Using Credit Cards to Finance Your Real Estate Deals with Jhanel Wilson
I am happy to welcome Jhanel Wilson to today’s show! Jhanel is a chemical engineer turned real estate investor and entrepreneur. She is the Founder and CEO of The Savvy REI with an eight-figure portfolio andJhanel is on a mission to share her 17+ years of hard lessons and personal strategies to help people understand, master, and succeed with real estate investing.
Jhanel first shares her background story and how she went from being a chemical engineer to becoming a real estate investor. Jhanel believes that her background as an engineer has helped her become a better real estate investor. She has a great eye for details and risk analysis which helps her make better and smarter decisions, and even eliminate some of the risk along the way. Jhanel started her journey into real estate right after college by purchasing a distressed property from a family member by paying the back taxes before it went to the sheriff's sale. Shortly after, the city threatened to demolish the property due to code violations, so once more Jhanel pulled all of her resources and used student loans and credit cards to bring the property up to code, remedy additional taxes and bills, and accomplish an ARV of $70k after putting in roughly $45k. She was able to successfully complete the project and start cash flow, which immediately showed her the power of real estate.
We then move on to discussing how Jhanel manages her 8-figure portfolio. She explains that she manages all her properties herself, with the help of her team. Today, she has 90 doors that are occupied and 40 more under construction. Currently, she only has three members on her team, which is more than enough according to Jhanel’s estimate of one manager per 50 tenants. She did try going the more traditional route and using property management companies but that never seemed to work out, so she decided to take matters into her own hands.
Next, we talk about Jhanel’s business strategy. She explains that her strategy right now is strictly buy-and-hold but that she does refinance a lot. Jhanel believes that the world is meant for buy-and-hold investments, once you learn how to deal with tenants.
Lastly, we dive into Jhanel’s course Invest in Real Estate with No Money Down, Using High Limit Credit Cards where she teaches people how to use credit cards to buy real estate. Jhanel explains that credit cards are good for two reasons, the first is easy applications and the second one is low rates. The only downside to credit cards is that the payments are high but Jhanel explains that you can work that out by making interest payments part of your budget. Jhanel also dives into the difference between personal and business credit and how you can’t have one without the other.
Make sure you check out this incredibly informative episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast with Jhanel Wilson, and learn all about financing your deals using your credit cards!
Notable Quotes:
“I immediately forgot all the problems that I had when I discovered the power of real estate.”
- Jhanel Wilson
“When you passively invest, you are trusting other people to know what to do and to actually do it.”
- Jhanel Wilson
“I think the world is meant for buy-and-hold investing.”
- Jhanel Wilson
“I always tell people to borrow more than you need, so that cash flow doesn't become a problem for you and you can use that money for paying back the loan.”
- Mike Simmons
“Cash flow will kick you out of the game. You might have the best deal, but if you don't have the cash to get it done, then you're going to lose.”
- Jhanel Wilson
“Your credit is so you can use it, so if your credit is bad, you work to get it up.”
- Jhanel Wilson
“Getting a good score is just part of the process. Now that you have the score you have to use it.”
- Jhanel Wilson
“You don't have to pay anyone to build your business credit. Your business credit is based on your personal credit.”
- Jhanel Wilson
“People sometimes ignore how to be an entrepreneur in the pursuit of just making money.”
- Mike Simmons
Links:
Course: Invest in Real Estate with No Money Down, Using High Limit Credit Cards by Jhanel Wilson
Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months
