Blog

Julie Crawford went from being a stay-at-home mom to managing 73 rental doors and generating $60K a month in income. Her journey into real estate investing started with a simple conversation that sparked a passion for financial freedom. In this interview, Julie shares how she scaled her portfolio, navigated property management challenges, and leveraged creative financing strategies to grow her business. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to scale, this conversation is packed with insights on mindset, networking, and overcoming roadblocks in real estate investing.

For a complete guide on optimizing and scaling your real estate investments, download my Freedom Blueprint! This essential tool walks you through ten key steps for organizing a profitable property portfolio. Click here to get your copy today!

Hello and welcome! I’m really looking forward to our time today as I chat with Julie Crawford, a housewife turned real estate investor. Thank you so much for taking the time to come chat with me, Julie.

I’m so excited to be here. Thank you.

Julie has an amazing story. She and I are friends, and I’m really excited to bring her on and have her share her wisdom with everyone. To give you a little bit of an idea of her experience, Julie is a real estate investor who turned her husband’s W-2 income into a thriving portfolio of 73 doors, including single-family, multifamily, and midterm rentals. They are all managed through her own property management company. A former social worker and school counselor, Julie now focuses on building wealth and financial freedom while living out of state. She’s passionate about growing into larger multifamily deals and inspiring others to take bold steps toward their goals.

If you are a real estate investor, you have probably felt the frustration of dealing with your bank. Most banks are not set up for working with real estate investors, making banking a major pain point. Today, I want to walk you through my review of Relay Bank, which I switched to several months ago. Relay is designed for business banking and caters well to real estate investing. I will walk you through what I love about it, its features, pros and cons, and who it’s best suited for.

For a complete guide on optimizing and scaling your real estate investments, download my Freedom Blueprint! This essential tool walks you through ten key steps for organizing a profitable property portfolio. Click here to get your copy today!

If you are thinking about QuickBooks as part of your investment portfolio organization, check out episode 20 of my podcast, where I review QuickBooks and discuss the must-use features for real estate investors.

Now, let’s talk about Relay Bank. I will explain what makes a bank ideal for real estate investors, highlight four key features of Relay Bank that I find powerful, and discuss its pros and cons to help determine if it’s a good fit for you. Switching banks is a hassle, so it’s important to choose one that will serve you well long-term.

If you’ve ever wondered whether long-distance real estate investing is possible, this episode is for you. I sat down with Wes Thompson, a past client turned friend and successful real estate investor, to discuss how he built a thriving rental portfolio in Chattanooga, Tennessee—all while living overseas in Africa. From leveraging trust and relationships to navigating the BRRRR strategy and creative financing, Wes shares his journey, mindset, and strategies that allowed him to invest with confidence despite the challenges of distance. If you’ve been hesitant about out-of-state investing, this conversation will give you the insights and motivation to take the next step.

For a complete guide on optimizing and scaling your real estate investments, download my Freedom Blueprint! This essential tool walks you through ten key steps for organizing a profitable property portfolio. Click here to get your copy today!

Hello, listeners! Thank you for joining us for another episode. Today, I’m excited to welcome Wes Thompson, a past client who has become a great friend and an amazing real estate investor with a story worth sharing. Thank you so much for being here, Wes.

I’m really happy to be here. Thank you for the invitation, Adrienne. It’s always great to catch up with you.

I appreciate that. I know you have your own journey of traveling the world, and I’d love to start at the beginning. You’re a retired military officer investing in the Chattanooga, Tennessee, area. How did you get started in real estate investing?

Investing in the United States versus investing overseas—that’s what I want to dive into today. As you may know, I’m currently traveling full-time with my family, and we’re traveling internationally. A question I often get from people who know I’m in the real estate investing space is whether I’m picking up investment properties in these different countries. Today, I want to share the pros and cons of investing in the United States versus internationally and explain why I’m continuing to invest in the U.S. You’ll see what makes real estate investing in the U.S. unique, what challenges you might face abroad, and why the U.S. remains one of the best places to build and scale a real estate business.

For a complete guide on optimizing and scaling your real estate investments, download my Freedom Blueprint! This essential tool walks you through ten key steps for organizing a profitable property portfolio. Click here to get your copy today!

Investing in the United States versus investing overseas—that’s what I’d love for us to dive into today. As you may know, I am currently traveling full-time with my family, and we’re traveling internationally. A question I often get asked by those who know I’m in the real estate investing space is if I’m picking up investment properties in these different countries. Today, I’d like to share the pros and cons of investing in the United States versus what is available internationally and honestly tell you why I continue to invest in the U.S. If you’re thinking about investing internationally, this will give you some insight into the differences. And if you’re investing in the U.S., you’ll hear what I appreciate about it, which may help you feel even more confident about your investments.

Cindy West’s journey from Army veteran to corporate attorney to full-time real estate investor is nothing short of inspiring. After realizing the corporate world wasn’t for her, she pivoted to real estate, starting with wholesaling and quickly shifting to fix-and-flips and rental properties. In less than two years, she built a portfolio of 28 doors and left her W-2 job behind. In this conversation, Cindy shares the highs and lows of her journey, the lessons she learned managing renovations, and the strategic moves that allowed her to scale quickly. If you’re looking for practical insights on real estate investing, self-managing properties, and maximizing cash flow, Cindy’s story is packed with valuable takeaways.

For a complete guide on optimizing and scaling your real estate investments, download my Freedom Blueprint! This essential tool walks you through ten key steps for organizing a profitable property portfolio. Click here to get your copy today!

Hello, everyone! Today I have with me an amazing guest. I’m very excited for her to share her story—how she’s gone from being an Army veteran to a full-time attorney and now a full-time real estate investor. I have with me my friend and amazing investor, Cindy West. Cindy, thank you so much for being with me today.

Adrian, thank you so much for having me. I’m really excited to be here and to share my story.

And you have such a great story. I know there’s going to be so much wisdom for our listeners in hearing and learning from where you have been. I teased your background a little bit there, but why don’t you walk us through your journey? Tell us about how you were brought up, what you were doing initially, and how you got into real estate investing.

Managing finances and accounting is one of the biggest struggles I see real estate investors handling. Whether you are flipping properties, wholesaling, or doing buy and hold with long-, mid-, or short-term rentals, no matter what your investing strategy is, it’s really important that you’re tracking the numbers to make sure that it’s all worth it and to know what’s working best. And yet, that key part is often so challenging for investors. So what I’d like to do today is talk about the number one tool in the market for that—QuickBooks—and talk about how I use it as an investor, how other investors can use it, what its pros and cons are, so that if you’re considering whether or not to get QuickBooks, or maybe you have it and you’re not sure if you’re using it right or what else you could be doing with it, this video is going to help.

For a complete guide on optimizing and scaling your real estate investments, download my Freedom Blueprint! This essential tool walks you through ten key steps for organizing a profitable property portfolio. Click here to get your copy today!

Managing finances and accounting is one of the biggest struggles real estate investors face. Whether you’re flipping properties, wholesaling, or managing buy-and-hold rentals of any term length, keeping track of your numbers is essential. It helps ensure your investments are profitable and shows what’s working best. Yet, for many investors, bookkeeping is one of the most challenging aspects of the business.

That’s why today, I’m diving into QuickBooks—the leading accounting tool in the market—and how it can be used effectively for real estate investing. Whether you’re considering getting QuickBooks, already have it but aren’t sure if you’re using it right, or want to know what more you can do with it, this breakdown will help you optimize your financial tracking and make better investment decisions.

In this episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Corinn Altomare, the co-founder and principal of Hearthfire Holdings. Her journey from opera performer to managing nearly $150 million in assets across 22 locations is nothing short of inspiring. Corinn shares valuable insights on resilience, creativity, and persistence in real estate, along with practical advice on navigating growth, working with a spouse, building a team, and transitioning strategies. Whether you’re scaling your portfolio or seeking inspiration to pivot, this conversation is packed with actionable wisdom to take your investing journey to the next level. Don’t miss it—tune in to learn from her incredible experience!

For a complete guide on optimizing and scaling your real estate investments, download my Freedom Blueprint! This essential tool walks you through ten key steps for organizing a profitable property portfolio. Click here to get your copy today!

Hello and welcome to another episode. Today I have with me Corinn Altomare. Thank you so much for joining, Corinn.

Thanks for having me, glad to be here.

Corinn is an amazing investor, and I’m so excited for her to share her story with you. I know there’ll be a lot of wisdom, takeaways, and lessons learned. Let me tell you a little bit about Corinn, and then I’ll let her take it away and share her story. To give you the big picture, Corinn is the co-founder and principal of Hearthfire Holdings, a private equity firm that manages nearly $150 million in assets over 22 locations. She has a background that spans opera performance, tech, and property management at the Federal Reserve, and she has family roots in real estate as well. Corinn has a unique perspective to help investors build wealth and transform communities. She’s a passionate advocate for women in business, and she’s been a leader in groups such as the Real Estate Investor and GoBundance Women. Outside of work, she finds joy in empowering the world through her young daughter’s eyes.

Managing calls and communication is one of the biggest challenges in real estate investing. Whether you’re dealing with tenants, contractors, or motivated sellers, having a reliable phone system can make or break your ability to scale and stay organized. Many investors start by using their personal cell phones, but as their business grows, this approach quickly becomes unsustainable. In this video, I break down my experience using OpenPhone, a virtual phone system designed for business owners and teams. I’ll walk you through its features, how it helps me separate business from personal life, and whether it’s the right tool for your investing journey. If you’re looking for a way to streamline communication, delegate calls, and grow your portfolio without being tied to your phone 24/7, you’ll want to watch this.

For a complete guide on optimizing and scaling your real estate investments, download my Freedom Blueprint! This essential tool walks you through ten key steps for organizing a profitable property portfolio. Click here to get your copy today!

Managing calls and communication is a big part of real estate investing. If you’re in this business, you’re probably handling calls from tenants, contractors, real estate agents, or leads. You need a reliable phone system to keep things running smoothly.

Today, I’m reviewing OpenPhone and whether it’s the best option for real estate investors. I’ll share my experience using it, the pros and cons, and how it compares to other systems. If you decide OpenPhone is the right fit, I have a 20% off discount for your first three months—check the link in the description.

In this blog post, I’ll share a remarkable story of resilience, transformation, and the lessons learned from overcoming challenges in real estate investing. In my latest podcast, I speak with the founder and CEO of Steed Talker Capital, whose journey from financial loss to success in commercial real estate is both inspiring and deeply insightful. With over 30 years of experience and a PhD in organizational systems psychology, this guest explains how leveraging the right mindset, systems, and strategies helped him pivot from setbacks to building sustainable wealth. Whether you’re facing challenges or looking to scale your investments, his story offers actionable advice and motivation to keep pushing forward. Dive into the full episode to discover how his experiences and insights could transform your approach to real estate.

For a complete guide on optimizing and scaling your real estate investments, download my Freedom Blueprint! This essential tool walks you through ten key steps for organizing a profitable property portfolio. Click here to get your copy today!

Hello and welcome to another episode. Today, I have with me a special guest. Thank you so much for joining me today.
I’m so glad to be here. Appreciate the invitation.

As you may have seen, we are starting to have podcast guests. It’s very exciting to share with you wisdom and knowledge regarding real estate investing from more people. Be sure to tune in as we continue interviewing amazing individuals in the real estate investing space. Starting with today’s guest, the founder and CEO of Steed Talker Capital, who is proof that resilience and smart investing can transform lives. With a PhD in organizational systems psychology and over 30 years of experience, I’d like to have you tell us about your journey and how you got to where you are today.

Staging can be the difference between selling a property quickly and for top dollar or watching it linger on the market, cutting into your profits. In this blog post, I’ll walk you through why staging works, how it impacts buyer psychology, and the key rooms to focus on for maximum return on investment. Whether you’re wondering if virtual staging is enough or trying to figure out the perfect timing for staging, I’ll share my personal tips and strategies to ensure you’re setting your property up for success. If you’re serious about scaling your real estate investments and maximizing your returns, this is a must-read!

For a complete guide on optimizing and scaling your real estate investments, download my Freedom Blueprint! This essential tool walks you through ten key steps for organizing a profitable property portfolio. Click here to get your copy today!

Staging can be the difference between a quick, profitable sale and a property that lingers on the market, but is it worth the investment for real estate investors? Let’s find out. And I want you to stick around to the end because I’m going to show you my number one tip that I have learned from my own experience about staging success should you decide to move on with staging.

So staging is going to come up when you sell your property. Staging pops up when you decide to sell a property. Selling a property is a really strategic move in your real estate journey. It’s often a key step in leveling up your portfolio and reaching your investment goals.