How Tyler Hunter Turned One House Into Three Rental Apartments and Built Passive Income

Tyler Hunter (00:00)
More aggressively yeah, that I would say that. Because I’ve been working a job for the past eight years and it was a— it was a good paying job, good job in— in general, good people. But I quit it April sixth of this year. So like I’ve officially been on my own just the past few months. By my own, without a job, just been doing my own thing for the past few months.

Joseph Crooms (01:49)
Hey everyone. Welcome to Investor Fuel Real Estate Pros Podcast. I’m your host, Joseph Crooms. Today I’m being joined by someone I’ve been looking forward to chatting with. His name is Tyler Hunter and you’re gonna like what he does. He— he’s— he’s hunting and flipping businesses, so we’ll talk a little bit more about that. Tyler, glad to have you here.

Tyler Hunter (02:15)
Glad to be here.

Joseph Crooms (02:16)
Great. I think our listeners are going to take something away from how you’re approaching the— the— the— the flipping and the market and how you’re looking to expand your business and the network that you built. So, first of all, for people who may not be familiar with you, give us the short version. What’s your main focus these days and what markets are you operating in?

Tyler Hunter (02:37)
I am a company that buys and holds property with intentions on cash flowing it. That’s pretty much my main business model right there.

Joseph Crooms (02:45)
And what market are you operating? Are you what state are you in? Okay, is— is that your primary market?

Tyler Hunter (02:48)
I’m in Kentucky. As of now, yeah. I plan on expanding, but as of now, yes.

Joseph Crooms (02:55)
Okay, and let me ask you this: how long have you been doing the business?

Tyler Hunter (03:02)
I bought my first house in twenty twenty-one and I’ve not made a business out of it until twenty twenty-four, technically.

Joseph Crooms (03:09)
Okay. And what was the first piece of property that you purchased?

Tyler Hunter (03:14)
It was a home. It was a— a three bedroom, one bath, one office home.

Joseph Crooms (03:17)
And did you convert that into— did you just rent the whole house out? Did you flip the house or what did you do with it?

Tyler Hunter (03:23)
So I got a really good deal on that house and I— my main goal at the start was fixing it up ’cause, you know, I— I got such a good deal but it needed a lot of work done to it. And between that house and there’s a little building out back that I’m gonna turn that into a tiny home. Mm-hmm. But yeah, I start off with just renting out the whole house. Yep.

Joseph Crooms (03:40)
Okay. And what other business have you purchased since in— in the— since you’ve been in, you know, you said you were in business then, but what made you move into your— to— to the business now?

Tyler Hunter (03:51)
What made me really move into it is because I love to do it and I got a lot of carpentry skills and I know a lot of carpenters. And it just made sense.

Joseph Crooms (03:58)
Great, great. And what— what other piece of properties do you own now?

Tyler Hunter (04:02)
I own another property maybe ten minutes from there that it was a twenty-four hundred square foot house and I turned that into three apartments. I’m renting out three apartments out of that one house.

Joseph Crooms (04:12)
Mm. And how much revenue— is that the only other piece of property that you had, those two now?

Tyler Hunter (04:17)
Between those two and I’m in the process of buying a third one.

Joseph Crooms (04:19)
Okay. And how much revenue do you bring in monthly? How much is the— you know, how does that translate monthly for you?

Tyler Hunter (04:26)
We’re— if we’re going just off of the— to invest— just the investments, we’re at thirty-five hundred. But after tomorrow I’ll have another cabin I’m gonna put on Airbnb. So it could go— it could be huge and it could be small, I don’t really know yet. It’d be my first time on an Airbnb, but as of right now it’s 3,500 a month.

Joseph Crooms (04:45)
And what did you— what do you anticipate for the— the new piece of property that you— what do you— what are you looking for? How much do you think—

Tyler Hunter (04:53)
This new piece of property, it is a— it’s a three bedroom house and it’s also got a block building on it that I’m gonna turn that in— that block building into a laundromat. And with that house I’m gonna try my luck on Airbnb. If that don’t go good, I’m just gonna rent it out per month. But this— a house and a laundromat is what it’ll be.

Joseph Crooms (05:58)
So you’re— you’re in Kentucky, and what’s the attraction that people may have to do— why would they wanna come there for Airbnb? What’s— what’s—

Tyler Hunter (06:08)
For there for an Airbnb is there is a strip job. If you’re f— if you’re familiar with Loretta Lynn…

Joseph Crooms (06:13)
Not really, but yeah, it’s okay.

Tyler Hunter (06:15)
She— she’s a country singer back in— she’s real big back in the seventies and eighties. And but that’s where she’s from and that’s where her daddy worked in the coal mines. And that th— they’re taking that strip job and they fixed it up to like a bunch of four-wheeler trails and stuff. And that’s— that’s something that they’re really putting money into and they’re really developing, and it’s— it’s not even a mile, mile and a half away from— from that spot. So I’m thinking like people that ride would wanna stay there in that cabin, you know.

Joseph Crooms (06:45)
Mm-hmm. And you say it’s a three bedroom cabin or three— a three apartment cabin? What— how did you describe it?

Tyler Hunter (06:52)
On— on that pro— I should have done a better job of describing it, but on that property it’s three— three apartments and I— on that same property, I built that cabin.

Joseph Crooms (06:02)
Oh, you built a cabin there.

Tyler Hunter (07:03)
Yeah. On that same property where the th— where the three apartments are. Yeah.

Joseph Crooms (07:06)
Okay. And how much do you anticipate making from those three apartments?

Tyler Hunter (07:11)
Just the three apartments alone will be twenty-seven hundred a month. Just those three apartments, not including the house that I rent out and not including the cabin that I’ll— that I’ll be— that I’ll have on the market by tomorrow.

Joseph Crooms (07:21)
So— and how big is the cabin? What— that’s the Airbnb one that you’re talking about? How much are you anticipating from that? About another five, ten— what are you— what are you anticipating from there?

Tyler Hunter (07:31)
I’m— I’m anticipating— I’ve been— I’ve been going based off of the market, what everybody— what everywhere around it is doing. I’m w— I’m wanting to go based off what the market is doing and maybe slightly under, and that would be a hundred and seventy a night.

Joseph Crooms (07:43)
Okay. And how much would that translate say, so you can pr— pretty much book it all year round. Does— is that— is that what you plan on doing?

Tyler Hunter (07:50)
Plan on it, yeah. I plan on trying that out.

Joseph Crooms (07:52)
Okay. And— and how much would— would you— would that translate if you’d book it all year round at a hundreds? How much would that translate monthly to you? What do you— what do you anticipate?

Tyler Hunter (08:00)
If I do a hundred and seventy a night and say I got ten— ten nights a month, I think that’s very doable— ten nights a month out of thirty— that’d be seventeen hundred a month off that one cabin.

Joseph Crooms (08:11)
Mm-hmm. And then you said you’re gonna— you’re gonna turn and— and then the laundromat. What do you think that will bring you? Because it makes a lot of sense to me.

Tyler Hunter (08:18)
Yeah. So where that— where that laundromat is, is like I’m wanting to keep my properties close together. And so with the three apartments and that cabin being on the same property, I’m buying the property right next to it. That’s where the laundrom— the laundromat will be and the— and the house that I’ll be fixing up will be. So right off the start, I’ll have three apartments going to that laundromat plus, you know, the neighborhood around, anybody else around. I think I’ll do pretty good.

Joseph Crooms (08:41)
Yeah, so— so that— that sounds promising. And how much would you think you make from the cabin and stuff? I d— I didn’t really get an understanding. What would— what would that cabin be? Is it already built?

Tyler Hunter (08:51)
It’s already built, yeah. I— there’s there— there’s a— there’s a few minor stuff I gotta do. Like I gotta fix the shower up today, and I got to run a drain for the sink for them to— to wash their hands and stuff. I’ll have it completely finished by today, and I’m hoping to have it by the— on the market by tomorrow.

Joseph Crooms (09:07)
So you gonna sell that or you gonna use that as an Airbnb too? Mm, so how much would the cabin— ’cause you— you— you— you already explained to me what ya— what your three— the— the— the three apartments would, how much do you think you’ll get for the cabin? Sounds like a nice cabin.

Tyler Hunter (09:21)
The cabin.

Joseph Crooms (09:22)
Mm-hmm. How much would you— do you th— think you’ll get monthly for that?

Tyler Hunter (09:24)
I think I’ll get at least seventeen hundred. It’s ba— that’s based off of if I rent it ten nights a month. I don’t th— I don’t think I can do that. Yep. Seventeen hundred a month.

Joseph Crooms (10:07)
All right, great. So you looking approximately to look like the— the— the accumulation of— of the laundromat. And how— so how soon do you think you have the laundromat up?

Tyler Hunter (10:16)
Just as soon as— as soon as this bank rolls through, as soon as— and then it— he said the other day that everything is finalizing. I think I can have that laundromat ready and that house ready in the next month or two.

Joseph Crooms (10:28)
Okay. So that’s— that sounds good. I know there’s things that— what— what has been keep— what’s been the key to keeping your machine running smoothly? What have you been doing that— that’s just been keeping you motivated to go forth the way you are?

Tyler Hunter (10:43)
What’s keep me motivated? I think I just love to do it. Like, I get so much enjoyment and fulfillment out of it. I like to build stuff. I love to build stuff.

Joseph Crooms (10:50)
So is that your primary trade that you— that sort of coincide and you say, “Look, if I put my trade in with what I’m doing, I— I can— I can take off here.”

Tyler Hunter (10:59)
Yeah, but well, between that and whenever I’m not working on my own stuff, I’ll go build something for somebody else. If I need— if I need money, if I need like however much, I’ll go do carpentry work for somebody else or just whatever they want done. But my— my, you know, some people know me as a carpenter, but my main business title is an investor. I’m an investor before I’m a carpenter.

Joseph Crooms (11:20)
Mm, mm. And how long have you been doing this investing? You— you sort of mentioned, I mean, really it’s really been taking off. It sounds like it’s taking off now. How you started in what, twenty— I’ve got what—

Tyler Hunter (11:32)
See, I— I bought my first home in twenty twenty-one and I lived in it for three years. And while I was living in it, I was fixing it up whenever I could ’cause I was wor— I was working a job then and I was using what money I had to fix it up. And I got it ready to rent in twenty twenty-four. I rented it out and, yeah, just really like off of that, just the past couple of years, you know, altogether.

Joseph Crooms (11:52)
You’ve been— you’ve been sorta approaching it more aggressively in the investment end, is that—

Tyler Hunter (11:57)
More aggressively yeah, that I would say that. Because I’ve been working a job for the past eight years and it was a— it was a good paying job, good job in— in general, good people. But I quit it April sixth of this year. So like I’ve officially been on my own just the past few months. By my own, without a job, just been doing my own thing for the past few months.

Joseph Crooms (12:14)
Gotcha, I understand. Now every operator I know has a moment where things just get real. Maybe there’s a deal that— and— and you haven’t had many, but maybe there’s a— tell me one difficulty that you found s— in one of these deals that you’re running. Which has there been any difficulties that you’d like to share with?

Tyler Hunter (12:34)
Well, I mean you see— you say difficulty, the first thing I think of is getting electrocuted last year on my— on my properties. Yeah. Really? Yeah, I— that was a— that was a difficulty. Yeah.

Joseph Crooms (12:45)
Y— y— you were working on it and what happened?

Tyler Hunter (12:48)
So this property here, I— I got a really good deal on it because it needed a lot of work done to it. And I fixed it up, which that was— that right there, I mean, that we can call that a difficulty because I had to completely gut the whole home. And I— I had tore all the drywall out, tore all the floors out, and put— put walls up to separate it. So I made three apartments out of one home, is what I did. That’s a big— it’s a big home. That was a lot of work, a lot of money. That’s probably my been my biggest difficulty, I think, is that was a lot of work to do that, you know. And I— I hired people whenever I could, but it was mainly me that done it, you know. But between getting electrocuted last year, I was crawling under to work on a drain and it was a water line that got the— got my back as I was crawling. And it was a copper water line. It a fluke, it shouldn’t have happened. I found out where it was coming from and fixed it, but yeah, yeah, you got me.

Joseph Crooms (13:38)
No. Thank God you’re okay. There’s a lot of things that honestly that separates folks who just dabble from the ones who stay in the game for the long term. You sound like one that’s in it for— that’s trying to move into the long term. Let me ask you this. What are you focused on solving at this stage in the game?

Tyler Hunter (14:40)
This stage in the game, what am I focused on solving… I would say just getting fast cash, you know, getting— getting cash faster to— to invest with, I would say.

Joseph Crooms (14:48)
Okay. Let’s talk about the— your— your network. It— the— the network sound pretty interesting. Tell me about some of the— the— the— the people that you feel that are on your team.

Tyler Hunter (14:59)
People I feel like are on my team: my— my dad is a carpenter, my grandpa’s a carpenter, my other grandpa’s a mechanic. I got an uncle that’s a carpenter. I got a cousin that’s a plumber. I got a few buddies that are carpenters. I got a few investors that they’re doing this too, that they— that they have their own apartment complexes. One of them is just right down the road. He’s got a twelve— twelve apartment complex that, you know, as of now, I would say that that’s— that’s my network. That my neck—

Joseph Crooms (15:25)
Yes, so— so and— and so especially for your investor friends, but also for your company, th— those are two trades of— that meet each other. And so are you sorta— do— do you sort of be the in-between man that sort of bring them together, and then do you gather something from—

Tyler Hunter (15:42)
Yeah, I’ve— I’ve done that. I’ve— I’ve brought together. I’ve got my carpenter friends work through my investors and I— I supplied them labor that they was asking for. They was asking for good work, and I was able to— to do that. I was able to mail them— that’s happened a few times.

Joseph Crooms (15:57)
And did you convert that sort of part of your— your— your business now? Did they give— you know, did you get a piece or w— no? Or— or— or you just did it as a friendship?

Tyler Hunter (16:05)
I did that as a friendship and a— and a business. You know, that was also a business move too, doing that.

Joseph Crooms (16:10)
Mm. And— and— and would you add that income, you know, in doing that, would you add that to your present income or business? Do you— you know, how would you translate that? ‘Cause you say— so you— you— you’re like thirty-five hundred, you’re looking to be like with if everything goes right, another say three thousand, almost ten thousand a month. How much would— do you bring in through to your business? Do your— your— your— your laboring business that you—

Tyler Hunter (16:38)
Well, between both. Yeah, it was just thirty-five hundred, just the apartments. I would at least double that, possibly. Yeah.

Joseph Crooms (16:44)
Yeah. Have you been sorta doubling that now? Have you turned that— you know, or you could— I— I guess you gotta stay busy, you know, that— w— either the plumber, have you— you know, have you capitalized on that?

Tyler Hunter (16:59)
Yeah, I have. Okay. I sure have.

Joseph Crooms (17:02)
Sure. So, you know, that’s— that’s big. I— I— I— I— you know, that’s big, especially when you’re— you’re already got some things in place, you got a good team in place, you’re sort of early in the game, you’re— you’re— you’re— you’re up— you’re going upward bound. That next move can either compound things or create chaos depending on how you plan it. Now, I know a lot of our listeners are earlier in their journey and looking to level up. I think they’ll benefit from what they’re— when it comes to building relationships and growing your network, what’s the biggest difference for you? What— what have you been doing? You know, describe what that looks like.

Tyler Hunter (17:37)
As far as building relationships, I think I’ve just been trying to be useful. Trying to be useful to them, you know. Not— not worry too— not r— like worry about what— what I’m gonna get out of it too, but also worry about like, “How can I be of use to these people?”

Joseph Crooms (17:49)
Got you. Yeah, you can’t fake that. Relationships are everything in the space. All right, before we wrap up, if someone wanted to reach out to you, connect with you, or maybe collaborate, learn more about what you’re doing, what’s the best way to reach out to you, Tyler?

Tyler Hunter (18:02)
I would say through Facebook, you know, that’s the only really platform— that social media platform that I’m on. They can find me just topping in Tyler Hunter. Or even better is— you might type in Tyler Hunter, you might find a hundred of us, okay. But y— you type in Hunter Property Investments on Facebook, you’ll find that’s my company.

Joseph Crooms (18:18)
Okay, say that one more time. Okay, and perfect. Well listen, I appreciate your time, Tyler, your story, and your perspective. We need more people in this space who are doing— doing it the right way. Thanks again for being here. And for those of you tuning in, if you got value from this— Tyler is a— is— is a— a— a new property investor, so he’s— he’s on the way up. Make sure you subscribe. We got more conversations coming with operators just like Tyler who are out there doing real— building a real business. So we wanna thank you for being here. We’ll see you on our next episode of Investor Fuel Real Estate Pros Podcast. Tyler, tell everybody you see them later.

Tyler Hunter (18:58)
Appreciate y’all watching and thanks for listening.