video games with like LeBron James and weddings with Kobe Bryant, like just wild ass that you wouldn't even believe. And to go from that to having to sit down in a cubicle where like the mindsets of the people who I'm sitting around every day just aren't like mine, just like the very, very bottom of just like the work level. Like I said, I'm sitting in the cubicle calling people, putting them in schools that aren't accredited. So this was a very, very, very humbling and pride killing experience for me. And for a little while I kind of like went through a little bit of a depression with this. But again, like I realized that it was just a short term sacrifice for long term greatness. And as you said, man, I live my life on my own terms now. I buy all the Jordans that I want. I've learned about cool like art and dope like that to. Whereas I can like use the money that I make from my investments to make other cool investments. So it's not like I'm just spending the money now. So now like, let's say I want to go buy a pair of Jordans. I can buy two pair of Jordans, I can buy one to wear and I can buy one to put up and they go up in value like stock. Even if you're watching this YouTube video, these little art pieces behind me, they're really dope. They're by this artist named Brian Donnelly car. Cause I collect his pieces, man. I learned about him, I started collecting his pieces. I'm paying 2, 300 bucks for a piece just because I think it's cool. I start looking this stuff up, man. It's going up in value by like 30 and 40% every year. Like I bought these two things back here maybe like four years ago for 300 bucks each. Right now they're worth 1500 each. And he's still alive, walking around all good and healthy, man. And God forbid something happens to him. But you understand how this goes. Like when typically something happens to artists or anything like that and you own a piece of their like original work, man, that stuff usually skyrockets in value. So like I've learned like so much different cool stuff and have been able to put my money in other cool stuff that are investments and not just like me wasting my money. So just like it'll pay off, man. Like David said, like, don't think it's just like you just like eating just for no reason and you just got to do this for no reason. Nah man, like over time you'll be able to live a very, very happy life and just like, you know, kind of like do whatever you want to do out here, which is the main, like that's happiness. That's what happiness is. Time free, freedom, going to your kids baseball games when you want to, you know, I mean taking a family on vacation. Like Henry say he's leaving to go to Hawaii for two weeks. Like who's doing that? You know what I mean? You gotta like understand like. But he had to make some sacrifices to get to that point.

You're absolutely right, man. I'm glad that you were able to touch on that for people because as soon as you start talking about sacrifice, people tend to tune out. So I like that we're able to put some color around that.

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Sleep. So that's good man. So you, you saved this money right? Yep. You made these sacrifices. You built this nest egg. And then how did you go from that nest egg to knowing you needed to buy some real estate with it? Like what led you to the real estate?

That was step number four for me, which like I said was building a solid foundation and maintaining stability. Because after I started saving money I also started to understand and learn how to keep the money. Because once you start to get like these big lump sums of money like I said get again I'm speaking just like from my personal background, from my culture, what I come from, we tend to want to go buy big ass gold chains, big cars with rims that aren't worth anything, just spend our money on a lot of just ain't worth nothing and depreciates in value as soon as we get the receipt for it. You know what I mean? And I just wanted to maintain where I was at and have that solid foundation of just financial literacy. So like I said, I kept educating myself. On top of me having that cash. Cash. I started to build my credit, man. I started to learn about credit, I started learning about how to use credit, I started learning about how to leverage credit and all of these different things. After that, man, it was time for me to go into step number five, which was taking my leap of faith and buying that first property. And once I was ready, I reached out to a mentor of mine, a big sister of mine. Her name is Kyoki Allen. She's a broker in Vegas. I'm like, hey, I'm ready to buy a house. And she was like, that sounds good, but you should consider getting a multi unit and you should consider getting a multi unit with this program called naca. And I'm like, naca? And she's like, yeah, it's a program that I feel like would be best for you because of all of the benefits that they offer. And I'm like what are the benefits to this program? And she goes into telling me everything about this program and I'm just like, wow.

I just read the same thing in Rich Dad, Poor Dad. So just like it really clicked to me just about buying assets and buying cash flowing assets, assets over liability, you know, I mean all of these different things. And it's just like this, just like a real light bulb just went off in my head when she said this. And yeah, so I took the leap of faith man, and I went ahead and I started looking into the program. Naca. Naca Neighborhood Assistance Corporations of America.

Awesome. So what were some of the benefits to you and then how did you leverage that program to buy a property?

Property?

So the benefits are for first time home buyers and the NACA program first out, they offer the lowest interest rate in the country. Regardless of what your credit score is. They're mainly concerned about the debt that you have in collections and your debt to income ratio. In addition to that, they also offer to pay for your attorney, your agent and most of your fees. The only thing you're liable to pay for for is your but your inspection costs. They pay for your appraisals as well. Also they give you the option to buy the interest rate down lower than what it already is. In addition to that you don't have to necessarily have substantial savings. What they will allow you to do a lot of times is what's called payment shock. So they'll say if you can afford rent, you can afford mortgage. So as long as you can show them that you're paying your rent on time. For a certain amount of time, you can qualify for a property. And if you want to qualify for a property that's more than what your rent is, you would just, just have to save the difference between what your mortgage would be and your rent will be for six months. It's just like a really, really powerful program. When I heard all of these benefits, man, and also you don't have a down payment, it's no money down, which is like the biggest benefits of the program. And when I heard all of this stuff, I'm just like, are you serious? Like this can be real. She's like, I swear it's real. I'm like, no it's not. She's like, I swear it is. So I, I went to the meeting, man. Everything that she said, they confirmed, confirmed it. And then it was just like, wow. So I went ahead, signed up, met with my mortgage counselor from there, dude, like, it was just like a mind blowing experience because I walked into the office and you know, I wear a lot of like dope sneakers. I collect sneakers. So I had on a pair of Jordans that had just came out. They were really hard to get. And my mortgage counselor was like, oh man, I went through hell trying to get my son those shoes. How'd you get them? It just like really started off like a great conversation between me and him which like just built up into a really great relationship. And he just asked me, you know, what I was trying to do, what my goals were. And he was extremely helpful throughout my process. And he was like, you know what, we're going to get you set up. He's like, the fact that you're looking for a multi unit is amazing because that's what I suggest that most people do when they come through these kind of programs. Fha, naca, three and a half percent down, no money down, man. Use it to leverage to get ahead. Use it to get you a cash flowing asset. Don't go and buy something that's going to like, you know, I mean, have you in debt or have you, you know what I mean, paying bills. Get something that's going to monthly or at least like take care of your mortgage for you. And the market that I'm in here in Chicago we have a million multi units. It's probably like 60, 40 houses to multi units. So it's not that hard to find multi units here. And I went out into the market, man, and I got my first property, got a brick four unit in a beautiful Chicago suburb right outside of the city with amazing amenities. Walmart, churches, bus lines, trains, restaurants in the area and great parks, great school system in the area, swimming pools, all of this kind of stuff that you can find. And I knew about the area because I lived in the area for seven years before I purchased in the area. And I'm like, yo, I want to, I want to buy in Forest Park. And I was able to get the property for $360,000, which was well below what it was worth at the time. I believe it appraised out for 390. And that was as is. And that deal was really, really good. And I took advantage of every single benefit that they offer in that deal. Deal.

Awesome, man. So you went from working in a cubicle, saving $10,000, getting ready to make the leap of faith. You make the leap of faith, you learn about naca and then you go and you find yourself a multifamily and you buy it. And so tell us a little bit more about that deal. So you bought the property and then did you move into it? And you know, what were the rents? Like, how transitional was that for you?

So first off, it wasn't just that easy. It was a lot of searching. And I'm sure there are a lot of first time home buyers that are going to listen to this. I just want to kind of like mentally prepare you for like what you're going to be dealing with in the process. And this was, I'm speaking seven years ago. So now today's market is way more hectic. So this is kind of what you want to expect in today's market. Because a lot of people have these, like I say the Internet has everybody, like, for some reason they think you're just going to go out and just like find this just magical, amazing property is going to appear right in front of you and you're going to put it in the offer and it's going to get accepted and it's just going to go so smooth when it just does not work like that. All right, so you're going to go out, you know, I mean, with your age, you're going to start looking for stuff and you're first off, you're probably going to start looking for stuff that's like really out of your price range, that's out the gate because you just don't know, like, you know what you can afford. But a lot of times you, your eyes will trick you into saying that you can afford something that you really can't have. You know, I mean, Just because it's beautiful. Beautiful. So you're going to go out, you're going to look at all these nice properties and you're going to try to make these deals and people just aren't going to want to negotiate their prices, you know, I mean, their prices. Their price. Because they have 20 other people that are standing in line waiting to offer them more money than what you're offering, like, even if you're offering what they're asking for. So don't expect like your first offer, second offer, all of that kind of stuff to be accepted. So you have to be really, like diligent and just like persistent with this stuff. Like you got to go out here and like, really, like put in a ton of offers and like, kind of work with sellers. And nowadays, like, you want to, like, try to build relationships. Because in my property, that's what worked like building a relationship. My agent built a relationship with the other agent and we played that card. In addition to that, you want to like, run the numbers more than anything. Don't get caught up with how a place looks like. Yeah, a place can be beautiful, but you'll be upside down on your mortgage if you don't run the numbers the right way. Because you want to get a beautiful place. You know what I mean? So make sure the numbers make sense, man. If you're not cash flowing, doing, at least make sure that you'll get to live for free. Meaning that the rents coming from the place, they'll cover most of the mortgage and you get to live in the place for free, not paying anything at all. Like pretty much essentially keeping all of the money that you work for, that you make doing other stuff in addition to that, man, you want to make sure you're finding a property that is cash flowing a lot of times. Because a lot of times that's how you'll get qualified a lot easier and a lot faster by the bank.

So it needs to have tenants in it.

Yeah, absolutely. That are already like in under leases. And it shows that what they're paying and all of that kind of stuff, it shows the rent roll. And that'll be a great benefit to you because a lot of people don't know. Because what I hear a lot of times is, oh, man, multi units are 400, $500,000. I can't afford those. But it doesn't just go based on what you can pay. It goes based on how much the building is already generating as well. So they'll take 75% of what the building is generating and Add it to your income, which will make the property more than affordable most times.

Man, that's awesome. How many offers did you put in on properties before you landed the one you got?

Probably five. And on that deal, we were, we just kept getting outbid. We kept getting like, just like rejected. And on the last one even, we almost lost that one. Because what happened was, like, I said we put in five offers previously, and like, I was just like tired and frustrated. It had been like two months. I was looking and I told my agent, like, you know what, man, I want to get us a break. We're out here every day, we're not finding anything. Nobody likes us. Like, you know, I'm taking everything personally. Like, I'm like, they don't like us, man. So like, I'm on the MLS, realtor.com or Zillow or something like that. It was like maybe like 11, 12 o' clock at night, one night. And this property just pops up, man. This is my desired neighborhood. It's a four unit. It has an apartment vacant, ready for me to live in it. The other three units are cash flowing. I'm like, oh my God, is this like, Jesus, what did you just do? And so I called my agent. Like, I started calling his phone recklessly. Like, I probably called him 15 times, times. And the last time he finally picked up the phone, he's like, man, what the hell, man? You know, I don't do business this late. Like, you know, he was really upset, but I'm like, I hear you, but check your email though. Please. Just check your email. So he was like, man, give me a second. So he looked in this email, he was like, oh, you right. He's like, so I'm gonna write this up right now, you know, he wrote up the offer, sent it back to me, I signed everything over. He's like, I want to get this over to them tonight. So as soon as they come into their office, it's the first. Like, people were still sending faxes and stuff at this time. Like, you know, it's the first offer on their fax machine. You know what I mean? It worked. They came into the office, they saw it, and they were like, you know what? We accept the offer. But the only thing was the wife was the one that was home and she accepted the offer. And I got excited, right? So I had a seminar to go to later that day. It was a rich dad, poor dad seminar. So I'm like, oh, man, I'm lit. I just got my offer accepted. I'm going to this seminar, you know, they pump you up at the seminar. So I'm just like, ah, yeah, I'm about to be rich as hell. So as I'm doing all of this, I'm excited. My phone is just like ringing, ringing, ringing, ringing, ringing. And I'm not answering because I'm like, just gassed up at this seminar. So I go out and I check the voicemail and it's my agent. He's like, man, give me a call back as soon as you can. So I give him a call back. He was like, man, you know the offer that we put in earlier, it got knocked out. I'm like, knocked out?

What you mean?

I like, I thought we got accepted. He's like, man, the husband was. And as he was on his way home to sign the contract, another offer came in and it was all cash. I'm like, what? He was like, yeah, so that docs us out. Like, we don't have. Like, it's not our property. Like, we don't have it under contract. Like, I'm like, are you serious? So my heart drops into my stomach at this point. Like, mind you, because I just went from here all the way back down to here. Like, I'm on a thousand. So it's just like, oh my God, what's going on? At the end of the day, what happened was they came in with a cash offer. The husband didn't sign the contract. So like he said it was just. That offer was really null and void. But they didn't just say, we're not going to take your offer. They was like, hey, guys, this is what we'll do. We'll give you everybody to the morning. You are the last two offers that we're going to look at come with your highest and best offer first thing in the morning. So that's what we did. Luckily for me, the cash buyers, they came with the same offer. They're like, we're offering cash. Like, you know, we're going to stick to our guns. This is what it is. And I offered an extra 15 or 20,000. I believe it was on top of my agent. Like I say, playing a relationship in an emotional card. He reached out to the agent. He's like, my guy's been living in this neighborhood for the past seven, eight years. His kids love the parks, they love the school systems. You know, they really, really don't want to leave. And these guys are just investors. They're probably just going to come over here and knock the building down. And these people had an emotional attachment to Them, their property, you know what I mean? So they're like, oh, man, you're right. Let us just sell it to a nice family who's going to take care of the place, we're getting extra money. And that emotion that, you know what I mean, that relationship card, it played out in our favor. We got the offer accepted, man, everything was cool. I was able to get the property, like I say, with no money down. I was able to buy the interest rate down to 2 1/2% from 3 1/2% because I got a $10,000 seller's consultant recession. And I used that money for that. I was able to keep all of my money. In addition to that, I walked away from the closing table with the $5,000 check because I didn't need all of the money that they gave me to buy the interest rate down. So I essentially walked away with the building that was paying me cash flow, and I didn't spend anything on it. All I had to do was turn in the proper documents for a few months, let them, you know, I mean, check my info, go through my bank account accounts, this typical home buying process. And they were like, you know what? Hey, we trust you enough. Take this building and keep all your money and take $5,000 with it. On top of that, the day that I closed, I walked into the property. It was the end of the month. I got checks from all three of my tenants because it was, like I say, the end of the month. It was time to pay the rent. And you know, when you close that first month, you don't have a mortgage. So that was all my money. So I essentially went from worth nothing to owning this four unit property where I lived for free, $22,000 cash. And I got my check from work that same day. It was the most amazing feeling in the whole wide world.

So now everyone listening to this is saying, okay, you hear that, honey? I want one of those. They're calling their agent and they're saying, hey, find me that deal, right? And so what I want to ask you is, obviously you would do that over and over and over if you could. It's hard to do that. It's worth it, which is why we're talking about it. But it is not easy. Just like the workout analogy we gave earlier, earlier. And it's like this still for me, even as much real estate as I bought, there are emotional spikes. You get excited, you get crushed. You get excited, you get crushed. And that happens too many times. And most people tap out. They just say, I Don't want to do it anymore. Right. Like, I see this as the agent trying to protect the client from that. And then I get it myself when I start to get excited and. And then, oh, turns out something changes. Right. What advice do you have for the people that are not accustomed to this entrepreneurial bipolarism that the three of us have? Sort of just embrace trace from the things that we've been through where we expect these big highs and lows so that they stay in the game and they don't miss out on this awesome.

Deal when it finally happened, man, just like a simple one liner, man, it gets greater later. As long as you understand that, and as long as you can, like, stick it out and know that the reward later down the line is going to be just like, way bigger than what you imagined. Because I just never imagined that, you know, from that point of buying that first property, I'd be here where I am, where I. I'm walk, like, walking around doing public speaking. I have an apparel line, I have a book. We're hosting our own seminars. I'm investing in the stock market. I'm teaching people, mentoring people. Just all of these different cool things that set me free from the work system and allowed me to start helping people and just pouring into the world on a greater level and on a bigger scale, man, I just wouldn't have thought that. But the fact that I made those sacrifices and I understood that even in the down times that I would be okay just as long as I stick this out, it just. It always comes out, like, better than what you think it will.

Part of that story that I love is that, like, you made the sacrifices, you saved the money because your intent was to have to use that money to start building your real estate assets. And you didn't have to because you found this amazing vehicle. But had you not went through that sacrifice and made those mindset shifts, right. When you come into money like that, you might have spent it differently, Right. You might have blown that $10,000 on something else. And so I don't want people to hear like, oh, he saved that money. He didn't have to. No. Like, the discipline it took for him to save that money set him up to be able to continue to be successful once he was able to acquire that asset, right? Absolutely. It's just an amazing story.

And I did have to save the money. I didn't have to use it, I had to save it. They want to see that you're responsible, that you're able to save money. The same process that you have to go through through any other lender, whether it be conventional, fha, whoever, like, it's the same thing. They want to see that you're saving your money. They want bank statements, they want the check stubs every two weeks. They want all of those documents to show that you're doing what you're supposed to do and you're a responsible human being before they release a 300, 400 five thousand dollar property into your name with no collateral. Like, you know, because essentially that's what they're doing. They're just like, here, we're trusting you to take care of your business and do what you say you're going to do. And we get absolutely, absolutely nothing for this. So hey, you better do right.

And one thing before we move on to the next segment of the show I want you to share with people is now you found a way to even make more cash flow on the asset that's already paying you cash flow. And so. Oh, just give people, give them a little teaser on like how you're additionally monetizing that asset right now.

Yeah, man. In addition to, like I say, just getting rents and everything, man, they got a lot of cool stuff going on out here with these apps. Airbnb, VRB Studio. And I found this thing called Peer Space where I get to rent out my property, man, like to people who want to shoot movies, music videos, photos and things like that. And for the past six months, man, I, my house has just been like a movie studio, it seems like, man, because I got people coming in, doing everything and it's just insane. It pays a pretty penny. I'm really happy that I found it because it's like essentially been a new ATM for me, man. Anytime I need some extra cash, I just go to Peer Space and, and I can make 3, 4, $500, 3, 4 hours easily. And the cool thing about it is it's like you don't have to own the property to do it. And on top of that, you don't have people staying overnight at your home. They come in for a few hours and you make money just like you would in the Airbnb without people having to stay. I'm putting out a course on it soon to show people how to do it and how to really like maximize it. So like, you guys check that out. When it does come out, turn on your notifications on my Instagram, Facebook, Facebook and YouTube and you'll be able to get that, man.

Yeah, I mean, it's super. I mean, you put me onto it I didn't know it was a thing until you told me about it. And now we're looking at putting some of our Airbnbs also on Peerspace. Because it's essentially, you can just rent a furnished space to somebody who may just want to use it for a couple of hours to do, just like you said, shoot a video, maybe even just host a quick event or they have a meeting or something like that. And so if you've got a furnished space, space, it could be your space, it could be an Airbnb. I think it's just a really cool way to continue to monetize.

Yeah, families host Thanksgiving dinner parties at your space. Maybe they don't have a big enough kitchen, they'll come and run out the space. Like it's just used for a lot of different cool reasons. And it's a very, very short term rental that, like I said, you can maximize the profits on it without having to deal with people for as long as an amount of time.

You know. Can I just say something from a kind of an overall perspective of the thought just went through my head. As technology like Airbnb, Turo, pure space starts to become more prevalent where it is easy to go find something to use that you used to have to own if you wanted to use it, owning these assets becomes even more evaluable. So if it's kind of like if you're the rapper who can't afford the Lamborghini and you can go rent the Lamborghini, well, the guy who owns a Lamborghini has a more valuable asset because it's not just him driving it, it's the rapper who wants to rent it for the video. But then when Turo comes out and anybody can rent a Lamborghini whenever, right now, having a Lamborghini actually becomes a legit business because it's so easy for people to find you unique properties, really nice spaces. These type of assets will only become more valuable as it becomes easier to market them with these technologies like you're talking about right now, Andre. So I just kind of wanted to highlight. That's one of the reason you see the price of certain things that isn't going down, it keeps going up, is because technology is making it easier to make it cash flow.

Yep.

And even just to like add to that, like how I was just telling you guys, I use my cash flow to buy these art pieces, like, and they go up in value. So the art pieces are one of the big attractions that draws people to my peer space. So they're even making Me more money than going up in value. So, like, you know what I mean? It's just like, man, it's just one big circle of just, like, money coming in. You know what I mean? When you do this stuff the right way, man, it's just. It's insane. But again, it all starts with mindset and doing that first deal.

Yeah, I think that's great. You know, one of the points that you mentioned there, Andre, was what I call synergy. So once you start to get momentum, which is another concept I know everybody always wants to hear, well, how do I just buy the house? Like you said, just what website do I go to to just get a house and write an offer and have it be easy? And they don't want to go through the grind. But that's why these deals are available, because people don't want to put the grind in to get it. And then when you get. Tends to be where they all sort of play off each other. Like, what you're describing is I make money off of art, then I teach people how to buy art, then that brings them to my peer space, and then I make money off of renting out my property. Now I have more money coming in, so I have more for the down payment for the next property. Then I get better at buying properties, and then agents send it to me before other people, and then the contractor calls me back first and gives me a better price. Like, everything gets better as you build this momentum. And so many people at the beginning of the journey. Journey are sensing, well, it's. I must be nice. Wish I could be Andre, and I could have what he has going on. But you built momentum. You were slinging CDs out of the back of your car, right? You were looking at everyone around you that was having the success you wanted and being tortured by that buffet that you felt like, I can't get a seat in that buffet. I'm all around it. I can smell it, but I can't eat it, right? Like, you put in the grind, and now that's why it's catching up to you. Look like you want to comment on that.

You just hit the nail, like, directly on the head. Like I said, I was around guys who were in the NBA, winning NBA champions. Like, God, when is it gonna be my turn? Like, you have me here. You have me around this. Like, what are you trying to show me? Like, something has to come from this. Like, what the hell is going on? Because, like, you can't just be dangling this over my head and not, like, really like, letting me have it, like, you know what I mean? And then, like, I say when I had to, like, divert back and start the whole 9 to 5 process all over again, I'm like, oh, my God. Like, me and God were really into it at that point. It was just like, dude, I'm about to come up there and we gonna fight. Like, because you really playing with my life. Like you said, David, like, there comes a time when you start to, like, just be able to breathe a little bit more and you can kind of see the light and you get the ball rolling and then you can just, like, really, like, pick up pace and it's like, oh, man. Yes. And it comes like a point where you're just not in survival mode anymore, man. For a long time, I was in survival mode just really trying to figure out how I was going to eat, how I was going to pay my bills, scrapping, trying to figure out how I would get my children the things that they need. And that mind frame doesn't allow you to think in abundance. It has you thinking in, like, okay, I need to do this right now in order for me to eat today. Like, it doesn't allow you to think generational wealth for the future because you're hungry right now, Your kids need stuff right now. Like, you know what I mean? You don't have the luxury of thinking for the future. I think once, like, you get past that, like, survival mode and that mindset changes and you have the air to breathe and to be able to save a dollar, to save two dollars. Most people, they aren't even in a position to save 50 cent $2 out of their check. Like, unfortunately, that's just a lot of people's circumstances. But when you're able to start doing that, man, it shows you that, like, yo, this is possible. And the moment that you see this is possible, like, growth becomes addictive. It's like the most addictive feeling in the world. Like, doing better, feeling better. It's a high that you just never want to come down from. And, like, once you taste it and once you get, like, just a little bit of it, you want to keep going, hard going after it, man. And I understand, like, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant's drive, like, they just never got enough of the success. Like, no matter how many rings they got, no matter how many Olympic gold medals they got, like, there's just a high that comes with that. Like, just an amazing feeling when you, like, you know, I mean, you reach your goals and you, like, you start making progress, man. And It's. It's really almost an indescribable feeling. It's. It's just euphoric.

I love that you shared that, because I think the majority of people are trying to figure out, how do I get to that point? Because they're just, like, eating that frog every day, and they're not.

Yeah.

They're not tasting what it can be like on the other side. I have this analogy that I describe what it's like when you're trying to have success as a real estate agent, but applies to investing, too. Really. Probably anything in life. It feels in the beginning like you're pushing this huge boulder up a hill, and to just get one inch takes so much effort. Your calves are screaming, you're pouring sweat, everything's burning. You're asking yourself all the time, is it worth the shots? Let this rock go and let it roll down and give up everything I did. Because it's not getting easier. And the boulder blocks your view of where you're trying to get to. You don't know when you're getting to the top of the hill. It could be 10 years from now. It could be 10 minutes. You. There's no way to know.

Yeah.

And you just push and push and push, and you listen to this stuff and it keeps you encouragement to keep going. And you wonder, like, is God with me? Is the universe with me? Is like, is it angry at me? Because it's not easier. But what's happening as you're pushing is your muscles are being built that is going to prepare you for when you actually get the success. At a certain point, you crest into that hill, and now it's sort of a flat plateau. So it's not as hard to push the rock, but you still got to push. It's not just happening on its own. It just isn't miserable like it was. You start building some momentum, and at a certain point, you come to the other side of the hill, and the rock starts going down. And then wealth starts coming at you so fast. Opportunities start coming at you so fast. Like, the deals start flowing your way that you can't even keep up with them. Okay, so you're, like, running as fast as you can keep up with that rock that you used to be pushing. And that's where you get to decide what you really want your life to look like. And the problem is you don't get to start going downhill. Everyone's journey starts going uphill, and that's why nobody really follows it. But I really appreciate you sharing some of the details of what your story was like. Andre, for the listeners who are hearing this and they know what they want is to have be chasing a rock at some point in their life with an abundance of things they want, but right now they're just grinding. I think you needed to be in your room, looking outside at everybody else, playing for a couple years because that's when you were being prepared. That was your uphill battle, right? That's when you're being prepared to hear handle what you have right now instead of immediately getting your first deal, selling it, making $80,000 profit and buying a room full of joints. Right? And now you got to start back over. That rock went all the way down to the bottom. You got to start at the top. I really appreciate that. We're going to move on to the last segment of our show. It is the world famous Famous four. This is a segment of the show where we ask every guest the same four questions and we are going to alternatively throw them back at you. The first question is about a book. What is your favorite real estate book?

It would probably be, like I say, a combination. And I don't know if they're necessarily real estate books. They're just like mindset and financial literacy books, but they do cover real estate. Like I said, Rich Dad, Poor dad and Money Master the Game, they really, like, did it for me. They really put a lot into perspective for me. Money Master the Game taught me a lot. And I won't just say rich dad, poor dad, just the rich dad, poor dad education. Because, you know, there's a plethora of books that come with just that education. And I read them all. So like, I started with Rich Dad, Poor dad, which was the mindset asset shift. And I like started going into the cash flow quadrants, you know, guide to investing that teaches you about, like, all the different ways to invest in real estate. The tax, sales, you know, I mean, the REITs, you know, all of these kind of different things. And the same thing with Money Master the game. I just learned just like money in general with that book. That just book just really opened my mind up to investing. Just not just real estate, but just like investing in general. And it also just like expanded my mind, like I say, to all of the different ways that I can can invest in real estate and not just like buying like, you know what I mean, residential property, just like, you know, I mean, learning about commercial properties, learning about investing in real estate through the stock market, learning about investing through real estate through just like group economics, just like through funds. Like all of these different things that it would talk about and it just like really, really blew my mind. So those two would probably be two favorites.

Well, good, you're making my job easy because the second question was, what is your favorite business book? But sounds like Money Master the Game was. Was probably what that was for you. So we'll jump to question number three, which is what are your hobbies?

Man, I like creating content, bro. I love creating content just based around, you know, my business and my brand. So I have a series called the Landlord Life where I essentially bring people in on all of the. Just like the jobs and stuff that I do and the problems that I'm having as a landlord. Because again, I, I see the Internet tend to make being a landlord and just involved in real estate. Yeah, they make it just like so glorified and like, so like glitzy and glamorous. So with this series, I just really like, tell people the truth and let people in. Like, yo, I just had a thirty thousand dollar plumbing issue. My roof just caved in. Like, all of these different things. Like, yo, I'm tired of paying a plumber. So I'm gonna go to Home Depot today and I'm gonna buy me a rider and I'm gonna ride the toilet when the drains myself. Like, just. And I'm giving people a real inside look at this stuff and, you know, I mean, documenting it and videoing it. And at this point, I have about three seasons worth of content with that over like 40 episodes here. Henry's actually guest on my series the Landlord Life, so y' all check him out on season three. I believe it's episode two or three. He's on that one. And yeah, man, just like really trying to learn and grow and build my businesses networking with guys like you, you know, I mean, now starting to come to like, events like the Bigger Pockets Conference, things like that. I spend a lot of time where I'm doing a lot of investing in myself. That's how I like to hang out and just like the things I like to do as far as hobbies now.

Awesome. Okay, this is the money question, in my opinion. What do you think sets apart successful investors from those who give up, fail, or never get started?

I think that's it. They don't ever fail, give up, and they get started. You know what I mean? I think that's, that's the answer, like, and that's in the question. Like, people like myself, like, I never let my circumstances stop me. I never let things that I've gone through any of the hurdles just, you know what I mean? Any of the hard times, you know, really like hinder me from achieving whatever goals that I wanted to achieve. Yeah, they might have slowed me down. Yeah, I might have had to take a break and maybe I had to pivot, reevaluate some things. But the thing is like, we just don't give up. I think that's the, the main thing that separates any winner from anybody that's not successful. Like we don't give up, keep going and we push through until we get the results that we want.

Awesome. I love it, man. So tell us where people can find.

Out more about about you across all social media. I'm at Renaissance 125. R e n A I S S a n c e125. I'm sure that's going to be a hard spell for a lot of people. So I had to spell that out sometimes.

Dude, that is one of those words for me. Everybody has that word that they can't, no matter how many times they type it, they can't spell it right. That's the one. I gotta Google it every time.

So that's, that's me across all platforms. Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook. That's where. And on a lot of different podcasts you can find me on the Bigger Pockets podcast and a lot of different podcast. I've been doing a lot of speaking and I'm just doing a lot of events and stuff like that, man. Also my website is www.theressanceu.com. i also have courses, I have a navigating NACA course where I teach the process and the tools and all of the stuff that I use to make it through the NACA program successfully. How I evaluated my deals through naca, all of that kind of stuff. I also have an Introduction to Real Estate course that kind of teaches people like all of the different ways to go out and attain real estate. How to evaluate different nature neighborhoods, how to understand like when the market's going up or down. Like just understand when is a good deal or a bad deal. Like a lot of different things. It's over 30 video modules, over four hours worth of content. Again, I have my merch mindset matters where I'm just kind of like helping spread awareness about, you know, just mindset. It's not about your circumstances and more so about your mindset, man. And also have my book, man, Renaissance's Five Step Guide on Getting your Together, which is like I say, the blueprint to my life and how I really, like, got on this journey and, like, really got my life together. Together. Just looking to do a lot more speaking and a lot more helping and a lot more mentoring, man. And I appreciate you guys for having me on and allowing me to, you know what I mean, tell my story, get my word out there and just, like, tell people about my brand.

Thank you, Mr. Andre.

One of my favorite parts about your story is that if you wouldn't have had all that pain and frustration and carrot being dangled in front of you for so long, you literally wouldn't have a story to put in a book that people would want to read. You wouldn't have anything to say in a podcast like. Like this. So I'm looking back. It always makes sense, right when you're looking back at why God brought you through what he did, you're like, oh, I get it now. At the time, like you said, you.

Want to fight a lot of the.

Time, like, why are you doing this to me? Why? But it does make sense. So for everybody in that same situation, hang on, keep doing your best, keep pushing that boulder. It's going to get better. Thank you, Andre. Henry, where can people find out more about you?

You can find me on Instagram. I'm at the Henry Washington on Instagram.

It's the. Not the Henry. It's not like the Ohio State University.

Yeah, I mean, I just. I try to play it down a little bit, David. I don't want people, you know, just. I'm not.

You don't want to just completely overwhelm people with the splendor.

Very humble. All right, well, thank you. This is David Green for Henry. Never met a Boulder he couldn't push. Washington signing off.

Thank you all for listening to the Bigger Pockets Real Estate podcast. Make sure you get all our new episodes by subscribing on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Our new episodes come out Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I'm the host and executive producer of the show, Dave Meyer. The show is produced by Ian K. Copywriting is by Calico, content and editing is by Exodus Media. If you'd like to learn more about real estate investing or to sign up for our free newsletter, please visit www.biggerpockets.com. the content of this podcast is for informational purposes only. All host and participant opinions are their own. Investment in any asset, real estate included, involves risk, so use your best judgment and consult with qualified advisors before investing. You should only risk capital you can afford to lose. And remember, past performance is not indicative of future results. Biggerpockets LLC disclaims all liability for direct, indirect, consequential or other damages arising from a reliance on information presented in this podcast.