From house hacking her first home in Utah to scaling a 38-door portfolio across multiple states, Lisa Moore’s story is an inspiring and practical blueprint for anyone looking to build wealth through real estate—without giving up lifestyle or freedom. In this candid conversation, Lisa shares how she and her husband grew their business, the systems that made it possible, and how they juggle marriage, investing, and multiple markets. If you’re looking for real talk, real numbers, and real-life strategy, this is for you.
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Hey everyone, I’m Adrienne Green and today I have with me Lisa Moore. Get ready for insights to help you scale, systemize, and create more freedom. So let’s jump in. Lisa, thank you so much for joining me today.
Thank you for having me. I’m excited.
I am excited for you to share your story. I know that you got started in 2017, house hacking just like I did. And now, you and your husband have 20 doors across seven multifamily properties. You ventured into syndication. You’re partnering with some big names in this space. So I would love for us to start for investors who are just getting started. What did it look like back in 2017 when you were first getting started with real estate investing?
It had no pattern, no direction. I just knew that I wanted to get started.
I grew up in Massachusetts and moved to Utah in 2016. When I moved to Utah, I knew I wanted to get involved in real estate—buy a house, rent a bedroom, live in it for a year or two, then move and keep going to see where it took me. I was already figuring out neighborhoods and where I wanted to live, but I had no idea what the future held. I just knew I wanted to start. House hacking felt easiest. I needed a place to live, and if I was paying monthly expenses, I’d rather it go toward a mortgage I own instead of rent. I’d been renting for five years and was done. I needed a house.
It didn’t start with a detailed plan. It was more like, let’s just jump in and see what happens.
I didn’t have family who invested in real estate. We owned the house we lived in, but it wasn’t talked about as investing. My background is financial analysis, so in college I was introduced to real estate through a few classes. I always had it in the back of my mind, but hadn’t done anything with it. I didn’t know about podcasts or BiggerPockets or Ken McElroy or Brandon Turner back then. I chose house hacking because I wanted to buy a house but didn’t want to be house poor. My focus was my lifestyle—having fun, traveling. I didn’t want to spend all my money on a house and not be able to enjoy life. I also didn’t want a full-time roommate. So renting a bedroom worked perfectly. This was back when Airbnb was still relatively new. It was like, “Hey, I’ve got a bedroom. You need a place? Cool.” Nothing fancy.
I could open it up as much or as little as I wanted. If I had guests coming to visit, I’d just block it off.
Now, most people would be scared, especially with Airbnb—letting strangers in your home. That’s something my family, especially my mom, worried about. But for me, it wasn’t a big concern. Airbnb requires you to provide information, and you can check profiles and reviews. I felt the risk was minimal. Everyone I had was great—super chill, young travelers. Some even hung out with my friends. Today, we still house hack, but it’s a basement unit with no shared space or yard. It works great if you have kids or want privacy.
Once I started getting that rental income—just from a bedroom—I was hooked. It was simple. I already kept the space clean, so all I needed to do was make sure they had towels and sheets. I was hoping to make $300–$400/month and ended up exceeding that. I thought, wow, this is better than I expected.
At that point, I met my now-husband. He owned three duplexes and was also house hacking—living in the smallest unit and renting out the rest. I told him I wanted to buy more properties. He hadn’t bought in a while—had been busy with renovations. So I said, let’s buy. We ended up moving a lot, house hacking along the way, because you get better financing—lower rates, lower down payments. We’ve lived in my first house, a triplex, a duplex, and our current home. That lifestyle isn’t for everyone, but it helped us scale fast.
We moved sometimes every year or even more frequently. One property we moved into and out of in just a few months. But it allowed us to grow. We still have a triplex with 3% financing. I figured, if I can do this with a single-family, why not multifamily? More units, same idea. So we focused on 2–4 unit properties. We recently closed on an 18-unit and now have 38 doors.
If I could go back, I’d start with a fourplex. Once you get to five units, you lose the benefit of residential lending. I also wish I had implemented better systems sooner. In the beginning, rent came in through Zelle, Venmo, or cash deposits—totally disorganized. Sometimes I didn’t know who paid rent because no one added notes. Now I use Inago—it’s free, has great tech, and streamlined everything. That was a major shift for us. Better systems meant we could scale without more stress.
Even if you only have one unit, use software. It saves you time, keeps you organized, and sets you up for growth.
We both self-manage and use property managers. In Utah and Colorado, we manage ourselves. We tried hiring a property manager but ended up spending more time managing them than managing the properties ourselves. Vacancies increased, we lost money—it was rough. So we brought it back in-house and hired a full-time VA. She runs our systems, helps with QuickBooks, and supports all aspects of the business.
For our 18-unit in Illinois, we have a property manager because it’s a tenant-friendly state, unlike Utah. I didn’t want to learn Illinois laws or deal with the hassle. But we still manage the manager—no one cares about your properties like you do. So it’s a mix: self-manage where it makes sense, outsource where necessary.
Owning in different states brings challenges. Laws differ by state, county, and even city. Utah is consistent and landlord-friendly. Illinois? Totally different. In some cities, you need licenses, inspections, even special forms like a “no criminal activity” agreement. And marketing varies too. In Utah, properties often have hidden fees—media packages, utilities, parking. Tenants don’t always see those, so pricing can look misleading. In Illinois, fees are usually bundled in. Knowing how to market in each area is key.
Now, on to relationships. My husband and I invest together. We’re very different—I’m the risk-taker, he’s more cautious. I’m quick to act, he takes time to process. He’s a GC and handles all things construction. I handle the finance side. We complement each other. But we also argue, of course. We’ve learned to define roles: I take final say on finances, he takes lead on construction. We still overlap on tenant communication, which can get tricky. I’m more blunt—Massachusetts style. He balances that out.
If you invest with a spouse, know each other’s strengths. Define responsibilities. Respect each other’s space. And yes, expect to butt heads. That’s normal. But having defined roles makes everything smoother.
What’s next for us? Relationships and networking. That’s what fuels growth. I’ve recently joined Rise Capital Investments—a fund with partners I’ve worked with before. We’re combining our strengths to tackle larger deals. Some of us love spreadsheets, some love marketing. It’s a great fit. We’re doing debt and equity deals, including an RV park and local new builds.
I’m passionate about helping people—especially my generation—build wealth through real estate. Social Security isn’t even on my radar. Most people are stuck with retirement accounts they can’t touch until they’re 59.5. I want others to see there are ways to build income and freedom now. Whether you want to be active or passive, there’s a way to get involved.
If I had to share one transformational system? Property management software—hands down. For operations, we also use Go High Level as our CRM to organize contacts, communication, and capital-raising tasks. You don’t need one right away, but once you grow, it’s a game changer.
Books that shaped me? Brandon Turner’s books on managing rental properties and multifamily investing. Matt Fairclough’s book on raising capital. And The Miracle Morning helped me build productive habits. I end each night listing three wins from the day and three things I’ll do tomorrow. That positive momentum really matters.
If you want to connect, DM me on Instagram at @moredoorswithlisa or find me on LinkedIn under Lisa Field Moore. I’m always happy to talk real estate or answer questions. Don’t hesitate to reach out!