MTR Playbook Case Study | Bonnie

I'm gonna check over here and see if it works, and it is not letting me go live. Okay, go live. Okay, all right, let's see if this works in Facebook. This has been quite a process.

This is the first for me.

Okay. Oh my gosh, you guys, we're live! I'm so excited. If everyone can see us and hear us in Facebook, please let us know where you're calling in from, and we'll get started shortly. Sorry for the delay. This— there's a lot of back-end stuff with Facebook these days. I'm super excited to have a really guest. So let's give her a warm welcome. I'll do like an official introduction. I just want to make sure if anyone's here, just, just give us a shout out, make sure you can actually see us and hear us, because as you know, these technical things can be— it looks like we're live. I see. Yeah, okay. If anyone's here, just give us a shout out. So I know we're a little bit late, but so anyway, I'm super excited to have Bonnie on. She's one of my midterm final students. She's been an absolute pleasure to work with. She's just killing it, calling into the coaching calls, like taking all the actionable advice, doing the hard things. Hey, Reena, thanks for calling in. It's just really such a pleasure to work with someone like Bonnie, 'cause she's really taking action, she's asking all the questions, she's taking advantage of the program. So Bonnie, I'm just, I'm really excited that you're making such progress and making big moves.

Thank you, yeah, it's an honor, thank you.

So excited. So if you wanna give us, I think Monica will probably know you from some other places, but like a little bio and just a quick snapshot snapshot, and then we can like dive into the midterm stuff. But just a little intro, um, I'm Bonnie Huggins and I live in Virginia.

I used to live in Atlanta and moved back home where I went to high school. And, um, I've been a landlord, you know, I guess a realtor, real estate investor for, uh, I guess a long time, but have not really dived into these other strategies until just recently. And I signed up for Shauna's program in November over Thanksgiving break And it has just taken everything to a whole new level because I've been shifting long-term rentals to— and even short-term rentals to the midterm rentals and really finding a lot of success in that area. So thank you, Shawna. Really learning a lot.

Yeah, no. So I mean, I think it feels a little daunting at first, right? And I— but I think that experience is so helpful. So like, I'm curious to know what were your biggest maybe like reservations or fears and like, how did the program help and what was like the biggest eye-opener kind of?

You know, like, yeah, a couple properties I had set up a short-term rental, so I did have furnished, but I guess there was just the fear of the unknown as far as I had them managed. And this midterm rental, it's more going out and doing some your own marketing, like doing Zillow listings, signing up for Furnished Finder, you know, contacting, um, like ALE for these, um, insurance claim displaced families, things like that, that I was just a whole new world for me. And I just wasn't sure if it would— if I would have properties sitting without rentals, you know, rental income coming in. And that was probably the biggest fear. And then, you know, as you know, that one property that I switched from long-term to midterm, and I wasn't— it was a big 4-bedroom, 4-bath townhouse that I wasn't sure if I wanted to invest in furnishing. And you told me to test the market with virtual photographs, and we did that, and that was amazing too, that people would actually call based on these virtual photographs. And then I ended up furnishing it and getting professional photographs made, and, and also a video walkthrough, which— it's a beautiful property. Yeah, my biggest fear was making sure I would be able to manage it on my own and get renters in there. Tenants.

So yeah, I think we sometimes— yeah, there's those things that seem daunting, but like also I think testing the market and knowing you can advertise before it's actually ready, and then you know if it's worth it, you know, because that's an investment.

Yes, to do that.

Um, so yeah, so what— so okay, so you, you want to like walk us through maybe like the— a case study maybe of like the most recent one and kind of like was long-term and then you decided to go midterm.

And yeah, I guess the, the one that I was just mentioning with the virtual photographs is probably the one I'll talk about first. It was a long-term rental and I actually was having trouble with tenants. And the last tenants I had in that property really trashed the property. They were going through a divorce and when they moved out, I was faced with, you know, a lot of repairs. I had to put new carpet in the upstairs. Total repaint, and, you know, they even had dents in some of the stainless steel appliances, things like that. So I was a little leery about renting it out long term, and it was rented through a property management company. So I, I decided I was going to look into that one to be the first midterm rental. And again, I wasn't sure if I wanted to invest in all the furnishings because I knew that could get quite expensive, especially for a big property like that. And so, as you suggested, we did the virtually staged photographs, which, you know, to me looked a little hokey, but they're kind of cool because they do show you what you can do with the space. And we put those up. You told me just to go ahead and get a Zillow rental listing and get it out there, even though I wasn't quite ready to do that. And I put it up and I got a hot lead and ended up— she kind of cooled off a little bit, and I got another lead that was actually an insurance situation. And so I learned all about that, and then right at the very end, that one fell through. And then this first lead, we followed up with her again, and she actually was really interested, and she's the one who did rent the space, and she's in there right now for 4 months with an option to extend to 6 months. And it happened quickly. It was very fast.

That's how it goes.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And right before they moved in, you know, I did take professional photographs and get a video so I could have that to be able to market it right away when they give their notice.

Yeah. That marketing is so important. And I think for anyone listening, like you have those moments, like, is it worth it? And then you get a flurry of bookings and inquiries and it always books. You just have to have faith. Okay, so you got it booked. Do you want to talk about like kind of cash flow and pricing and that stuff? I think we're all, you know, we're in this for maximizing cash flow, right?

That property, those townhouses were renting for $1,975, and I was planning on going up to $2,100 if I rented it long term, which I never did. And we threw out the number. You helped me just come up with $3,195, start high, see what happens. And I got those two, you know, applicants right away. It didn't seem like anyone had any problems with the $3,195. And so that's what it ended up renting for. And so right there, you know, I'm up, you know, like $1,200, $1,200 a month. And that's what I could get over a long-term rental. You know, when you look back at what my operational expenses are, it's actually more than that. So that was a really good situation. And what I did too for this one in the lease is they are there for 4 months, but if they want to extend, I'm going to do a 15% increase for a premium. So that would go up to like, you know, $3,600 if they stay for, um, you know, month to month after that. So that's a pretty good situation right there.

That's pretty good. It makes you, uh, yeah, I mean, it's, I mean, it's definitely more work, but the return, like a couple of those, right? That's, you can live on that cash flow. That's actually right.

And we'll see what actually comes in after I, you know, pay my utilities. And we talked about that too, that this is my first little experiment in that property. We'll see what everything comes in at, and maybe the next go-round I'll have a cap on utilities or feel comfortable with it or raise the rent to cover that.

So yeah, yeah, I think, I mean, overall it's really— I mean, you have to have how many doors to get that cash flow right in a traditional long-term?

That's like, yeah, um, yeah, compared to short-term rentals, like you said, where we're cleaning and going in and doing maintenance and everything about every weekend or every week. This is a 4-month rest before we have to go in and clean. And we're also collecting that cleaning fee, which is a lot higher than the cleaning fee for a short-term rental, to cover those expenses too and get the place really ready for the next guest to come in.

Yeah, 100%. I was going to ask you, like, you've been on the STR side— for anyone doesn't know, that's like short-term, like Airbnb. And I know you had a management company, so how was that experience? And how is, like, you just you know, kind of comparing the two? If you were to tell someone, like, what should you do?

Well, first of all, they're taking 10% off the top. And secondly, I just feel more in control of, of the situation. Plus, it's more like a long-term rental where we actually have a lease. You know, in the short-term rentals, we don't have a lease at all, and there is no deposit. With the midterm rentals, we have a deposit, and also they, they pay a big hefty cleaning fee because we're going to go in and clean carpets. And if they have— we're allowing pets, so we're going to be cleaning a little bit more than we would in a short-term rental. I don't allow pets in my short-term rentals, so I just feel like we have more protection with the midterm rental than we do with the short-term rental. And I'm also— I had a situation with the short-term rental where I had an Airbnb guest book from January through October in one of my properties, and they were there a month. And I don't know if they lost their job or something happened, but they ended up having to cancel when I'd had my schedule— my, all my, you know, calendar had been booked out almost for the entire year. And then this guest cancels, and, um, Airbnb didn't protect me Hardly at all. I got maybe a, maybe an extra month's rent, but my calendar had been blocked and so no one knew it was available. And it just, you know, that's another property that I did take off. I did take off the short-term 30-night minimum. And I already have a, I already have a tenant for that one in the works right now. Pretty sure it's going to go through and they're going to move in on the 15th. And I only had that property listed on Zillow Rentals for 4 days. Wow.

Yeah, that's amazing.

I know.

Yeah, that's really— that's super cool. You know, though, I think the— are the fact that you're protected and you have that ownership of the property, and I just— to me, it's like the perfect middle ground. Yeah. Um, okay, so those are the benefits. Um, I mean, I know we've been kind of going back and forth offline, like you've talked about, you're kind of all in on the midterm. Like, what, what is like your favorite part about it? What was like the turning point where like, oh my gosh, this makes sense?

Like, well, I just think there are more opportunities to get higher caliber tenants, guests, whatever you want to call them. Um, and like I said, we have more control over who is moving in, and we set higher expectations. And, um, you know, we're communicating with them in the beginning. And also, just like the insurance, the insurance situations, we can really increase our cash flow if we get an insurance situation and guaranteed income. So I just think— I also love, I love the decorating part of it. You know, you do too. It's just really creative. Where that's what I loved about the short-term rentals was going in after we've already renovated a property, but going in and actually furnishing it. And the midterm rental allows you to do that. But like I said, it's less maintenance, less work, less turnaround, and more protection. Yeah. And more of an opportunity to make more cash flow per month.

Yeah, definitely. I mean, all those things. The other thing I think too is we're not at the mercy or the whims of short-term regulations because those then change on a dime, right? I mean, exactly. Never know.

And we don't have reviews, which, right? You know we all go crazy about reviews.

Right, like, yeah, that, God, everything is perfect and guests are just more, in my experience, higher maintenance, right? They expect this premium experience, not that we don't provide that, but if something is amiss that's really out of your control, that they can leave you a review that's 3 stars and your whole rating tanks, you know?

Yeah, I also feel like we're being really good to the people that are, we're providing beautiful places for them to live, And we're also working with them, like, you know, this, this one woman that I'm working with on my third midterm rental, you know, she's an elderly woman with two cats and she doesn't want a lot of steps to get up into the property. And I have about four steps to get up to the front porch. And I offered to have a ramp constructed for her that would make it easier for her. Or just like you said, you know, if someone wants something in the property that we haven't provided, like in the kitchen or something, we're willing to accommodate that. If we're getting this type of rent per month. So it's more of a win-win situation or more personalized situation.

Yeah, 100%. And I think we're in the hospitality business, right? That's kind of what we're in. And we are providing a really— I mean, cash flow is great, but the service we're providing, the experience for someone, if people don't know when someone has a catastrophe in their home, a fire or first pipes, they're put up in a hotel. And living in a hotel with family or pets is just— it's not comfortable. It's just not a good experience. And so when we provide comfortable housing and we're paid a premium, it's really a win-win, like you said. 100%. Yeah. Um, yeah, so, okay, so we've kind of covered cash flow. It seems like you're all in. I mean, I know sometimes for a lot of people this idea of self-managing being, you know, I don't like the term landlord, but it's a little bit scary, right? And you've kind of taken over your properties, and it seems like you're kind of on that path. So what kind of made you decide that versus, you know, having someone do it for you?

Um, well, I'm slowly getting off the, the property management mode, and I think Evolve was really good for me for short-term rentals to begin with. It was like a stepping stone because I really didn't know what I was getting into as far as the short-term rental world. And bookings and how that worked. But now that I understand it, I'm getting ready to ship those short-term rentals off and go into like the Guesty platform, the channel, um, the channel coordinator manager. Yeah, and that's my next step is to work on those. But I'm actually considering turning one of my other short-term rentals into a midterm rental because I've had such success with these other ones I'm kind of hooked. And what I'm trying to do is the properties that I already own, I'm trying to maximize the rental income that I can get off of what I already own, as well as look for other properties and other opportunities. But yeah, just maximize.

Yeah, 100%. I think I came— I had long-term, short-terms, and once I found midterm, I was like, I know that every 2 nights the turnover, even though there's so much software. It's really, it's a game changer. Okay. Is there anything else that we didn't cover that you would tell someone that's considering joining the program or course or coaching? Like, I know from— I'm curious your thoughts on that, like the benefits and how it kind of got you to the next level.

I would just say that if you're thinking about joining, sign up for the program, do it, because Shona has been so great about working with me and working with anyone who hops on the calls or If you have a question about anything, she is right there with us and, you know, supporting us and giving us advice along the way. And she's just great. And the program material is really wonderful. I went through it the first time, and then once I started doing things, I went back and went over it again. I think it's something that you can just repeat going through and you'll just continue to pick up little tidbits and factoids and information that you didn't catch the first time. So I've started printing out some things just to keep it so I can read it in a binder and then putting my notes with it. And I've just learned, I've just learned so much. It's been great and it's definitely worth it. You will definitely make back what you spend on the program by just by maximizing where you can get your, for your rental properties. So definitely a win-win.

Well, thank you. I appreciate that. And I just, it's so great to have someone that you're just, you've called in, you've done the work. Like I think any program, any coach, We have all the information, but you have to kind of jump in there and take the actions. And you've done that so well, and you're just like, you know, you're just on a roll. It's really fun.

And I encourage everybody that is in the program to hop on those calls because they're wonderful, and you get to talk to other people that are experiencing things and have their own questions, and you just learn so much more when you're talking as a group.

So yeah, I things sometimes we get in our own heads and just that support or even those little decisions. It just, it's really helpful to have someone else be like, no, do that. I can tell you exactly what you need if you're going to agonize over a smart lock or all the little details that you need to think about, right? Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah, I mean, if anyone has— so is there anything else you'd want to add as far as like your journey in this? I know you've really taken on, you tackled it, you just made huge strides, like, you know, anything that maybe for someone starting out in general, like, hey, like, this is worth kind of the learning curve of it, you know.

Yeah, I would just say start with one property and just definitely get professional photographs. I would encourage everyone to get a video walkthrough because I think that's the way that more people are going. If they're out of town or say they're parents of, you know, graduate students, and they can't come see the property, they can see a video tour and you really get a good feel for the property and, and go ahead and set that up and then start opening up your— I would start off with Zillow Rentals because that— I haven't even gotten beyond that. I've started doing Furnished Finder, but I've had so much success with Zillow Rentals. Then do the Furnished Finder and start spreading out as you, as you need to based on what kind of interest you're getting. And then, you know, if you have any questions, get in touch with Shona. You know, as soon as you get a lead, that's when most people kind of get, oh no, what do I do now? And getting the lease, you know, screening and getting the lease together and all that's really overwhelming at first. But I think once you go through it a couple of times and get comfortable with it and have your lease set up and DocuSign and all that, you're better prepared when you do get someone that's interested to just go ahead and automatically take care of that and get the process started. And like, as you— Shona knows, I ended up having more than one person apply for a property, and that was kind of like, what do I do now? I have two people that are trying to get this, and how do I handle that? And, you know, if one situation, you know, gets their paperwork and everything finished, uh, before the other person does, then we just have to make a decision and go with it. But That was exciting. And, um, yeah, so that's what I would advise, is just start with one property and get that under your belt. And then if you want to spread out and continue growing your portfolio, do it. Yeah, don't be afraid.

Thank you, that's awesome. Yeah, I think that this is— it's just, it's a great way. I think we're all in this for, you know, eventually financial freedom and cash flow, and that's really hard to do, especially if you're in an expensive market. But there's just so many reasons why MTR makes sense. But yeah, Bonnie, thank you for that, super helpful. Yeah, and I think sometimes, like again, when you, there's certain situations as having a coach, you can, I can help guide you through things, 'cause you get in your head and then you could miss a booking or not do something and then you're missing out. So like I know for myself when I have a coach, like he'll tell me something and it's so obvious. I'm like, why didn't I think of that, you know? It's just like another person.

Is the paralysis thing, you know, you're— it took me a while to kind of take action, and you told me just get it up there because I wanted it to be perfect before I put it out there. And you told me to put it out there, and I did, and it wasn't perfect, and I got, I got leads. So don't be scared, don't be paralyzed, just do it and get it up there and see what happens.

Yeah, it's the messy action. That's what it's about. Yeah. And that way came for me, like, trial and error, because I think if you wait for the last bar of soap to be just so, like, you could lose, like, months of income, you know. And no one's gonna come in the next day, and I think people forget that. So yeah, that's, um, yeah. Well, I'm glad you listened to me. Um, that's so cool. Well, yeah, if anyone has any questions for Bonnie, she's been really generous with her time tonight. Let us know where you're calling in from. If you got any value from this, you know, it helps the algorithms if you chime in. Or if you're listening to this afterwards, you want to learn more about the program. Um, but yeah, I just, I really enjoy working with people and I'm really passionate about this strategy. And I think that anyone can do it, like we all can learn it. And it can be a little overwhelming, but if you're doing on your own or with a coach anyway, it's just, it's, and this strategy is definitely, it's like where short-term rentals were a few years ago, right? It's really on the map. And all the reasons we talked about.

So yeah, definitely feel that midterm is the next short term. I think that's what's coming down. Yeah, don't you agree?

Yeah, you know, when I— I think I mentioned this, but I'll just repeat it. When I was at, um, the MTR conference, which was just like— I was like, heaven. It was like everyone nerding out on midterm rentals. Um, the CEO of Furnished Finder, you know, he was like— he came from the STR kind of, um, background. He's like, MTRs are where STRs were 13 years ago. Like, we're on the frontier of this. So it was really, like, exciting to hear that. Like, that they have all of the data, right? They're seeing all the trends. And I think in general, we always think of, like, it's medical professionals. But no, like, in your case, right, you've got families, people in transition. It's not just that one avatar that we always think of, um, right?

So yeah, there's a lot of different avatars. I think the furnished part of it is the really important part too, as well as the flexible leasing terms. I think people are looking for that. Right.

And there's ways, you know, we talk about in the course to really dial that in and optimize it so that you're kind of— people under— because a lot— here's the thing, what happens is, I mean, if most people don't know this, an insurance company will call a traditional landlord and they'll say they want a 3-month lease and they basically tell like you're crazy, right? Why would I take a 3-month lease? You know, so the fact that we can accommodate that, we understand the model, we understand they're probably going to extend, you know, this is hard to find, right? A lot of people don't understand the value and the service and the compensation. So it's really, you can figure it out. Um, yeah. Um, hey Wendy, hey Nancy. Um, yeah, Nancy, we do We list— I have in the course, we list with all of the big, um, like ALE. If it doesn't— doesn't just, um, additional living expenses, that's like a brand name. There's a lot of companies out there that I have in the course. There's like a laundry list, but I— there's also some like really top sites like Zillow and Airbnb and Furnished Finder are probably the top 3. But I do include the full list in the course and how to optimize them because I— what I've found is they often they don't look in their own databases. Like, they will, but they're often just going out and Googling something. So that's been my experience. But yeah, I 100% recommend listing it. But Bonnie, I don't think you even got that part, right?

No, I— well, I did list it with ALA, but I haven't received any leads from that.

Yeah, I mean, I've asked them and I think they're like, well, the database doesn't quite always work. So I think it's— yeah, I mean, it might, you know, but you always want to do everything. And then, you know, I always just You know, it's be in the places they're looking, essentially, right? And I have a whole list, but yeah, yeah, great question though, for sure. Yeah, anyone else have questions or comments or anything? Um, but just want to say hi in the chat, it's always good to know you're there listening. Um, yeah, but Bonnie, I just— I— it's so— you've take— like, you've seen the light, I feel like, and the power of it, and you're helping people, and you have that great eye, which design is so important in this. Like, you cannot just throw some old furniture in a rental and call it a mint. Exactly right. Yeah. Yeah.

I remember your mistakes that you said, like, mistake number 1 was, you know, bad photos. Mistake number 2 was, you know, trying to shop locally versus buying all new furniture, you know, that kind of thing. And mistake number 3 was not protecting yourself and not setting up the right systems, like Having screening, having a lease and all these other things. Oh, all those are very important. The part I kind of got hung up on was the screening and how to do that and the lease and all that and trying to attract the right guest, which is what I do.

I mean, and that screening thing is like, I don't include leases because to me they're so state-specific. Specific that I don't want to have a generic. I want you to be like really specifically local because every state has very unique landlord-tenant laws and we are really in that territory. So I think it's important that we're understanding that to a certain degree. So yeah, but those are— yeah, I think those sound really simple, right? Like take pictures, like, well, you know, it's obvious that we forget and we just think we have these like smart cameras and, you know, they're fine. But when you see that versus a professional photo Right down, right. But I would love to talk to you. I mean, you definitely have an eye, and I think some people have an eye for staging or furnishing, some people don't. You clearly enjoy it, you're really good at it. Do you have any tips for someone maybe like, I mean, I know you, do you have like a theme that you're picking? I kind of go by gut, but if you're, if someone's like, I don't know where to start, right? And you just have a bunch.

I try and look at it like even these people that are staying in midterm rentals, you know, they like to stay somewhere that feels like it's a vacation or like a luxury place. And so I do try and make it kind of bougie, even the guys, you know. I try and make it look a little elevated. But, and, you know, Target has great things. I'm not talking about spending a bunch of money, but Target has wonderful things. Um, Amazon has wonderful things. What is it, HomeGoods? You can find some really fashionable like I said, bougie upscale things for a low price and just try and make it a little different. Don't, don't make it just like your typical, you know, den would look. Just try and elevate it some by putting some fluffy pillows or throws and things and some funky cool lamps. Yeah. So that's what I would recommend and try and not go with anything too trendy, but something that will last a while because you are investing in furniture and furnishings. And, and buy like maybe middle of the road quality because you're going to be replacing some things too. Yeah. And yeah, that's all— that's just what I do. I try and I try and I kind of stick— me personally, I kind of stick with a black, white, gray, a couple colors kind of theme, maybe wood thrown in there too, because everybody likes those colors. Maybe a little gold. That kind of thing.

So definitely, no, I, I think you're on, you're so dialed in because I think, I mean, as we all want to stay in nice places and people, more and more people are coming over from short-term rentals, so the bar is getting higher, as it should, right? And I think you want to have, there's a balance of personality. I mean, I, the bougie look you can create without spending the money, right? Like the Target artwork. And I love that you, you You know, I think, think it's really important to be in, you're very intentional about it, right? Not just, and I think people, that commands a higher rent, it's a better experience, right? But we don't have to break the bank to do that. And so I'm really glad you made that point because, um, and when you do that, your photographs turn out so fabulous too.

If you do that combined with a professional photographer and videographer, it really is like a wow statement. And so when people are scrolling and they see that property that has that upscale look from the professional photographer photography, and, um, you know, it's just things they picked up at Target, which they probably don't even know, but it just looks a lot different from the majority of photos that are out there. I think that that makes your property stand out. And then if you have a video, that makes it even better.

100%. Yeah. And, and you look at the competition, right, like on Furnished Finder, and you're just like, you know, there's no competition with some of those listings, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I agree.

Yeah. Um, yeah, like you just— I mean, you could look— it's the same thing with real estate listings, right, to compare it to that. Like, for anyone listening, like, you see like a really beautiful, well-lit shot and you just— it's like, oh my God, I want to see that property. But you see some where someone didn't bother staging it or didn't organize it. It's just like you just keep scrolling, right? So it's so important.

It's just like street appeal, you know, and it's more like your interior appeal because I think the interior is more important than the exterior in a way.

Mm-hmm.

If you have a really fabulous backyard, you can feature that too. But I think most people are looking at the interior spaces that they're gonna be living in. And, um, you know, you don't need to spend a lot on landscaping and all that. Make it look nice and neat, but spending money on the inside.

I mean, that's where you're living, right? People are there to work and live. They're not there for vacation, right? So it's just— yeah. Um, a couple questions. Um, yeah, Nancy's asking where your property is located, uh, like what city?

I live in Virginia and I'm in the Shenandoah Valley, and so, um, it's Harrisonburg area and surrounding areas is where I am. Right next to the Shenandoah National Park. And, um, you know, there's a lot to do here in the Shenandoah Valley. But we're— they're near hospitals, they're near universities, some of them are near like downtown centers and are walkable. Um, so that, you know, I try and make sure that there's something that's close by when I purchase a property to begin with. A little more rentable.

Yeah, I think any kind of attraction, right, or what's bringing people to the city, that's really— I mean, I think to me, like, as my coach would say, like, a romantic location. What is it about that property that— yeah, nurses don't necessarily only need right across from a hospital. They want to be a place that's maybe, like, walkable or has some attractions, right, or it's beautiful surroundings. I think that's really important.

Or a very quiet, peaceful place, you know, that they can go to after they've been working, you know, 4 straight shifts and they just want to go rest and relax and have a quiet backyard to sit out on, you know.

Yeah, totally. Um, what was that?

Like we all would like to do afterwards, right?

I know, if we ever got a break. Just a non-stop lately. But, um, I know you have— I always think I'm busy and I talk to you and I'm like, okay, I think Bonnie's busier than I am.

We are both superwomen. We got this. We got assets, we got this, right?

Exactly.

So really, anybody can do this. They just need to start small and then jump in.

And the feeling is the best feeling, like when you finish it, you furnish it, you get your guests in there, and they're just so grateful. And it's just, it's just, I don't know, I love that feeling. And you, you know, you conquered your fears about whatever it was that you weren't sure about.

So it's really, I get to live vicariously through students, and when they And I think the more we do, the more comfortable we're going to get, and it's just going to get better. It's just the beginning that's a little scary.

Exactly. It's like kind of like any new thing, right? Like investing was totally new. Yeah, 100%. Um, so, um, a warehouse for storage. Oh, let's take that one really quickly. We actually are keeping a garage at our latest duplex, which is really exciting. So I can put our overflow there. I don't think you need that. I'm usually furnishing one property at a time, but things do move around. Like, I'll stage a property and reuse it. So if you can, I don't, you know, have extra. I don't know, Bonnie, if you have extra storage.

I do have a small storage unit, and, and so the things that I don't use at one property, I have them there, and then I try and use them for the next property if I can. But I'm trying to eliminate storage units because they just— things get put in storage units and forgotten. So I'm trying to eliminate those. So once I use up what I have, the extras, I'm just I'm just gonna try and hold back and not buy as much and use what I have. Yeah, and I'm like you, I've even used things of my own that I've put in. I know you rob from the house to stage your properties. Um, I haven't quite done that yet, but I have used my own furniture that I had in storage units and properties just to try and get it out of storage units.

Yeah, well, yeah, our last turn I basically have no forks in the house.

Oh yeah, yeah.

Well, I mean, I will replace them, but we had guests wanting to move in. I'm like, I didn't have time to go to Target and I was at an investor conference. So yeah, I mean, I'm not used to— you can order on Amazon. It's not normally like that. But yeah, Nancy's asking about video. I— most photographers offer video these days in my experience. I don't know, Bonnie, what your experience was with that, like a professional video.

Yeah, I just reached out to my photographer and she gave me a couple suggestions. And then also the property manager management companies. If any of you all are working with, you know, with long-term rentals and you have a property management company, usually they do video tours also. So I just connected with that person and she's actually the one that helped out. So, you know, they usually do a lot of work on the side on their own, and there's a lot of them out there.

Yeah, for sure.

They can give you names.

So yeah, yeah, usually the realtor— and they're— and the other thing I think that people don't realize, it's not that expensive for professional photos. I think in our heads we think it's like a real big investment. It's really not in my experience.

And honestly, I definitely would hire a professional photographer, but, you know, some people may be interested in just buying the, you know, the camera that you walk around with and video your own properties. You know, some people may want to invest in that. I'm not sure how much those cost, but they don't look like they're that difficult to do. and then you have a program that you add music to and speed, and you can make your own.

Yeah, I mean, I think even something like Canva, I think if you have that skill, do it. If you don't, just hire it out, because if that's going to stop you from doing it, then sometimes you have to weigh the like DIY with the just let's just get it done. But yeah, I mean, we have a lot of technology. Um, yeah, well, thanks, Wendy. I— we're trying to be superwoman with that. Yeah, we are. Well, this has been really fun, Bonnie. Is there anything else you want to add? Or just like, I'm just— it's really— it's been great to work with you and your properties are beautiful and you clearly are just, you know, doing all the right stuff. So I just want to like—

thank you. I guess maybe the only other thing would be, you know, the— what you would use to manage your properties. Like, you know, you and I have talked. I chose Buildium. And that's what I am learning how to use because I plan to eventually start my own property management company. And I want to have a program that can take me in that direction if I choose to go that way, you know, start off with my own properties and then possibly branch out. But I want something that can handle a big portfolio. And the Buildium I have loved so far, I really have. It's really not that difficult.

Yeah, and their support's really good. When I first joined them, I was on— I would call them a lot, but it's very robust. I think someone asked about accounting. It actually has really robust actual real accounting software baked into it. Great communication. Um, yeah, no, I'm actually just venturing into the co-hosting field, which is really interesting. So I'm actually taking on a new role, and yeah, it's fun. I already have clients. I'm not busy enough, you know. Great. Yeah. Um, yeah, no, and there's a lot— we cover that in the course too. There's different levels, right? Like, Bonnie, you're really ambitious and you want to scale, so that's like the right thing. But for someone that's maybe like a couple doors, I might be a little bit, you know, too enterprise, right? But we can talk about that if you're a student or have questions, right? Because But I definitely think don't just collect it on Zillow or something. Have software. You look more professional. You can do— it's just, you know, get software. Don't just get a check in the mail.

Definitely. And even if you just have one or two properties, it's really important to keep up with your accounting. It really is important. Otherwise it's going to snowball.

Yes. Yeah, definitely.

Yeah.

And there's a lot of little things, especially when you're setting it up, like you're just constantly going to Target and ideally you're ordering it right. The list, but sometimes things pop up. And yeah, I have a lot of receipts flying around. Yeah. Um, well, thanks, Phony. This— let me see if there's any other questions. Anyone has questions? Yeah, I know this has been really fun, and it's just— yeah, it's— I think for anyone listening, I hope this is encouraging that it's really worth it, and the cash flow is amazing. All the reasons we talked about, right? And it's also fun. It's not just cash flow. It's actually Speaks to, I think, the creative part of us and helping people, all the good things, right? So, mm-hmm. A lot of reasons.

Awesome. Yay.

Well, I'm gonna sign off unless anyone has any other questions. Again, if you're watching this afterwards and you're interested in learning about the course, wanna jump on a strategy call, like I'm really passionate about those. I love helping people and my goal is to get you booked really quickly, get a return on your investment and take away all the kind of analysis paralysis and all those questions, because it's, it's kind of a lot in the beginning. We're making it sound kind of simple, I think. There's a lot of pieces that go into it. So yeah, yeah, awesome. Well, thanks, Bonnie. I'll catch you soon. But yeah, I appreciate it.

Thank you so much. Thank you. Have a good night.