Transitional Housing Investing: Why Kelly Riggs Says Returns Can Beat Airbnb | Real Estate Pros

Kelly Riggs (00:00)

This is just like the Airbnb market that started in the eighties. People are gonna promote it, people are gonna get into it, and then it’s gonna dwindle down. But right now is the upswing of the transitional marketing industry. We even get government grants for this stuff, so that’s something I keep my eye on. And the return in transitional housing is almost ten times that of an Airbnb.

Scott Bursey (01:54)

Welcome back to the Real Estate Pros podcast powered by Investor Fuel. I’m your host, Scott Bursey. Glad you’re with us. And today we’re pleased to be joined by Kelly Riggs, who is an inspiring author, speaker, and ministry leader who, along with his wife, Angela Blair, runs Sonshine Ministries Groups LLC. They focus on equipping people to turn God-given visions into tangible impact, from transitional housing to

sustainable ministry operations. Today we’re going to dig into how Kelly is specifically tackling the underserved corner of the real estate market, combining biblical stewardship with real-world investment results. Listeners, you can expect a masterclass on how to create real value while staying true to a higher mission. Kelly, welcome to the show.

Kelly Riggs (02:46)

No, thank you, sir. I’m glad to—glad to be back.

Scott Bursey (02:48)

It is awesome having you here, and to help our listeners get up to speed: Could you please give us the ninety-second highlight reel, how your career ignited and where you’re pouring your fuel now?

Kelly Riggs (02:59)

My career ignited… One day I ended up homeless, and I learned a lot about what it’s like to be without. And since then, my wife and I, we’ve invested money in Airbnbs, flips, and things of that nature, but we’ve always got called back to the one thing I know how to do. And she is learning very fast. She actually knows the business side of things, and I know how to make things happen. I know how to get the property together.

We’re doing very well in transitional housing, and there’s so much room in America for it right now that we’re willing to teach people how to get into it.

Scott Bursey (03:31)

That is so powerful, Kelly. Thank you for sharing. And what really caught my attention about you was the way you’ve been able to identify and effectively revitalize properties in these often-overlooked, underserved pockets of the market, turning neglected assets into centers for community growth. And really building off that, what are the specific strengths you lean on when entering these underserved markets that

others might just miss?

Kelly Riggs (04:00)

My biggest strength is I’ve been in construction my whole life. I know construction very well. I know how to train people to do jobs, and we take people from our transitional homes and we train them to do jobs. And our biggest strength is being able to corner that part of the market, to where we’re not spending out hundreds of thousands of dollars to refit a home to sell for a minimal profit. I use my guys, I use the houses for training. I’m teaching them how to

paint, hang sheetrock, electrical work. I’m a master electrician, so that’s definitely my strong suit. I’m teaching all kinds of people to become electricians. Matter of fact, our son right now is with a heat and air company, and he is surpassing people twice his age because I’ve already taught him how to do those things as a teenager.

Scott Bursey (04:42)

That is wonderful. And wondering, Kelly, when you look at the weaknesses or gaps in the current real estate landscape for these communities, what’s the biggest hurdle you face?

Kelly Riggs (04:54)

My biggest hurdle is manpower, getting people to get in there, get stuff done. Contractors are terrible, though—go in and they’ll get their deposit, and then they’ll run off on you for weeks at a time. And people don’t realize time is money. I know that’s a cliché that you hear time and time again, but if you go into something, you can’t sell it immediately. Well, you rent it out to recoup some of your money. That time that house is unoccupied, that is money lost.

And you’ve got to make your most valuable asset your time. We don’t have time for people to not do their job as efficiently as possible.

Scott Bursey (06:15)

And how do you personally navigate that hurdle—the time issue, labor issue—to keep momentum going?

Kelly Riggs (06:22)

When people enter my transitional homes, I require them to work. And if you don’t have a job, you’re going to work with me. Not always a pleasant thing, but we’re able to fill in where contractors fall off. If somebody doesn’t show up to do the sheetrock, well, I’ll take my guys in there and gonna learn how to hang and sheetrock that day, and we actually save money doing that.

Scott Bursey (06:42)

Digging into the opportunities, Kelly, where do you see the biggest potential for real estate investors to make a difference right now?

Kelly Riggs (06:50)

Hands down, the biggest opportunity in the real estate market today is in transitional housing. It has the largest need. It’s not a luxury. There are 750,000 people out there today that need a place to live and learn how to work. And you’ll notice if you watch TikTok or YouTube, you’ll see all these guys making these advertisements about transitional housing. I got a kick out of it, because one of them didn’t even have a single house, but he’s talking about transitional housing because he heard it from somebody else.

But

this is just like the Airbnb market that started in the eighties. People are gonna promote it, people are gonna get into it, and then it’s gonna dwindle down. But right now is the upswing of the transitional marketing industry. We even get government grants for this stuff, so that’s something I keep my eye on. And the return in transitional housing is almost ten times that of an Airbnb.

Scott Bursey (07:39)

That’s some excellent perspective. And Kelly, getting clear on the threats, what are you most concerned about regarding the long-term stability of these underserved markets?

Kelly Riggs (07:50)

Sooner or later, people are going to learn, just like they learned about the Airbnb market—everybody got into it. Same thing’s going to happen here. As this spreads, people are going to learn about this. They’re going to learn about the profitability of it, and then the market is going to become flooded with people investing in it. As that happens, your return goes down in any market. Once it gets saturated, the value goes down, and that’s what’ll happen here.

And I expect in the next ten years this market is going to be saturated.

Scott Bursey (08:19)

Every time.

And let’s touch on this: What overall strategy do you—do you implement to balance the financial performance of these assets with the mission-driven goals you and Angela have?

Kelly Riggs (08:32)

I plan to be very centered on this. My wife and I study the Proverbs in the Holy Bible every day, and if you follow the instructions in that one book of the Bible, you’re going to find a very good balance. You center your business on that, you center your life on that, your life’s going to change. And God actually calls his people to be three things: wealthy,

prosperous, and ministers in his kingdom. If you can do that, the sky’s the limit.

Scott Bursey (08:59)

I love it. How does that balance impact your deal selection process?

Kelly Riggs (09:03)

Actually, a great deal, because I run into a lot of people who are into the idea of transitional homes just for the money, and that’s not what it’s about. If you don’t have a heart for the people that are suffering in America, you’re not going to succeed. If you have an idea that you can separate God from actual wealth, you’re not going to succeed. You might get rich, you might make a lot of money, but you’re going to lose that money if you don’t put it in your life

properly. Wealth is what we’re after, and wealth is quietly obtaining and being able to serve and liberate your time. And that’s—my biggest warning for people is, if your heart’s not in it, you’re not going to make it.

Scott Bursey (09:42)

Thank you for highlighting that. And Kelly, let me pivot for just a moment. What does your professional network look like right now?

Kelly Riggs (09:50)

It’s a matter of value. You can be in a room begging for opportunity from people who are what you consider above you financially or in their social status, or you can be in a room where people need you and you are the authority. It’s all about knowing your value and going where you’re valued. Personally, I’m not valued down among—in the state’s capital. I am valued among the people who are trying to learn.

I take my expertise and I offer it where people want it. I’m not trying to convince people to doing something else to do what…

Scott Bursey (10:24)

That’s a key insight for our listeners. And if you were advising a new investor who wants to focus on this underserved corner of the market, what is the most important piece of advice you’d give them to ensure they are serving the mission while remaining profitable?

Kelly Riggs (10:41)

If they are absolutely new, I suggest they find somebody with experience. I don’t mean experience in investing; I mean experience in what that atmosphere is really like. And it may sound crazy, but look at it from a Henry Ford standpoint. And Henry Ford used to take the laziest man in the room and put him on a job to figure out the quickest way to do it. The same applies here.

You go find the lowest person you can find and see what’ll make their life better, and then you build around the need, not the idea.

Scott Bursey (11:15)

Thank you for sharing that wisdom. And Kelly, you have really shared a lot of wisdom with us here today. But is there any additional golden nugget or two that you could share with our listeners?

Kelly Riggs (11:27)

My greatest golden nugget is to do something. Don’t get an idea and just sit on it. If this is something you’re called to do, by all means get started. I don’t care if it’s just making a phone call. Do something. Get started, because it won’t be here forever. The Bible says our life is but a vapor. We’re not gonna be here as long as we wanna be or as long as we think, so let’s do all we can do today. Don’t wait till tomorrow.

Scott Bursey (11:53)

Kelly, thank you for that. And for our listeners that want to keep this conversation moving, stay in your lane, or perhaps collaborate with you on future deals, what’s the best way for them to plug into your pipeline and reach you directly?

Kelly Riggs (12:48)

If you want to reach me directly, you can go to sonshineministriesgroup.org, and there is a “Start a Conversation” button. That conversation button, my wife monitors that daily, and she averages getting in touch with people within the hour. And anytime there’s somebody who has a question specifically for me, she walks from her office to mine and says, “You need to talk to this man.” But at that point, we’ll get a phone number, we’ll give—we’ll get very direct.

Scott Bursey (13:15)

Kelly, thank you so much for joining us today on the Real Estate Pros podcast.

Kelly Riggs (13:19)

You’re welcome. I really appreciated being here.

Scott Bursey (13:22)

And to our listeners, we appreciate you. If you received value from today’s episode, please subscribe. We’ll be fueling your tanks with a lineup of elite guests, just like Kelly Riggs, who are accelerating and setting the pace for the rest of the industry. Until next time, keep your standards high and your vision clear. We’ll see you on the next episode, everyone.