As work-from home contractors, Nate and I live in this weird world where our business and our home lives constantly collide. Even more so lately, now that we're spending a considerable amount of time working on and talking about our home renovations.
Can I share a secret with you, though? I kind of love this dynamic. It's crazy to find myself wobbling on a bench with a paint brush in-hand while simultaneously wrangling four little boys, but deep down I've always felt like my future is in buying and selling homes. Renovating, renting, flipping. My family has a strong background in property management, and I'm drawn to the creative freedom and sense of accomplishment. I also feel like our children are learning incredible lessons about resilience and hard work from this experience.
But when I think about actually taking the leap into home investments, I get held up by one thing.
The actual buying and selling process terrifies me.
Our first home-buying experience was a nightmare. Pretty much everything that could have gone wrong…did. California is a challenging market all-around and I'm a little gun-shy at this point. The thought of being on the seller side, dealing with the MLS and a lengthy wait time sounds SO not fun. I've told Nate that I could get on-board, maybe, if there was something like an Uber for home-buying and selling.
Turns out, there kind of is.
I was up in Los Angeles a few months ago, giving a talk on a panel about how social media and online influencers have changed traditional marketing. Afterwards, I got to chatting with one of the attendees and she asked if I'd consider writing a sponsored post for her employer – a website based out of California called REX. REX (short for Real Estate Exchange) is an online service that uses data-driven marketing to reach buyers directly on places like Zillow and Google instead of going through a multiple listing service. They have full-service agents, a history of faster selling time when comparing similar homes in the area, and a streamlined system that lets sellers view incoming offers online.
Sounds sort of up my alley, right?
Best of all, they cover the buying and selling side for a total of only 2% commission – compared to 5-6% that traditional agents typically take.
That means I could potentially get in on the home investment game with less time spent away from my kids and more money to invest in my family's future.
Which is kind of what it's all about.
So…all that to say we're seriously considering taking the leap into home investments. I wish this option had existed for us when we were first-time homebuyers, but it can help us in the future and maybe it can do our readers some good.
What do you think is the best way for a young family to capitalize on real estate?