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Show Summary
In this conversation, Meshelle Van Allen discusses the journey of first-time investors, emphasizing the importance of creative financing and teamwork. She shares her passion for guiding individuals who have never invested before, showcasing opportunities and the transformative experience of making that first investment. Meshelle highlights the significance of collaboration and the sacrifices necessary for success in the investment world.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
MESHELLE VAN ALLEN (00:00)
At some point it’ll go back down. There’s that pendulum every seven years the interest rate makes a change. my best advice is don’t sit on the fence. Don’t sit on the fence. You can always get in and get out. But I can assure you I’ve had more people get in investment wise than those that get out. So ⁓ if there’s anybody out there that’s looking foropportunities or looking for financing or creative ways to do it, they’re out there. And I’d be more than happy to speak with anyone in reference to it.
Kristen (02:13)
Welcome back to the Real Estate Pros Podcast. I’m Kristen and I’m here with Meshelle Van Allen. She is a top 10 % agent in the DC, Maryland, Virginia region. So I’m excited to get into everything today. Thanks for being here, Meshelle.MESHELLE VAN ALLEN (02:27)
Thank you for having me. I’m very grateful, Kristen for the opportunity to speak real estate. I love, eat, breathe, sleep real estate and I love it, yes.Kristen (02:42)
I to be a top 10% producing agent is really, really impressive. How did you get into the industry to begin with?
MESHELLE VAN ALLEN (02:50)
Well, let’s see, I actually come from, ⁓ I come from an environment of ⁓ real estate. My grandparents, ⁓ they actually purchased a great deal of acreage ⁓ back as early as,the early 1900s. Yes, yes. So through my family heritage, we’ve always been exposed to real estate and the importance of generational ⁓ wealth building through real estate. So that has always captured my interest. Right out of school, I purchased my first investment property and, and I made ⁓ what I thought was
million dollars back then and ⁓ I just started and never looked back I would ⁓ purchase ⁓ property after property and I found that I was ⁓ making my real estate agent quite wealthy and I decided hey enough of this I’m gonna I know enough I
realtors that I used and I said I’m gonna just jump in and start keeping that money in my pocket and that’s what I did. I am…
very fortunate to be in an area that has quite an insulated market, which is the DMV, the DC, Maryland, Virginia environment. ⁓ We have an insulated or a unique market because we have the political regime that comes and goes every four years, as you know, and that always has created opportunity for buyers.
and sellers and there’s that consistent flow. We have quite a number of, as you can imagine, federal government employees and that is a great percentage of ⁓ a higher income that’s constantly flowing in and out of
of the area. So that has kept me ⁓ constantly moving forward.
Although I do work with a number of investors as well. think Forbes rated the DMV as one of the top areas ⁓ investment wise or real estate wise and it has really caused a great demand for ⁓
investors here in this area. Housing shortage across the country has of course affected our area as well so there is a lot of development and I’ve just taken it all the way across the board from residential to commercial and now at this stage I’m at the
Kristen (06:26)
Yeah.MESHELLE VAN ALLEN (06:46)
development stage and ⁓ very ⁓ fortunate to, I’m very grateful to say that, you know, oftentimes I think back to my grandparents and I think of how…difficult it may have been for them back then. I mean we’re talking, we’re talking the 19 early 1900s. Are you kidding me? That was ⁓ and I’m African-American so you can imagine how difficult that must have been for my grandparents at that time to establish a great deal of property and for me to be the youngest
grandchild and where I am today I’m very very grateful and and and and I’m thankful for the opportunities that they expose me to and knowing the value and the ability to be able to build generational wealth through real estate so what a grand opportunity it is for me
Kristen (07:59)
That’samazing. Yeah, you had so many good pieces of inspiration in there. I think the DC market is a really fascinating market, the way that things change every four years. I’ve never thought of it like that. ⁓ And then I know one of your specialties is really creating opportunities no matter the market. So I would love for you to talk about kind of where we’re at today and the opportunities you see within it.
MESHELLE VAN ALLEN (08:25)
Absolutely, you know, it’s not just this I’ve laid my foundation here and Here meaning the the DMV but the same principles that I learned here in this metropolitan area I can take them anywhere and make it work and I have I’m currently ⁓ working on ⁓development project in Ghana Ghana Africa and the opportunity there is just amazing but I find there are other investors that go there and they and they may not do as as well and I’ve been asked Well, what is it that you’re doing? That’s that makes this work and I think it’s the same basic principles ⁓ one of which I
It has to make sense for your pocket. I mean, that’s the most important piece, but it also has to be a win-win situation when you’re talking about development. Who are you developing for? You have to know who and what your in-buyer, if that’s what you’re doing, your in-buyer has to be able to be in the position to obtain something accordingly.
quality product from what you are offering.
I oftentimes see where opportunities there, the investor goes in, they just want to get as much as they can and they feel like that’s a win. For me, it’s just the opposite. I like to know that I’m going in to an opportunity that has integrity, that has the end game and
opportunity for someone else or to provide an opportunity for someone else and on my team or the folks that I Try to surround myself with they have that same end goal so I may not make a killing off a one deal or or if if it takes an adjustment for me to reduce ⁓ On one deal. I know down the road. I’ll have another opportunity to put that back in to
⁓ to another deal if that’s the case. So I think it’s very principle ⁓ driven for me when it comes to opportunities. ⁓ having said that, for example, I have a property where
looking to develop. I don’t have the full finances to develop it so I have ⁓ proposed or propositioned to partner up with another developer so that they can come in and establish. It’s an assisted living facility because the demand for that age range in certain areas is just off the charts. So in this particular situation it’s
it’s a Maryland property that I own, I went to an existing assisted living facility and offered to partner up with them where I would provide the land, they would do their own development, and then I’d get a portion of the percentage of what they’re making.
Now that’s a win-win situation for me. I don’t have to go in and just strip down and what I’m gonna sell them on the price and they don’t have to strip down and try to ⁓ beat me on what they’re offering. So it makes it a win-win situation. It’s deals like that that I have a reputation for. ⁓ Creative financing. Creative financing.
thankful for that.
Kristen (13:06)
That’s awesome. Talk more about creative financing, because I know you’re very, very good at that. What are some other ways to get creative with that?MESHELLE VAN ALLEN (13:13)
So I think that when you, if in fact there is a deal for an example of maybe, I don’t know, $2 million, I may put four investors on that deal, or as many as I can to get us to the $2 million mark.Oftentimes, I will invest my share of equity, whether it be my commission on the deal, just anything, if it’s a strong enough deal to say, look, this will help you not have to pay the commission, but the commission will be paid through a financing piece of the deal. And I’ll put it right back in. ⁓ I did have a deal most recently where we had, was,
in fact, a $2 million deal and there were four different investors there and two of which use equity of other deals that I had worked on with them. And then as a result, part of that same deal had an owner financing piece where the owner held the property, the next investor came in with the renovation money and the other investor just paid
the ⁓ monthly financing and so there are all sorts of ways. I never take no for an answer when it comes to financing. There’s always a way. It circles back to the principle of do you want to make this a win-win deal? Do you want to make it work or do you just want to be the only one?
the table. So I think those principles have given me the long run to stay in the game.
Kristen (15:42)
Absolutely, I think you hit on something really important that you just you can’t take all the time you do have to give and I think that You know what you said before that you’ve built a team around you that shares the same values as you How do you create that culture within your team and within the people you work with and yeah, how does that trickle down?MESHELLE VAN ALLEN (16:03)
Sothat’s a great question. I think it’s important when you’re uncertain of how an operation works that you go after or you try to mentor someone or get in the circle of a group of folks that have already done it or may not have done the specifics of what you’re looking to do but they’ve surely accomplished
⁓ goals in the real estate market of ⁓ being able to close a deal for example There was this one particular architect and his work was just brilliant And I said man, how is this guy getting? ⁓ All of these deals every time I do a commercial deal He’s the architect on it and and just brilliant guy so I called him up and I I said hey let
me take you to lunch, let me ⁓ just sort of pick your brain. And believe it or not, he was so willing to help me and expose me to some of the developers that it just took off. And before I know it, out of that same meeting ⁓ a few years down the road, I had one of the strongest ⁓ mentors of my career and was just happy to get me in the room.
So once you’re in the room, you learn, you listen, and from there I take it back and I said I’m going to have to build a team around me that ⁓ can keep the flow of knowledge going. And from there it’s just like a, it’s tentacles in everything. I am a firm believer that
the law of attraction. what you put out there, will definitely vibrate back to you. I can’t tell you how many times I thought that, ⁓ man, this deal, I’m never gonna get this deal. And it’s like the little engine that could. They end up calling me up and I’m always curious and I say, what made you contact me?
To get on this deal when you have so many large developers and they said well Meshelle you know what you are very tangible You’re very transparent and you have an ear to the ground and every time we mention your name someone says something that is ⁓ Very enlightening or fair and and that goes a long way with me. Yeah, that goes a long way we have
Kristen (18:54)
That’s amazing.Yeah.
MESHELLE VAN ALLEN (18:55)
We have anarea down here that’s a very predominant progressive area and it’s called Potomac, Maryland. And I remember early in my career I said, man, I’d love to sell houses in Potomac, Maryland. know, they’re ⁓ 20, 30.
the even forty thousand dollar homes a lot of the political parties and celebrities live in this area and when I got my first deal in that area I thought man I really gotta you know I ran out and I started reading everything I could I was a nervous wreck and and then I realized I said
don’t know half the stuff I know. And when I started ⁓ really positioning myself on a few of the deals, I mean, I killed it. I was so grateful. And I said, man, the same basic transparent principles go a long way.
Kristen (19:44)
Yeah.MESHELLE VAN ALLEN (20:05)
They really do. And that taught me a huge lesson about being able to use those same principles across any platform. From ⁓ Ghana to ⁓ Dubai and all over the world those same principles follow me. Yeah.Kristen (20:27)
Yeah, that’s amazing and I think it’s important to highlight because I think so many people have that imposter syndrome where they feel like they’re a fish out of water when they’re not. Like they know the information, they have the history, they have the experience, so I think that’s a really relatable thing to highlight.MESHELLE VAN ALLEN (20:36)
Yeah.And I believe…
Anyone that has a dream to do it you can do it It’s the law of attraction if you if you think it and you apply it There isn’t anything that can stop you from doing it now that will of course that sounds so cliche That doesn’t mean you’re gonna have to sacrifice a lot ⁓ Because you do and I’ve had the sacrifice in in many situations, but it always comes back to
I love to take a group of folks that have never invested before and take them on a tour and show them opportunities. when you see them make that first investment and they think, like when you first start the first day, they would have thought they could never do it. But again, creative financing. they don’t have the money, you put them with maybe four or five other people.
that do and now we’re talking 20,000 a piece coming to the table and that really gives me a good feeling to ⁓ see that I can build a team that has that same thrive behind them to know that they can get it done. The market right now in the metropolitan area and not just the metropolitan area but across the United States.
It’s a climate where folks are holding on to this whole interest rate. want to wait. Well, we’re coming out of an interest rate that was basically zero. And who I really feel for are the folks that sat on the fence that whole time and said, no, I’m going to wait. Well, what are you going to wait for? Because even though the interest rate is higher than it was then,
Kristen (22:25)
Bye.William.
MESHELLE VAN ALLEN (22:47)
At some point it’ll go back down. There’s that pendulum every seven years the interest rate makes a change. my best advice is don’t sit on the fence. Don’t sit on the fence. You can always get in and get out. But I can assure you I’ve had more people get in investment wise than those that get out. So ⁓ if there’s anybody out there that’s looking foropportunities or looking for financing or creative ways to do it, they’re out there. And I’d be more than happy to speak with anyone in reference to it. Yeah.
Kristen (23:29)
Well, that’sthink that’s a
great segue into telling people where to find you and how to work with you.
MESHELLE VAN ALLEN (23:35)
Sure, am accessible. VanAllenRealEstate.com is always a means of contacting me and I am always available to ⁓ take ⁓ any type of email or questions maybe on an investment deal that they’re doing.Just on what they should do whether they should list their property right now whether they should wait Or even with buyers that are that are looking to purchase with their first time homebuyer programs the the DMV has some of the best opportunities for first time home buyers that ⁓ that i’ve seen honestly just ⁓ Traveling around the country with different programs. They have so many wonderful programs
programs with incentives for purchasing in the DMV. Not to say that a few of the other states don’t, but because we have so many VA ⁓
opportunities here, government opportunities, responders. There are all sorts of wonderful ⁓ first time homebuyer programs, teacher programs, police programs, you name it. I have to say the DMV is, they’re known for being able to match money down on the table to help with any closing costs. And you want a seasoned ⁓ agent that knows about those
types of programs. So I would say, of course, give me a call, I’d be more than happy to direct anyone on those types of programs. And we work with a group of lenders that are very savvy and seasoned in those types of opportunities for buyers and of course sellers.
Kristen (25:36)
Well, thank you so much, Meshelle.MESHELLE VAN ALLEN (25:40)
Absolutely, thank you so much, Kristen, for having me and ⁓ having this platform because it opens the world up ⁓ to where we are in real estate right now, which is a great place.Kristen (25:54)
Absolutely.Absolutely. Well, thank you everybody for listening. I hope you got a lot of good inspiration from Meshelle and some practical advice and maybe looking at your business a little differently. And I really encourage you to reach out if you have any questions for her. So we will see you back next time. Bye.
