How a Nurse Built 12 Out-of-State Rentals From Los Angeles | Lindsay Barrientos

Lindsay Barrientos (00:00)

Something that I encourage people to do is to close the door. So you have to close the door in a lot of things. It might be great things, but you have to close the door in order to narrow where you want to go. So you have to find people that are doing the same thing that you’re doing, right? Like if you are truly an Airbnb entrepreneur.

And then you want to do that, then find the people that are doing Airbnb If you truly want fix and flip, then you have to find the people. You have to close the door on everything because you can take everything. We would like to think that we have availability to all everything. We can learn everything, but no, you do have to close the door. So narrow down your niche, whatever you want to pursue, and then make sure you close the door on everything else.

Issa Hanna (01:13)

Welcome back to another episode of the Real Estate Pros Show. I’m your host, Issa Hanna and today we have Lindsay Barrientos with us to share her knowledge. Lindsay, welcome to the show.

Lindsay Barrientos (01:21)

Thank you so much, Issa for inviting me.

Issa Hanna (01:23)

I am super excited to have you. you work in a profession that’s near and dear to my heart. My wife is actually a nurse, so you are a nurse, but you’ve been able to leverage your nursing career into building real generational wealth with real estate. Before we get into your journey and how you’ve been able to do that, can you give my viewers a day-to-day in your world?

Lindsay Barrientos (01:42)

Yeah, so my world looks a little bit crazy right now because I recently left my W-2 job as a nurse practitioner. Now I’m a nurse practitioner. And so that’s been a big jump from the past and working your W-2 or working different contracts as we discussed before. I was a travel nurse in the past and many, many lives ago, I feel like now.

not having a regular job to clock in nine to fine has been a little revolutionary, a little bit anxiety driven, and having to learn a different business as well, which is something that if you like to opening a telehealth practice in Los Angeles in California, which is not a easy thing to do. most of the things that I do right now, it’s wake up, I work out from five thirty to six thirty. I

clock in into my emails, which is the main referrals I get to. Most of my real estate is managed by a property manager. And that was something I needed from the beginning because you mentioned, I was a nurse and I was working hospital jobs and I could not get off something and between patients and doctors I need to answer a question from the tenant. So from the get-go, I definitely offloaded a lot of my properties to a property manager. So those things that I do check in

on a not daily basis, but mostly a weekly basis, something along the lines of a report. most of my day right now it’s pretty patchy, I would say.

Issa Hanna (02:58)

Definitely. and making that leap from the nine to five to working for yourself or being an entrepreneur. the good entrepreneurs, they’re really good at managing their time because yeah, you wake up and you technically you don’t have to do anything. You’re your own boss. But that’s where that comes in, where we’re working 12 hours a day. We might be on the beach, we might be out to eat, we might be hanging out at somebody’s house. We’re always on the phone, we’re always checking our emails.

We’re making sure the operation that we’ve built is running smoothly. and that’s what a good investor does. Seems like that’s exactly what you’re doing. Congratulations on finally quitting the W-2 and going into full time business for yourself. you got the entrepreneur bug. I’m loving it. and I wanted to get into your history. So you were a travel nurse. like I said, my wife was a nurse. You guys make big bucks when you travel,

What made you want to go from, okay, I’m a nurse, let me start building something else. What made you jump into real estate?

Lindsay Barrientos (03:52)

Yeah, many things. Initially I was actually under the fire community. I was just like fire, retire early. That was the whole heist of my late 20s. But when I bought my first home as a single-family residence in Los Angeles, that was in 2019. I went to double or triple my housing costs. And I was just like, okay, this is not gonna work out for a long time. Me as a single girl,

That’s a big mortgage for me to carry around. So let me house hack. But at the time I didn’t know that was house hacking. So I was just like, what do I have available? I have a bunch of nursing friends that are traveling in and out of Los Angeles. Let me rent out a room. So I was renting out rooms and offsetting my mortgage by doing that. And then I was like, That’s kind of neat. what is that about? Right? but it wasn’t until 2020 when COVID hit Los Angeles

I immediately became a healthcare frontline worker. And that took a toll on my mental health. And so I fell with depression very badly. And I was able to get me out of that hole with medication therapy and all of the resources that I tapped into my health, obviously family support as well. But that was a rude awakening for me in terms of being a nurse for a long time and I loved what I did to hating what I did and not wanting to work anymore.

And then I took that as decision maker. I need to figure out a way to get out of the rat race or get out of the profession that I was doing by doing something else. What else do I know to do? I don’t know anything else but doing nursing. But I was like, wait, I’m renting out rooms in my house. Like I’m technically saving some of my mortgage because I’m renting out rooms. what is let me Google this.

to see what else can I do. I don’t know anything about nobody around me speaks real estate language. I’m a first gen immigrant. my parents don’t speak English. most of their things I have to help them with, I don’t invest in 401(k) or anything like that. I had to learn it on my own. Credit scores, I had to learn it on my own. Buying a house, I had to learn it on my own. So I was just like, okay, let me see what people are doing out there. So that I tapped into social media.

how do you make money? real estate. I’m like, okay, what can I buy in Los Angeles with real estate? Well, every house in Los Angeles is like a million dollars. even if I buy something with $200,000 down, I can’t cash flow. So that definitely diverted me into looking out to out of state and looking at what people were doing out of state. And then me as a nurse being able to take traveling nursing contracts,

One of the things that I looked at was Chicago, where you live. So I was just like, because I also had to go to competitive markets, right? So I couldn’t go to just any market. So the more competitive markets are the more bigger metropolitan areas. So I was on a contract there and I was like, what can I do? If this is in 2022 already, what can I do here in terms of buying real estate? And at the time, a lot of moratoriums were still happening, people were

not paying their mortgages. People were not paying their rent. So I decided I needed something more safe, more landlord friendly. So I started looking at areas around downtown Chicago and that’s how I came up with Indiana. And that was the market I tapped into eventually.

Issa Hanna (07:33)

I love that. And yeah, as a former award-winning Chicagoland realtor, over 250 buyers, first-time home buyers under my belt. The suburbs, even out to Indiana, are still considered Chicagoland. They’re still very, very much in demand. And I love that because every investor we have a buyer’s net, whatever that may be. I always say people that watch the show all the time, they know I’m gonna say it.

It makes dollars, it makes sense. So you looked at the California at the LA market, it didn’t make dollars, it didn’t make sense to you. I love that you used your travel contract. let me go check out Chicago. and you researched and you ran your numbers, and then you found a market that you’re comfortable that made dollars, so it made sense for you to invest. And since 2022,

12 properties. unbelievable. you’re scaling at such a great level. I do want to touch on the first generation thing. I myself am the first generation person. It is a lot harder to start because we do have to learn this stuff on our own. Our parents don’t know this stuff. So we’ve got to be online doing the research, learning through the fire. Mistakes happen and we got to get through them. And then with that, I’m an investor, you’re an investor.

We all have it, right? We all have at least one, and that’s the real estate nightmare. So can you give my viewers a real estate nightmare that you experienced that sticks out in your mind and how you got through it?

Lindsay Barrientos (08:50)

Yeah, I have many, but the first one at least was the most catastrophizing I would say. And it was the first BRRRR that I attempted. so I bought a property in Norwestern Indiana, from a from the MLS bought this property for $40,000, which is a single family brick building, two bedroom, one bath with a full basement.

and I needed rehab, right? And then I put about maybe $35,000 more into to update the bathrooms, to update the kitchen, change flooring, change carpet. and then my first BRRRR right? My first ad value deal, this is property number three for me. I’ve already had a tenant moving in, lease was signed. I have the broker.

price on Wednesday and I think on Monday my property manager calls me and says there’s been a fire in the house I’m gonna have to call you back later with more details. I don’t know what’s happening. And then I’m like what the heck? what am I doing? this is why people don’t invest in real estate? This is like crazy. I need to know. So I finally got more details. There was nobody in the house the tenant hadn’t moved in yet. So

There’s no damage in terms of people being there. But the majority of the damage that came in was a very small fire electrical wiring faulty on the kitchen that sparked, right? And the firefighters just knocked the door down, so damaged the door, and then did the high pressure hose and blew up all the freshly painted drywall of the walls, right? And then the majority of the damage came from that water.

rather than the fire, but going through the process of buying the BRRRR finishing the rehab, finding a tenant, starting the process of escrow for, cashing out, refinance, and then all of a sudden you’re like, you have a fire. And then I have to come clean to the broker, being like, I don’t know what I’m gonna do right now, but I can’t refi out, obviously so

There’s nothing to embrace right now because everything’s damaged. And then he’s like, Okay, let you figure it out. Just contact me when you know what’s gonna happen. And then because of the price point that I bought the house out, I decided I’m just gonna rehab it again, and then refinance out again. and leave the money that’s there.

Comps, I thought the property was gonna comp for $90,000. So I was just like, okay, well, I’m just gonna leave 20% down in that property. So it’s not a successful BRRRR but whatever. I just need to get through this right now. at the time I have a job, I have a nursing job, I’m going to school full-time, and this is happening all the same time. So I’m like, I just need to get this done. So I rehab it for a second time. It was a nightmare, but

When we appraised the property, it appraised for a hundred and sixty thousand instead of the ninety thousand that I thought. So it was paid off. I got the amount of money that I put into the house, but the whole process of my first birth was pretty traumatizing for sure.

Issa Hanna (12:14)

100%. And I always say you never lose, you always learn, right? you got a good surprise by it appraising out seventy thousand more than you thought. Somebody who’s experienced a house fire at one of my properties, it is terrifying. especially the first time, right? You’re going there, okay. What do I do? You’ve got to rehab it. When a house fire happens, you’ve got to rehab that electrical to the new code. Everything has to be up.

To the new code, even if that property was grandfathered into the old code. So it could get really, really frustrating, really, really challenging. You experience things that not a lot of investors do. I remember just to relate when I was dealing with my fire, it felt like everything was falling in on me, and it was really tough. But then, you get through to the other side and you go, that wasn’t that bad, and you’re kind of thankful.

Because you know the process now. you could go ahead and buy a fire damaged property and know how to go about rehabbing it and getting the occupancy permit. So that’s why I always say you never lose, you always learn. And the real estate business is full of hard lessons like that where you’ve got to stand up and walk through the fire or you fold, and the good investors walk through the fire and don’t fold and they learn and they just get better and better and better.

and it seems like you’re right there on par with the great investors. I’m loving it. so I asked you how you got started. I asked you about the real estate nightmare that we all have. now I want the five year plan. We’re always looking into the future, we’re always planning. So I Google you in five years. Where am I gonna see Lindsay at?

Lindsay Barrientos (13:43)

Well, hopefully working part-time. So 20 hours of my telehealth practice, that’s the goal for now. I built an ADU in my single-family residence. That one’s detached, that one’s rented as a midterm. Now I just got another set of permits done for an additional ADU and that’s gonna be a three-bedroom, two-bath house It’s on house, So that should be built. In California takes a long time to build, so

That may take a whole year to actually build. so that in itself will negate all of my housing costs, all of all those units, right? And then I have properties out of state that will pay for my luxury cost of living, right? And my telehealth practice for whatever I want to do that.

I know that you have a lot of mortgages that are paid off. That’s amazing. That’s a really goal of mine. I’m very transparent right now to the point that I haven’t paid myself one cent from the real estate venture that I have. Everything is being reinvested in the business. So one of the ideal things that I would like to do is continue to do that, but paying off the properties, right? So once that paid off properties are there, then I will be

no longer needing to rely on any other source of income. but I still think, like you said, I have the entrepreneurship bug So I have been putting content more online about my real estate. And then there’s a lot of people, especially after my BiggerPockets podcast interview, there is a lot of interest

having consultations or even having coaching. So I haven’t decided that I’m gonna do education, but that’s something that might be into the future. But yes, right now it’s the next two years probably ADU build, keep growing my telehealth practice and I make sure that I’m able to build generational wealth as well.

Issa Hanna (15:26)

True, American dream, right? You’re building it up. unbelievable, very inspiring. I know my people at home are gonna be super inspired by your story. and I can see you smashing these future goals, just with the knowledge that you’re bringing. Self-taught, you do get a little bit of guidance along the way. my goodness, are you gonna really take over? And then the ADU thing.

something that’s huge in California right now. So all you California property owners, the cost of living is getting super expensive. things are not getting cheaper. So ADUs are super, super good to get in and make you be able to make money or not even if you just want to afford your mortgage more. ADUs are something to look into you guys. so amazing knowledge you’re bringing Lindsay to the show right now.

Now I want to give you the floor, right? You are an entrepreneur. You got the telehealth popping off. You’ve got a lot of stuff. So if people wanted to get a hold of you, they wanted to reach you and learn more about this new business you got going, how could they do it?

Lindsay Barrientos (16:23)

Yeah, for anything real estate related, I’m everywhere @lindoesinvesting L-I-N does Investing. That’s on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram. And for my telehealth practice, if you look up Guidance Psychiatry Services, if you’re in California, I will be able to help you. But if you’re not, I’m sure I can provide a referral for you. I also have a podcast.

Real Estate Chisme and this is where we encourage women, especially people of color, to come and listen to us because we have a lot of interview guests that are actually women and killing in real estate, either they’re doing flipping or lending or whatever they’re doing on the real estate. So as a place to network, this is free to join. This is a Skool platform Real Estate Chisme, you can listen to the podcast or join the community.

Issa Hanna (17:09)

I love that Real Estate Chisme make sure you check out the telehealth. and make sure you guys just check out Lindsay in general. Slide into those DMs. If you have questions, she is super personable, super knowledgeable, and will be more than willing to help you guys. or make sure you guys go check out her podcast, subscribe, like all those videos. I’m sure it’s a wealth of knowledge. Shout out that you’re doing it for the women. I have three little sisters, so I love it. you guys are powerful and you guys

Can do a lot of things. you guys are mentally tougher than we are a lot of times. So shout out to that. And then I want to leave on one piece of advice. You touched on it just now with the community that you’re building. people say it all the time. your network is your net worth, right? So if you had to tell these new guys that are just coming into the real estate game, you had to give them one piece of advice on how to start growing their network, what would you tell them?

Lindsay Barrientos (18:01)

fortunately in the real estate world, people are so handy. They just want to talk about their journey and talk about their real estate and their deals and the numbers. it’s not unlike any other community. People just want to share. And if you have an ear, then you can listen to a lot of the advice that are given. And obviously, there is another lot of information as well because real estate is so broad, it’s like a whole nother wall.

You have PadSplit, you have fix and flip, you have BRRRRs, you have all of these things. And it’s really hard to narrow your focus.

Something that I encourage people to do is to close the door. So you have to close the door in a lot of things. It might be great things, but you have to close the door in order to narrow where you want to go. So you have to find people that are doing the same thing that you’re doing, right? Like if you are truly an Airbnb entrepreneur.

And then you want to do that, then find the people that are doing Airbnb If you truly want fix and flip, then you have to find the people. You have to close the door on everything because you can taste everything. We would like to think that we have availability to all everything. We can learn everything, but no, you do have to close the door. So narrow down your niche, whatever you want to pursue, and then make sure you close the door on everything else.

Issa Hanna (19:14)

Amazing golden advice right there, guys. real estate does have many, many, many different nooks and crannies and facets. And there’s millionaires and generational wealth in every single one of them. But if you spend your time, I want this, I want that, I’m here, I’m there, you’re never going to narrow down and get into your specialty. And that’s where the real money’s made. truly, truly amazing advice, Lindsay. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast.

Guys, make sure you guys check out Lindsay’s podcast. Just for her brief twenty minutes she’s been on the show. She’s dropping knowledge bombs on us here. So make sure you guys go run to YouTube, like and subscribe. Lindsay, thank you so much for coming on. It was a true honor.

Lindsay Barrientos (19:56)

Thank you so much.

Issa Hanna (19:57)

I had a great conversation. And to my viewers at home, if you enjoyed my conversation with Lindsay and want to see more like it, make sure to hit like and subscribe. I talk to people every day that can bring us different knowledge on every aspect of the real estate industry. Until next time, the Real Estate Pros are out.