I regularly talk with real estate entrepreneurs who are trying to grow their portfolios while still managing the daily pressure of operations, partnerships, and market uncertainty. In this conversation, I sit down with Christina Kovacs, a real estate investor who started in lending at just 20 years old and has built a diversified portfolio that includes multifamily, private lending, and joint venture partnerships. We talk about what she learned early in the lending world, how she evaluates deals today, why she focuses on the often-overlooked 5–50 unit multifamily space, and the systems and partnerships that help investors scale without losing control of their time.
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Hello everyone. I’m Adrienne Green and today I’m really excited to have with me Christina Kovach. Here we focus on how real estate entrepreneurs break free of the grind using leverage, support and smarter strategies. Let’s dive into Christina’s story. Christina, thanks for being here today.
Hey Adrienne, thank you so much for having me.
Now for listeners who are meeting you for the first time, can you give us a quick overview of your real estate world today? The types of assets you invest in and your current portfolio.
Sure. Right now I’m very diversified within real estate. Some of the things that were flips early on became long-term rentals instead of the flip. I decided to hold them. I have a short-term rental. I sold off a few in the past and realized that my passion lies in one true love and not juggling multiple of those. Then multifamily. I have a lot of LP positions and I am also a JV partner as GP in multiple acquisitions throughout Missouri and a little bit in Pennsylvania. I also do some private money lending and I have an RV park that I invested in a couple years ago.
And listeners are probably thinking that’s a lot. Christina got started in real estate at just 20 years old, so she has had a few years to try different things and build the depth and width of a portfolio. I want to go back to when you got started. You were working in the lending space. How did that early exposure to lending and capital markets shape the way that you’re evaluating deals today?
At the time I knew nothing, so I was a sponge taking in everything everyone was telling me. I actually quit college at UMass Boston to get the job. I was working 30 hours a week, going to school full time, had an apartment because UMass doesn’t have dormitories, and I was burnt out and needed another way to make it work. I ended up finishing school and eventually getting my bachelor’s degree, but that pivot was a huge shift for me to grow and learn.
I saw an ad in the newspaper that said you could make $100,000 right now as a loan officer with no experience necessary. I decided to go after it. They had you take a test and if you passed you could start. It was during the subprime mortgage days so it was a completely different Wild West situation than now. That experience really set me up for the future and helped me understand what I did and did not want.
I did not want the corporate grind. I did not want the office setting. There were a lot of toxic situations in that environment. I was the only woman for a long time. At one point there were two other women but they quickly left. I did make that $100,000 and learned a lot about lending and credit that most of my peers at that age had no idea about. They were still in dorms and didn’t have to pay rent or reconcile their accounts. I was going through people’s bank statements and credit reports and understanding credit early on. It set me up for success personally, financially, and in understanding what I wanted in a career and what I didn’t want.
As you share this I’m blown away because I know what you’re talking about. We see ads for loan officers and real estate agents promising six figures. Those of us in the industry know the failure rate is huge. On the real estate agent side I think about 85 percent quit within two years. What helped you succeed when the industry has such high turnover?
Being told I couldn’t do it and shouldn’t do it. The woman I was working for at a temp agency had brought me on full time as a recruiting assistant and wanted to move me up to recruiter. She believed in me, but when I told her I was leaving and quitting school to do this she completely shut it down and told me it was a bad idea. I had to prove her wrong.
That was a huge driver. I had given up an entire semester worth of credits and the money that went with that. I had to make it work and prove that I could do it.
That’s funny because in the real estate agent space I remember a brokerage leader telling me that when someone has a chip on their shoulder and something to prove, that’s one of the biggest indicators they will succeed in the field. I love that you were another example of that.
Let’s fast forward to today so listeners in the multifamily space can hear your thinking there. You focus on five to fifty unit multifamily. Is that accurate?
Yes.
I love that because it’s a very specific niche. A lot of operators want to go bigger and bigger. What opportunities are you seeing in that segment that other investors might overlook?
There’s a point where you have mom and pop owners and institutional investors. That middle space felt comfortable for me with my personal funds. I don’t syndicate. The deals I do are JV deals with a few partners and we bring our own cash. It’s what I can afford and where I felt comfortable.
I may syndicate in the future, but I wanted to prove myself in the space first. I started learning multifamily in 2021. A lot of operators came in quickly around that time because there was a big wave of interest. Many started syndicating, raising money, or becoming coaches very quickly. That’s not how I operate. I want a proven system and a track record longer than a year or two. Now we are five years in and I feel comfortable with the markets and how we operate.
That’s a great lesson for investors. There are a thousand different ways to invest in real estate and people often claim their way is the best. The truth is that none of them are inherently better or worse. The best strategy is the one that fits your situation, location, finances, and risk tolerance.
On my LP deals where I’m a limited partner in other people’s syndications, I choose operators I admire and want to emulate. My first one was with a bigger operator I didn’t fully understand. That deal hasn’t done as well, but I haven’t lost the investment. It has been a learning experience.
In some LP deals I don’t participate in the upside. I position myself underneath the lender’s capital stack as class A to receive returns before others. In other deals I take more risk and participate in upside. Private lending provides a more predictable cash flow. Diversification allows one part of the portfolio to support another when something isn’t performing as well.
I appreciate you sharing that because in real estate we often only hear about the home runs. It can make people feel like they’re the only ones who have deals that break even or become learning experiences. Especially with partnerships.
Exactly. Partnerships can be tricky. At a recent real estate conference many people said they haven’t invested yet because they don’t trust potential partners. Sometimes you simply can’t know everything beforehand. You have to prepare for the possibility that things may not go perfectly.
In one partnership everyone was excited in the beginning and saying what they would contribute. After the deal closed and the social media congratulations ended, the real work began. That’s when you see who actually performs.
Mandy McAllister recently talked about a shotgun clause. That resonated with me because I always thought there should be a performance clause in operating agreements. If someone isn’t performing the way they said they would, there should be a mechanism to address it. Preparation makes partnerships much more likely to work.
That’s such a good point. You have to plan for the divorce in the original agreement. What happens if someone underperforms, how disputes will be handled, and how partners could be replaced.
I want to talk about multifamily operations. You often say smaller multifamily properties should be treated like institutional assets. What does that look like in practice?
You need to understand your market cycle. When underwriting, brokers may push optimistic numbers, but you need to know the real numbers. If rent growth is flat or negative in many markets, you must underwrite accordingly rather than assuming optimistic projections.
Conservative underwriting is a lesson many investors have learned. Once you own the property the real work begins. You need to stay on top of it every day.
I regularly review my dashboard with property managers and monitor unit turns, delinquencies, maintenance issues, and pricing guidance for renewals. If leasing falls short I help with marketing and post ads myself. Property managers don’t own the asset. They will do their job well, but sometimes owners need to step in and support operations.
Real estate at that level is not passive. It is active work. If someone wants passive investing, they should be an LP with a trusted operator.
That’s a helpful clarification because active investing truly requires involvement and oversight.
Exactly. You need to review numbers regularly, trust but verify, and address issues quickly.
When underwriting today, with changing expenses, insurance, and financing conditions, what best practices would you recommend?
Continue shopping and networking. A strong network allows investors to share vendor contacts, insurance rates, and operational insights. Real estate truly takes a tribe.
Knowing your market and building vendor relationships takes time. If quotes are too high, I reach out through my network and local realtors for referrals. Collaboration and relationships help investors avoid guessing and instead base underwriting on real local data.
For someone who doesn’t yet know other operators in their market, where should they start?
Join Facebook groups and attend local meetups. You need to show up in person. Even with an eleven month old child I’m still attending one or two networking events each week. Zoom calls help, but real relationships are built face to face.
Listen to podcasts and connect with people you admire. The real estate community is surprisingly generous. Many people share knowledge simply because they enjoy helping others grow.
LinkedIn has also been powerful. I participate in a commercial real estate challenge hosted by Yona Weiss where professionals post and engage for ten days. It helps build relationships and visibility at the same time.
Showing up, contributing value, and stepping outside your comfort zone are essential. Nothing happens if you stay comfortable.
Christina and I connected online a few months ago and then happened to attend the same conference recently, which allowed us to meet in person. For women listening, the Women’s Real Estate Investment Summit hosted by Beth Azor in South Florida is a fantastic event.
It’s the only conference I’ve ever bought a ticket for a full year in advance. Many women did the same and it sold out quickly. Being surrounded by like-minded women was incredibly energizing.
Christina, I love systems and processes that help entrepreneurs move from trading hours for dollars to building a true business. What systems help you manage your multifamily assets?
Scheduling everything and using Google Sheets and Google Docs for shared collaboration are essential. Being able to share and update documents in real time saves enormous time compared to the old way of emailing files back and forth.
I also have a virtual assistant. I only have one, but the amount of time she saves is critical. Time is limited, so efficiency matters.
Your time is especially valuable now with a young child. Parenthood often raises the standard for how we spend our time.
Absolutely. Being able to spend afternoons with my daughter during her naps has been meaningful. I can choose how much time I spend with her.
I work from home and built my career to avoid the corporate environment I experienced earlier. I also own a real estate brokerage, which allows me to control how I spend my time. I don’t want to work in an office. Instead I network intentionally and collaborate through partnerships while keeping flexibility.
That flexibility gives me true time freedom. Being self employed has been life changing.
I completely agree. It feels like a gift to be able to shape my children’s lives and spend that time with them.
It’s amazing. My daughter is only eleven months old, but we’re already thinking about future adventures. We may even spend time abroad. I have Hungarian citizenship through my husband, so living in Europe is an option. We want her to experience different cultures.
Right now we enjoy quiet time at home. Later we will explore the world together.
That’s exciting. Christina, what is a goal you are focused on for 2026?
I am actively looking in Springfield, Missouri to acquire multifamily properties between five and fifty units. I am also expanding my real estate brokerage. While it has been primarily residential, I want to work more with multifamily owners who may be considering selling or navigating refinancing challenges.
If there are multifamily owners in Fort Lauderdale who want to connect, I would love to learn from each other and explore how we can help one another grow.
For anyone who wants to connect with you, what’s the best way?
kristinakovac.com and themultifamilyagency.com. My Calendly link is on kristinakovac.com and people can schedule fifteen or thirty minutes to connect.
Perfect. The links are in the show notes so you can reach out easily. If you know someone who would benefit from hearing Christina’s story, feel free to share this conversation with them.