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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros Podcast, host Michelle Kesil interviews Shan Conry, a lender and real estate investor. Shan shares insights on financing strategies for investors, common misconceptions in real estate financing, and practical advice for new investors. He discusses his personal investment journey, the challenges he faced along the way, and the opportunities he sees in today’s real estate market. The conversation emphasizes the importance of financial preparedness and how real estate investing can be a powerful tool for building generational wealth.
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Shan Conry (00:00)
And even if you’ve never bought a house and and you’re listening to a podcast like this and you’re thinking I really Want to put to work some of the things that you’re learning ⁓ I can help you from a financial standpoint ⁓ From you know getting started in what’s my credit score? How does that work work? How much how much can I borrow? ⁓ that initial step can help you on it on a path to really creating generational wealth andpeople who own real estate are 44 % richer than those that rent. So if you’re paying rent, that’s 100 % interest that you’re paying.
Michelle Kesil (02:11)
Hey everybody, welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Kesil, and today I’m joined by someone I’m looking forward to chatting with, Shan Conry, who is a lender and real estate investor. So, excited to have you here today, Shan.Shan Conry (02:27)
Thank you so much, Michelle.Michelle Kesil (02:29)
Yeah, definitely. think our listeners are going to take a lot away from how you’re both working with investors as well as the investing that you do yourself. So let’s dive in. First off, for those not familiar with you and your work yet, can you share what your main focus is?Shan Conry (02:49)
Yeah, so my main focus is really financial support for investors and, you know, anyone looking to use real estate as a generational wealth or anyone looking to find unique ways to finance investments. So deal architecture is what I do to help investors potentially be able to buy properties. Perhaps they’re self-employed and they ⁓ need a unique way to be able tobuy properties without necessarily having to write everything off on their taxes. ⁓ that’s my focus is really helping folks finance ⁓ their investment properties.
Michelle Kesil (03:30)
Awesome. And which markets do you operate in?Shan Conry (03:34)
So I do residential commercial as well, you so I can go multi-unit as well as single family dwelling. So I run the gamut from, you know, any kind of ⁓ fix and flip that an investor might want to start out with all the way up to commercial residential.Michelle Kesil (03:53)
Yeah, and is this nationwide or in a certain part of the US?Shan Conry (03:58)
Yes, rate mortgage is nationwide, so we operate in all 50 states. ⁓ So there’s no limit to where an investor can buy and finance with us.Michelle Kesil (04:08)
Great. And so what do you feel are some of the main keys that allow your business to be able to grow and to run smoothly?Shan Conry (04:18)
Yeah, well, think growth is absolutely key. ⁓ We need inventory in the real estate market and with more affordability coming with a new Fed chair taking place in May of this year, I think there’s definitely going to be a lot of growth for anyone in the real estate market, whether it be finance, ⁓ acquisition, ⁓ it’s going to be much better come this summer. ⁓ So I think it’s going to be a huge growth opportunity, not only for myself.but also for investors and affordability.
Michelle Kesil (04:52)
Yeah, definitely. And so what are the different ways that you are supporting investors right now?Shan Conry (05:47)
So right now ⁓ there are some products that are really making a difference for investors. One is called DSCR. It’s a debt service coverage ratio loan. And ⁓ it’s essentially taking what you would have in a ⁓ rental amount. Say for example, the rent is $2,000 and you ⁓ put enough down so that the PITI, principal interest taxes and insurance is also $2,000.That would be a debt service coverage ratio of one So I wouldn’t need any income. We’re essentially financing your investment off the performance of the property. So that is a great product for investors who don’t want to have this standard limits of say a Fannie Freddie loan that when they’re looking to buy an investment property. So that’s been a huge growth opportunity for us. We do those loans in house.
So they’re not brokered out. You’re not getting hit with big broker fees. So it allows the investor to keep more cash in their pocket when they’re buying ⁓ a new investment.
Michelle Kesil (06:54)
Awesome. Are there any common misconceptions that you kind of uncover for investors when it comes to financing and loans?Shan Conry (07:07)
Absolutely. ⁓ The main one that I alluded to slightly earlier was that, you know, I wrote, I had a big write off on my taxes. not showing very much income. had a great year, but I took advantage of some write offs. And so I don’t think I’ll qualify. ⁓ We have various products like a bank statement program. So we can take ⁓ all 12 months worth of bank statements and qualify you off that without any tax returns.we can do the same for 1099. A lot of times investors may have had not a great year and had a better year in 2025. Well, I have a one year tax program. it’s not like typical lenders where they’re averaging everything over two years. So there’s a variety of products that are available to address a lot of the misconceptions that investors have thinking they can’t qualify when they actually can.
Michelle Kesil (08:08)
Yeah, definitely. And are there any sort of investors that would not qualify?Shan Conry (08:18)
Well, I think if someone’s doing a DSCR loan and they’ve got a higher cost mortgage and they’re not able to collect as much for rent, that would cause it to not qualify. However, I can go below a 1-0 ratio, so I can go as low as 0.75. So there’s oftentimes situations where they may have multiple properties and most timesFannie and Freddie will limit you to 10 properties. So one may think that if you have more than 10, that you’re not gonna have access to a lot of loans. ⁓ That falls back in the misconception standpoint, because I can do 20 plus properties for investors. I think ⁓ there are very few situations where I can’t find a different product for an investor. ⁓ One of the biggest areas which would make them possibly not qualify.
is if you have a larger real estate portfolio and you don’t have enough cash reserves that are required, that could cause you to not qualify.
Michelle Kesil (09:29)
Yeah, that makes sense. Awesome. And so as far as investing, is there any sort of advice you like to give your clients or for those that are listening and looking to get started?Shan Conry (09:48)
Yes, I think one of the best pieces of advice that I can give an investor is get your finances lined up so that you have access to finances when you need it. For example, say you find a flip that you want to do. ⁓ I can absolutely help you finance that and do possibly a renovation loan so that you’re not tapping into your funds to ⁓ put into the investment yourself and you can keep your cash on hand.I think the main thing is to really think about strategies that are going to work for you in the coming year to allow you to ⁓ keep your cash flow positive and tax flow positive as well, right? Because there are certain ways that we can look at a property that may not be cash flow positive, but it could definitely help you from a tax perspective.
Michelle Kesil (11:13)
Yeah, are there any sort of financial strategies that could assist in that?Shan Conry (11:21)
So it really depends on if you’re looking at multi-unit, right? If you’re going to a lot of early investors like to look at say duplexes or up to a fourplex and live in one of the units for the first 12 months, get that primary residence rate that it’s going to help you get a nice low interest rate so you can improve rent on those other units that you’re living in. After 12 months of occupying that unit,You can then rent that out and use all of that rental income ⁓ towards the purchase of another home. There’s an opportunity for investors to really ⁓ understand that, say for example, you have some new leases, we can give you 75 % fair market rental income credit for those newly leased units. That’s gonna help offset that mortgage so that you can qualify for more in your next acquisition.
Michelle Kesil (12:20)
Yeah, that’s awesome. And so what are you most focused on solving or scaling to next in your business?Shan Conry (12:31)
I think the number of investors that I want to help this year is probably going to be the goal of one of my largest. ⁓ I have ⁓ a lot of investors in Texas. I’m seeing a lot of building growth in places like Colorado and Tennessee. So I think those states ⁓ are definitely high marks for me this year. ⁓ I’m very grateful for the clientele that I have ⁓ from investments in Santa Cruz, which I’mI’m closing this month, ⁓ multi-million dollar property and an interest rate of 5.5 % on an arm is pretty fantastic. So ⁓ I love to be able to help investors get a nice low rate that helps them stay competitive and allow them to use funds towards ⁓ future investments rather than using all cash to ⁓ essentially liquidate their bank accounts to…
make that next acquisition. So it’s a constant revolving door with, hey, now that this property is paid off, do we want to pull money out of there, put towards a new acquisition, and really working with my clients as a strategy to help them grow their portfolio.
Michelle Kesil (13:47)
Yeah, amazing. Are there specific strategies that you often suggest for people?Shan Conry (13:56)
Yes, I think it’s important to take a holistic look at ⁓ what your goals are, right? A lot of lenders will say, hey, I want to buy this property and they do a pre-approval and shoot off the letter and they don’t look at you holistically in terms of what your goals are for growth and what you might want to do to reallocate ⁓ assets or debt in order to improve your financial portfolio. So from a real estate perspective. So that’s definitely what I can help clients focus on.And even if you’ve never bought a house and and you’re listening to a podcast like this and you’re thinking I really Want to put to work some of the things that you’re learning ⁓ I can help you from a financial standpoint ⁓ From you know getting started in what’s my credit score? How does that work work? How much how much can I borrow? ⁓ that initial step can help you on it on a path to really creating generational wealth and
people who own real estate are 44 % richer than those that rent. So if you’re paying rent, that’s 100 % interest that you’re paying.
So it’s those types of early investors that I like to help as well.
Michelle Kesil (15:53)
Yeah, definitely. And like if someone’s an earlier investor and maybe like they don’t have all of the financing, what are some maybe financing strategies that you would suggest?Shan Conry (16:10)
Yeah, so again, there are solutions out there where you don’t have to have a huge amount of money to purchase a home, especially if you’re going to live in it for 12 months like we talked about. Some people may have some credit challenges and I can definitely ⁓ work with them to improve their credit. I partner with a company that focuses solely on mortgages so that people who might be credit challengedcan turn around their credit scores quickly in order to make that purchase.
Michelle Kesil (16:48)
Yeah, amazing. I’m sure that is really helpful. And you mentioned you’re an investor yourself. What are some of the opportunities that you’re excited for? Yeah, maybe your own investing journey.Shan Conry (16:51)
Indeed.Absolutely. So I own commercial real estate. have investments in Alabama and Tennessee, know, Southern California. So, ⁓ and I’m in Northern California where I own multiple properties here as well. I manage, I have an Airbnb. ⁓ So I’ve, I’ve kind of have a broad portfolio, which really comes to bear. ⁓ I built houses from the ground up using construction loans, which
we have available. So my own portfolio, I think is pretty deep. And I have some land that I’m wanting to build on, ⁓ waiting for the right time to do that. And ⁓ just really enjoy what I’ve been able to build for my family. I had my first grandbaby recently, so it kind of changes the horizon of knowing that there’ll be… ⁓
essentially like I talked about generational wealth that he’ll be able to take advantage of ⁓ in many years to come. So I think that I can remember buying my first house and having it seem completely overwhelming. And now I look back and I’m just so grateful that ⁓ I have a great retirement set up for myself. And a lot of that is from the real estate acquisition.
Michelle Kesil (18:29)
Yeah, that’s amazing that you were able to really start that investing journey and get set up for the future in that way.Shan Conry (18:38)
Indeed, yes. It’s a feeling of confidence and security for the future, not only for me, but for my family.Michelle Kesil (18:49)
Absolutely. And what is like a challenge or obstacle that you’ve experienced as an investor that now looking back you can see the lesson that you learned?Shan Conry (19:01)
Yeah, I think my son was the one who talked me into buying my first commercial building and it seemed daunting. And I thought there’s no way. There’s so much risk involved, but that has turned out to be one of my most profitable investments. So when you look at buying property, ⁓ a lot of people will have hundreds of doors. Like I’ve been to an investor’s mastermind and…I was blown away by how big some of these investors are and they’re quite young. So ⁓ it’s never too early to get started. And I think that’s the obstacle is just taking that next level step for yourself, whether moving from single family into multi-unit, moving from multi-unit into commercial. ⁓ You don’t have to go in a linear line. You can definitely start out buying commercial if the…
Cashflow is there for you.
Michelle Kesil (20:00)
Definitely, and what would you say has been like the biggest difference in the type of asset classes, like in the difference between the commercial and just the single family.Shan Conry (20:15)
Yeah, I think it’s a matter of, you know, what does the risk profile look like for you? Are you buying a four unit that is completely vacant and you’ve got to work on getting those tenants in there? Are you going to work with a property management company or are you going to manage it yourself? Is it going to be something local that you buy or are going to buy it out of the area? So there’s, you know, it doesn’t mean that you have to live and be where your investments are. There’s plenty of places like I have an incredibleproperty management company in Alabama that takes care of my rental and that was new construction. So ⁓ there’s a lot that you can do from ⁓ your office chair as an investor. So I think it’s a matter of not being afraid to look far and wide for the right investment for you.
Michelle Kesil (21:05)
Definitely, I think that’s important to not limit yourself and yeah, take action where you desire to. Yeah, so is there anything that you’re looking forward to for this year and as far as maybe opportunities and your own real estate journey or for your clients or all around?Shan Conry (21:13)
Exactly.Yes, I mean, I’m definitely looking forward to this year. ⁓ You know, for myself, the thing that’s great about working with rate, we were previously guaranteed rate, we’ve rebranded to rate and we do mortgage and insurance. ⁓ Our insurance business is fantastic. It’s a huge part of figuring out what your costs are going to be. And the other thing, just in terms of the type of stuff that we add on, we are partnered with ADT, so we’re getting security systems.
⁓ involved with the acquisition and as an investor, want to make sure your property secure. So I’m, ⁓ and if you look at like our rate app, which is a powerful app where you can, you can, you know, not only look at your financial wellness as an investor, it’s also looking at your physical and mental wellness. ⁓ so the technology itself is phenomenal. ⁓ I’m able to travel and still take care of my clients, because of, of the way that.
We have invested so heavily into technology to make it easier for our clients to quickly acquire that home and oftentimes compete with cash. So I just think that the industry itself, we’re leading that industry when it comes to being able to take care of our clients in a way that very few other mortgage companies can.
Michelle Kesil (22:51)
Yeah, amazing. That is exciting. So before we wrap up here, if someone wants to reach out, connect, learn more about what you’re up to, where can people find you and connect with you?Shan Conry (23:04)
Great, ⁓ well first of all, feel free to call me. My phone number’s pretty easy to remember, 530-570-9999. So the first digits are 530-570-9999. ⁓ Applications can be filled out at www.rate.com slash Shan Conry. That’s S-H-A-N-C-O-N-R-Y. The great thing is we just do a soft credit pool.You don’t have to worry about dinging your credit if you want to really get an idea of what you can qualify for without having people pull your credit and have a hard inquiry. those are ways to get a hold of me. I’m Home Loans by Shan on Instagram and Facebook, and you can DM me ⁓ or text me. So I would love to help you.
Michelle Kesil (23:57)
Perfect, well, I appreciate your time and your story. Thank you for being here. Of course. And for the listeners tuning in, if you got value, make sure you have subscribed. We have more conversations with operators like Shan who are building real businesses, and we’ll see you on our next episode.Shan Conry (24:02)
Thanks for having me.
