Income Producing Properties With Paula Pant of Afford Anything
In 2020 and 2021, we’re seeing a number of Financial Gym client’s become or show more interest in becoming property owners due to lower interest rates, more working from home because of the pandemic, or a desire to shift asset allocation because of historic market highs. So I’m dedicating the month of September to “Property Ownership”. On today’s podcast, we’re talking about income-producing properties with Paula Pant, host of the Afford Anything podcast, founder of affordanything.com, and teacher of the course Your First Rental Property. Paula joins me today to share her experience of managing several income-producing properties, what you should look for and think about if you want to own income-producing properties, and why her course might be the perfect investment for you if you’re considering investing in an income-producing property.
What are we drinking?
Paula – Water and cough syrup
Shannon – Black Cherry Schweppes
Podcast Notes
Paula started in the personal finance space in 2011.
She was a journalist up until 2008, then took a hiatus and traveled the world. When she returned to the U.S. in 2010, she started her career in freelance writing. After deciding which particular niche she would specialize in, a friend had suggested writing about what she enjoyed reading about the most.
She decided she would focus on the Personal Finance niche, this is also when she started the brand “Afford Anything”.
Both these paths expanded into their own, spanning multiple mediums. She came to the realization that she couldn’t do both so she decided to pull the plug on what the freelance writing had turned into, a content provider for the personal finance space and the FinTech industry.
Paula felt the mission and philosophy of the Afford Anything community was the more important project to leave her mark on the world.
Paula sees the Afford Anything brand, which is best known for its podcast, newsletter, and YouTube channel; expanding into a suite of software services, particularly for those who are purchasing out-of-state investment properties. The concept is referred to as “Invest Anywhere”.
She’s also expanding the brand so as not to be pigeonholed by real estate investing alone. She refers to it as “F.I.R.E.”. F is for financial basics, I is for investing, R is for real estate and E is for earning more/entrepreneurship.
Paula feels getting into real estate is not for everyone. Those who have a “fear of missing out” or just trying to jump on the bandwagon will just be less prepared and motivated when things don't go their way.
In order to plot out how to proceed once someone has decided to start in real estate investing, Paula likes to have a guiding statement with the client(s) where the following can be assessed… where they are financially and what goals they have both in real estate and in life. Parameters, limitations, and tolerances are discussed to align the goal of a portfolio with the goals and intentions of the client(s).
Risk can exist on different spectrums in the real estate investing space, Paula recommends being aware of this and distributing risk accordingly. If risk is high on one spectrum, it’s important it’s countered with lower risk on another spectrum.
Developing a strategy that will take you through the different phases of investing will provide guidance to meet your overall, long-term goals. Someone approaches the prospect a lot differently if they’re in the “property accumulation” phase vs. “property preservation and payoff” phase.
In her course, Paula teaches the various metrics associated with real estate investing, but more importantly; which ones are most important to the client(s) and why. Then she goes into how to find properties (particularly out of state), how to choose a city/state, how do you learn the nuances of the neighborhood, how do you build a local team to support your actions, etc.
Shannon mentioned being careful where you get your guidance from in a purchase. Most parties involved in your homebuying will benefit from your purchase and may not offer the unbiased advice you need to hear.
Paula stresses that NOT buying the wrong house is just as important as buying the right house.
Takeaway: My biggest takeaway is that real estate is a great diversifying option in your investment portfolio and income-producing properties can make a lot of sense for you and your asset allocation. But before you jump in head first, make sure you do your research and create the perfect framework that makes sense for you and your family.
Random Three Questions
1. What was the favorite rental property you owned?
2. What is something that you have watched or read recently that’s made you laugh?
3. This is your last meal on earth… what is it?
Connect with Paula
Podcast: Search “Afford Anything” on any podcast player
Website: affordanything.com/viplist
If you have any topics you would like me to cover on this podcast, I encourage you to email me to Shannon@fingyms.com, or join the private Martinis and Your Money Facebook group, and let me know what you want to hear.
If you’re thinking about investing in income-producing property, I highly recommend Paula’s course and I also think you should absolutely invest in our First Time Home Buyer Course that you can find on the Financial Gym’s website. If you’d like some accountability to help you achieve this goal faster than you imagined, then you should head to financialgym.com and start working with one of our trainers today. And remember that Martinis and Your Money listeners get 15% off of your Financial Gym membership. We’d love to help you accomplish your dream of homeownership sooner than later.