From Zero to Fifty Rentals in 18 Months with Josh and Marcie Rathbun

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From Zero to Fifty Rentals in 18 Months with Josh and Marcie Rathbun - Feature Image

Josh and Marcie Rathbun – Real Estate Investors and co-founders of Silver Lining Homes talk to Neil Henderson, the host of The Road to Family Freedom podcast. Josh and Marcie have grown their rental property portfolio from Zero to Fifty units in just a year and a half. They began accumulating properties while Josh had a full-time job, and Marcie worked as the property manager. In that short amount of time, they have achieved enough financial independence to set off on a family adventure to travel the United States by RV full time. 

In this episode, we talk to Josh and Marcie about how they purchased a portfolio of investment properties using a loan from a small local bank, how they borrowed the downpayment from a family member, and how they funded the rehab costs with a HELOC on their primary residence. We also talk about the importance of building long-term business relationships with contractors rather than transactional relationships. Finally, we get some details on their plan to downsize and hit the road in an RV full time with their family.

Post-Interview Analysis 

  • Key Lessons Learned. Focus on people before you focus on deals. Real estate is a people business and you want to be building long-term relationships with people not transactional relationships. 
  • How did they acquire their knowledge or what knowledge did they need to acquire? They spent about two years listening to podcasts and they read books. 
  • How much money did it take to get started? Almost zero. They bought a portfolio of properties using an 80% loan to value loan from a local bank, they borrowed the money for the down payment from a family member and used a HELOC on their primary residence to fund the rehab.
  • How much time does it take now? When they are in acquisition mode, it takes Josh about 20 to 30 hours per week. For Marcie, as the property manager, she spends about 10 hours per week maintaining their portfolio. When they have a unit to fill, her work load increases to about 20 to 30 hours a week as well.
  • Could they do this strategy from anywhere in the world? Yes! They are about to embark on a family adventure traveling around the United States in an RV full time.

Episode Highlights: 

  • Schedule a video chat with Neil Henderson at roadtofamilyfreedom.com/storage 
  • How they purchased a portfolio of investment properties using a loan from a small local bank
  • How they borrowed the downpayment from a family member
  • How they funded the rehab costs with a HELOC on their primary residence
  • The importance of building long-term business relationships with contractors rather than transactional relationships
  • And much more…

Books and Resources Mentioned

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About the author, Neil

Neil Henderson is the co-host of The Road to Family Freedom, a self-storage investor, and avowed proponent of short-term rental house hacking. He founded The Road to Family Freedom to guide busy parents to financial freedom through passive real estate investing.

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