If you’re building a real estate business and still feel like everything depends on you, this conversation will likely hit home. In this episode, I sit down with Julie Cooper to talk through what it actually looks like to grow a portfolio while navigating financing, rural deals, systems, and team building. We get into the decisions behind private money, the realities of managing different property types, and the lessons that come from scaling without enough support. If you’ve ever felt stretched thin or unsure what needs to change next, this will give you a clearer lens on where to focus.
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Hello, hello, welcome to another episode. I am Adrienne Green and today I have with me my friend and investor Julie Cooper. Thanks for joining me, Julie.
Thanks for having me. This is awesome. It’s good to see you.
Thank you. And here on the podcast, we help real estate entrepreneurs break free of the grind and live the lives that they got into real estate for in the first place. I know you’ve got a great story about that, Julie, and about the freedom that it’s giving you that we’ll get to at the end. To start off, can you just give us a quick snapshot of what your real estate investing looks like right now?
Yeah, I’m super excited. I retired from education two weeks ago. This is full time real estate investing now. I invest with my siblings, my sister and my brother. We are all in together. Between all of us, we have nine doors right now, and we are working on some other ones as well. They’re a mix of short-term rental, long-term rental, mid-term rental.
We do have a duplex in the mix, so there’s multifamily in there, and we’ve done a ton of renovation with them. Even though they haven’t been fixed and flips per se, which we have done one of those, they’ve been fixed and hold, so we’ve done a lot of renovation through those.
Perfect, that was a great summary. I love how you shared how you’re creating freedom through your real estate investing already. I’m excited for you in that transition.
Yeah, thank you. I know you’re an inspiration. One of these days I’ll be traveling as well.
Well, and you do travel a lot.
Did you see my thing about last week in March? I was everywhere in March. It was crazy. It was fun. I loved it. But I needed to be home for a couple weeks.
Right, yes, and that is a fun thing that you get to say and be like, I need to balance time home versus traveling when you’re a real estate investor that you can’t always say as a W-2 employee.
Right, so much more freedom.
Yes. And I also love that you do this with your siblings. We get a lot of people in the real estate entrepreneur space like husband-wife teams, and yet we also have this sibling dynamic that you’ve got going on, which is less common and amazing.
Yeah, it has been such a great experience. We live in two different states. Two of us live in Alabama and two of us live in Las Vegas. One of my sisters is a principal, so she’s busy and doesn’t have as much involvement with it, but it’s drawn us so much closer together as adults.
I love that. I have sometimes shared how one of the greatest things I love about our travel lifestyle is getting to spend so much time together as a family. I really want my three kids to be close. I want them to be the kind of siblings who would go invest together or grow businesses together in the future.
Yeah, we attribute that to our mom. She raised us so that we all respect each other. Our age differences are quite a bit, and that has actually benefited the connection that we’ve had through real estate.
I love it. Let’s talk about your value add investing. How do you decide which financing strategy to use?
That depends on the deal. Our investments are in Alabama and Costa Rica. Depending on where it is and how much the investment is, that determines the financing. We’ve purchased properties outright, done seller financing, and used private money.
Seller financing is by far the easiest if it works out. That depends on the situation with the seller. I always ask that question because it can benefit both sides. If that doesn’t work, then we look at other lending.
Over the last few years, I’ve made connections with private money lenders. Last year I raised over $850,000 for our projects. That allows us to attach funding to the projects and be more effective with our own money.
I would love to dive into the private lending piece. It’s more expensive than conventional loans. Why is it still a win?
It can be shocking at first when you see the interest rate. But because of the timeline, it makes sense. If you’re borrowing for six months, eight months, or even twelve months, paying a higher rate can still work.
It always goes back to the numbers. You need enough margin in the deal. But the ease of access to the money makes a big difference.
With traditional loans, the paperwork is extensive. With private money, it’s more direct. It’s tied to the project, and the process is much simpler.
Right, and it allows you to do more deals.
Exactly. And when you actually run the numbers, sometimes the difference in interest is minimal compared to the opportunity.
And with draw structures, you’re only paying interest on what you use.
Yes. If you’re borrowing $100,000 but only using $20,000 at a time, you’re only paying interest on what you’re using. That makes a big difference.
Right. And fees matter too.
Yes, fees can add up quickly.
When you’re looking at deals now, what are your non-negotiables?
We’ve learned not to take on too much. Historic properties are a whole different level. We probably won’t take on another one soon because of the complexity.
Another non-negotiable is sticking to the numbers. There have been times where we stretched because we wanted a property, and it always comes back at the end.
Let’s talk about rural properties. What’s your experience?
We like rural properties, but lending is difficult, especially for short-term rentals. You have to find lenders who allow both.
We also learned to ask about utilities upfront, like well, septic, or city sewer, because that affects expenses.
Have you found benefits?
Yes, creativity and space. With one property, we already have multiple phases planned. There’s also more flexibility without HOA restrictions.
Let’s talk about systems. You’ve grown your portfolio. What’s helping you manage it?
We need better systems. We use Google Drive and shared communication. It works, but there’s room for improvement.
Our goal is to get a VA because there’s a lot to manage.
That’s part of the process. You build and refine over time.
We’ve also learned to focus on finding the right people instead of doing everything ourselves.
Yes, the “who not how” approach.
Exactly. We’ve gone through different team members to find the right fit.
That’s normal. Hiring takes time.
Yes, we’re willing to go through multiple people to find the right one.
Let’s talk about Costa Rica. What led to that?
It was a unique opportunity. I was there on vacation, found out the property we were staying in was for sale, and explored it.
Seller financing made it possible. Financing internationally is difficult, so that helped.
We ran the numbers and moved forward. We closed in 30 days, which is unusual.
There were challenges, but it was worth it.
Would you do it again?
Yes. It comes down to asking the right questions.
What about maintenance in that environment?
We rely on our property manager. Regular maintenance, pest control, and upkeep are essential.
We also monitor moisture and structural wear.
Julie, this has been great. Where can people connect with you?
You can find me on my website, movewithmomentum.com, or on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Perfect. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Thank you.